Perhaps the main takeaway students and scholars of Islam should derive from Shahab Ahmed's What Is Islam? is that instead of avoiding definitions of Islam, blithely insisting that the sheer diversity of Muslim thought, practice, and experience makes such an enterprise impossible, we should tackle the question head-on and consider what that diversity really means for the problem of definition. But how to move forward? How best to explore the implications of such an argument, operationalizing the consequences of his observations in practical terms?

Some traditions report that the sword Dhū’l-Faqār was granted to ʿAlī by Muḥammad. Although some argue that the sword reached Muḥammad after the battle of Badr in 624, various reports claim that it was sent down from heaven. The sword was originally depicted as being double-edged, but from the medieval era onwards, that image was replaced with that of a sword with a bifurcated point, now recognizable as the sign of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib worldwide...

The family of Muhammad seems to be next logical place to find models of heroism. Like Muhammad, they are universally respected, and the family closest to him, Ali, Fatima, Hasan, and Husayn, all knew Muhammad as well...