Enjoy Your Life

Publisher's Foreword

It so happened that in the year 2007, I was in the city of the Prophet PBUH. It has been my old habit that whenever I travel to a city, I always make it a point to visit all its bookstores. When it comes to books, the city of Madinah is in its own league. In the bookstores of Madinah, one is bound to come across all the newly published literature − and shopping for books is, of course, my favourite pastime. The staff who work at most of the bookstores near the Prophet’s Mosque know me on a personal basis, as a large number of Darussalam’s publications are available at these stores.

One day, when I was visiting one of these bookstores, I looked at the shelves and noticed a book called, ‘Enjoy Your Life’. Just as I was about to pick it up, Abu ‘Abdullah greeted me, hugged me, and asked, ‘When did you arrive? How long are you here for?’ Meanwhile, I reached out for the book… Abu ‘Abdullah, who is originally from Yemen, has been involved in the book market for a long time. He is one of the many Darussalam distributors. He noticed the book in my hand and said, ‘This book is excellent. If you were to publish its translation, it would be considered a valuable addition to the international Islamic book collection.’ He continued as he held my hand, ‘This book has made a record number of sales.’

Some time later, in my hotel room, I began reading the book. As I continued reading, I became more and more captivated by it. There is no doubt that the subject of the book itself was the thing that most interested me.

Solutions to all the problems of the Muslim nation are present in the life of Allah’s Messenger PBUH. His life is certainly an example for us to follow and a model for us to refer to at all times. No matter what problem arises in our lives, if we look to the Prophet’s Seerah for a solution, we will surely find it.What makes thisbook outstanding is that it deals with our social problems in light of the Prophetic lifestyle. The work is filled with incidents fromthe Seerah, Islamic history, and the author’s own experiences. By reading this book and implementing it practically, all of us can make our lives more enjoyable and more tranquil.

This book includes remedies for despondency and numerous tips on how to keep worries and stress at bay. The author of this book, Dr. Muhammad bin ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-‘Arifi is a well known scholar and lecturer from Saudi Arabia. His audiences are left mesmerised during his lectures as he has such a unique way of speaking that even us, the non-Arabs, are enchanted by his words. A visit to any of the Islamic audiocassette shops in this land gives proof to the popularity of this talented lecturer, and a single hearing of any of his lectures guarantees addiction!

When I returned to Riyadh from Madinah, I requested one of our Egyptian Darussalam associates, Muhammad Shakir Qadhi, to establish contact with Dr. Al-‘Arifi and to request permission for the translation of his book. After a few days, we managed to establish contact with Dr. Al-‘Arifi. Fortunately, for us, he was already familiar with Darussalam. As he said himself, most of the books he takes on his international travels are of Darussalam publications. It is always easier to work towards an agreement if there is preceding familiarity. We invited Dr. Al-‘Arifi over to Darussalam’s headquarters for a visit, and he gladly accepted the invitation. Thus, we had the pleasure of his company.

I found him to be just as handsome and immaculate as are his works and lectures. He has a unique and charming character and a very humble personality. I know from my experience with people in the Islamic world, that the more famous and well respected a person becomes, the more modest and noble is his behaviour. Dr. Al-‘Arifi signed the contract with Darussalam and then excused himself, saying he was in a hurry and that he would return soon to discuss further details.

After a couple of weeks or so, as I was travelling once again to Madinah, I coincidently noticed Dr. Al-‘Arifi seated on the sameplane. As the seat besides him was empty, we had the opportunity to sit together and familiarise ourselves with each other even more. We spoke at length and felt closer to one another. A few days later, he returned to Darussalam and gave us a number of new suggestions. We introduced him to some of our projects, and it was then decided that Darussalam would translate his books into various languages.