capturing all the wonderful nuances of faith and culture."--Adiba Jaigirdar, author of Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating

You know how tiring it gets when your religion is always misrepresented in the media, and mygosh was it a good change to see it represented so well, written so beautifully and was explained so intricately. I loved how the author painted Ramadan as our Holy Month, the activities that we can do during Ramadan, and most of all, I love how the author highlighted that Ramadan is a month that we can try our very very best to become better people and better Muslims. Its represented and painted so well, that I teared up at some parts, on how Dua, as a character herself was so adamant into being a better person overall. And that leads me to my next point which is Characterisation You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salam amongst yourselves.” Beg beautifully crafts a comforting tale filled with fun characters and excellent Muslim representation .”—Aamna Qureshi, author of The Lady or the Lion The hadith makes the connection between feeding others and spreading salam because this combines good actions in both word and deed, which is perfect good treatment (ihsan). Indeed, this is the best thing that you can do in Islam after the obligatory duties.” But did it made me feel happy, whole and just went on a soul-searching journey myself as well? BIGGGGGG YES!

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Dua, come into the kitchen. Your father and I have something to tell you,” she said, the Urdu words flowing like poetry from her lips. “And please stop jumping around like an electrocuted penguin,” she added, closing the door behind her.

The trend of normalizing encouraging music in Muslamic books really irritates me, & to see it in this book was very disappointing. Dua struggles to find her place in the conservative household and to connect with her aloof, engaged-to-be-married cousin, Mahnoor. And as if fasting the whole day wasn’t tiring enough, she must battle her hormones whenever she sees Hassan, the cute drummer in a Muslim band who has a habit of showing up at her most awkward moments. Yeah, but she’s almost never online,” I answered. From what I remembered, she’d always been a little on the antisocial side. Plus, I almost never use Facebook anymore. “I think the last time I talked to her was a year ago.” I’m currently working on a Mughal-inspired fantasy. If all goes well, maybe we’ll see it on shelves one day! I also have an idea for an adult romance that I’d like to work on in the future, possibly featuring one of Salaam, with Love’s side characters as a main lead. Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers? Dua has to go to Queens, New York, to spend Ramadan with her cousins, and share a room with Mahnoor, who is very grumpy and not talkable. She has always celebrated at her home in Virginia, where she is the only muslim in the school, and her family the only muslims in town, and she is a bit overwhelmed by all the family and friends that drop in for the whole month.I hated Mahnoor at first. So annoying & moody all the time. But I really love Dua’s best friend, Kat. She’s not a Muslim, but being thoughtful, she also tries fasting. Humorous, captivating, & educational. We got to learn the culture, foods, traditional clothes, songs & most importantly, about Ramadan, Eid, & Islam in general. The book captures the spirit of Ramadan very well. I went into this cautiously optimistic and was pleasantly surprised! As a Muslim reader it's always a little difficult to read books with Muslims that might practice faith differently than I do which generally sets me up for disappointment. That being said, the only real thing that makes me not like the representation is if the book contributes to the rhetoric that Muslims who practice differently (or stricter) aren't great or if it fits into the whole "I'm not like other Muslims" trope. She discussed the marriage, the arranged marriage, all those such, but I didn't understand (why did she framed a normal 18 yrs old want to marry that disparate. As an Islamic life. '-' ) she tried to show how merciful is god, how sweet and gracious is islam, how dua had been from barely had beliefs to being quit alarm of god precense and his plans and faith, it can fit with all religions though, we are all believers right?, her college degree desires and her parents acceptance, family issues and how valuable are they, many good things she tried to show, but believe me there's A] love letter to Islam, capturing all the wonderful nuances of faith and culture.”–AdibaJaigirdar, author of Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating