Beauty Fee Sabililah

by Lina Ahmed

This book takes readers on a journey to understand what it means to be beautiful. True Beauty is to be felt with all of our senses and incites us towards growth and self-actualization. This beauty can be found within the Divine teachings of the Quran and Prophetic traditions, which present alternatives to dominant beauty narratives, by emphasizing on our inner wellbeing as a tool to improve our outer appearances. Within the Islamic tradition, beauty blooms in the same garden as justice, health and love and acts as a repellent to the wasps of decadence, immorality and mental enslavement. With God's Permission, this work will aid readers in the cultivation of beauty in all actions whether it is in spending, consuming, grooming and loving. To exercise our agency in defining and creating beauty for ourselves liberates us from our self imposed enslavement. That is why we say be beautiful (Fee Sabililah) for the sake of God because it is only under His Guidance that we can truly experience beauty in all of its splendor, health and glory.

Genres: Islam, Spirituality

114 pages, Paperback

Published January 17, 2017

Reviews

[edil · Rating 4 out of 5]

hearing about this book on the digital sisterhood podcast felt like a divine occurrence, it’s a topic that i so deeply needed insight and advice on. my heart feels so very whole finishing this one. may Allah bless this sister!!!

[hafsa khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet. Loved the way it immediately got to the point. One of my very first self help (?) reads and it was a good one :)

[Remna M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. However, I did feel as though there were some points that didn’t align with the main points made by the author. At times it felt like some of the wording or explanations just did not match the main topic of the chapter. I did enjoy the last few pages of the book especially the section about loving yourself. I think this book should’ve been a bit longer because the topics that were discussed definitely deserves a bit more attention.

[Didi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a book that every Woman, no matter what background she is from, needs to read. it’ll give you a completely new perspective on loving yourself and how to do so for the sake of Allah and yourself. You will not regret spending £10 on this book.

[Haida · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written book reminding you the importance of inner beauty and the effects of the damaging societal standards of outer beauty.

[Zainab Zaidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

the thought was there and there were some really beneficial ideas about beauty. but there were a lot of grammar mistakes and typos. also each paragraph jumped around on a bunch of different ideas.

[Narmeen · Rating 3 out of 5]

”to know Allah is to Love Him and to Love Him is to live”

An uplifting book of reminders about reframing our standards of beauty for the sake of Allah. I found some of the hadith shared to be just what I needed to hear as I go through my own journey of trials.

Although, regarding the “western” standards of beauty the author mentioned about having long nails, getting our hair done by other profressionals, etc, I don’t see anything wrong with liking the feminine desires of beautifying these things a specific way. It’s halal to enjoy them as long as we use them for halal means. Even when I agree with her main point about how the sunnah is to trim nails/ hairs, etc, one can do both and still “live their best halal life” a phrase Sheikh Saalim Al Azhari often uses.

If you’re looking for a little spiritual boost in your life, this is an easy yet spiritually motivating book to read. It inspired me to do my own little self care routine right after I finished reading it and it felt good!

[su · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is filled with great reminders and provides an opportunity to self reflect. The continued reference to quran and sunnah was also very pleasing to see. The author emphasises the importance of introspection in order to cultivate inner beauty through ‘Taqwa’(consciousness of Allah).

There are also mentions of the flawed beauty industry and the negative implications of the commodification of beauty. The author highlights how far this idealistic view of beauty is from Islamic teachings whereby the focus first is always internal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read however, I did find some chapters hard to follow. I struggled to see how some points related to the subject matter and found them disorderly. I would love to see a longer version of this book where some of the points made can be explained more thoroughly.

May Allah reward the author for her efforts!

[Yara E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful beautiful book! I have been wanting to dress more modestly, especially more skirts and dresses, and this book just beautified that intention/ desire to do so more for me. Barak Allah feeki ❤️

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a truly enlightening experience for me, with a simple and succinct writing style that made it easy to consume. While I enjoyed its brevity, I couldn't help but wish that it was longer and delved deeper into the topics discussed. The author expertly delves into themes of self-love and how current societal beauty standards fall short of what truly defines beauty. The author's research on the Islamic perspective on beauty is evident throughout the book and provides a unique lens through which to view the subject matter. The author skillfully highlights how the Islamic teachings align with their ideas on beauty, making the book particularly impactful for readers. It is a must-read for any woman seeking to expand and shift their understanding of beauty, it had a profound effect on me, and I believe it has the power to do the same for others.

[Yusra Ahmad · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Good book. It was a refresher on how true beauty goes beyond your physical looks. However, I do wish that the book was a bit longer & writing style to use slightly less difficult words so I could understand the pony’s more clearly lol.

[Xlmsdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!

[L ྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀིྀི · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learnt about it from The digital sisterhood.
A very good book with much wisedom.
I used to read it whenever i had my monthly period and couldn’t read Quran, it brought me comfort back then.

[Saifa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - Very insightful mashaAllah!!

[sumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
short and sweet, definitely has lots of points to reflect on

[Tugba Altun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing short read on how to readjust our view of beauty that should only be driven by the goal to seek Allah’s pleasure. It prioritises cleanliness (something that we benefit from) over shapes and colours (something we’re born with and cannot change on demand)