Ramadan Reflections: 30 days of healing from the past, journeying with presence and looking ahead to an akhirah-focused future

Reviews

Michelle

Prayers that you have made, are making and will be making flow in sync with Aliyah’s own and some sections were so uncanny in how similar her reflections were to mine. For a long time, I worried that my heart had died. I would quickly scroll by social media content and ignore shared posts that had any kind of faith-based reminders.

SK

This is not just a read for Ramadan, but a resource you can turn to at any time in life and some particular times in life when you need that special reminder of your own goals and prayers that have been forgotten and waiting to be actioned. It is so beautifully written that I can’t even find a genre for it – snippets of her life like an autobiography, sincere Duahs like a book of supplication, space for reflection like a journal, advice to get closer to Allah like a book of guidance, quotes from The Holy Quran, scholars and hadith like a book of knowledge.

Qur’an and Me

There is a glossary for those of us who are not familiar with each and every Arabic term. As I travelled through this guided journal, I felt I was given space to sit with any regrets of the past, really absorb the present and move forward with actionable steps towards my goal, nurturing the soul, while moving closer to the Lord of all worlds. There is space for journalling – and even for someone like me who finds this difficult, Aliyah’s pointers are very easy to follow and make you interact with your own emotions. Hold tight to that pen and keep writing dear sister, you have a gift.

Aisha A.

It broke boundaries of my short attention span due to the way it has been written – passionately yet succinctly. I am so excited about working through the journal, day by day, during Ramadan, but I know that this is a book that I will keep going back to outside of the Blessed Month. With a chapter set aside for each day of Ramadan and divided into parts, representing how The Holy Month is divided – it makes it so easy to digest but fulfilling every crevice of your soul at the same time. I found myself nodding along whilst saying, "Yes!

DP

This is what Aliyah Umm Raiyaan has achieved with Ramadan Reflections. It is guiding, but not controlling or patronising. One of my favourite reading times is whilst sitting in my car waiting for my children to come out from school. By the permission of Allah, sister Aliyah has produced a book that has the ability to revive hearts.

Amazon Customer

Obviously hers expressed far more eloquently than mine! It can be read in huge, indulgent chunks, whilst snuggled in your comfiest chair with a cuddly blanket and favourite hot drink or can be dipped into sporadically when brief reading opportunities present themselves.

Irfan

Aliyah beautifully takes you through your own journey, forces you to reflect and painfully accept your past, it brings closure as learn to forgive and let go. The daily dose is concise, yet deep and non judgmental irrespective of your level of spirituality. A reminder that in our perfectly imperfect states, we are still worthy of a beautiful relationship with Him. I felt unable to connect to any religious material.