Originally Posted by zindagi20

Stunner, may i have your e-mail id or some other source of contact. I have some other queries too. i have attempted some questions in outline form so want your expert opinion about them.

Originally Posted by usman qureshi

stunner ji part 2 ke important topics btaen please as in 2012 paper pattern is changed please sir and i read sohail bhatti,s book i have pk hitti but not k.ali,s book sir

Originally Posted by Shanisar

jazakALLAH.. stunner bro, u have done a fabulous job, keep it up.. i could score 117 in 2011 and jst 110 in 2012 with studying little bit of Mazarul Haq's short history.. i m going for my last attempt in 2013 with islamic history with an optional which is hindering my way from going to the top.. wel, this time i have changed the strategy, i'm studying Ameer Ali's short history of saracens and a bit of spirit of islam by Ameer ali along with above mentioned 2 books.. i agree what u have said of just preparing it with specific areas on finger tips and the whole course by just going through it in order to have a general idea..

so what do u say about Ameer Ali's short history of saracens and spirit of islam, should i continue studying them or u think he has written so biased??

Originally Posted by Stunner

After 31st InshaAllah ..

Originally Posted by Stunner

Hello Chums,

I had Islamic History as one of the optional subjects in CSS 2012 and I must submit that I fell in love with this subject .. Here, I intend to share all my preparation and paper techniques regarding Islamic History learned throughout my prep span ..

First of all let me eradicate some myths:

1- Islamic History is not a scoring subject ..
Well, remove this 'not' and you get my answer .. In fact it is highly scoring if properly prepared and attempted .. How, we'll discuss in this thread InshaAllah ..

2- It has a very lengthy syllabus ..
Well, to some extent it is true, but proper guidance and to the point preparation makes this lengthy syllabus a very brief one .. There are a few main topics which need to be studied extensively, the remaining bulk of topics need just to be gone through and not to be covered with much detail at all ..

3- It is a dry subject and chunks of material makes it boring ..
Again a wrong perception .. I feel no hesitation in submitting that I fell in love with Islamic History due to its variety and spice, the nobility of its characters, Islamic humour and the fun loving way with which I prepared it ..

Take one example of Islamic humour extract taken from Bernard Lewis' book 'Islam from Prophet Mohammad to the capture of Constantinople':

A man announced that he was God. He was brought before the Caliph Mutawakkil who said to him, "Last year there was someone here who claimed to be a prophet. He was executed." "That was well done," said the man, "for I had not sent him." Kitna barra fankaar tha ..

I watched some documentaries to make my preparation joyful .. I gained much knowledge and also some extra-ordinary quotes from those documentaries .. Specially knowledge relating architecture and Islamic boom in education and medicine was superbly described in them .. Here are some that I watched:

1- Islam - Empire of faith
2- The legacy of a Prophet P.B.U.H
3- When Moors ruled in Europe

You can download all these movies easily through torrents .. If you find any difficulty let me know and I will post the exact links .. I would recommend all Islamic History aspirants to watch these documentaries .. I got a lot of insight from them .. For example in 'When Moors ruled in Europe' while mentioning the difference in advancement of Muslim physicians in Spain and those of other European doctors, the English Historian Bettany Hughes notes from the accounts of a Muslim doctor:

They brought me a Knight who had an abscess in his leg and a woman suffering from consumption. I made a plaster for the Knight and his swelling opened and improved. For the woman I suggested a diet to regulate metabolism and cure her consumption. But then the Frankish doctor arrived and objected. 'Bring me a strong Knight with a sharp axe' he said. The Knight struck a powerful blow to his leg and wound burst, the Knight died having lost much of his blood. As for the woman he suggested that a devil must have entered her head and he cut her head with a blade in a cross shape and rubbed salt into it. The woman died instantly. 'I returned home, having learned much about the medicine of the Christians'. (Waisay aaj kal ye sab hamaray mulk mein ho raha hai) ..

Now you can note the way with which Bettany Hughes contrasts the caliber of Muslim and other doctors at the times of Spanish Islam. I used the above mentioned quote in my paper too.

Book Sources:

Dear friends, I'm a book lover and I do not personally believe in one book policy. I used as much as 8 or 9 books for Islamic History alone. But I won't recommend you to study that many books, because that might well be a reason for my low score (God forbid) Here are the books I suggest:

1- A short history of Islam - Mazhar ul Haq
2- History of Arabs - P.K Hitti
3- Spanish Islam - Reinhardt Dozy

Use Mazhar ul Haq's book for pet knowledge and the other two for contrasting views and quotes .. You can add criticizing comments of the above mentioned European writers in your answers but do not forget to defend Islam to the fullest. You have to negate any negative comments from them. This will show and extra in-depth and will fetch additional marks ..

So friends, do opt for this subject if you got love for it. Prepare by staying on the right track and it will fetch excellent marks for you InshaAllah .. You are free to ask any questions you have .. I'll keep posting remaining points and stuff InshaAllah ..

