By Ni'mah Ali
Published by Darussalam in 2008 and written by Sheikh Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd Al-Rahman Al-‘Arifi Enjoy Your Life is a not just another one of those ‘self-help’ books, it’s that and so much more. By the time you finish the book, you will walk away with lessons, and advice that if you take and act upon, will really change your life forever. Enjoy Your Life is a book which offers sincere advice from the author through lessons he learned in his past experiences, and more important than that, this book is a full of stories and incidents from the life of Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam; this is a truly unique book and Muslims every where whether they are young or old, man or woman would benefit greatly from it. ‘Arifi teaches us about the ways the Prophet dealt with common problems we all face on a daily basis— how to deal with our families, friends, other Muslims, non-Muslims and even animals! Absolutely nothing was left out.
The main theme of the book is how one can enjoy his/her life without worry, anxiety, envy, jealousy or fear—in having good relationships with people, we can avoid all of those negative feelings and emotions. ‘Arifi indirectly answers questions such as ‘how can I gain the love of my family, friends, co-workers and classmates? ‘How can I deal with people who are naturally negative and mean?’ How can I advice people without coming across as critical or judgmental?’ and last but not least ‘how can I get closer to Allah through helping others and staying honest?’
As Prophet Muhammad sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam is the best role model and example for us as Muslims, ‘Arifi gives us the answers through narrating to us the behavior of the Prophet. He shows us how the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam won the hearts of people through being humble, generous, friendly and kind to people. Being a well known scholar and lecturer for many years and having come across many different people, ‘Arifi has witnessed many things which he shares with us in Enjoy Your Life—things which has worked for him in becoming a better Muslim. He tells us the secrets to being a good husband/wife, brother/sister, and friend—it is through being humble, kind, and generous that one gains the love of his family and even strangers. He doesn’t just tell us “do this,” rather he gives examples that if you do such and such things, you can expect someone to act in this way. He often uses examples from his own life—things which he did that made him become loved and respected by many of his acquaintances and family. He tells us exactly how to be generous, and gives examples of how to respond or not respond to people which will make us gain their love.
Enjoy Your Life is well written and easy to read and understand; at times, ‘Arifi writes in a humorous way which makes the book even more enjoyable and not boring. The book is divided into small chapters of about three, four or five pages only. At the end of every chapter, ‘Arifi ends with a nice little advice to take with you. The only negative thing would be some typos that come up every once in a while throughout the book, other than that this is a well-written, easy to understand and very enjoyable book. It’s highly recommended that you get it and add it to your library.
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