


Spiritual journey in the world of Islam for peace, brotherhood, tolerance, respect and love for all man kind.
This page is an incomplete list of prominent and famous (or infamous) people who are Muslims - followers of Islam. This page is a list of people identified as Muslims, particularly by themselves. This page does not differentiate between Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, or any other subcategory. It also does not take into account whether those listed acknowledge their Muslim identity or origins. This list takes a wide definition of a Muslim by including most individuals who might be in some way identified as Muslim, but acknowledges that more restrictive definitions may be applied by the reader. For information on Islam and Muslims in various parts of the world, please see Islam by country.
Traditional Theologians and Philosophers
* The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessing be up on him
* Abu Muslim
* Al-Dinawari
* Al-Farabi
* Al-Ghazali
* Al-Kindi
* Al-Tirmidhi
* Ibn Sina
* Ibn Taymiya
* Razi
* Wasil ibn Ata
See: List of Shia Imams
* Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib Al-Mortaza
* Imam Hasan ibn Ali Al-Mojtaba
* Imam Hussein ibn Ali Sayyed-Al-Shohada
* Imam Ali ibn Husayn Zainol Abidin
* Imam Mohammad ibn Ali Bagher
* Imam Jafar ibn Mohammad Al-Sadiq
* Imam Musa ibn Jafar Al-Kazem
* Imam Ali ibn Musa Al-Reza
* Imam Mohammad ibn Ali Al-Taghi
* Imam Ali ibn Mohammad Al-Hadi
* Imam Hasan ibn Ali Al-Askari
* Imam Mohammad ibn Hasan Al-Mahdi
Main Sunni Theologians and Philosophers after the Prophet
* Imam Abu Hanifa
* Imam Hanbal
* Imam Shafi
* Malik Ibn Anas
* Al-Bukhari
* Al-Muslim
Other Theologians and Philosophers
* Ahmed Deedat
* Al-Baitar
* Al-Battani
* Al-Biruni
* Al-Buzjani
* Al-Farabi
* Al-Farghani
* Al-Ghazali
* Al-Idrisi
* Al-Khayyam
* Al-Khwarizmi
* Al-Kindi
* Al-Masu'di
* Al-Mawardi
* Al-Nafis
* Ali Bin Rabban
* Ali Shariati
* Alija Ali Izetbegovic
* Bilal Philips
* Fatima Mernissi
* Fazlur Rahman
* Hamid Enyat
* Hamza Yusuf
* Harun Yahya
* Hassan al Banna
* Hazrat Inayat Khan
* Ibn al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyya
* Ibn Khaldun
* Ibn Hazm
* Ibn Qurra
* Idries Shah
* Ismail Al-Faruqi
* Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi
* Khaled Abou Al-Fadl
* Leila Ahmed
* M. Umar Chapra
* Mawlana Muhammad Ilyas
* Merryl Wyn Davies
* Munawar Ahmad Anees
* Nasim Butt
* Nasiruddin Albani
* Nasreddin
* Nuh Ha Mim Keller
* Rene Guenon
* Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi
* Seyyed Hossein Nasr
* Siraj Wahaj
* Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas
* Syed Nawad Haider Naqwi
* Yusuf Estes
* Ziauddin Sardar
Historiographers, political scientists, and sociologists
* Al-Masudi
* Amin Maalouf
* Hammudah Abdalati
* Ibn al-Tiqtaqa
* Ibn Hisham
* Ibn Ishaq
* Ibn Kathir
* Ibn Khaldoun
* Ibn Khallikan
* Rashid al-Din
* Sayyid Qutb
* Tabari
* Usamah ibn Munqidh
Historical Figures
Early historic personalities
* Prophet Muhammad
* Abu Bakr - caliph
* Umar ibn al-Khattab - caliph
* Uthman ibn Affan - caliph
* Ali ibn Abi Talib - caliph (or the first Imam for Shia Muslims)
* Fatima Zahra
* Hasan bin Ali grandson of Muhammad
* Husayn bin Ali grandson of Muhammad
* Maaz bin jabal
* Muawiyah I
* Bilal ibn Rabah
Military Leaders and Figures
* Abdel Kadir
* Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef
* Imam Shamil
* Khalid bin Walid
* Khair ad Din (Barbarossa)
* Lt-Gen Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi
* Muhammad Ahmad
* Muhammad bin Qasim
* Musa bin Nusair
* Nadir Shah
* Nur ad-Din
* Piri Reis
* Qutaibah bin Muslim
* Saladin
* Sher Shah
* Tahir ibn Husayn
* Tariq ibn-Ziyad
* Amir Timur ibn Tarag'ay
* Tipu Sultan
* Zengi
Muslim dynasties
* Abbadid
* Abbasid
* Aceh
* Aghlabid
* Almohad
* Almoravides
* Ayyubid dynasty
* Banu Isam
* Banu Salih
* Brunei
* Buwayhid
* Fatimid
* Ghaznavid Empire
* Hashemite
* House of Saud (Saudis)
* Khwarezmid Empire
* Mameluk dynasty
* Mughal Empire
* New Mataram
* Ottoman Empire
* Pahlavi dynasty
* Pasai
* Pattani Kingdom
* Rustamid
* Safavids
* Saffarid dynasty
* Samanid
* Seljuk Turks
* Sultanate of Johor
* Sultanate of Malacca
* Sultanate of Rum [Rüm]
* Sultanate of Sulu
* Tahirid dynasty
* Umayyad
Politicians
* Abd ar-Rahman Al-Haydari Al-Kaylani
* Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi
* Abdelaziz Bouteflika
* Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim
* Abdul Kalam
* Abdul Karim Qassim
* Abdullah I of Jordan
* Abdullah II of Jordan
* Abdullah, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
* Abdurrahman Wahid
* Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
* Ahmadou Ahidjo
* Ahmed Qurei
* Ahmed Sekou Toure [Ahmed Sékou Touré]
* Ahmet Necdet Sezer
* Ali Hassan Mwinyi
* Ali Khamenei
* Alija Ali Izetbegovic
* Anwar Sadat
* Ayub Khan
* Badar
* Badshah Khan
* Benazir Bhutto
* Fahd of Saudi Arabia
* Faisal of Saudi Arabia
* Habib Bourguiba
* Hamad bin Khalifa
* Hamid Karzai
* Hassan al Banna
* Hosni Mubarak
* Hussein of Jordan
* Iajuddin Ahmed
* Ibn Saud
* Idi Amin
* Islam Karimov
* Jean-Bedel Bokassa [Jean-Bédel Bokassa]
* Juma Khan
* Khaleda Zia
* Mahatir Mohammad
* Mahmoud Abbas
* Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad
* Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
* Megawati
* Moammar Ghadafi
* Mohammad Khatami
* Mohammad Rabbani
* Mohammed Bahr Al-Uloum
* Mohammed Omar
* Mohammed Qalamuddin
* Mohammed VI of Morocco
* Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola
* Moulvi Ibrahim
* Muhammad Ali Jinnah
* Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
* Omar Bongo
* Omar Hasan Ahmad Al-Bashir
* Pervez Musharraf
* Qaboos of Oman
* Qari Ahmadullah
* Qusay Hussein (al-Majid)
* Recep Tayyip Erdogan
* Ruhollah Khomeini
* Saddam Hussein (al-Majid)
* Samory Toure [Samory Touré]
* Sani Abacha
* Sukarno
* Uday Hussein (al-Majid)
* Yahya Jammeh
* Yahya Khan
* Yasser Arafat
* Zafarullah Khan Jamali
* Zalmay Khalilzad
* Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahayan
* Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
The Various Arts
Writers and Poets
* Abas ala'kad
* Abdul Rahman Munif
* Abu Nuwas
* Abu Tammam
* Akbar S. Ahmed
* Al-Hallaj
* Hafiz
* Hakim Bey
* Hassan al Banna
* Ibn Arabi
* Ilona Yusuf
* Irshad Manji
* Jeffrey Lang
* Kabir
* Marmaduke Pickthall
* Martin Lings
* Michael Wolfe
* Muhammad Asad (Leopold Weiss)
* Muhammad Iqbal
* Murad Wilfred Hofmann
* Naim Frasheri [Naim Frashëri]
* Nizami
* Omar Khayyam
* Rashid Ahmed
* Ruqayyah Waris Maqsood
* Rumi
* Sa'adi
* Suleyman Ahmad
* Yahiya Emerick
* Yusuf al-Khal
* Yusuf Balasagun
Entertainers
* Moustapha Akkad
* Abbas Kiarostami
* Adewale Ayuba
* Afef Jnifen
* Ali Shaheed Muhammad
* Art Blakey
* Ashok Masti (Pakistani singer)
* Azhar Usman
* Brother Ali
* Dave Chappelle
* Dawud Wharnsby Ali
* Dilara
* Dolores "LaLa" Brooks
* El-Hadji
* Erdogan Atalay
* Everlast
* Freeway
* Islamic Force
* Ismail Merchant
* Idris Muhammad (Leo Morris)
