A month ago I started the book and was again positively impressed by Islam scholar Said Havva. This is now the second book I read from him and it always amazes me because he teaches me new perspectives and jurisdictions.
What is it about?
In the first part, what I read is on the leadership of our Prophet. By leadership I do not mean immediately the military but also the familial and interpersonal leadership of our Prophet.
His wives and friends are quoted. It is reported on incidents that occurred at the time of the Prophet and it is explained how he has solved this.
It is said that our prophet has acted in all actions that he has done to eliminate problems at a very high level and that the statements he made have been very professional.
What I have learned
As a Muslim, you always fall back into the thinking that the people of that time must have been something special. You lose the connection to reality and what is feasible.
For example, when you read things that people have done in the time of our Prophet, you think that is completely crazy and that it would not be possible today.
Through this book, however, I read Hadith and realized that the Prophet’s friends had behaved as normal as we do today. The only problem is that they were not as distracted with making money as we are today.
The book has also broadened my horizons when it comes to the question of what our prophet contributed to human rights. For example, did you know that once a woman came to our Prophet and told him that her father wanted to marry her but she did not want it. Our Prophet then went to see her father with her and clarified the matter for the girl.
Said Havva writes heavy books
Said Havva’s books are very specialized and therefore do not read like a novel. It teaches the reader about a topic and then gives a lot of sources to which he refers.
A beginner would have problems with his books because his stories can not be played like a movie in front of his eyes. You have to focus very much on the content and not digress.
The Said Havva style
Most writers of Islamic books used only Islamic sources to reinforce their statements. This is not the case with Said Havva. He cites various philosophers, psychologists, warlords, etc. and this brings more color into his arguments.
Conclusion
This is a very instructive book but in spite of being Turkish I think many Turks will have difficulty understanding it. There are many Islamic terms and there are also many Ottoman words.
Actually, I read the Said Havva books as a kind of self-study and each time I learn something new. These books are structured in such a way that if I read that again I would get very different insights and that’s what I love about Said Havva.
