I find it challenging to express how much this book has meant to me and how much I learn and grow each time I read and re-read a chapter. It provides invaluable guidance and wisdom in very practical and simple ways. Yet, it is profound and has impacted my life precisely in that way: profoundly. I feel so much gratitude to have found this book and for Dr. Sultan having written it. I believe its insight and applicable and accessible spirituality are greatly valuable to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I became a Muslim about a year ago, after having researched Islam in depth for approximately six years and finding it to be an empowering and enlightening way of life that would propel me towards growth and help me to become my highest self. I was convinced of its truth and found logic and beauty in Islam that I had not found in any other faith. It moved me deeply. Yet, it was simple, at least in my mind: something is considered "sinful" because it will harm us, inside and out and this harm will impact every area of our lives and lead us to misery and turmoil. Therefore, doing the right actions is in our self-interest and we have much to gain from following Islam in terms of inner peace, joy and God's blessings, however the latter may be manifested.
Unfortunately, most religions tend to focus on the superficial and, honestly, meaningless aspects of the faith. I became a bit disillusioned. I had thought, in Islam, to have found practical and logical principles for living a life of purpose, a life well lived, and yet again I was encountering empty rituals repeated multiple times a day based on fear, confusion and a complete lack of any real understanding. Then, recently, I found Dr. Sultan's book and the relief and immense joy I felt filled me with so much energy and enthusiasm for life and for Islam. It also gave me a deep sense of purpose, something that had eluded me until now. Here was a learned, wise and accomplished person who had studied Islam most of his life and had come to the conclusion that the practice and belief in Islam is empowering and meant to be seen in actual results in one's life, both internally and externally.
All areas of our life should be working if our faith is, first, thoroughly understood and then, practiced. One's interior life and exterior circumstances should greatly benefit from the practice and belief in one's faith, in this case, Islam. And consequently, every living being who comes into contact with that believer will benefit as well. We are here, in this life, to act as God's "substitutes on the earth. We live up to this mission by helping others as God has helped us," Dr. Sultan explains. And the book shows us in a simple and direct way how to actually do this. It is so inspiring to realize that it is possible to live in this way: Dr. Sultan fully lives up to this mission and for this I am incredibly grateful and feel blessed to have been guided by God to this book and its incredibly powerful message. In a relatively short time this book has greatly transformed my way of thinking, my way of viewing and understanding life and has made me become a much more optimistic and grateful person. I highly recommend this book to anybody. I wish for everyone to see how much they will gain in wisdom, purpose, optimism, insight, faith, and joy from the pages of this book.
Paola.
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About the author
Opening up the Qur'an in ways I had never imagined...
As a Muslim, I know the Qur'an is an essential book to study, know, and read. But I had trouble seeing it as a book that could lead to a life of excellence. I saw attending to the Qur'an as an obligation, even a chore to read. That is until I read Dr. Abdulhameed's book. There are a several reasons for this.First, Dr. Abdulhameed has a very bare-bone writing style that makes his profound thoughts simple to understand. He's not trying to win you over to reading the Qur'an or to becoming a Muslim. His focus is to use passages from the Qur'an as pathways to better understanding God, the world, your own life, and the vastness of human potential when unleashed. When a person can step beyond his fears and more into his faith and God-consciousness, she steps more into a life of excellence.Second, his writing reflects his profound contemplation of the select passages that he covers in all 59 relatively short, chapters of his book. He's ultimately showing a way to read the Qur'an that's more meditative than rushing through it to read it for the sake of having said you've done it. Or trying to read it as some have read other holy books, looking for plot points or cogent narratives. There is a cogent story, of course. But the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over 23 years, sometimes even years between verses (known as ayas (signs) in Islam). Each aya has a world of meaning on its own. Dr. Abdulhameed's book unpacks many of these key verses to expound on universal, yet powerful themes that any person aspiring for success as a human being can heed and hone in life.Third, he's progressive. There's no romantic, antiquated desire for an Islam of yesteryear here. This book demands much more of Muslims, not just in faith but in worldly deeds and developments than I hear at most mosques, recorded lectures or in other Islamic texts. For instance, Dr. Abdulhameed asks about the purpose of mindless prayer at mosques where Muslims recite words they hardly understand, at speeds where the words are barely heard or clearly stated. He believes prayer like this has made the community of believers weak and has not aided in the real aspiration of the Prophet Muhammad. It wasn't for worldwide domination of Shariah as many imagine Muslims. It's for a life of peace and prosperity. Not in the next world, but this one.For me, a Muslim who's come to the faith as a religious humanist, Dr. Abdulhameed's vision of faith is a true Godsend because it's so human, humane, and elegantly simple. You don't need to be a learned Muslim to read this book or a practicing one. You need only be a person who's open to wisdom and willing to apply those insights toward creating a better life.I am sure I will return to this book many times as I already have in the years I've had it in my possession. It's that kind of book. It's a guide by which I can treasure the Qur'an and more about life itself. I am eternally grateful for having read it.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2018
Opening up the Qur'an in ways I had never imagined...As a Muslim, I know the Qur'an is an essential book to study, know, and read. But I had trouble seeing it as a book that could lead to a life of excellence. I saw attending to the Qur'an as an obligation, even a chore to read. That is until I read Dr. Abdulhameed's book. There are a several reasons for this.
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2018
First, Dr. Abdulhameed has a very bare-bone writing style that makes his profound thoughts simple to understand. He's not trying to win you over to reading the Qur'an or to becoming a Muslim. His focus is to use passages from the Qur'an as pathways to better understanding God, the world, your own life, and the vastness of human potential when unleashed. When a person can step beyond his fears and more into his faith and God-consciousness, she steps more into a life of excellence.
Second, his writing reflects his profound contemplation of the select passages that he covers in all 59 relatively short, chapters of his book. He's ultimately showing a way to read the Qur'an that's more meditative than rushing through it to read it for the sake of having said you've done it. Or trying to read it as some have read other holy books, looking for plot points or cogent narratives. There is a cogent story, of course. But the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over 23 years, sometimes even years between verses (known as ayas (signs) in Islam). Each aya has a world of meaning on its own. Dr. Abdulhameed's book unpacks many of these key verses to expound on universal, yet powerful themes that any person aspiring for success as a human being can heed and hone in life.
Third, he's progressive. There's no romantic, antiquated desire for an Islam of yesteryear here. This book demands much more of Muslims, not just in faith but in worldly deeds and developments than I hear at most mosques, recorded lectures or in other Islamic texts. For instance, Dr. Abdulhameed asks about the purpose of mindless prayer at mosques where Muslims recite words they hardly understand, at speeds where the words are barely heard or clearly stated. He believes prayer like this has made the community of believers weak and has not aided in the real aspiration of the Prophet Muhammad. It wasn't for worldwide domination of Shariah as many imagine Muslims. It's for a life of peace and prosperity. Not in the next world, but this one.
For me, a Muslim who's come to the faith as a religious humanist, Dr. Abdulhameed's vision of faith is a true Godsend because it's so human, humane, and elegantly simple. You don't need to be a learned Muslim to read this book or a practicing one. You need only be a person who's open to wisdom and willing to apply those insights toward creating a better life.
I am sure I will return to this book many times as I already have in the years I've had it in my possession. It's that kind of book. It's a guide by which I can treasure the Qur'an and more about life itself. I am eternally grateful for having read it.
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