Covenant of Allah
by Munawar Sabir
Trafford Publishing


"Islam is a religion of self-surrender; Islam is the conscious and rational submission of the dependent and limited human will to the... will of Allah."

From the waves of the ocean to the gleam of the moon, Allah is the essence, the catalyst to making everything go. In Sabir's work, the emphasis is on grasping that Allah is beyond human comprehension. However, through the Covenant of Allah, believers become privy to not only Allah's justice and mercy but also his wrath. Clear and evocative, Sabir's book consistently fuses the historical ramifications that influence Islam with the necessity to align with the covenant and live meaningful and purposeful lives.

Humanity's conceitedness and arrogance are directly juxtaposed with the pristine nature and purity of the covenant. Moreover, the lack of abiding by the covenant, Sabir suggests, has led to the repeated humiliation of Muslims, especially in the large-scale events where Muslims were evicted from their homes in India because of their religion and the drawn-out struggles in Kashmir and Palestine. At its core, the covenant is a system of regulations derived from the Quran, a pathway to live in Allah's light and earn the goodwill of all. The author integrates seventy-five verses and the thirty-seven commandments to touch on critical themes involving parents, women and equality, wealth, and the risk of squandering relationships and beliefs at the hands of egotism and conceit.

Interestingly, Sabir attests that in Islam, "there is no compulsion in religion," and one should avoid fahasha (shameful deeds) and speak to Allah through dua and prayer. Using metaphors of gardens and rivers, Sabir focuses on when intellectual and emotional knowledge meets belief. The principles are constantly tested in today's society in their political, financial, and economic structure. Ultimately, Sabir's work takes audiences through history, including but not limited to the story of Israelites and redemption, and serves to instill fortitude within the believer.

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