Peer E Kamil is a novel written by Umera Ahmed. This
novel is an epic piece of writing by her as she has crafted the characters in a
novel in a very interesting way. This story is as simple as could be for anyone
but the message delivered by the novel is extremely powerful.
The story mainly revolves around Imama Hashmi and
Salar Sikandar. Imama Hashmi has left her belief for the love of Islam and
Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). She is from a Ahmedi family and gradually through
various incidents gets to know that the beliefs of her family is wrong. Initially
she is dependent upon her family and so cannot reveal her conversion to Islam
to her family. Her dad meanwhile notices that there is some danger expected from
Imama as he got to know that she is in quest for the truth about religion. He
plans to get her married in her family as soon as possible. During her quest
she gets to know about her friend’s brother, Jalal Ansar. Jalal reads naats in
various places and he has great love for Prophet
Muhammad (P.B.U.H). It is this
love for religion that gets Imama attracted towards Jalal. She starts liking
him a lot and a point comes in the novel that Jalal also expresses her likeness
towards her. She wants to get married to him and so asks him to get married.
You may read further to get to know more about this case J
Salar Sikandar is next door neighbor of Imama. An
elite class person with an IQ level of 150 + and has a photographic memory. He has
an excellent academic record. He has a strong financial background and he has
no aim in life whatsoever. For him life is just to enjoy. He has done major sinful
acts in his life. Infact his life is deep delved into sinful acts and thoughts.
And while doing them he has no fear of anyone. He does not know the purpose of
life. He loves to commit suicide to find out the last degree of pain possible
for anyone.
When Imama finds out that her dad is compelling her
to get married, she tries to escape. She knows Salar is one of the most disliked
people in her life but at that moment she feels that Salar would help her out. She
asks him to contact Jalal and force him to get married to Imama as she is stuck
at home. Jalal gives the excuse that his family is not giving the permission.
Jalal says to Salar that you get married to her for time being so that she can
be released from the pressure of her family towards getting married to a non muslim.
Imama could not think of anything else and asks Salar to do Nikah with her so
that she can be freed. For Salar, this is an adventure and he doesn’t care
about anything and does the Nikah. Imama feels that due to avoiding problems
for the family Jalal has refused.
Salar’s personality has changed 360 degrees in the
novel. He understands completely that the perfect mentor in this world for humans
is Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H). The trials faced by Salar and Imama allow the
reader to learn many lessons. Imama all her life prayed for Jalal as she felt
that he is religious and loves Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and they both can
lead a great life. Salar at a certain point of time started praying for Imama,
he prayed that Allah (S.W.T) gives Imama as his wife. So read the novel to find
out whose prayers gets answered J
One of the most beautiful lessons learnt in this
story is that at times you desire someone just because he is religious and you
feel that you may lead a great life. You feel a religious person would
understand everything but this is not the case. Religious persons are also
subjected to materialism, they may talk a lot on religion but when it comes on
them to take decisions, they just act like any other person, and bring in all
the materialistic things of life such as family issues, societal issues so on
and so forth. Though being knowledgeable and in a position to take stand they
take the help of other things for their escape. The one who talks does not
necessarily act on it. A lot of valuable lessons are learnt by this novel.
A must Must read for all J
The last para written by Nida highlights the biggest issue faced by the girls who pursue a life partner on the impression that he is religious. It is a sad fact that we do not understand religion completely, but there is a thirst for it which takes us towards a person who seems religious... With the passage of time, we come to know that he is not an angel and cannot do all what we expect on the basis of his religious appearance... We end up concluding with painful feelings yet forget to realise that plans of our lives are made by ALLAH, who knows our inner wishes and will definitely reward us for the wish to follow the Right Path....
ReplyDeleteImama sought help from Jalal and Salar to save herself from sinful life...It was her wish to follow the Right Path which made her overcome all challenges in a manner she could never have imagined. Neither Jalal nor Salar helped her the way she wanted but Allah had a different plan for her which was the best plan. The only thing required from her was faith and patience. She faced every challenge with firm belief and when she was about to dwindle, Allah rewarded her in an outstanding manner ... No doubt HE does not test anybody beyond his abilities (AlQuran)... May Allah bless all of us with strong faith in HIM and HIS plans and save us from the negative thoughts. Ameen
Thanks for the comment Summiya. Yes no doubt Allah (S.W.T)has the best plan for everyone and one should just have faith and patience in dealing with all the circumstance.
DeleteConcise review Nida..good job.. I have read the novel and attained some real morals that changes my perception.
ReplyDeleteThanks Naushin :) You are right about changing perceptions, The author has revealed the nature of different types of people in the world
Deletewill surely read the novel whenever i have time.
ReplyDeleteYes please, do read it whenever you get the time as it is really worth reading.
DeleteA nice writeup! Gets us hooked on to the story. Why is the novel called "Peer-e-Kamil"? What does it mean? I don't understand why religion is heavily linked to marriage? She could have chosen not to marry anyone and yet continue her quest for religion? The first and foremost step of religion is "haya" and the novel depicts the idea of falling in love with someone to attain religious knowledge? For that sole purpose of religious knowledge, why didnt she consult an Imam? Many more questions but i believe all of them will be answered by reading the novel :)
ReplyDeletePeer E Kamil means the perfect mentor. You need to read the novel to get the answers for your questions:) We need to know that we are living in a world that is full of emotions and attractiveness. Umera Ahmed has taken the lifestyles of people and then demonstrated how Allah changes situations for people. Religion is our way of life and it comes everywhere.
Deleteread this novel back in youth times, it was nice to recall all that. The novel is about "finding it out" not just "let it be"; which attracts me. you have nice put it. do it better next time. "Whats next to ecstasy"? :P
ReplyDeleteThe novel had many meanings and lessons. It depends on how the reader took it :)
DeletePeer-e-Kamil is indeed an epic piece of literature.There is this part in the novel which is my personal favorite which goes like :
ReplyDelete"In life, at sometime or another we come to a point where all relationships cease—where there is only us and Allah. There are no parents, brother or sister, or any friend. Then we realise that there is no earth under us nor is there sky above, but only Allah who is supporting us in this emptiness. Then we realise our worth – it is not more than a grain of sand or the leaf of a plant. Then we realise our existence is only confined to our being. Our demise makes not a whit of difference to the world around us, nor to the scheme of things.’
‘We come to our senses; we understand our utter insignificance.’"
These lines are really an eye-opener for us all.
Indeed this novel is an eyeopener :)
Deleteits just a coincidence i have heard about this book few days ago nd wanted to know abut it nd just find thid this link of ur blog. thanx to summaiya...
ReplyDeleteextremely powerful ...I was at the stage of my life where I stuck between many difficult situations ....and this novel ...I just can't explain how much it was helpful and expressive it was ...💓you have done a great job...👍Amazing ..
ReplyDelete