* Ahmad Jamal (Fritz Jones}
* John Coltrane
* Khaled
* Mos Def
* Mousse T
* M-Team
* Napoleon (rapper)
* Native Deen
* Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
* Omar Sharif
* Q-Tip
* Richard Thompson
* Salif Keita
* Umm Kalthoum
* Walid Taoufic
* Youssou N'dour
* Youssef Chahine
* Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)
Artists
* Ismail Acar
* Ismail Gulgee
Scientists, Philosophers, and Mathematicians
* Abdus Salam, physics
* Abraham bar Hiyya Ha-Nasi
* Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi
* Abu Al-Qasim, medicine
* Abu Musa Jabir Ibn_Hayyan, (Geber) chemistry
* Abu Nasr Mansur, mathematics
* Ahmed H. Zewail, chemistry
* Ahmad ibn Yusuf, mathematics
* Al Battani, astronomer
* Al-Jazari, engineering
* Al-Jawhari, mathematics
* Al-Khwarizmi, mathematics
* Al-Kindi, mathematics
* Alhazen, mathematics
* Averroes, medicine
* Avicenna, medicine
* Biruni, mathematics
* Farabi, chemist and philosopher
* Lotfi Askar Zadeh, father of fuzzy logic
* Rashad Khalifa, biochemist
* Mahmoud Hessaby, engineering
* Muhammad al-Idrisi, geography and cartography.
* Nasir_al-Din_Tusi, scientist, philosopher
* Omar Khayyam, poet, mathematician, and astronomer
* Rhazes, medicine, chemist and physicist
* Thabit ibn Qurra, Astronomy, mathematics and Medicine
* Ulugh Beg, astronomer, mathematician
Business Figures
* Ayhan Hakimoglu, armaments
* Bijan, high-end men's clothing
* Farooq Kathwari, furniture
* Kenan Sahin, software engineer, wealthiest Muslim American
* Nemir Kirdar, venture capital
* Mansoor Ijaz, investment management
* Rashid A. Chaudhry, personal care products
* Safi Qureshey, computers
* Yusef Haroon, consulting and managerial services
Sport Figures
* Abbas Suan
* Ahmad Rashad
* Ali Daei
* Ali Karimi
* Amir Khan
* Az-Zahir Hakim
* Chris Eubank
* Dwight Muhammad Qawi
* Eddie Mustapha Muhammad
* Hakan Sukur [Hakan Sükür]
* Hakeem Olajuwon
* Hasim Rahman
* Hassiba Boulmerka
* Hedo Turkoglu
* Hicham El Guerrouj
* Hossein Reza Zadeh
* Imran Khan
* Isma'il Muhammad
* Ismail Essam
* Jahangir Khan
* Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
* Karim Garcia
* Khalid Khannouchi
* Laila Ali
* Larry Johnson
* Nazr Mohammed
* Mahmoud Abdur-Rauf
* Matthew Saad Muhammad
* Mehdi Mahdavikia
* Mehmet Okur
* Mehmet Scholl
* Mohammed Azharuddin
* Muhammad Ali
* Muhsin Muhammad
* Mustafa Hamsho
* Naseem Hamed
* Nicolas Anelka
* Nwankwo Kanu
* Rasheed Wallace
* Saleem Rashid
* Samir Trabelsi
* Shaquille O'Neal
* Shareef Abdur-Rahim
* Tariq Abdul-Wahad
* Walid Badir
* Youssef Rossi
* Zinedine Zidane
* Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Other
* Adel Smith
* Abdul Aziz ibn Myatt (David Myatt)
* Abdul Haq
* Ahmed Urabi
* Alexander Russell Webb
* Ali Shariati
* Aminah Assilmi
* Ayman al-Zawahiri
* Hamza Piccardo
* Ibn Battuta
* John Walker Lindh aka Suleyman al-Faris
* Jose Padilla aka Abdullah al-Muhajir
* Maher Arar
* Malcolm X
* Muhammad Abd al Wahhab
* Osama bin Laden
* Rashad Khalifa
* Shirin Ebadi first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
* Torquato Cardilli (Italian ambassador)
* Zahra Kazemi
* Zheng He
Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Muslims; viewed 6 July 2005)
Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Ibn `Umar who said: The Prophet used to deliver his sermons while standing beside a trunk of a date-palm. When he had the pulpit made, he used it instead. The trunk started crying and the Prophet went to it, rubbing his hand over it (to stop its crying).
