1.  Books on the Holy Quran:

• A Dictionary Glossary of the Koran
  • By John Penrice

•  Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations
  • By Michael Sells

• Etiquette With the Quran (Al-Tibyan fi Adab Hamalat al-Quran)
  • By Imam Al-Nawawi; Translated by Musa Furber (Highly Recommended)

•  The Glorious Qur’an: Text, Translation and Commentary
  • By Abdul Majid Daryabadi; one of the better English translations of the Quran.  (Highly Recommended)

• The History of the Qur’anic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments
  • By Dr. M.M. al-Azami; a scholarly study of the history of the Quran as compared to the Bible. (Highly Recommended)

•  Variant Readings of the Qur’an: A Critical Study of Their Historical and Linguistics Origins
  • By Ahmad Ali Al-Imam; another excellent scholarly study on the history of the Quran, including its preservation.  (Highly Recommended)

2.  Books on Islamic Fiqh:

•  Al-Maqasid: Nawawi’s Manual of Islam
  • Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller; an excellent source on Islamic fundamentals such as prayer and fasting from one of the most famous scholars in Islamic history, the Shafi’i scholar Imam Nawawi

• Ascent to Felicity (Maraqi l-Sa’adat): A Manual of Islamic Creed and Hanafi Jurisprudence
  • Translated by Faraz A. Khan; an excellent Hanafi source by the scholar Abu l-Ikhlas al-Shurunbulali on important matters such as creed, purification, prayers, fasting, charity, Hajj and others, with copious notes and commentary by the contemporary scholar Faraz A. Khan

• Fiqh al-Imam: Key Proofs in Hanafi Fiqh
  • A great resource for the Hanafi fiqh, written by the contemporary scholar Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf.

• The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam (Al-Halal Wal Haram Fil Islam)
  • An excellent book on a topic of enormous importance to Muslims in the modern age, written by one of the most respected scholars of the modern age, Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.  (Highly Recommended)

3.  Books on Islamic History:

• A History of the Prophets of Islam: Derived from the Quran, Ahadith and Commentaries, Volume 1
  • By Suzanne Haneef

• A History of the Prophets of Islam: Derived from the Quran, Ahadith and Commentaries, Volume 2
  • By Suzanne Haneef

•  Islam and the Destiny of Man
  • By Charles Le Gai Eaton

•  Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet
  • By Karen Armstrong; a good biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) written by a non-Muslim scholar

• Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman
  • By W. Montgomery Watt; another biography written by a non-Muslim scholar; while show-casing occasional western and orientalist bias, this is nevertheless a good biography

• Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Enquiry
  • By Bernard Lewis; an objective and fair study of the uncomfortable topic of slavery and race relations in the Islamic world

• The Arabs in History
  • By Bernard Lewis

• The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In
  • By Hugh Kennedy

• The Sealed Nectar: Biography of the Noble Prophet
  • By Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri; an excellent biography of the Prophet written by a contemporary Muslim scholar – (Highly Recommended)
    

4.  Books on Comparative Religion:

• The Bible, the Qur’an and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge
• What is the Origin of Man? The Answers of Science and the Holy Scriptures
  •  By Dr. Maurice Bucaille

• God’ed? The Case for Islam as the Completion of Revelation
  • By Dr. Laurence Brown  –  (Highly Recommended)

• Jesus, Prophet of Islam
  • By Muhammad Ata Ur-Rahim

• Jesus the Muslim Prophet: History Speaks of a Human Messiah Not a Divine Christ
  • By Louay Fatoohi

• MisGod’ed: A Roadmap of Guidance and Misguidance Within the Abrahamic Religions
  • By Dr. Laurence Brown

• The Mysteries of Jesus: A Muslim Study of the Origins and Doctrines of the Christian Church
  • By Ruqiyyah Waris Maqsood

• The Mystery of Israel in Ancient Egypt: The Exodus in the Qur’an, the Old Testament, Archaeological Finds, and Historical Sources
  • By Louay Fatoohi

•  The Mystery of the Crucifixion: The Attempt to Kill Jesus in the Qur’an, the New Testament, and Historical Sources
  • By Louay Fatoohi

• The Mystery of the Messiah: The Messiahship of Jesus in the Qur’an, New Testament, Old Testament, and Other Sources
  • By Louay Fatoohi

5.  Other Books on Islam:

•  50 Righteous and Humane Concepts Brought by Muhammad
  • By Jalal Abualrub – (Highly Recommended)
    

• Illuminating the Darkness: Blacks and North Africans in Islam
  • by Habeeb Akande – (Highly Recommended)

• Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet’s Legacy
  • By Jonathan A.C. Brown; an excellent book which should be required reading for Muslims and Non-Muslims alike.   (Highly Recommended)

•  Muhammad’s Role in Islam
  • By Jalal Abualrub

• Provisions for the Seekers: A Manual of Prophetic Hadiths with Commentary
  • By Shaykh Ashiq Ilahi Al-Bulandshehri
  • Translated by Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf – (Highly Recommended)

• Sahih Muslim Volumes 1-4
  • Translation and Commentary by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi – (Highly Recommended)

• The Approach of Armageddon? An Islamic Perspective
  • By Muhammad Hisham Kabbani; An excellent book discussing the signs of the coming of the Day of Judgment, highlighting some of the amazing prophecies which have certainly been fulfilled in our time;  the only weakness in the book, in my opinion, are certain extreme Sufi beliefs of the author.