Best of luck ..

Regards ..

Originally Posted by Fassi

First of all piles of thanx for almost done such a laborious job for aspirants and I'll wait 31st for your post regarding 2nd Paper of Islamic History...

STUNNER how can i contact you my advocate bhaiya for help regarding Islamic History and other subjects please mail me your cell number or explore my profile and drop me a message I'll contact you InshALLAH?

Moreover, please take another chance and do prepare this year InshALLAH you'll achieve your desired goal my prayers and Duas are with you. You are really co-operative and a darling mate...

Originally Posted by MUHAMMAD LUQMAN GUJAR

Mr, stunner i am going to appear in 2014 inshaALLAH.I want to read maximum books on islamic history.normally people read mazarhulq or K.Ali.I dont want read them,tell me something else.
thanx

Originally Posted by DC Naeem

plz guide me about paper 2 of islamic history from which book we get the proper material.plz tell me.

Originally Posted by mano khan

Dear i need those links plzzzzzzzzz

Originally Posted by jillia89

Respected Sir! Salute you for your fabulous effort...

Kindly tell me....
1-Is it compulsory to make notes?? I don't have time to make notes in fact i am much stressed now a days as v short time left and i have to pass inshaALLAH B/c its a (DO OR DIE) for me.I am not good at "cramming" i love to understand topic as a whole and then to memorize it.

2-Muslim law by Atir rizvi (JBD) + Dr Liqat Niazi (JBD) + D.F Mullah Are these well enough?and for better understanding i am going through "Elm-ul-fiqah" (dar-ul-Ash'at)

Originally Posted by venomous sophie

it'll be so grateful of u to post the links of those documentaries her...

Originally Posted by Stunner

Assalam o Alaikum again folks,

Let me now make the study of Islamic History easy for you .. We'll discuss the topics or portions of Islamic History to be covered for a Boom-Boom paper ..

Part one of the subject deals with the following topics:

1- World at the advent of Islam

You need a brief study of the social, political, religious and economic aspects of the world at the time of advent of Islam .. You need not to study this topic in much detail, rather bullet points and understanding would do the work .. However, do add some quotes from the renowned books .. It is a frequently asked question and covering this means having covered 20 marks paper.

2- Major incidents of the life of Holy Prophet P.B.U.H

This is where your in depth study should start from. Topics in this portion are the Call (Revelation), early difficulties of Prophet P.B.U.H, Taif visit, Oaths of Aqaba, Hijrah (Migration), Pact of Madina, Battles like Badr, Ohad, Ahzab, Conquest of Makkah, Khyber and Hawazin, Role of Jews .. After you have covered these topics you'll have sufficient knowledge InshaAllah to answer questions like:
Administration policy of the Prophet P.B.U.H, Prophet as a Judge, Him as a Peacemaker, Political social and economic revolutions brought by the Prophet P.B.U.H and other analytic questions.

A proper study of this portion will ensure covering another 20 or even in some cases 40 marks paper.

3- Khulfa e Rashideen
Khulfa e Rashideen or the Rightly guided Caliphs portion includes the lives and works of Hazrat Abu Bakr R.A, Hazrat Umar R.A, Hazrat Usman R.A and Hazrat Ali R.A .. You'll need to study their elections, conquests during their times, their administration policy, difficulties they faced and problems arisen within Islamic society during their times .. Cover these and you get another 20 marks covered ..

4- Umayyads and Abbassids
Under these topics you need to cover some personalities like Abdul Malik bin Marwan, Walid Bin Abdul Malik and Umar Bin Abdul Azeez .. You need to cover their administrative policy and the reforms they brought .. While in Abbassids you need to cover the scientific, philosophical and educational boom of the Muslims under Abbassids .. This is an important topic, especially the Abbassid part, as it is interlinked with the overall revolution brought by the Muslims. One or even two questions are always expected from this portion of Islamic History and it may even be asked in Paper 2 ..

5- Ottoman Empire
The documentary I mentioned above named 'Islam - The Empire of Faith' has part two entirely focused on the Ottoman Empire .. It is also a two-fold topic and can be asked in Part 2 as well .. I skipped this topic during my preparation but I would suggest you to cover it .. The exam trend has changed and selective study seems to be strongly discouraged by the examiners ..

So folks, above is the whole Islamic History Part 1 mentioned for you .. If you cover these topics you'll be able to answer all 7 questions in exam InshaAllah and even the objective portion .. You can of course pick and choose the topics for a speedy coverage of the syllabus but I would recommend you to go through all the syllabus .. A dedicated and focused study routine will enable you to cover Part 1 in 10 or 15 days at most ..

Paper 2 and other points to cover and attempt Islamic History well enough will follow soon InshaAllah .. Any queries will be welcomed ..

Regards ..