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Ammara Maqsood | Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan
First of all, I would like to wish everyone a very warm greeting to the New Year. May the coming decade bring happiness and joy for you and your family.
Some of the books you should read in coming decade is are follows:
1. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings
This is a biography of prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This book was selected as the best biography of Muhammad (PBUH) in English at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad. It was also given an award by the government of Pakistan and by the Egyptian president Husni Mubrak after it caught attention of Azhar university, which is probably the best university in Islamic studies and research in the whole world. The references used in this book, include Ibn Ishaq and others. This book has translated the Arabic speeches given by people close to prophet Muhammad (PBUH) too. I highly recommend this book.
2. The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
The Forty Rules of Love is a novel written by Turkish author Elif Shafak. It is about Maulana Jalal-Ud-Din, known as Rumi and his companion Shams Tabrizi. This book explains how Shams changed the life of Scholar to a Sufi through love. From love, to the philosophy of life, and taswauf, there is nothing you will not find interesting in this novel. The reason I included this book in this list is because it makes you forget the idea of time and space. For me, there is no book that can beat this one, especially in the fiction genre.
3. The Alchemist - Novel by Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist is a novel by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. It is an international bestseller. The story is about a shepherd who decides to go after his prophetic dream. The interesting fact about this novel is, it was written in only two weeks. According to writer, he managed to do this because this story was already written in his soul. If you haven’t read this, believe me, you haven’t read anything.
4. Namal – Novel by Nemrah Ahmed
Namal is an urdu novel by a Pakistani writer Nemrah Ahmed. It’s a story of family, revenge , relationships, loyalty love and dedication. The name of the novel is based on a chapter of the Qur'an (Surah An-Naml). The story revolves around family and Islamic morals.