A BOOK I AM WORKING ON- YOUR INPUT REQUIRED

Sajid Iqbal —

Salaam

Im working on a project if succesful it will be published as a book inshallah.

I've always thought there isn't a book out there where young Muslims can turn to who are turning to Islam or beginning to understand stuff they are confused with etc.. and if it is its not widely acvailable.

Whether at school, college or uni. whether in prison or in your late 30's etc.... and even something that parents/elders can refer to when answering/guiding younger ppl/kids/relatives etc...

Everytime I chat with young ppl it always questions on arrivals, marriage, beard, sects, black magic, 2 eids, mosques, imams, madhabs, boy/girlfriends, etc etc....
so i thought why not have all these issues that concern or confuse young Muslims in to a book that everyone can refer to as and when required.
In a nutshell all the revival maghazines and the lets talk radio shows i do in one:-)

there are 1 or 2 books like this but they dont cover as many topics i want to cover and in the way i want to aswell.

So your help:

Firstly, is this required?

secondly, what do you think are the main topics/issued that should be covered... i need an exhauseted list

thirdly, are you happy to take part in a questionaire which i can use for research?

fourthly, any similar books or books i should look at for research?

I genuinely beleive this is required an dwill help current and future generations if done properly.
I am aiming to contact all teh big scholars worldwide from all organisations to mak ethis comprehensive and for all Muslims no matter what sect.

wasalaam

Forum

sehariiiiiiii (not verified) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 - 03:56

This day and age such book is well required in my opinion, however there is a conflict itself about the sunni, shia and wahabi views. It is something you would have to consider, if i was the author i would be displaying islam in a sunni aspect clearly because the Kalimah mentions Muhammed PBUH so above any other branch it would be make sense to address too, also you can include different sections of the book relating to what shia and wahabi believe in so there is no confusion for the readers as everyone has their own beliefs.

It should be a book that is understandable and related very closely to the issues and topics of nowadays social, cultural and personal boundaries. The topics that would make it a must buy in my opinion should be bold where it strictly explains the views of ISLAM and what ALLAH swt has to say on the issues whilst still adding the hadith. Everything that is discussed in the book must have evidence of some sort for it to be taken serious.

Topics to include:
- education and careers, as there are myths and cultural expectations that don't have islamic backing. For example, healthcare careers where a women/men are seeing bodily parts of the other sex as professional vice versa for patients of both sexes.
- having friendship with the opposite sex and spending time with them.
- women's clothing and make up etc vice versa for men.
- sins that are forbidden and their severity (refer to the one's mentioned by the prophet and allah )
- sex (before and after marriage) and sexuality (lesbians, gays, transgenders ), contraception, abortion, adoption (both adopting and giving child for adoption), rape, oral sex, anal sex.
- family relations and any rules around certain relatives such as uncles, aunties etc.
- marriage (forced, arranged, love, under circumstances), suitability accepted by islam such as religions, race, culture, drug dealers, prostitutes, non virgins.
- jinn and black magic, taveez, wazifas etc.
- bad habits such as drinking, smoking, drugs, sheesha, clubbing.
- plastic surgery and non surgical procedures.
- fake tans, hair extensions, nails, wigs etc

All these are topics that aren't discussed openly yet scholars and sayed's do explore in religious/private gatherings. These days the islamic views are blurred out by cultural misconceptions, this book is a chance for you to touch the heart of these debates and make it easier for young muslims to understand as well as use as a form of evidence for daily life when cultural beliefs are favoured more.

I am willing to participate in the questionnaire.
Use books that are relevant but keep it very much point, evidence and explanation.
No one will read this book or buy it if it is not backed up 100% precisely with evidence from the quran and hadith/ in sunni case what the prophet has mentioned!

good luck i hope this helped, i have no intention of offending any muslim sect but just explaining my own view and opinion on the book! 😃

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You — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 - 11:50

I don't think many of the major issues can be dealt with in a compendium type book - the issues will be glossed over and the content jingoistic in nature as opposed to really dealing with the issues.

If they can be dealt with properly, then that is a good thing.

Also, audience is important - content and context need to be different for parents as compared to kids.

An issue worth exploring is the lack of self esteem that the muslim community suffers on a personal and a communal level. This hinders us as as it lets people grow negative ideas about themselves and islam and puts them on a back foot, apologetic for merely existing.

Noor — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 - 14:12

You cannot possibly cover everything in one book, you need a consistent theme otherwise it would look silly including certain topics and not others than relate. You need a focus.

If you’re going for a Muslim encyclopedia then I guess that doesn’t matter as you can cover everything in a few volumes. < But that is a huge task.

Sajid Iqbal — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 - 12:59

[quote=Noor]You cannot possibly cover everything in one book, you need a consistent theme otherwise it would look silly including certain topics and not others than relate. You need a focus.

If you’re going for a Muslim encyclopedia then I guess that doesn’t matter as you can cover everything in a few volumes. < But that is a huge task.[/quote]
This won't be an encyclopedia
its a young persons guide...just all the main issues not every single issue out there
so for each topic it will be a few pages, idea is to be to be thorough but not too deep
the book will be 150 pages max
might even do part1 and 2 etc
as I progress I'll see how it goes...

Tpos (not verified) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 - 20:37

What about gender issues?

I mean you could talk about the roles of each gender in Islam and the importance of keeping within those limits. I mean there aren't a lot of limits - I'm obviously not talking about the cultural stuff where girls are sometimes seen inferior can't work etc, and boys are superior treated like kings or whatever - oh you could mention how that's wrong too.

But you could talk about the argument about the importance of nurture and its link to homosexuality. People do say that it can be down to the way the individuals are brought up and also it being almost a norm in society may make it widely accepted by Muslims too. (Just like gf/bf is no longer seen as a big deal, but almost expected by a lot of people) Therefore it is important to emphasise the importance of the role of each gender to make sure people realise what's wrong about it.

Also there's the argument that the dominance of dopamine in males make them naturally more aggressive etc, whereas the dominance of norepinephrine make females more empathetic, motherly or whatever. This (among other things) reinforces the message that men and women just aren't the same therefore there shouldn't be a question of 'equality' (in the sense of everyone being the same/being allowed to do the same) but that we should understand we are made complimentary to each other.