Muslims were, throughout many times in history, the forefront of a powerful empire. The characteristics of the Muslims’ included confidence and self-belief. There was a passionate core, driving individuals to be the best that they could be in all field. Today, when we look at society and the Muslim ummah, we find many suffering with deep rooted issues with confidence and self esteem. Playing a paramount role in preventing individuals and the ummah as a whole from progressing, these issues are found in men, women, children and the elderly, affecting every aspect of life.
Best of Creation: An Islamic Guide to Self-Confidence by Ismail Kamdar is a much needed new self-help book that aims to give individuals the tools they need to revolutionize their lives. Bookshops have shelves full of books aimed at helping develop confidence, self-awareness and self esteem, however, as Muslims, we should seek to turn to Allah 
for the answers to these problems. Thus, whilst reading other books can be helpful, there is a major part of the puzzle missing if we bypass the knowledge we have through Qur’an and Sunnah. Ismail Kamdar’s new book provides exactly the right balance between Islam and the psychological aspects behind confidence, Masha’Allah. If you would like to purchase this book, click here!
Having read this book, I am left with many points to reflect on and feel it has left a lasting impact on me, alhumdullilah. Here, I will share with you particular aspects of what was good about this book and why it is one you should get your hands on:
Reminder of Allah’s abilities
This book never fails to continuously remind us that Allah is the one in control. From the beginning, this idea is upheld and detailed throughout the book. Why is this important? Because when trying to develop ourselves, we have to recognize who Allah is and continuously remind ourselves of this. Self-confidence is often shattered by various life events and to be reminded that Allah is the one in control helps an individual come to terms with what they have been through and accept that it has happened. It also reminds us that, regardless of the state of our emotions and confidence, Allah is the one who can change it around for us. By far, this book is unique in that it focuses on the Islamic teachings whilst adding in the relevant secular knowledge that is available.
Islamic history
As Muslims, our role models should be our pious predecessors for both the worldly life and hereafter. Sadly, we often look to the rich and famous as role models in the dunya which plays a massive role as to why we feel we are unable to accomplish many of our goals. By having unrealistic role models, who do not uphold the value of the religion, we get lost along the way. In this book, the majority of examples of those who succeeded in life and left a legacy behind were those of Muslims: the Prophets, the Sahabah and Sahabiyat and the Salaf. This brings our minds back to those who were truly successful, reminding us that these are the individuals we should strive to be in life.
This book is full of stories from the past, some which are common and some which I have never come across. This does a fantastic job at continuously reminding you that this book has an Islamic base and insha’Allah can help you develop the confidence you need within this life to help you succeed on the dunya and in aspects of your deen.
Clear explanations
Self-help books often contain many psychological and sociological terms that, to someone who is unfamiliar, can become quite daunting and unfamiliar. Masha’Allah, this book is able to lead readers to ponder deeply without using complex terminology or difficult layouts. The book starts off with a clear explanation of what self-confidence is, the importance of it and the various causes to the problems many face in this area. This allows us, the readers, to be fully aware of what it is that we are tackling. It also brings to light the possibility of having issues in this area, for those who may be unaware due to a lack of understanding of what self-confidence is.
With such a deep topic, it is crucial writes do not produce lengthy prose without giving the reader space to ponder over what has been written. This book clearly demonstrates points that are important in a bullet point format, which allows the information to be easily digested.
Practical tips
One of my personal favorite aspects of this book, is the fact “Action Points” with practical tips based on Islam are given to put into place. This is fundamentally important, and a factor that sets this book apart from others, given readers can often feel lost when having to turn what they have read into a practical change in their life. The author of this book does a brilliant job in offering action points that are easy to implement, regardless of your knowledge of Islam and level of practicing. With simple tips given, we as readers are given the first stepping stone to come up with our own personal action points if we wish to insha’allah.
We all struggle at times and find ourselves in internal difficulty. We cannot always reach a qualified individual who can help us work through our problems and therefore, being guided to do this alone is important. The Qur’an and Sunnah provides everything we need when it comes to developing our confidence, as is displayed throughout this book. Having such literature available is much needed within the Muslim community and is definitely the type of book you want readily available when you see yourself or a loved one falling into a difficult state of mind. May Allah reward the brother for spending time and effort into writing this book and providing it for us all insha’Allah.
Have you read this book already? We would love to see your reviews on it. 🙂 What other topics would you like the author to cover that can benefit the ummah? Please share your suggestions in the comments section below. 🙂
5 replies on “Best of Creation: An Islamic Guide to Self- Confidence [Book Review]”
Assalamualaikum,
From this article, i think the content of the book is written very nicely and I believe it will be very beneficial to many of us, especially will be helpful to practice and apply the concept while facing a lot of challenges in life. Well done to the author.
Btwn, can this book be downloadable? If yes, how can I do so? Thank you very much in advance.
Aoa
I want to buy this book disperately,
It wud b ur kindness if i can get it dilevered as im in quetta n its not available in stores …
Plz contact me,
My cell is 03348534314
As far as i know, u can buy it at amazon websites as paperback or kindle version. Googe play books also have this book in their lists! 🙂 im planning to buy it from there
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as salam alaikum,
i want this book paperback version. it’s nither available in stores nor online. can someone tell me from where can i buy this book?
thank you; jzk