M. Mehdi Ali @MMehdiAli5 Twitter profile

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M. Mehdi Ali

1 year

After spending eleven wonderful days browsing the lovely bookshops of Najaf, Karbala, and Kufa, I have written a bookstore itinerary:

Najaf, Karbala, Kufa — Bookstore Itinerary

As an avid book collector, I am often asked why I bother to pay money for books when most texts can be easily found for free online. Or…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

6 months

I was reading Ibn Batuta for some travel inspiration and came to this heartbreaking passage about Gaza

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

Traveling to Beirut in search of books was a wonderful experience. I have written a bookstore itinerary for others who may be interested:

Beirut Bookstore Itinerary

To travel to a new place in search of books is one of life’s most delightful pleasures. There is great joy in perusing the shelves of a…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 month

This shop in Najaf was the best bookstore day of my life

Erik Rostad (Books of Titans)

@booksoftitans

1 month

Quite possibly the best bookstore day of my entire life. A wonderful sense of adventure, surprise, and delight.

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 month

This is a must have book for any student of Islamic legal theory. It beautifully conveys the richness of interpretive approaches to law in Islamic history, including the variety and importance of theories of language.

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

2 months

As I prepare to write my dissertation in Qur'anic studies, I wanted to share some reflections on the state of the field in the Western academy.

Qur’anic Sciences in the Western Academy

The discipline of Qur’anic studies has blossomed in recent years in the Western academy. Scholars have made profound advances by…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

6 months

For people interested in hawza studies, I have written a comprehensive article: "A Beginner's Guide to Hawza Studies: A Compilation of English-Language Resources"

A Beginner’s Guide to Hawza Studies: A Compilation of English-Language Resources

When I posted some pictures last week of English-language resources for people interested in Hawza/Shi‘i studies, I was overwhelmed by the…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

One of my favorite aspects of traveling is discovering the book-cultures of different parts of the globe. I have written a bookstore itinerary for London, one of the literary capitals of the world:

London Bookstore Itinerary

One of my favorite aspects of traveling is discovering the book-cultures of different parts of the globe. Having briefly studied at Oxford…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

I spent several days in Azerbaijan trying to track down a single book. Check out my latest bookstore itinerary: Finding Tabatabai in Azerbaijan

Finding Tabatabai in Azerbaijan

Whenever I travel to a new country, I am always most interested in visiting local, independently-owned bookshops, because they preserve a…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

Book-searching and book-buying for a personal library is one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Building a Home Library

There used to be a time when scholars would traverse continents in pursuit of a single book.

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

One of my favorite aspects of traveling is discovering the book-cultures of different parts of the globe. I have written a bookstore itinerary for Bosnia, one of the world's hidden gems:

Bosnia Bookstore Itinerary

Setting foot in Bosnia, a stunningly beautiful and forested country on the Balkan peninsula, is a surreal experience. Because Westerners…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

6 months

I wrote an article about some of the gems I found (and inherited) in the personal library of Gustave E. Von Grunebaum, former professor of Islamic studies at UCLA

Inheriting Books from the Personal Library of Gustave E. Von Grunebaum

Even before setting foot in his library, I knew that this was a scholar who had spent a lifetime procuring books that would be difficult to

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 month

Finally picked up this masterpiece by Ibn Hazm, the famed Spanish jurist who was one of the leading proponents of the Zahiri school of law

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

I passed my quals!!!! Didn’t expect it to be this emotional 😭😭😭😭

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

7 months

After spending several wonderful days perusing the lovely bookshops of Riyadh, I have written a bookstore itinerary:

Riyadh Bookstore Itinerary

Riyadh is one of the world’s most underrated destinations for book-traveling and book-buying.

link.medium.com

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

"There is something profoundly beautiful about visiting a mosque in Istanbul, the city of a thousand minarets."

Istanbul: The Beauty of Religious Architecture

There is something profoundly beautiful about visiting a mosque in Istanbul, the city of a thousand minarets.

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

Since I received so much positive feedback on my bookstore itinerary for Najaf, I wanted to share the bookstore itinerary I wrote last year for the book-curious who visit Istanbul:

M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

1 year

After spending eleven wonderful days browsing the lovely bookshops of Najaf, Karbala, and Kufa, I have written a bookstore itinerary:

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

7 months

After spending several days exploring the bookshops of Makkah, the holiest city in Islam, I have written a bookstore itinerary:

Makkah Bookstore Itinerary

Makkah, the holiest city in Islam, is a haven for books in the classical Islamic sciences.

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

7 months

It is my privilege to present a bookstore itinerary for Madina, where I encountered seminary students from China, a copy of the Qur'an in Amharic, and a complete 20-volume set of Ibn Taymiyya's Fatawa for $40:

Madina Bookstore Itinerary

To visit al-Madina al-Munawwara, the City of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), is to return home for the believing Muslim. It is a city built…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

7 months

"Pursuing a PhD in Islamic studies, especially as a Muslim in the West, is a delicate balancing act."

Pursuing a PhD in Islamic Studies in the West

The Western approach to the study of religion, as a critical discipline that needs to be explored and interrogated, is rarely understood…

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

2 months

Please don't recommend a new book to me because I will traverse the seven continents to find it.

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

10 months

Arab poets insult so hard. Indeed, my rhymes didn’t put you to sleep. They simply annihilated you until you became what doesn’t exist [i.e. because you were so jealous of my poetry that it destroyed you and rendered your existence null, to the point that you became like nothing]

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M. Mehdi Ali

@MMehdiAli5

2 months

Some new arrivals 🙂

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