Lantern
Islam, told by lamplight
A minute is enough for a card. An evening, for a whole surah. You need to know nothing to begin, and no one here will tell you what to believe.
Start here
New to Islam?Begin at the beginningOne God. A long line of prophets. A way of living. Five minutes, and you have the shape of it.Grew up Muslim?A story you think you knowIslam's greatest general. His enemies. His mistakes. And the places where the popular telling gets him wrong.How Lantern worksWho stands behind these wordsEvery piece names its sources. Every piece says, plainly, whether a scholar has read it yet.
Learning paths
A few pieces, in an order. Each one leans on the one before.
9 piecesThe life of the Prophet, in eight partsIt begins in a desert of tribes and idols. It ends with a farewell sermon heard by tens of thousands. The Seerah as one story, about forty minutes in all, and then a last lesson: the Prophet at home.6 piecesIslam 101For anyone starting from nothing. What Islam is. Who Muhammad was. The Qur'an, the five pillars, the six beliefs, and how Islam stands beside Judaism and Christianity.9 piecesQuestions people askThe questions non-Muslims ask most, answered straight. Every side is heard.13 piecesShort surahs everyone knowsThe surahs Muslims say every day, and what they mean.5 piecesStories the Qur'an tellsFive surahs built around a story, each with its closer looks.8 piecesHow Muslims worshipEight practical lessons in the Hanafi way: washing for prayer, the prayer itself, Friday and Eid, du'a, fasting, zakat, the Hajj, and the funeral.12 piecesProphets of the Qur'anThe prophets, from Adam to Jesus, in twelve lessons. Told as stories, with notes on where the Bible tells them differently.10 piecesGood characterHow Islam shapes everyday conduct, from the words you speak to the people next door.9 piecesPeople around the ProphetThe women and men who believed first, and what they gave.11 piecesA history of IslamFrom the four caliphs to the Cape: fourteen centuries in eleven lessons.9 piecesThe six pillars of faithWhat Muslims believe, one pillar at a time: God, angels, books, prophets, the Last Day and destiny.4 piecesThe Hereafter, in four surahsWhat the Qur'an says comes after death, from the Trumpet to the gardens. Four Makkan surahs, each arguing from what you can see.3 piecesStories of trialThe Qur'an teaches through story. People tested by faith, by wealth, by knowledge, by power. And a town that would not listen.3 piecesNight prayer and prostrationThe surahs the Prophet recited before sleep and in prayer, and why bowing down sits at the heart of them.
Islam 101
For anyone new. Who Muslims are, and what the Qur'an is.
What is Islam?The faith in five minutes.Swipe or readWho was Muhammad?An orphan, a trader, a prophet.Swipe or readWhat is the Qur'an?A book meant to be heard.Swipe or readThe five pillarsWhat every Muslim is asked to do.Swipe or readWhat Muslims believeThe six articles of faith.Swipe or readIslam, Judaism and ChristianityFamily resemblances, honest differences.Swipe or readWhat does jihad mean?Struggle, war and its limits.Swipe or readWhy do some Muslim women cover?Modesty, hijab, and choice.Swipe or readWhat is Shari'ah?More than a legal code.Swipe or readA Muslim's dayPrayer, food, greetings and the calendar.Swipe or readMuslims todayNearly a quarter of humanity.Swipe or readVisiting a mosqueWhat to expect, and what to do.Swipe or readBecoming MuslimWhat it involves, and what it does not.Swipe or read
Seerah
The life of the Prophet as one long story.
Arabia before IslamThe world he was born into.Swipe or readThe young MuhammadOrphan, shepherd, trader.Swipe or read"Read!"The first revelation and the first Muslims.Swipe or readThe years of persecutionMakkah turns against the Muslims.Swipe or readThe HijrahFrom Makkah to Madinah.Swipe or readBadr, Uhud and the TrenchMadinah under threat.Swipe or readThe return to MakkahConquest without revenge.Swipe or readThe farewellThe last pilgrimage and the end of a life.Swipe or readThe Prophet at homeHis character in daily life.Swipe or read
Stories
Prophets, Companions and the people around them. Every side is told.
Khalid ibn al-WalidIslam's most dangerous enemy became its greatest general.Swipe or readAdam and IblisThe first human, the first refusal.Swipe or readNoah and the arkPatience for centuries, and a son who would not come.Swipe or readAbraham, friend of GodThe young man who broke the idols.Swipe or readJoseph and his brothers"The best of stories".Swipe or readMoses and PharaohThe most-told story in the Qur'an.Swipe or readMary and JesusHonoured in the Qur'an.Swipe or readJonah and the whaleA prayer from inside the darkness.Swipe or readKhadijahThe first to believe.Swipe or read'A'ishahWife, teacher and scholar.Swipe or readBilalOne, One.Swipe or readSalman the PersianThe seeker.Swipe or readWomen of early IslamBelievers, martyrs, fighters and scholars.Swipe or readHud, Salih and Shu'aybProphets sent to Arabia.Swipe or readDawud and SulaymanTwo prophet-kings.Swipe or readAyyubThe patience of Job.Swipe or readZakariyya and YahyaAn old man's prayer, and John the Baptist.Swipe or readAbu BakrThe Prophet's closest friend.Swipe or read'Umar ibn al-KhattabFrom enemy to second caliph.Swipe or readFatimahThe Prophet's daughter.Swipe or readLutA prophet in a town that would not listen.Swipe or read
Qur'an and Tafsir
One surah at a time: the world behind it, the road through it, the lessons in it.
