Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers css 1971 to date

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN
(Q. & A. 711 to 1707 with solved Papers
CSS 1971 to date) bj: M. Sohail Bhatti.
^ A BRIEF HISTORY OF ISLAM
(Q. & A. Holy Life to Umayyads Period)
bj- M. Sohail Bhatti.
> PAKISTAN AFFAIRS
(1857 to date) by: M. Sohail Bhatti. Note: It also covers Indian Historj Paper II.
/?.s 300
AS 150
7?s. 300
> OBJECTIVE/MCQ’S PAK STUDIES
by: M. Sohail Bhatti. As 250
Note: It also covers objective/MCQ’s of Indian History Paper 1 and II (CSS)
> OBJECTIVE/MCQ’S INDIAN HISTORY
bj: M. Sohail Bhatti. As 150
> POLITICAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF
MUSLIM SPAIN
bv: Dr. Rashid Ahmad Shibli As 250
ESSAYS ON PAKISTAN
bv: M. Sohail Bhatti.
R\ 150
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN
PAKISTAN
bj • A.G Cboudhary based on G.W. Choudharv ”s Rs. 250
HISTORY OF UMAYYADS & ABBASIDS
bv M. Sohail Bhatti. As ISO
PREFACE
This is a companion volume to ”Administrative and Cultural Histor> of Islam” published in 1991. It has been \\ritten in response to a persistent demand of a large number of those readers who have studied my first book. The purpose of this book is to describe the political and cultural aspects of Islamic historj in a concise jet comprehensive vvaj This deals not onlj \\ith the political and cultural aspects but gives the full account of the economic and social historv from the Jahilya period to the Ottomans Empire.
The Cultural Historj of the Arabs virtuallv begins in the seventh centurj, which witnessed the rise of Islam and the northward expansion of Arab power-a power destined to dominate a large part of the inhabited world in less than a centurj. Not onlj did the new religion provided the Arabs with coherent \vorld view and enable them to transcend the narrow confines of their tribal existence, but it thrust them almost forciblj upon the cultural stage of the ancient Near East, setting before iliem dazzling treasures of older civilizations. The Arabs suddenly found themselves in possession of the chief monuments of ancient learning: Greek philosopln and science, Persian literary and politicat wisdom. Indian medicine and mathematics, especially under the Ma’mun.
Confronted with this rich and complex cultural legacy, they faced a major challenge-the need to reconcile Islam with the secular knowledge of their subject peoples and thus provide their faith with the same intellectual resilience that the two other great religions of the Near East, Judaism and Christianity, had achieved after centuries of strife.
Despite the numerous political and theological tensions that inevitablj arose, we can see in retrospect that the Arabs were able, throughout a period extending from the downfall of the Persian and Byzantine empires in the seventh century to the earh Renaissance in the fourteenth, to assimilate almost the whole of ancient learning, to integrate it into their own cultural life and to raise the level of knowledge in the fields of medicine, botanj’. agriculture, mathematics, physics, alcheim, astronomy and philosophv to unprecedented heights. In fact, they served for almost half a millennium as the sole custodians of Greek and other ancient learning, at a time when western Europe was plunged in darkness, having served all but the most tenuous connections with the cultures of the ancient world.
i

Arabs \\erc the medium through \\liicli ancient science and philosophv v\ere recovered, supplemented and transmitted in such a \\a_v as to make possible the Renaissance of western Europe and in .ill this Arabic Spam had a large share.

”Ihis book comprises ten parts-the first part begins v\ith ”\rabia before Islam” co\ers the political and social history of the \rabs. The second deals \\ith the e\enls in the life of Muhammad (PHI II). The third is the political and cultural history under the Orthodox Caliphate. The fourth describes the detail events under the L’mav.ads. I he fifth covers the political and cultural development under the Abbasids. The sixth is about the cultural and political heritage of Moors. The seventh is about the Fatimids of Egypt. The eighth covers the Safvids’ civilisation especiallv under the Shah Abbas I. The ninth one covers the historv of Ottomans. The last part deals uith the eminent scholars of Medieval Islam.
The purpose of this book is to provide readable material for University students and candidates for competitive examinations. I am proud of for having advices and assistance from my most respected teachers. Professor Dr. Sacliq Ali Gill. Professor Muhammad Aslam. Professor Syed Qamar Abbas. Professor Muhammad Iqbal Chawala and Professor Afzal Haq Qarshi.
It gives me great pleasure to thank Khalicl Javed, who worked for da> and night to make the book complete. 1 am equall> indebted to Professor Ghitlnm Qaciar Dogar. I pay my thanks to Javed Ahmad who made the layout of this book. I express my deep appreciation and thanks to Mr. Masood-ul-IIassan Sheikh who with special interest to improve this book. 1 will always welcome constructive criticism from the readers and hope that they well point
out the shortcoming and the mistakes.
Author
CONTENTS
Preface , 5