Blog / Topic

History and places

The Kaaba, al-Aqsa, the first mosques and the Golden Age. 12 guides, newest first.

Arabic calligraphy: the main scripts and their story

Arabic calligraphy explained: how it grew from the mushaf, and the main scripts, Kufic, Naskh, Thuluth, Diwani, Nastaliq and Maghribi, with where you will see each.

31 Oct 2026 · 8 min read

Great scholars of Islam, from the four imams to the women of hadith

The great scholars of Islam with dates and sources: the four imams, the Hanafi line, the six hadith compilers, al-Tabari, al-Ghazali, Ibn Sina, Ibn Khaldun and women scholars.

31 Oct 2026 · 8 min read

Islamic architecture: the parts of a mosque and the great buildings

Islamic architecture explained: the parts of a mosque, minarets, domes and muqarnas, regional styles, and famous buildings from the Dome of the Rock to the Taj Mahal.

31 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

Islamic art: calligraphy, geometry and the arabesque

Islamic art explained: calligraphy and its scripts, geometric patterns, the arabesque, tiles and illuminated Qurans, and why religious art avoids people and animals.

31 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

Where did Islam begin, and who founded it?

Where Islam began (Makkah, 610 CE, the cave of Hira), the Hijrah and the first Muslims, and who founded Islam as historians and Muslims each see it.

31 Oct 2026 · 8 min read

The wives of the Prophet ﷺ, the Mothers of the Believers

The eleven wives of the Prophet ﷺ in order: lineage, year of marriage, virtues in sahih hadith and death, with Quran 33:6 and 33:28-34.

31 Oct 2026 · 12 min read

The last words of the Prophet ﷺ and his final days

The last words of the Prophet ﷺ in Arabic with their meaning, and his final days from sahih hadith only: the last sermon, Monday morning, and Abu Bakr's speech.

31 Oct 2026 · 7 min read

The oldest mosques in the world, and the first mosques in America

The oldest mosques in the world, the first one the Prophet ﷺ built, and the first mosques in the US, Canada, the UK and the UAE.

31 Oct 2026 · 5 min read

Masjid al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock: what is the difference?

Why the golden dome is not the Aqsa mosque, who built each building and when, and why Jerusalem is holy to Muslims.

31 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

The Kaaba and Makkah: history and facts

Who built the Kaaba, its rebuilds, what is inside, whether you can enter, the Black Stone, the kiswah and Zamzam, with sources.

31 Oct 2026 · 8 min read

The Islamic Golden Age and the House of Wisdom

What the House of Wisdom in Baghdad really was, the scholars and books that mattered, with dates, and the debates historians still have.

31 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

The star and crescent: meaning and history

The star and crescent is not a religious symbol in the Quran or Sunnah: where it came from, how the Ottomans made it famous, the flags that carry it, and the real crescent in Islam.

31 Oct 2026 · 6 min read