(5) The Prophet's Night Journey to Jerusalem and Ascent to the Heavens:
The opening verse of surat al-Isra' relates the miracle of the Prophet's night journey to Jerusalem. Regarding the Statement of Allah, "And We granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens) which We made you see (as an actual eye witness) was only made as a trial for the people." (Al-Isra': 60) Ibn `Abbas added: "The sights which Allah's Messenger was shown on the Night Journey when he was taken to Bayt-ul-Maqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) were actual sights, (not dreams). And the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur'an is the tree of Zaqqum (itself)." (Reported by al-Bukhari)
There are also many other miracles that were performed by Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) or happened to him. What we mentioned here are merely examples.
CAIRO – The head of Al-Azhar, the highest seat of learning in the Sunni world, has ordered a school girl to remove her niqab during a visit to an Al-Azhar school, saying he would seek an official ban for the face veil in schools, Al-Masri Al-Youm newspaper reported on Monday, October 5.
“Why are you wearing the niqab while sitting in the class with your female colleagues?” Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi asked the 8th grader.
The young girl was shocked with the question coming from the country’s top scholar.
A teacher intervened to explain.
“She takes off her niqab inside the class, but she only put it on when you and your entourage came in.”
But Sheikh Tantawi was not satisfied and insisted that the young girl takes off the face cover.
“The niqab is a tradition and has nothing to do with Islam.”
After the girl complied he insisted she should not wear it any more.
“I tell you again that the niqab has nothing to do with Islam and it is only a mere custom. I understand the religion better than you and your parents.”
Most Muslim women in Egypt wear the hijab, which is an obligatory code of dress in Islam, but an increase in women putting on the niqab has apparently alarmed the government.
The ministry of religious endowments has recently distributed booklets in mosques against the practice.
The majority of Muslim scholars believe that a woman is not obliged to cover her face or hands.
They believe that it is up to every woman to decide whether to take on the face-cover or not.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar imam vowed to issue a ban against the face-veil in all schools linked to Al-Azhar.
“I intend to issue a regulation to ban the niqab in Al-Azhar schools,” he said.
“No student or teacher will be allowed into the school wearing the niqab.”
Established in 359 AH (971 CE), Al-Azhar mosque drew scholars from across the Muslim world and grew into a university, predating similar developments at Oxford University in London by more than a century.
Al-Azhar, which means the "most flourishing and resplendent," was named after Fatima Al-Zahraa, daughter of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
The first courses at Al-Azhar were given in 975 CE and the first college was built 13 years later.
Al-Azhar first admitted women students in 1961, albeit in separate classes.
Also in 1961, subjects in engineering and medicine were added to classes on Shari`ah, the Noble Qur’an and the intricacies of Arabic language.
Sheikh Tantawi’s remarks coincided with those of Higher Education Minister Hani Hilal who has banned the face-veil in student hostels.
“Face-veiled students are free to do what they want outside the hostels but there is no room for the niqab inside the women-only hostels,” he said earlier this week.
Many students demonstrated against the minister’s statements and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights plans to take him to court.
“The minister’s decision violates the principles of privacy, personal freedom and freedom of faith, which are guaranteed by the constitution.”“The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone's death but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. Whenever you see these eclipses invoke Allah, pray, exclaim, (Allah is Most Great) and give charity.”
