I am following History of the Saracens particularly to cover the topic on Umayyad. I am finding it that Syed Ali has used quite strong words to highlight the acts of most of the Caliphs of Umayyad.

For instance, he writes:

Muawiyah's character and the circumstances which ensured his success are thus summed up by English writer Osborn, whose view, Syed Ameer Ali expresses, on this point at least are free from prejudice. "Astute, unscrupulous, and pitiless, the first Caliph of the Umayyads shrank from no crime necessary to secure his position. Murder was his accustomed mode of removing a formidable opponent ....."

Keeping in view this you think it is alright to follow History of Saracens by Syed Ameer Ali to prepare the notes? Because the other books/authors haven't used strong words despite the obviousness of the events.

Response from specially those who have secured good marks in the subject would be helpful

Bro you'd find such quotes to be negated in almost all history books .. The best way is to read another one or two texts and find something written adverse to the comments of one writer, negate them with the views of another and lastly and most importantly, give your own view and support it with a strong reason or argument .. This is the method to fetch top marks

As for the particular extract, I think Syed Ameer Ali has just tried to agree with the statement of Osborn and it was not merely a statment made my Ameer Ali himself .. However, If you read different texts you'd find some writers in strong favour of Muawiya and others bashing him .. But at least one thing was commonly stated, that he was very clever and could do what he wanted to by any means .. Some writers took it as a very positive trait of his personality and the others ridiculed him for it .. My understanding, after having read some books on Islamic History is that at least Muawiya's part of History is uncertain .. So I decided not to attempt it in exams ..

Ameer Ali's 'Spirit of Islam' and 'History of Saracens' are excellent books .. However, you need to follow another text too for better understanding ..

Best of Luck ..

Regards ..

__________________
You Have To Keep Breaking Your Heart Until It Opens .. !! Rumi ..

If I am copying a whole para from a book, is it okay or the paraphrasing should be done?

Shiites don't regard Muawiyah. You think calling Muawiyah an apt/clever ruler is equal to avoiding the controversial subject? Even at one point Syed Ameer Ali writes: "On the whole Muawiyah's rule was prosperous and peaceful at home and successful abroad." What if the examiner is a Shiite? This thought just popped in my mind ..

Copying and reproducing from books without mentioning the source amounts to plagiarism .. Students do get disqualified on plagiarism in other educational systems, In Pakistan this seems not to be the case .. However, one should take care in this regard and if quoting a para from a book or article should mention at least the name of the writer .. You can copy a para from a book or paraphrase it, but mention the source ..

'Clever' in some parts of the world is seen as a positive trait and in others as a negative one .. It is best used in context and I think in Muawiya's context it amounts to a negative one, as a string of allegations is attached to it .. I do not personally think that a professional Shiite or Sunni examiner would do injustice on basis of bias reasoning, however, a bleak possibility remains ..

And on the last part, as I wrote earlier .. To me Muawiya's part of history is uncertain and I thought that I could not do justice to the topic in exam and hence skipped it .. You can decide what's best in your interest ..

If you have further queries feel free to ask ..

Regards ..

__________________
You Have To Keep Breaking Your Heart Until It Opens .. !! Rumi ..

How long should the answer be of a 20 marks question? Any estimate, like how many words? I understand that quality of the answer rather than quantity is of essence. But still ...

Length of the answer varies person to person .. Some write slowly and others fast, some with a tiny writing and the others with big letters .. However, there is a simple method to circumvent the problem of length .. You have to write 4 answers in 150 minutes and if you divide you get 37.5 minutes for a single answer .. One can read the question fully and plan an answer structure within 2.5 minutes and then start writing that on paper .. Give full 30 minutes for a good and relevant answer and the last 5 for conclusion and cross check .. So no matter how lengthy or short your answer is, you'l give proper time to every question with this method, and the length of the answer will be according to your writing style .. I hope this will work InshaAllah

Regards ..

__________________
You Have To Keep Breaking Your Heart Until It Opens .. !! Rumi ..