• The Concise Collection on Creed and Tauhid
  • Compiled by Darussalam; a collection of works on the all-important topic of Tauhid (the belief in the Oneness of Allah); the works included in this compendium are “Kitab At-Tauhid” (by Sheik Muhammad bin ‘Abdul-Wahhab) , “Religious Fundamentals” (by Sheik Muhammad bin ‘Abdul-Wahhab), “The Virtue of Tauhid and a Warning Against What Contradicts It” (by the Darussalam Research Division), “The Authentic Creed and Invalidators of Islam” (by Sheik ‘Abdul-‘Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz), “Islamic Creed Based on Qur’an and Sunnah” (by Sheik Muhammad bin Jamil Zino) and “50 Questions and Answers on Islamic Monotheism” (by the Darussalam Research Division).  (Highly Recommended)

• The Creed of Imam Al-Tahawi
  • By Imam Abu Ja’far Al-Tahawi; translated by Hamza Yusuf; a must-read for every Muslim and for any non-Muslim who is interested in the Islamic creed, written by the famous scholar Imam Al-Tahawi (853-933 CE/239-321 AH).  (Highly Recommended)

• Fortress of the Muslim: Invocations from the Qur’an and Sunnah
  • Compiled by Sa’id bin Wahf Al-Qahtani; a collection of supplications from the Quran and Sunnah in the original Arabic with English translation and transliteration.  (Highly Recommended)

• The Name and the Named
  • By Sheik Tosun Bayrak; this book discusses the 99 Names/Attributes of Allah.  (Highly Recommended)

• The Prophecies of Muhammad: His Miracles and Prophecies Till the End of Time
  • By Moutafa Zayed; a collection of the miracles and prophecies of the Prophet Muhammad and a clear proof of his prophethood, Alhamdulillah.  (Highly Recommended)

5.  Books on the Bible and Christianity:

• 101 Myths of the Bible: How Ancient Scribes Invented Biblical History
  • By Gary Greenberg

• The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible: The Book of Daniel
  • Raymond Hammer (Highly Recommended)

• The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel
  • By Mark S. Smith (Highly Recommended)

• An Introduction to New Testament Christology
  • By Raymond E. Brown; a scholarly discussion on the New Testament’s views on Jesus, written by a respected and well-known Catholic scholar.

• Forcing God’s Hand: Why Millions Pray for a Quick Rapture – And Destruction of Planet Earth
  • By Grace Halsell

• Forged: Writing in the Name of God – Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
• Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why
  • By Bart Ehrman

• The Age of Reason
  • By Thomas Paine

• The Authentic Gospel of Jesus
• The Nativity: History and Legend
• The Passion
  • By Geza Vermes

• The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts
  • By Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman – (Highly Recommended)

• The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy
  • By C. Dennis McKinsey – (Highly Recommended)

• Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
  • By Reza Aslan

6.  Other Recommended Works (Various Subjects):

• Fiction

• • Books by Dan Brown
    • Angels and Demons
  • • The Da Vinci Code
    • The Lost Symbol

• • • Books by Dr. Laurence Brown
      • The Eighth Scroll
      • The Returned

• • Other Works of Fiction
    • The Iliad – by Homer
    • The Odyssey – by Homer
    • The Lord the Rings Trilogy – by J.R.R Tolkien
    • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
    • To Kill a Mockingbird – by Harper Lee

• History

• •  The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English
    • By Geza Vermes
  • The Complete Works of Josephus
    • Translated by William Whiston
  •  The Untold History of the United States
    • By Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick – (Highly Recommended)

• Science

• • Darwin’s Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and The Case for Intelligent Design
  • Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design
    • By Dr. Stephen Meyer – (Highly Recommended)

• • Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?
  • • By Dr. Jonathan Wells; an excellent discussion of some of the most common “proofs” of Darwinian evolution that are taught to biology students but which are actually fraught with troubling scientific problems – (Highly recommended)

• • People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil
  • • By Dr. M. Scott Peck

• •  The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions
  • • By David Berlinski

• • The Origin of Species
    • By Charles Darwin