Wardah Book of the Year 2020 (Readers' Choice)

Salaam Dear Reader,

The results for the Wardah Books Readers’ Choice 2020 are in. Your favourite book for 2020 is Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam by A. Helwa.

Here are some comments submitted by readers:

"Close to the heart, reminding us of Allah’s ultimate love for us, deeply embedded in every moment that surrounds us."

"[The author of] Secrets of Divine Love has taught me through her beautifully written analogy that it is actually up to me to polish my own heart. It has struck me so much that I’m constantly reminded to do my daily zikir for my heart."

"Eye-opening and heart-warming."

"The book accepts you as you are but leaves you intending to be a better person. You learn about your religion, your Prophet ﷺ and your Lord ﷻ in the most beautiful way. (May He accept our efforts to seek His knowledge and may He allow us to practice upon what we learn - اللهم أمين)"

"Inspired me to see the beauty in my religion and my Creator."

• • •

We reached out to the author to tell her the good news, and she had this to say:

“Alhamdullilah. I am deeply honored by this award. I feel both grateful and shy before Allah for giving me an opportunity to share these words with you. It is your heart, the sincere hearts of readers that made this book what it is. I am grateful for the small role I played in anyone’s journey to and with Allah. My deepest prayer is that you remember how loved you are by Allah, how special you are to Allah, and how wonderfully unique you are. May you live more fully, love more fiercely and give more freely in this year and every year of your life. Alhamdullilah. Love, Helwa”

While we at Wardah have brought this book to the garden, you, dear reader, have given this book your attention and time. For this we thank you.

Moreover, books are solitudes in which we meet. And in the socially distant year of 2020, so many of us met with A. Helwa and got acquainted with her words of encouragement to walk the path towards Truth. The book has opened doors to many vistas of learning and it is now up to us readers to continue to walk the path and acquire the knowledge required for this journey.

And May He keep us on the Straight Path