BOOK REVIEW | LOVE AND HAPPINESS BY YASMIN MOGAHED

I have received this book as my birthday gift and really eager to read it. But, blame my reading slump. I just finished reading this book the day before yesterday. 

This book only consists of 119 pages and I took two days to read it. Aigoo ~ 

Without further ado, let's talk about this book. 

This book review going to have a lot of my favorite quotes :)

SYNOPSIS

It is a collection of personal reflections and quotes about love, pain, loss and connection.

"I wrote because, just as we will fall in life, so will we rise. That's the thing about this world. It never gives us only one kind of path. There is pain. Yes. And loss. And even darkness. But there is also light. There is hope. There is beauty.

And there is also love and happiness."

MY THOUGHTS

I loved everything about this book. Wise words with beautiful photographs which makes it a pleasant to read. 

It always amazed me at how so little words can convey so much meaning.  I loved every word in this book and almost 95% of the quotes are my favorite. 

Every words/quotes can give you calmness with deep meaning and you don't want to speed reading it. You want to read every word slowly and understand and keep it to your heart and mind.

This book also reminds the reader to reflect on the true reality of love and happiness through the real love and permanent bond between creation and our Creator, Allah. Whatever happens in life, we must seek for Allah help and forgiveness. 

Definitely, I will pick up this book again whenever I feel down and need some motivation.

Below are some of my favorite quotes from this book.

Heart

The mind replays what the heart can't delete. The heart remembers, even when the mind forgets. 

We don't forgive to free others. We forgive to free ourselves.

Life

Your life is nothing more than a love story. Between you and God. Nothing more. Every person, every experience, every gift, every loss, every pain is sent to your path for one reason and one reason only: To bring you back to Him.

Be grateful for every single person who was part of your story. The ones that hurt you. The ones that helped you. The ones that came, and the ones that left. They all taught you. Don't think for a moment that any of it was random. There are no oversights with God. Only perfectly crafted chapters in each unique journey. 

Love

When talking about marriage, Allah says your spouses are garments for you. A garment may or may not fit perfectly, but either way, it covers imperfections, protects, and beautifies. 

You're blessed

Don't ever resent the people who've left you or hurt you or let you down. They're all part of your story. Widen the lens. Don't get caught up in moments. Happy or sad, they all pass. And what remains is only the heart inside your chest, free or shackled, beautiful or ugly. Don't worry about what the people say. Sometimes, they'll praise you. Sometimes they'll condemn you. All these things fade away. And in the end, Allah takes care of everything. Perfectly. 

Adam (AS) ate from a forbidden tree. Iblis refused to bow. But what distinguished them from each other, was their response after they slipped. The mark of character is not in whether or not we make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. The true mark of character is in how we respond after we've made a mistake. 

I think one of the reasons we are so afraid to admit our mistakes and weaknesses is because we believe our weaknesses make us less worthy of love and respect. The truth is, they don't. Our mistakes make us human. Our admitting them, makes us beautiful. 

When we think we 're perfect, we expect perfection from others. When we start to recognize our own weaknesses, we begin to be more forgiving of the weaknesses in others.

Things are most often not as they seem. What looks peaceful outside, is often total chaos inside. And what looks like chaos outside, is often peaceful inside. So don't ever judge. Don't envy what looks perfect and don't despair at what looks broken. 

RATING AND RECOMMENDATION

Rating: ★★★★★

Dear Yasmin Mogahed, Thank you for this beautiful writing. 

This book is a must read and I really recommend this book to everyone especially people who want to survive inside their storms.

Note: I will read your first book, Reclaim Your Heart later. It has been two years since I bought the book and I already put it under my 2017 reading list as I mentioned in this entry, but I still do not read it yet and it already November T_T