Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim.
Assalamualaikum wbt everyone, I hope that all of you are doing great. May Allah SWT grant us goodness in health and protect us, Insha Allah.
Dear readers, we are in our first week of Ramadan and I am excited to welcome Ramadan, the month where we could spiritually rejuvenate ourselves without distraction. May Allah SWT grant us the chance to meet Ramadan Insha Allah.
A few days ago, I encounter an article written by Sister Fadhilah Wahid in which she mentioned this:
“The importance of surrounding ourselves with goodness. Having an abundance of good companions and good books makes it easier for good messages to reach us, to nudge and colour our thoughts and perception, into one of God-consciousness”.
It somehow hit my heart, and I made me think how the book that we read will shape how we think and be in the future. Therefore, I would like to share some books that you might want to read during this Ramadan.
First and foremost, I would like to recommend ‘Call Upon Him by Mizi Wahid’.
The reason I chose this book is that I plan to strengthen my relationships with God the Almighty, Allah SWT. In this book, the author shares 21 steps on how to strengthen our relationship with Him through supplications. I love how this book helps me in reminding the presence of God in every single thing that I do my life. There’s a quote from the book I find so interesting to share with;
“A prayer is answered as we persistently put in faithful action towards it”.
Secondly, I would like to recommend ‘Communicating with Allah Rediscovering Prayer by Bassam Saeh’
This book is filled with short reminders containing practical examples to help us attain a deeper sense of devotion to Allah SWT. So, why not flip through this book when we are in need of reminders to renew our commitment to the Divine in our prayers, especially in this holy month of Ramadan, where fewer distractions occur and we could focus more in nurturing our relationship with Allah SWT. Insha Allah, Allah SWT will reward us for all of our good deeds just for Allah SWT.
The next book I would like to recommend is Change or Lose by Abdul Karrim Bakar
This book focuses on ways to change ourselves positively and for our betterment in accordance with our reason of existence — which is to worship Allah SWT. Changing for the greater good is never an easy job, but it’s worth it as we change because of the Almighty Allah SWT. There’s an aayah from the book that states;
“That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves. And indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.”
Surah al-Anfal (8:53).
Thus, you choose or you lose, dear friends.
Just a week before the Restriction Movement Order (RMO) started, I encountered a book entitled The Salah – The Prophet Prayer Described
This book is a translation of the original Arabic Sifah Salah al-Nabi, which brings together all of the features of the Prophet’s prayer, starting from the takbir to the taslim. As you can see, it seems that I’ve been suggesting books on prayers and Du’as. You see, sometimes we might think that we perform our prayer ‘perfectly’, but there is no perfect prayer other than what Rasulullah SAW did. With this, we insha Allah can fulfil the Prophet’s command; “pray as you see me pray”.
Last but not least, I would say the most evergreen book we should read is Prayers of the Pious by Omar Suleiman.
This book contains 30 Du’as by pious people in Islam, from the well known like Abu Bakr (RA) to Umar (RA) to all of the people who had a wonderful connection with Allah SWT. The author explained each the meaning and purpose of each Du’a, how we can implement it, who said it and why was it said.
I remember seeing a review in Goodreads which goes; “an individual does not have to be a poet to praise Allah, you’d be surprised how poetic you can be when you’re honest”. This got me thinking that sincerity is an important component when it comes to Du’a and prayers, just like how these pious people had sincerity in their hearts. We should have faith in our prayers just as how they had faith in their prayers.
Friends, as mentioned in the Quran, surah al- Ankabut, verse 45,
“Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to thee, and establish Regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without a doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do.”
So, let’s took the opportunity in the Holy month of Ramadan to reflect back on ourselves and be a better person than yesterday.
Recently, I heard a song titled, “I Look I see” by Yusuf Islam, where on the second verse, the lyrics go;
“I listen, listen, listen, I hear
I hear the words of God so clear
I read, I read, I read, I know
It helps my knowledge grow
And everything we do
We dedicate to You
Cause You made us
We are for You”
So dear friends, remember, everything we do in our lives is all for Him, God the Almighty, Allah SWT.
May Allah SWT grant us a Ramadan full of blessings, may all of our deeds be accepted by Allah SWT and may He grant us Jannah in the akhirah. Allahuma Ballighna Ramadan.
Assalamualaikum wbt.
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