A Book to Read

I love reading, but being an academic has ruined reading for me.

It takes me a very long time to get into the groove of a book. There are a few books that has changed the way I see the world. At the top of this list is The ROAD TO MAKKAH/MECCA by Muhammad Asad.

Read an extract on her blog here.

Every Muslim, born in "Western" or previously colonised lands should read this book!!!

It is as if Muhammad Asad wrote this book yesterday. Everything he says is relevant to our world today in a way that shakes the very core of your being. IF you understand the context in which he writes.

When I was done with it, I wanted to sell everything I have (which is not much), buy a camel and move to the dessert. The beginning is a bit tedious…but its VERY important, as it sets the tone for the whole book, and it’s a very important part of the politics and history that affects us today. And the most important thing about this book is that it is his real life experiences. This is not a work of fiction that his poetic flow might allude to.

There are two things that are written in this book, that have changed my life forever. The one is the whole idea that everything that is happening to you, is just your share of all the things that is happening. Basically, everone is going through stuff, what ever is happening to you is just your share of it. This put me at ease about the struggles that I face or have faced.

The second is something that I am still wrestling with and I’m trying to change the way I think about it. The whole idea that “destiny” is something that you have a share in…and most importantly as Muslims the way we see destiny and the way the “West” has depicted it is two completely different things. The “West” sees destiny as something that you need to either find, or something that happens to you. But as he describes in this book, destiny is something that we live with. It is happening every day, and it is something that we have a part in. This is where our choices come in.

It took me a very long time to actually get into this book but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. The way he describes his love for his wife, his experience in Medina and his conversion to Islam brought tears to my eyes and made me question the purpose of my own life.

And only an excellent book can do that!!