Al-Quran Al-Kareem Maqdis is a ' word-by-word' translation learning method, where every word and sentence is coloured differently, in Arabic and English. I asked the author to make a few corrections, and it is testament to the idea that he has adopted the very spirit of the book that he was very quick to agree to them. Whereas the traffic light system highlights the diseases (red) of the heart, its cure (green) and what its exceptions (amber) are. From being in a self-help book obsession phase, I can confidently say that this book this book gave me things that a 100 self help books never could.

Its tabular design and colorful traffic light approach make it easy to reference for a new generation.

The ideas for the book were borne almost 20 years ago, yet it was only 3 years ago when I began my journey in earnest, stealing time during evenings when working away from home, and weekends in and around work and family commitments. It was in fact a handbook on clinical medicine that inspired the author to create a detailed guide on the various spiritual conditions one can be afflicted with. Often we get overwhelmed with feelings that bring out the worst in us and we are unable to move forward and as such, we fall into a downward spiral.

My journey to writing ‘A Handbook of Spiritual Medicine’ began almost 20 years ago at university, when I stumbled across ‘Purification of the Heart’ by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson. Get up every time you get knocked back:there is good in everything so don’t let ‘bad’ news knock you down. However, not all literal translation represents the exact meaning of the word since the Qur'an uses varied Arabic language style and sometimes metaphor. As the book is presented in the style of a handbook, the intention isn’t to read the book all in one sitting.When I say that you can apply the teachings of this book to every single aspect of your life, i mean it! A handbook of Spiritual Medicine’ is a unique book presented by Ibn Daud regarding medicine for spiritual diseases. A beautifully structured and well-presented work, highlighting one of the most important aspects of Islamic teachings - purifying the heart from blameworthy character traits and replacing them with praiseworthy ones. Aided by distant memories of the Seven Deadly Sins from my younger school days at Catholic school, I could appreciate the categorisations that ran through Hamza Yusuf’s work and utilise them to provide a definitive structure, a plan for my own guidance. The tree diagram allows the reader to identify an illness quickly along with its remedies and symptoms.