This isn’t a flaw per se🌚, just personal preference, but because of the nature of the book (the author sharing her personal experiences), there are many parts that I found repetitive, which dampened parts of my reading experience. Ramadan Reflections is pretty much a roadmap for our lives; the reason, the seasons, the battles, and Our Merciful Lord, Whom she proudly shows off by some of His Magnificent Names and Attributes and Whom I proudly love more. This book is a keeper. You can keep returning to it over and over, as you grow and develop and find new meanings to each chapter/topic previously read. A very comforting part of Ramadan Reflections came quite early on regarding LOVE, particularly the love for oneself. Not the egotistical, self-obsessed, proud version so commonly plastered all over social media nowadays. But the private kind, a connection between oneself and the Lord, one that promotes knowing one’s value and self-worth, all written in the most humbling words. I challenge you to not feel moved!

The introduction alone, had me bracing myself. The quote Aliyah used to end the introduction, allured me to surrender my heart & mind- to accept her invitation, and embark on a soul searching journey. I’m super grateful for the many life-changing tidbits I took away from this book🤲🏾. They changed my approach to worship this Ramadan, and hopefully, for every daily worship to come. A must-have intimate journal to guide you through Ramadan and deepen your individual connection to Allah for the year ahead.Penguin approached me to write a book for them about Ramadan,” Aliyah explained to The New Arab. “Initially, they just wanted a book on reflections and asked me to create an outline. So, I asked myself: ‘What do I want the reader to get out of it?’”

It's well written and will speak to everyone in some way- each chapter has a theme and the writing style- part memoir, part advice- is really well balanced. It felt like having a conversation with a trusted friend. Where do I start with this book? It has become a part of my heart during Ramadan which brought me closer to Allah and helped me to undergo a spiritual cleanse, that by the end of it, I felt rejuvenated with a mind filled with the wisdom of Islam, a heart filled with love for Allah and a soul blessed with peace. Aliyah Umm Raiyaan’s words are truly powerful and uplifting, filling me with hope for tomorrow and bringing me closer to my Lord and my religion. In fact, it was her 18-year-old daughter who suggested Aliyah turn the book into a journal format, giving it a more human element. Ramadan Reflections starts with an easy-to-read introduction in which she gives readers ideas on how to interact with the book and its journalling prompts this helped me a lot as I find it hard to write in books. The introduction had me tear up as it rekindled hope in my heart.Ramadan Reflections is filled with practical exercises, journaling prompts, and Du'aa invitations, all designed to enable deeper reflections on the learnings and further your ability to manifest this into actions. Each chapter concludes with extra writing space for contemplation both on the theme that day as well as their overall spiritual transformation. Ramadan reflections is an intimate journal split into 30 chapters for the 30 days of Ramadan which guides you towards reflection, healing, deepening your spirituality and wisdom with Islam as the guiding light, leading you closer to Allah through the many tests you may face. The journal, spilt into thirty chapters, allows the reader to explore various spiritual themes and subjects. And, although the premise of the journal is to spiritually cleanse yourself in Ramadan, Aliyah notes that the book can be used throughout the year. I was first approached to be an early reader of Ramadan Reflections by the author, Aliyah Umm Raiyaan, in late January 2023… Needless to say, being quite a bibliophile and bookworm, I jumped at the opportunity, and here I am - not even 6 weeks later - writing a review of this breathtakingly beautiful book. In fact, I hesitate to use the word book, for this is quite different to anything I have read before. It is interactive but without AI technology. It is guiding, but not controlling or patronising. It is reflective, but most certainly not narcissistic. 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. One of my favourite reading times is whilst sitting in my car waiting for my children to come out from school.

It is written in 3 parts, with different energy levels and 10 chapters (days) in each part. Each chapter is on the important issues that affect us daily such as forgiving others, responsibility, love, life auditing, difficulties, hope and private deeds. The parts and chapters of the book cover our past, present and future and I found this to be very comforting and helpful. Aliyah has a unique way with words- whether it’s spoken or written, she has a beautiful way of capturing her audience's hearts & helping with moving it towards Allah. I was moved to tears from the introduction alone and as I read I silently thanked Allah for blessing me with the opportunity to read the book at the time that I did. It’s what my soul needed- I cried as I read chapter after chapter. Her words touched & moved my soul. It felt like a lot of the content was talking directly at me. This guided journal is divided into three parts which focus on the past, the present and the future respectively. There is a chapter with its own topic for each day of Ramadan with some prompts/questions at the end for the reader to write their own reflections and thoughts.

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Within each chapter, the author shares her own personal stories and experiences related to each topic. She weaves in ayahs from the Quran, Hadiths, and quotes from Islamic texts. Each chapter ends with a dua, which was my favourite part. We often make the same duas without my variation and we don’t know what else to ask for, but Aliyah has written some beautiful duas related to the messages in each chapter and they really felt meaningful and heartfelt. So, this is the first book I have been able to complete in a very long time. It broke boundaries of my short attention span due to the way it has been written – passionately yet succinctly. From the heart, to the point, yet leaving you wanting more. I feel absolutely honoured to have been an early-reader for Aliyah Umm Raiyaan’s Ramadan Reflections and this review comes very honestly, not just a recommendation. I think this is a book I will return to, not only during Ramadan but at any time of the year when I consciously want to reconnect to Allah and worship more meaningfully.