Books I plan to read in Ramadhan

I can't remember when the last time I picked up a spiritual/religious book, but it's about time I do. As I mentioned in my earlier post, one of my goals in Ramadhan is to explore more books revolving around the Islamic Department, and I'm excited to share my reading plan with you guys. However, I cannot give my full review and thoughts on these books as I have not read them all yet. But I have seen others recommending these books, so let's see if they're worth reading. 

1- Spirituality 

Most books are light-hearted and easy to finish in one sitting, but best reading them slowly instead of all at once to get the best of them, and the most important is the ability to speak deeply to my heart and reflect on life.

Secrets of Divine Love 

Secrets of Divine Love is an exceptional guide on Islamic spirituality and spiritual development. I love that this book is to remind us how immense the grace of Allah that we may forget, and it was comforting to read her words. Well written, and each chapter ended with practicable mindfulness practices. I know there are many controversies regarding this book, but I still want to read it before making any judgment.

Buy: ImanShoppe | Kinokuniya

Timeless seed of advice 

This compilation of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad and beautiful pieces of advice by Islam's great scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim, and Ibn al-Jawzi is short and a perfect daily read to ponder on everyday life. 

Buy: ImanShoppe | Kinokuniya

I lost my way | Finding happiness after despair

Yasmin Mogahed holds a special place in my heart as a writer. The first time I took notice of this book, I knew that I had to read it right away. And as expected, her wisdom never ceases to amaze me. My favorite part of this book is the Q&A section. The only drawback is that this book is too short, and I wish she would write more. Recently, Yasmin Mogahed announced on her Instagram that she had just completed a new book and it will be available in a few weeks, and I am already excited. 

Buy: ImanShoppe

 2- Philosophy 

by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas 

Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas is a well-known Muslim philosopher among Malaysian who is thoroughly rooted in the traditional Islamic sciences. I have five books by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas on my TBR. To be honest, when I first read Islam and Secularism, his ideas were alien to me, especially in this contemporary epoch. I was astonished at first by his view and curious to know more, hence I bought more of his books. Some of his arguments were repetitive in his other works, but they gave a better and sometimes detailed explanation. Accordingly, I became more familiar with his ideas and understood the messages he tried to convey. 

by HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad 

Kind of cheating here as I have finished reading both books I bought at the beginning of April. But I am planning to read his other books from the same "A thinking person" series. In Guide to Islam, Prince Ghazi focused more on explaining the misconception about Islam and Jihad concept and a basic introduction if any of you want to know more about the path of Islam. My favorite part of Guide to Islam is his appendix contents and explanation regarding Sharia in Islam. I also love that a few of his writings answered questions raised by Omar Saif Ghobash in Letters to Young Muslim, especially in the chapter on ISIS and extremists. It is also fascinating that his and Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas' ideas mirror each other, and I almost thought I was reading by the same author. 

Buy: ImanShoppe (Guide to Islam) | ImanShoppe (Truly Happy Life) | ImanShoppe (Our Time)

3- Revising the six pillars of Faith (Iman) 

We all learned this since we were seven, but the point is to get a deeper understanding of the six pillars of Iman, I thought of this, and since it's Ramadhan, maybe I should grab the chance to strengthen this basic knowledge of every Muslim. 

Reflecting on the name of Allah 

The best way of knowing our only Lord is to have a solid grasp of His attributes. Learning and memorizing His 99 names is easy, but the main point is connecting to Him by heart and relating to daily life. 

Buy: ImanShoppe | Kinokuniya

The world of the noble angels

The only things that I know about angels in Islam are their ten names and their roles from the nasheed that we learned and sang as a kid. By reading this book, I'm looking forward to getting to know these unseen creations of Allah, which play a huge part in our life without us noticing.  

Buy: Kinokuniya

The day of resurrection 

If we are going someplace, don't we must have at least some idea about it. Maybe, Ramadhan is a great time to get a grip and learn about the Hereafter, an incomprehensible world from our limited point of view which in the end is our ultimate best interest that I forsook for a long time.

Buy: Kinokuniya

4-History 

Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History 

The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the longest-running political disputes of the present age. This homeland of the three monotheistic religions piques my interest to learn more about the long history of Palestinians (Muslims, Christians & Jews) in the land of Palestine from ancient times to the present. I'm sure I would have difficulty reading this since history and politics are my weak points, but who knows, maybe someday I'll get good enough to be mediocre.

Buy: Kinokuniya

What's on your Ramadhan reading list?