Highlights Authorized by the Islamic Research Academy of El Azhar, Cairo Unique illustrated retelling of the stories of the early rulers of Islam Features stories about Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ali ibn abi Talib, Mu’awiya, Umar ibn Abdul Aziz, Al-Mahdi, Haroun al-Rashid, Al- Ma’moun, Al-Mutawakkil and Al-Mu’tadid Bestseller since it was first published in Egypt After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, there followed many leaders of the Muslim world who were known as Caliphs These successors to the Prophet ruled – from Medina, damascus and later from Baghdad – over an empire that included a large part of the world. This book includes 27 stories from the lives of the first Caliphs, from the very pious Umar ibn al-Khattab to Al-Mu’tadid. Denys Johnson-Davies Denys Johnson-Davies (Abdel-Wadoud) is one of the most important translators of Arabic today. He was the first to translate Naguib Mahfouz, Tayeb Saleh, Tawfiq al Hakim, Taha Hussein and Sonallah Ibrahim. Abdel Wahhab Bilal is an Egyptian illustrator who co-illustrated Festivals of Egypt with Tim Loveless.