The Nightingale

Aliyah Umm Raiyaan converted to Islam more than two decades ago and has been involved in UK dawah for over 20 years. In 2010, she founded Solace UK, a charity that helps women who have converted to Islam and find themselves in difficulty.

Dr. Hisham A. Hellyer is an academic and public intellectual who researches the politics and geopolitics of the contemporary Middle East, security studies globally, and the interplay between faith and modernity. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Hisham A. Hellyer about two of his books, A Sublime Path: the Sufi Way of the Sages of Makka and A Luminous Lamp, on the life and work of Shaykh Seraj Hendricks. 

Ramadhan is a special month of fasting, praying, giving and togetherness. Introduce the young ones to this blessed month through the following books filled with captivating stories and fun activities.

Sukina Noor is an internationally renowned poet, spoken-word artist, playwright, workshop facilitator, educator and public speaker who has toured extensively across UK, Europe, America and Africa performing, delivering poetry workshops, partaking in panel discussions and delivering lectures.

This year, we are taking an approach framed by Maqasid al-Shariah. Specifically we will be looking at the five preservations that are essential for human life, namely: Preservation of Faith, Life, Lineage, Intellect and Property.

I have never viewed the youth as a mirror of the community, and Shaykh Ramadan takes the bull by the horns and tells us – the “adults” most likely reading his book – that the problem is not the youth; it is us, all of us.

It was a moment of quiet tenderness and a reminder that a child first sees the world refracted through their relationship with their parents or primary caregivers. This is how human beings begin and this is how we are. This also speaks to the power of the book to elicit empathy and even identity – the characters or situations in the story need not be identical to us for us to understand their world (and to expand ours). This power retains its potency even amid the pervasiveness of digital screen-based media.

The past year has been a wonderful one and we are thankful for every single day... And with that, we turn to what our booksellers have chosen to be the best of the year 2022. We hope that you have had a wonderful year of unhurried reading and stillness. The secret gift of reading is time. And Allah knows best.

The Wardah Books Readers' Choice 2022 is Healing the Emptiness: A Guide to Emotional and Spiritual Well-being by Yasmin Mogahed. The choice is well-deserved and is quite apt for our time as we take our tentative steps in a post-Covid world.