When Hearing Becomes Listening: Prophetic Listening and How It Can Transform the World Within Us and Around Us

by Mikaeel Ahmed Smith

This book is about the function of listening in the life of a Muslim, and how learning to listen can transform the cacophony of inner noises into a wonderful symphony. Allah tells us in the Quran that Adam was created from clay, suggesting that we all have the capacity to mold and shape those around us, for better or worse.

To become better listeners we begin by listening within. We have to identify what’s causing a disturbance within. Once we have done that we can now work to remove that noise and diminish some of its potential to distort the messages we receive.

When Hearing Becomes Listening explores the religious and social implications of attachment theory and how we can all help each other develop healthy models of attachment. When Hearing Becomes Listening explains why listening is a capacity unique to human beings, and describes obstacles that prevent us from being good listeners. In this book, we present a unique, interconnected, three-level approach to listening: listening to oneself, listening to others, and listening to Allah.

This book picks up where With the Heart in Mind stopped, diving deeper into the primary tool that enabled the Prophet to be so influential and leave such a profound impact on the people around him. The premise is simple. If you wish to be listened to like the Prophet, you must first learn to listen like the Prophet

Genres: Islam

164 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Shaykh Mikaeel Ahmed Smith (Michael V Smith) is an instructor at Qalam. He is a faculty member at the Qalam Seminary. He gives lectures and conducts various classes for the community. You can listen to him regularly on the Qalam Podcast.

Shaykh Mikaeel previously served as a resident scholar at the Islamic Society of Annapolis and the Islamic Society of Baltimore. He grew up in a deeply spiritual Christian home in Buffalo, NY. At the age of 18, he embraced Islam after reading the Qur’an and the Autobiography of Malcolm X. He then enrolled at the Dar ul-Uloom al-Madania in Buffalo, NY, where he completed his memorization of the Qur’an. He continued his studies in Jami’a Abu Noor in Damascus, Syria.

In 2012, he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Islamic Studies at the Dar ul-Uloom Canada in Chatham, Ontario. He is the author of With the Heart in Mind, a book exploring the moral and emotional intelligence of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. He currently resides in Dallas, TX with his wife and three children.

Reviews

[Misbah · Rating 4 out of 5]

﷽
In short:
Why should you read this book?
- To appreciate Allah ﷻ attribute of listening. and get a better understanding of the Qur'an
- To better understand and connect with the Prophet ﷺ
- To perfect your character
- To simply succeed in this life and the Akhirah
-It is backed up by Sunnah, authentic hadith's and Qur'an.
- It is a super short and easy read.

In long:
This book is an ESSENTIAL read for individuals seeking personal growth and a deeper connection with their faith. It is something that will help us develop our character in a way that will please Allah and will be heavy on the scales on the Day of Judgment Inshallah. As the Prophet ﷺ said, "Nothing is heavier upon the scale of a believer on the Day of Resurrection than his good character..." [Sunan Timidhi 2002].

My review cannot do this book justice. Every part was more interesting than the next and it is backed up by science. I LOVED every part of this book; however, I'm compelled to give it a rating of 4 stars because I just wished it explored the Islamic perspective more. Specifically, I wanted more examples from the Prophet ﷺ character, as these were the sections I found most captivating. I feel that the book made me understand why Allah ﷻ described the Prophet by, "And verily, you (Muhammad) are on an exalted standard of character" [68:4]. Overall, highly recommended!! Other books that describe the Prophet ﷺ sound robotic but this felt extremely personal and made my love for the Prophet ﷺ grow.

3 random quotes I highlighted in my book + my notes:

- "They shall then say, 'if only we had listened or thought we would not be of the people of Hell'. [67:8-10] - I had never realized before this that a trait of the people of Hell is not listening.

- "There are three types of listeners, the listener who acts, the listener who is heedless, and the listener who disregards". This was discussing how even being in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ did not change some people. If a person doesn't want to change, nothing can make them.

