Books and Me

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, most Merciful

Source: bookshelves.com

When I was younger, way back in Primary school, everyday, one lucky student would have to share regarding the book he/she was reading.  Be it fiction or non-fiction.  My love for books tripled then, i think..  Another contributing factor is the fact that my classmates and I have the opportunity to go to the school library and borrow books, each week, plus every morning's half hour reading session.  There, I learnt to enjoy English fiction books, and numerous non-fiction books as well, regarding sports and astronomy.  

Yet.. my love for books did not began there.  A huge contributing factor to my reading passion are my parents.  They spent so much of their money on books.  Be it school books, story books, encyclopaedias,  Islamic books, seerah of the Prophet and his companions... the list goes on.  

Now as the wheel of time turns, my love for books did not diminish.  Perhaps they change, in types of books, and also the time available to spend on my favorite pastime.  But I still try to find time to read, and to go to the bookstore every once in a while to increase my stock of books.  

Why share of books all of a sudden?  Actually, I just want to share a great book I am currently reading: Bumi Cinta.  Yep... another book by the author Habiburrahman el Shirazy.  But to me, this book is different from all his other books, for it tells of the challenges of Nafs when being a Muslim is gharib (strange).  When holding on to faith is scorned upon, and when free mixing, intermingling of different genders is a norm.  Another bonus point is, this book also tells of a place I've never been to before, Russia.  So my love to see different places and my imagination travels along with the characters.  I'll try write a full review of the book when I finished reading it, insyaAllah..

The Sealed Nectar is another book I am reading... I had read the Malay version years ago, but being a kid at the time, I think I did skip some parts, and read others.  Plus it was also a couple of years ago, and I have not read it since.  I am reading this, because I feel that I need to refresh myself of the most loved servant of Allah, the Prophet PBUH's life story.  Yeah, I learnt of his life ever since small. But this time, I try to read, and learn to implement his life story to my own.  Also to increase my own love to the person who sacrificed his life for our sake, to spread Islam.  So far I've read the intro, 1st and 2nd chapter.  I hope I can finish this in Ramadhan or Syawal, insyaAllah..

I haven't started on this book yet, although the target is to read it so that I appreciate the Quran more, and to ready myself for the Ramadhan.  But I'm hoping to find time to start soon, insyaAllah.. Al-Quran is Allah's love letters to His servants, so we should all try our best to delve into understanding and appreciating the Quran.  A Mu'min's heart should be shaken every time he hears of Allah's name, and much more when al-Quran is recited.  But we are so far from the Quran, at times.  In our day to day activities, in our interactions and emotions. Trying to get my heart closer to Allah and His love letters, hope this book will help.

Oh yes... I'm also currently reading heaps of journals, covering numerous topics, in order to do my proposal.  I feel like I enjoyed those too, for the more I read, the more curious I become.  Alhamdulillah, I found a new passion for journals, now. (^_^)

Well, that's it for now... I might write some book review if time permits, insyaAllah..  What books are you reading currently?  May all that we read increase our imaan and humbleness to Allah, al-'Aleem... He knows so much, and our knowledge is still so little...




** Upon writing this, I suddenly remembered the song: Afraid to Read by Dawud Wharnsby Ali.  So... I decide to share it here.  A simple song with deep meanings, indeed. Enjoy!

Wallahu'alam... May Allah bless..