So I was at the local library here and came across this book in the religion category. The picture is the “blurb” or summary on the back of the book. It is books like this that allow ignorance to be so widespread about Islam and the problem is we do not have enough books written by Muslim authors in English to combat such books. If we do not have a book written by a Muslim female author to tell the truth then the majority will remain to believe the lies. I was thinking of reading the book and writing a response to the lies within the text. Have you come across propaganda books such as this?

Salam Alykum, I have another book recommendation though I must admit it has been a while. I need to catch up on reading! Anyways, the book I would like to recommend is titled The Life of Imam Al-Mahdi by Allama Baqir Sharif Al-Qarashi translated by Sayyid Athar Husain S.H. Rizvi. The author has written biographies on all of Ahlul Bayt (a) and is known to be a trustable scholar. He is also known to use authentic hadiths and he sure does many hadiths in this book! The book covers many interesting and valuable topics including the birth of the Holy Imam  (a), information on his mother, people who were informed of his birth, various supplications linked to the Holy Imam (a), his virtues, fiqh questions he has answered, minor and major occultation, and hadiths which describe his rule once he appears and what happens before and after the reappearance. It is book easy to understand and was beautifully put together. It is an excellent source for dozens of hadiths as well. It is very important we learn about our current Imam (a) for we easily forget about him. Reading books such as this keep us reminded of our Imam (a), an Imam who is alive and present on this earth with us. If we lived during the time of any other Imam (a), would we not try to learn more about him and visit him and side ourselves with him? Shouldn’t we do the same with Imam al-Mahdi (a)?

I recommend people to buy the hard copy of this book but if that is not possible here a  link to read it online for free: click here for link.

Which books do you keep near your bedside or near you? For me they are

1. “Call on me, I answer you” dua book.
2. The Psalms of Islam
3. Biography on Imam al-Mahdi (a)
4. Greater Sins
5. Nahjol Balagha
6. Sayed Sistani’s Islamic Laws

how about you?

Sallam Alykum, look what just arrived in the mail! This book could either lead you in two directions, to avoid all the most evil sins or teach you all the evil sins so that you can really be a sinful person. I wouldn’t recommend the 2nd option lol. 

Sallam Alykum, I have yet again another amazing book to recommend! The Elixir of Love by Muhammad Rayshahri. This book is written about a pious man who lived in Iran, Shaikh Rajab Ali Khayyat who though was not a student of hawzaa yet he reached such a high spiritual state that no doubt he was a true believer in Allah (swt) and a Friend of God. The book tells about his morals and ethics and many special events that happened in his life from various people including his friends, family, and colleagues. It is a narrative on how the Shaikh reached such a sincere and loving relationship with Allah (swt) that only a few people have. It really makes you question yourself and where you stand in relation to that connection with God. We can be so close to God but only if we choose to want it and work for it as the Shaikh did. I recommend reading this book, which is enjoyable to read, and learn how these pious men reach such a stage so that maybe we too inshAllah reach it!

You can read it online at http://www.al-islam.org/elixiroflove/

Sallam Alykum, 

if you enjoy reading Islamic books you can get a pretty good list of online books covering many topics here http://lightoftheheavens.com/booklist

I’ll try to update the list as much as possible, but for now their are plenty of amazing books to read! ;)

Sallam Alykum,

I haven’t made a book recommendation in awhile but today I finished an amazing book that I just have to recommend everyone to read! The book is titled Repentance: The Cradle of Mercy by Husayn Ansariyan. This book is simply amazing, I know I say this a lot for other books too but mashAllah Shia scholars really know how to produce amazing books! :)

This book is all about repentance and it’s role in Islam. The topics of the book are blessings from Allah (swt) and how to receive them and how they are lost, guilt of human beings, mercy of Allah (swt), becoming pious, purifying the soul, the unseen and the angels, afterlife and Barzakh, Day of Resurrection, Heaven and Hell, among other topics.

This book is full of stories of people receiving Mercy from Allah (swt) and is packed with hadeeths and provides the sources! You know the amazing stories that lecturers use when discussing their topics? A lot of those stories are right in this book (I wonder if the lecturers themselves got them from this book lol). 

If you ever wanted to reform yourself or better yourself (which we all should be doing because none of us are infallible) then you should dedicate some time for this book. I assure you that you will benefit from it. The hadeeths and various stories make the reading enjoyable! You will smile and cry realizing just how much merciful Allah (swt) is. This book will change your view on mercy and repentance and give you hope especially if you lost hope or are deep in sins. 

I definitely recommend people to buy an actual copy of this book if possible, and if not then you can always read it here for free: http://www.maaref-foundation.com/english/library/ethics/repentance_the_cradle_of_mercy/index.htm

Have you read it?