Summary of my favourite concept: Understanding relational layers - our time, energy and attention are limited; and they are the most valuable resources we have. People outside of our social circle don't need nor deserve a large portion of our attention to maintain the relationship that we may have with them. Start with self and Allah, then family, best friends, friends, coworkers, acquaintances, etc. The reason why we are so unhappy and our relationships fall apart is because we focus our attention and energy on the wrong people.

**I realized that many popular "Muslims" books that have reviews contain shirk and promotes kufr and good authentic books have no reviews so Allah put the desire in my heart to start writing them. I get nothing out of this except to make it easier for my Muslim brother's and sisters to avoid books that contain wrong messages.

Any mistakes that are made are from me and me alone and does not reflect this perfect religion. May Allah forgive me for any mistakes made in these reviews. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

[Abdul Wasey Faruqi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new psychotherapist, I loved this overlap of deep listening from a prophetic lens and psychology. Would highly recommend to all Muslim mental health professionals.

[Najwa in her debut era · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to everyone who always hears and wants to be heard.

The main topic of the book is communication and it is prophetic, the opening of the book itself started with the sirah on how our prophet Muhammad SAW reacted to people who came to him and wanted to complain/tell about their lives.

One thing that changes my mind is how our writer correlates hearing with Allah's name, The All-Hearing. If you want to be heard by Allah, we as His servants need to hear ourselves and the people around us. Thus, by listening we can make ourselves understand more about Allah's name as it shows Allah's mercy to us.

Our writer mentions that 'if you want to be listened to, you must always be ready to listen to others' -> see our prophet every time someone comes to him, he always says 'speak' and the time he listens without interruption until the person is satisfied. This example is a great example for us to follow and comply with.

I love the part when our writer mentions psychology science and relates it to our religion. There are so many signs around us to look at and listen to, how a mother's presence can lead to people's behaviour, how we react to our friend's problems and many more, the noise around us. Thus I wanted us to read this book.

This book changed my perspective about listening, it is also a great start for me to read sciences+religion books.

Listening is the first faculty that we develop in the womb and the last to leave us as we depart for the hereafter, yet it is the least practised and seldom perfected in our lives

[Faz Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my niche. Took me longer than usual to finish a book. To be frank, I didn't -couldn't- even finish it, few more pages to go but my patience had ran low.

Not saying this is a bad book but I expected it to deliver more specific points on HOW to listen based on the Islamic/spiritual concepts but author brings more of the psychological aspects with its respectful attributes of the former authors as his reference.

Will go back to this book in the future with a much mental preparation & expectation.

[Farha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the segments in the book which connect the stories of the prophet ﷺ and his companions with the practice of deep listening. Relevant theories also provided insights into the psychological perspective of deep listening.

[Hassan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Backing the power of deep listening with seerah and peer reviewed journals makes this an impactful read. The book goes into great detail about how improving your ability to listen improves your relationships with others, especially with Allah, and adds strength to your community.

[Sania · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all Muslims! His way of relating the principles of Islamic teachings to modern day problems of social media and lack of deep listening is profound. This book is even better than the first With the Heart in Mind which I also enjoyed a lot.

[Momin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always appreciate how Sheikh Mikaeel will bring in modern sciences and tie it back to the Islamic Tradition.

One of the things I appreciated about the book is how the beginning lays the foundation with attachment theory, from there Sheikh Mikaeel I believe layered it well.

[Sohaib S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, it left you wanting more. Wish it went into more detail, especially regarding the Islamic concepts but understood the intentions of the author for making the book shorter.

[Hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. A must read for every Muslim.

[Fatima Moosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read! For Muslims, to deepen our relationship with Allah but for everyone to deepen relationships with the people around them.

[Jalaluddin Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Although examples from the Prophet Muhammed(PBUH) are explored, the author also brings modern research from non-Islamic sources(research) to support his arguments. This kept me at the edge of my seat and kept me going. I was distracted by daily life demands but kept coming back to it. Strongly recommended for Muslims and non-muslims alike.