'A'ishah (A.S.) narrated that, “There was a solar eclipse during the life-time of Allah's Messenger (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) led the people in prayer, and stood up and performed a lengthy recital during the prayer. Then bowed for a long while (made a long Ruku). He stood up again and performed another long recital of the Qur'an, but this time the period of standing (Qiyam) was shorter than the first one. He bowed again for a long time but shorter than the first one (Ruku), then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration. He did the same in the second Rak'ah as he did in the first and then finished the prayer. By then the sun (eclipse) had cleared. He delivered the Khutbah (sermon) and after praising and glorifying Allah, he said:
“The sun and the moon are two signs from amongst Allah’s signs and they do not eclipse because of the death or life of anyone. Therefore, whenever you see an eclipse, remember Allah and say Takbir (exclaim, Allah is Most Great), pray and give Sadaqah (charity).”
Explanation of the Hadith
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, which causes a total or partial solar eclipse. A total eclipse takes place in a limited zone on that part of the earth directly facing the sun, at which the sunlight dims to resemble bright moonlight within a few minutes. To the north and south of this band or zone, a partial eclipse takes place. The part of the sun , which eclipses keep getting smaller as we get away from the total eclipse band towards the direction of the two poles .
The Prophet (PBUH) says in this Hadith:
“The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life (i.e. the birth) of someone but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah.”
This means that they are two cosmic phenomena, which frequently occur, regardless of the death or life (i.e. birth) of anyone, contrary to what some people used to claim in the Arab Peninsula and other parts of the world. They used to relate the occurrence of these cosmic phenomena to the birth or death of a great person. The Prophet (PBUH) in this Hadith totally denies all of these superstitions, and assures that they are cosmic phenomena, which recur frequently.
Islam deals with ECLIPSE as cosmic phenomena |
Science has proven that the moon is followed by a conical shadow, called the umbra, as it blocks the sunrays. In its movement around the earth, the moon's conical shadow passes along with it. At the time of conjunction, which occurs once every lunar month, the moon falls exactly in the middle between the sun and the earth, thus blocking its light totally or partially. Nevertheless, in most of the lunar months, the moon's shadow does not reach the earth, while passing between it and the sun and in such case the sunlight is not blocked. Hence, no eclipse takes place. That is why total solar eclipses are very rare. Sometimes during a solar eclipse the moon falls in the middle between the earth and the sun, and the visible sun narrows to a thin crescent, and the corona appears. At the moment before totality, brilliant points of light, called Baily's beads, flash out.
When the total eclipse takes place, the sky becomes completely dark and the stars become visible in the middle of the day. So in a few minutes, broad daylight turns into what looks like the night, which causes a feeling of panic and depression, not only for human beings, but for all creatures. Birds shelter in their nests, and animals hide in their dens, or get into a state of cautious stillness.
As for the lunar eclipse, it takes place when the earth, being between the sun and the moon, casts a long, conical shadow, called the umbra, with an area of partial shadow called the penumbra around it. This is a phenomenon, which can be observed from all parts of the earth. In most months, the moon passes above or under the umbra, the conical shadow of the earth, and does not enter it. Thus, the lunar eclipse does not take place. During the solar eclipse, the solar energy that reaches the earth decreases and hence the temperature of the earth drops. However, during the lunar eclipse, the solar energy, which reaches the earth increases, causing the temperature of the earth to relatively increase for a few minutes. Since these phenomena are very accurately calculated, the earth is exposed to extreme dangers that only Allah knows how grave they are. That is why the Prophet (PBUH) asked Muslims to invoke Allah, the Almighty, praise Him, exclaim, “Allah is Most Great”, and glorify Him. Moreover, the Prophet asked Muslims to pray and pay charity, praying that Allah will protect the earth and its inhabitants from these dangers.
This is the reason why the Prophet (PBUH) said in other narrations of the same Hadith: “Rush to prayer” and in another narration he said:
“These signs sent by Allah do not occur because of the life or death of somebody, but Allah frightens His worshippers with them. So when you see anything thereof, rush to invoke Allah, pray to Him and ask for His forgiveness.”
One cannot help wondering how the Prophet (PBUH) could attain such accurate scientific facts, more than fourteen hundred years ago, at a time when people were up to their ears in superstitions and myths. It really is an explicit proof of the Prophet's Divine Message.
By: Dr. Zaghloul El-Naggar