Insights into life and spirituality
Into the Heart of Reality:
The Inner Voice
Author:
Mohamed Safiullah Munsoor
Author House UK
Reviewed by Patty Sutherland
Safiullah eloquently elaborates on quotes from Muhammad to discuss
the connection between the teachings of Islam and contemporary life.
Mohamed Safiullah Munsoor wrote Into the Heart of Reality to share
the insights and wisdom he has accumulated about life and spirituality
from an Islamic perspective. The book is an attractively packaged, slim
volume with abstract drawings on many of the pages.
Though there are many typographical and grammatical errors and
awkward sentences and concepts, as well as a confusing use of pronouns
and tenses, Into the Heart of Reality is a lovely, heart-centered book
that will appeal mainly to a Muslim audience, but could also be enjoyed
by general readers with an interest in Islamic spirituality.
The book is organised into 60 short entries that cover a variety of
themes from the profound to the mundane, with such titles as “On
Gratitude,” “For Life is a Prayer,” and “On Mosques and Malls”.
Most of the entries are footnoted with referenced quotes from the
Koran and extrapolations by the author. The footnotes are sometimes too
long, and much of their content would have worked better in the entries
themselves to maintain the flow of the narrative.The reader is compelled
to jump back and forth from entry to footnote, when the separation often
feels unnecessary. For example, the entry “On Anger” opens with, “Such
an uncontrollable rage, ‘bouts of insanity,” said the Master, and when
you wake up from it, the damage has been done.” Only by reading the
footnote does one get a sense of what this means: “An incident related
by the Master and as narrated by one of the companion's Abu Huraira ‘A
man said to me, advise me and I said don't become angry (furious).”
Nice touch
The addition of many sayings from the Prophet Muhammad, who is
referred to as Master throughout the book, and his disciples adds a nice
touch, and Safiullah does an excellent job of using these quotes to
elaborate on the connection between the teachings of Islam and
contemporary life.
He writes about mindfulness, ego, interpersonal relationships and
death with the skill and empathy of someone who successfully juggles the
challenges of staying spiritually centered in today's hectic and complex
world.
World religions
The author enjoys a distinguished career in interpersonal
development, has studied the world regions and philosophies and is
currently working towards his second PhD at the Academy of Islamic
Studies through the University of Malaya.
Reading Into the Heart of Reality as a tool for prayer and reflection
would work beautifully for those who enjoy using books for daily
inspiration. All of the entries can stand alone; a reader can open the
book at a random page and be assured of finding something meaningful to
ponder. Safiullah writes like a poet dabbling in prose; when it fails,
the deeper truth still shines, and when it works, it transcends. |