To be honest I have generally come to regard self-help books
with some pessimism, mainly because a common trend is the focus on unlimited
power of the individual. Frankly, some of these books put forth assertions that
are just way off the mark, and people may easily find themselves in deeper
despondency in their attempt to follow what these books put forth. Also, my
work as a counsellor has shown me that many popular trends are attempted by
people, but there is no sustainability and people often find themselves back
where they began, thereby rendering self-help books to be not very helpful at
all.
This is why “Best of Creation” by Abu Muawiyah Ismail Kamdar
is such a refreshing read. It goes to the core of things by firstly
establishing the importance of realising our reason for existence. Once this is
discussed, the book moves on to focus on how we can become confident
individuals and what is stopping us from reaching our potential. The entire
book works within the framework of our lives as the Creation of Almighty Allah,
and it is within this context that we are encouraged to find our potential and
become self-confident and productive individuals. I think this understanding is
crucial for us to find the balance between self-confidence and arrogance, and
this is a point that is brilliantly covered within the book. In fact, the
author takes the time to explain the difference between self-confidence and
arrogance so that people are able to embrace confidence as an essential part of
living a meaningful life.
At the same time though, the individual is not ignored. On
the contrary, individual differences are embraced and encouraged and the author
makes it a point to show exactly how we limit ourselves when we decide to
blindly follow the society in which we live. He reminds us that we all have
different capabilities, interests and potential, but it is through these various
differences that we can have a society that thrives.
The book is practical and puts forth easy to implement
skills. Most of the chapters end with “Action Points”, which are practical
suggestions for working on the issues discussed in the chapter. This is a very
helpful addition as it provides the direction in which to go, it also forces
people to take action and in this way it becomes easier to remember and act
upon what was discussed in the book.
I found myself needing to highlight some of the sentences as
it just resonated with me. Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book:
“True Self- Confidence comes from understanding the
purpose of our lives and our relationship with Allah.”
“We must also understand that we are Allah’s creation
and we are not allowed to mistreat the Creation of Allah, and that includes our
own selves.”
“One of the ways that parents ruin their children’s
confidence is by expecting perfection from them.”
“It is our duty as believers to never stop learning,
growing and becoming better Muslims.”
“The Self-Confidence of a believer is also free from
arrogance. It is a humble acceptance that as a servant of Allah, we have great
gifts that need to be used for a greater purpose. With this in mind, we develop
our gifts and use them productively.”
There are many other quotes that stood out for me, but it
needs to be read within the larger context of the book in order for it to be effective.
The thing I liked the most about this book is that it emphasizes that
Self-Confidence is not only for some people, but everyone should be confident,
because after all, we all have the responsibility to live up to the title of “The
Best of Creation.”
I would recommend this book as a must-read for everyone,
anyone who reads this is certain to gain some sort of benefit from it.
Image from here
To find out more about the author, this book, and to purcahse it, here are some links below:
HERE IS THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE, WHICH INCLUDES SOME VERY VALUABLE INFORMATION:
LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT THE BOOK SOON, INSHA ALLAH!
