It is a collection of journal articles mostly based on author’s personal insights on breaking free from life’s shackles. It’s written in a very precise and easy to understand manner and I would recommend this great book for all ages. The accurate expression and simple details given from Qur'anic and Hadith references makes this piece of literature very explicit, methodical and heart touching. For some people during and after reading this book, the experience was so beautiful and profound that it can be easily said a life changing read, a source of enlightenment and awakening to the ultimate truth.
The book is comprised of different and diverse themes such as recognizing worldly attachments and desires and how a person can find eternal peace of heart, mind and soul, through becoming the student of Qur'an and Sunnah and applying the knowledge and teachings in his or her practical life whether it be a family, spouse, children, work, social life, community and a country at large.
Mogahed shares her knowledge and thoughts on liberating the soul from all materialistic attachments, and on how to enable greater connection with God, as He is the only source of strength and inspiration for us as human beings. She talks about human relationships, love, hardships, dreams and life challenges, relationship with God, feminism and women’s status, and the current state of the Muslim world at large.
It is a great read; deeply concerned about the state of our heart, the most prized and valued possession of a Muslim and how to reclaim it and keep the heart free from materialistic objects, being mindful of forgetting about God and life hereafter. Mogahed talks about diverting our focus from worldly desires in this hyper-sexualized society to build strong faith and instead targeting our spiritual health. She stresses us human beings are excessively concerned with physical comforts or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions, rather than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.
The author puts a great emphasis on human mind’s constant reflection on life and everything the world contains and our main object of observation should be based on critical thinking and reasoning as the Quran says it beautifully “…Rabanna ma khalaqta hatha batilan subhanak (our Lord you have not created all of this for nothing, subhanak.)…” (Qur’an, 3:191). Mogahed sums up the goal and purpose of an entire life of a Muslim and its direction in one verse: “Say, indeed, my prayer, my service of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (Qur’an, 6:162)
She ends the book in a beautiful collection of poems which again are specific towards Muslims and how we should live our lives according to the principles of Islam. “Die before your death”, “I prayed for peace today” and “Niche” is one of my favorites. She reminds human beings for the great rewards of what we endure in this life, its struggles, hardships and difficulties and this beautiful hope and light that soon we will meet our Creator. How this life is a test and has a ray of hope; for our final meeting is a fundamental truth. This specific Quranic verse says it all “O mankind, indeed you are laboring toward your Lord with [great] exertion and will meet it. (Qur’an, 84:6)
It’s written in a beautiful prose style and the language is so consuming and touching and at times the words can initiate the tears from one's eyes. One cannot finish the book in one sitting as the passages need full reflection and thinking about one's situations in life and it purely softens one's heart. When the heart is soft and humbly crying in front of our Lord, that's when the change occurs and miracles happen.
