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Can a Bridge Build Itself: Essays on Belief and Moral Values
Omer Ergi's book is a rich and diverse collection of essays that explain away or answers typical questions regarding the tenets of Islamic faith and practice. Ergi's method is to extract a lesson or a lifelong principle from what most people take for granted in life. From blood cells to the galaxies, everything has the potential to convey a message that removes the veil of mystery of our existence.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 7, 2021
Overall I think the book is OK. There were some things I find interesting but there's also those which I don't agree with.
Likes:
1. The book made me think, reflect and ponder on God's creations and my surroundings.
Dislikes:
1. Most of the Quran verses/ayats and hadiths quoted are without proper citations. Would be better if it had footnotes or even bibliography section at the end of the book for readers to identify its sources.
2. I question some of the advices given in the stories. For example, in one story a cancer patient who was learning about Islam from her doctor, and nearing the end of her life, asked "what should I say...at the last moment?" To which the doctor replied "Kalimah shahadah may be too long for you. So I suggest that you say, Muhammad, in your last breath".
From what I learnt, a muslim who is dying is urged to say "La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah)".
In another story, there is a woman who 'dreamed of visiting the house of God and the town of the noble messenger' and she would always made du'a for this. One day, her friend suggested "If you can't go there, then why don't you write a letter to the noble messenger?". At first I thought this is just a letter for the woman to express her love for the prophet and keep it to herself (I guess this is OK), but later in the story she actually passed the letter to someone going for Hajj and for the person to leave it at the prophet's Maqam. Can't imagine if say thousands of muslims thought of doing this.
I think a better advised here would be to make salawat to the prophet as commanded by God in the Quran.
Like I said, overall it was an OK read. I'll take with me the good elements. Those not so good, I'll just comment here and move on :)
Likes:
1. The book made me think, reflect and ponder on God's creations and my surroundings.
Dislikes:
1. Most of the Quran verses/ayats and hadiths quoted are without proper citations. Would be better if it had footnotes or even bibliography section at the end of the book for readers to identify its sources.
2. I question some of the advices given in the stories. For example, in one story a cancer patient who was learning about Islam from her doctor, and nearing the end of her life, asked "what should I say...at the last moment?" To which the doctor replied "Kalimah shahadah may be too long for you. So I suggest that you say, Muhammad, in your last breath".
From what I learnt, a muslim who is dying is urged to say "La ilaha illallah (There is no god but Allah)".
In another story, there is a woman who 'dreamed of visiting the house of God and the town of the noble messenger' and she would always made du'a for this. One day, her friend suggested "If you can't go there, then why don't you write a letter to the noble messenger?". At first I thought this is just a letter for the woman to express her love for the prophet and keep it to herself (I guess this is OK), but later in the story she actually passed the letter to someone going for Hajj and for the person to leave it at the prophet's Maqam. Can't imagine if say thousands of muslims thought of doing this.
I think a better advised here would be to make salawat to the prophet as commanded by God in the Quran.
Like I said, overall it was an OK read. I'll take with me the good elements. Those not so good, I'll just comment here and move on :)
November 18, 2020
Excellent
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews