He spent 20 years in Peshawar (now in Pakistan). Hughes life as a missionary is evidence enough of his sincere intentions. Consequently, nothing would be gained by misrepresenting the facts to his readers. His primary aim was to insure that those who lived in Muslim lands understood the Islamic faith. Hughes compiled his dictionary as an aid to British government officials, missionaries, travelers, and students. As he says in the introduction, the work is not intended to be a controversial attack on the religious system of Muhammad, but rather an exposition of its principles and teachings. But when presenting and weighing the facts, his scholarship was impeccable. Anyone who reads the volume can plainly see this. Hughes, of course, was not neutral in his assessment of Islam. The uninitiated reader is left confused and may not be sure whom to trust. But, in the post 9/11 world it is difficult to find works that are not politically biased, being either a polemic against Islam or an apology in defense of it. Those interested in studying Islam can certainly find many modern sources to assist them. This Outline of Islam enables users of the dictionary to research the Muslim faith systematically and topically under numerous categories. However, they are organized alphabetically, which is not conducive to a methodical study of Islam. Many of the articles are encyclopedic in length. Calling this volume a dictionary is somewhat understated. This longevity is a testimony to the scholarship and comprehensive scope of Rev.

Over 125 years have elapsed since Thomas Patrick Hughes published A Dictionary of Islam in Remarkably, the work is still available in print from both Muslim and non-muslim distributors, and it can also be found on the Internet. 1 A Dictionary of Islam by Thomas Patrick Hughes Outline of Islam An Analytical Index of Key Concepts & Major Articles 2012 William DiPuccio, Ph.D.

Maulid ad diba doc