يوسفYūsufHis brothers threw him down a well. Years later they stood before him, hungry.Swipe or readالكهفAl-KahfFour stories, four trials, one shield.Swipe or readمريمMaryamAn old man whispers. A young woman gives birth alone. Neither is left alone for long.Swipe or readلقمانLuqmānMakkah wanted better stories. This surah answers with a father talking to his son.Swipe or readالسجدةAs-SajdahTwo bowed heads. One chose it. One ran out of time.Swipe or readيسYā-SīnA town said no. One man came running.Swipe or readالدخانAd-DukhānNeither heaven nor earth wept for him.Swipe or readالحجراتAl-HujurātMen shouted outside a door in Madinah. The reply became a code for living together.Swipe or readالرحمنAr-RahmānWhich of His favours would you deny?Swipe or readالواقعةAl-Wāqi‘ahA Day that sorts people into three groups.Swipe or readالجمعةAl-Jumu‘ahA caravan rolled into town mid-sermon. Almost everyone walked out.Swipe or readالملكAl-MulkA city felt safe. This surah asks who is holding it up.Swipe or readالعلقAl-‘AlaqIt began with one word: Read.Swipe or readالزلزلةAz-ZalzalahThe ground people walk on has been keeping notes. One day it reads them out.Swipe or readالتكاثرAt-TakāthurA race for more, a finish line nobody picked, and one question waiting at the end.Swipe or readالماعونAl-Mā‘ūnIt starts with an orphan pushed away and ends with a pot nobody would lend.Swipe or readالكوثرAl-KawtharA father buries his son. His enemies call him finished. The reply is three lines long.Swipe or readAl-FatihahThe Opening, said in every prayer.Swipe or readAyat al-KursiThe Verse of the Throne.Swipe or readThe last three surahsAl-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas.Swipe or readAl-'AsrTime, in three lines.Swipe or readAd-Duha and ash-SharhTwo surahs of comfort.Swipe or readAl-QadrThe Night of Decree.Swipe or readAl-Kafirun"For you your religion, and for me mine".Swipe or readAl-Fil and QurayshThe elephant, and a tribe kept safe.Swipe or readAn-NasrVictory, and a farewell.Swipe or read
Aqidah
What Muslims believe, in plain words.
Tawhid: the oneness of GodThe idea everything else rests on.Swipe or readThe names of GodKnowing God through His names.Swipe or readAngels and jinnThe unseen world.Swipe or readProphets and messengersOne message, many messengers.Swipe or readThe Last DayDeath, the grave, and judgment.Swipe or readQadar: destiny and free willWritten, and still your choice.Swipe or readSufismThe inner path.Swipe or read
Fiqh
How worship works. Hanafi by default, other views noted.
Wudu': washing before prayerHow and why, in the Hanafi school.Swipe or readHow Muslims praySalah, step by step, in the Hanafi school.Swipe or readFasting in RamadanThe rules and the reason, in the Hanafi school.Swipe or readZakat: the yearly dueWho pays, how much, and to whom.Swipe or readThe Hajj, day by dayThe pilgrimage to Makkah.Swipe or readFriday and the two EidsThe weekly and yearly gatherings.Swipe or readDeath and the funeralHow Muslims bury their dead.Swipe or readDu'a and dhikrTalking to God, and remembering Him.Swipe or readMarriageA contract, with love and mercy.Swipe or read
Akhlaq
Character, and how it shows day to day.
HonestyTruth as a way of life.Swipe or readMercyThe quality God names Himself by.Swipe or readParents and family"Not even 'uff'".Swipe or readNeighbours and strangersThe people next door.Swipe or readAnger and patienceStrength is self-control.Swipe or readHumility and arroganceWalking gently on the earth.Swipe or readGuarding the tongueBackbiting, gossip and kind words.Swipe or readGenerosityCharity beyond zakat.Swipe or readJusticeEven against yourself.Swipe or readCaring for the earthTrustees, not owners.Swipe or read
History
Caliphates, al-Andalus, the Ottomans, Islam in Africa and South Africa.
The four caliphsThirty years after the Prophet.Swipe or readSunni and Shi'aHow the split began.Swipe or readBaghdad and the House of WisdomThe Umayyads, the Abbasids, and an age of learning.Swipe or readAl-AndalusMuslim Spain, 711 to 1492.Swipe or readThe OttomansSix centuries, three continents.Swipe or readIslam in AfricaFrom the first refuge to Timbuktu.Swipe or readIslam in South AfricaFrom exile at the Cape to today.Swipe or readThe CrusadesTwo centuries of holy war.Swipe or readIslam in South AsiaFrom the Delhi Sultanate to the Mughals.Swipe or readIslamic art and architectureGeometry, calligraphy and light.Swipe or readIslam in Southeast AsiaThe islands the Cape Muslims came from.Swipe or read