Syafakallah

by The Vespa Rider

81 poems
59 mosques
5 countries
3 years

1 book.

It is amateurish
It is raw,
But I promise you,

It is from the heart.

Genres: Religion, Poetry

154 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

A struggling soul who seeks to observe life to its details while remembering the certainty of death in the uncertainty of time; what have I done to fulfil the rights of the Creator, the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him), my family, self and others to be able to meet death with a safe smile, God-Willing. I am no different from any other man, and we all lead inspiring lives in our own ways. I only chose to speak to others bits and pieces about mine, documenting memories, hoping someone after myself would take heed.

"The goal isn't to appeal to the masses, the goal is to awaken." - Dulce Ruby

Reviews

[Sue Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A good read but have some repeated poems/parts.

[Nis Kr · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!!

[Lulu Rahman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's as if words from the pages are speaking directly to me. One moment they're whispering and the next they're calling out, 'hey you, remember when ...'

Reading this is almost like having a cozy conversation with an old friend, reminiscing the past and contemplating the future.

Best of all, this book is simple without being simplistic, teaches without preaching and heightens your self-awareness without imposing.

[Ayesyah Abdullah]

i thought some parts were repetitive, i am not sure if it was intentional or lack of editing was made for this book. otherwise, i thought the poems were raw, honest and mediocre.

[siso.sofy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes the writing is very amateurish but it is raw, beautiful and sincere. Simply touch my heart and reminding myself about my own journey. ❤️❤️

[MijieReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calming to read, good for self reflection, however a little bit too much repetitions of the same paragraph to my liking.

[thebookraven · Rating 2 out of 5]

As quite a number of people have mentioned in their reviews, the poems got quite repetitive once you’re halfway through the book. The author used the same few lines across some of his poetry, which I thought lacked a little creative expression. There were also spelling and grammatical errors which are big “NO”s for me, personally.

There are some poetry in this collection that I felt touched my heart, but I wished the language used was more beautiful, flowy and captivating so as to move readers to feel the intensity the author felt at the time of penning down those words. The poems aren’t very poetic, other than the effort to make the ends rhyme.

As a reader, I would appreciate footnotes at the end of some poems just to give readers some context of the pieces.

Overall, it was ok. It was a lukewarm reading experience. I do want to read the second collection of poetry just to see whether I feel the same, or whether there is a ramp up in creative expression.

There aren’t too many local English Islamic poetry in the market, so I do want to applaud the author for his courage to publish what I think are very personal thoughts and feelings.

[N L K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember how I came upon this book and ended up buying it. I thought I stopped buying "healing" books because at some point it makes me more wounded.

I'm glad I got this book though.

It's not a simple matter of healing. It's provocative, reality-facing. The exile is isolating, the love is yearning. I love the touch of having a lesson from the Quran or Sunnah at the end of each poem.

His poetry cajoles you, berates you, persuade you, detests you, loves you. Or perhaps I went into deep with them that it all feels relatable.

All that said, I had read Khalil Gibran's Madman Parables and Poems. That had left a festing scar of stark realization and despair in my heart, it is hard to top off. So I couldn't give it a full 5 stars.

Give it a shot.

Fi amanillah.

[bookishlyfina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been in love with this author’s book
The author has a way with its words by reading the poems that he wrote
Each poems has a different meaning according to the author’s point of view

[Aziem Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a book that speaks from the heart! Amazing use of words to portray the true emotions.

[aejayyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a best poem compilation, but genuine. It really heals.

[Plainqoma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of it were too personal for the author. If I know some of the background story it will be perfect to understand the poetry more. Nonetheless, I can relate to most of it as a Muslim.

[Najwa Al Helsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saya percaya, tulisan dari hati, akan sampai ke hati.

[SyazaAn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so glad to be reading this as my first book in Ramadhan. A much-needed book of poems for someone struggling to look for employment like me. A wake-up call indeed.

[Afinie Syahirunnisaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

" know that God is your only constant
How much can we really go through in order to learn ?
But who am I to say that I am better, or learned than you
Till I fear God and only God "

This book give me butteflies all over huu

[afiqafy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find that this book have some repititive paragraphs. It mixed up with other parts of the poems.
I love the poems, & I find there are lots of words that I don’t understand and googled it. But overall it’s good.

[Nur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alhamdulillah for this book.
Alhamdulillah for such words.
Alhamdulillah for the author.

Surely, I'll read this again in the near future. Officially my number 1 fav.

[Surah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep. Real. RELATABLE.

[Norshafarina Faharuddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very honest and straight forward book that touched my heart and beautifully wrote in poetry

[Ain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saya bukan la peminat puisi dan seantaranya.
Otherwise its worth reading it.