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Dr Ragheb al-Sirjani's introduction to Unforgettable Countries

Many distorters and falsifiers are spreading the rumour that Islamic history does not contain a glorious past, except during the period of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them). This falsification is only to sow frustration in the hearts of Muslims and to make them feel that the possibility of their resurrection has become very distant, and that the Islamic method is unable to build a state or renaissance of a nation, which is all untrue. Hence the urgent need to explain the different stages of our nation's history, and that no matter how weak the nation has become, it will rise again, and if a banner falls in one place, banners will be raised in other places, and that the year of Allah is that there will remain sincere Muslims who will comfort this nation and preserve its dignity, and this is the truth of the Prophet's hadith: "No group of my Ummah will still stand for the truth, and they will prevail over those who oppose them.

They will be invincible and will not be harmed by those who oppose them, until the command of Allah comes upon them, and they will be like that." (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set a great example for us in establishing a state, building a nation, and colliding with the forces of oppression that existed at the time, which were represented by the infidels of the Arabian Peninsula, especially the infidels of Mecca and the Jews with their various tribes, as well as the giant Roman state, despite this terrible collision, Allah Almighty gave him victory and success until his state was established as a young and innocent state.

After the Messenger of Allah, the Rashidun Caliphs built a strong and great state that was able to destroy the thrones of Kisra and Caesar, and was able to put Muslims at the forefront of the world, and surpassed everyone politically, economically, scientifically, civilisationally, morally, and before and after that, it surpassed them ideologically, so it was able to reform its world with its religion, and raise the standard of life in its state with its Lord's law, and achieved the difficult equation that combines the happiness of both worlds: This world and the Hereafter.

The march of the Islamic nation did not stop at the time of the Rashidun caliphs, but continued its civilisational journey with great and glorious states that achieved glory and honour, and raised the name of Muslims high everywhere: the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, the Ayyubid state and the Mamluks, the great Ottoman caliphate, the many powerful states in the history of Andalusia, and other states here and there that changed the march of humanity in a positive and wonderful change that adds to the credit of this giant nation, the Nation of Islam.

This glorious history is the best history in the whole world, yet few people know it, and unfortunately, Muslims themselves are ignorant of this glorious history; therefore, I am very happy when I see a book or any literary or artistic work that restores to Muslims the true image of their glorious history and raises their pride and honour in this honourable nation.

We have in our hands one of these valuable books, whose author, Mr Tamer Badr, has been keen to trace the different stages of glory in our history from the beginning to the end, bringing out some great treasures from this history, and updating us on the history of several Islamic countries that raised the name of Muslims high in the horizons.

It is a beautiful book, elegantly written and beautifully presented, containing a lot of accurate information, and adding to our Islamic library a beautiful book that every Muslim is proud of.

May Allah make this effort in the balance of the author's good deeds, and make these lines in the balance of the good deeds of all those who read them.

I ask Allah to strengthen Islam and Muslims

A. Dr Ragheb Al-Sarjani

Cairo, May 2012