Peer E Kamil Review 4g4h5m

KARACHI UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL BUSINESS COMMUNICATION BOOK REVIEW SUBMITTED TO: MA’AM SIDRA HUSSAIN SUBMITTED BY: SYEDA MAHEEN MEHMOOD SUBMITTED ON: 8th June 2012 ROLL NO. 67

PEER-E-KAMIL Peer-e-Kamil (S.A.W), meaning The Perfect Mentor, is a fiction novel authored by Umera Ahmad. It was first published in Urdu in 2004 and later in English in 2011. The book deals with the turning points in intervening lives of two people: a girl named Imama Hashim; and a boy named Salar Sikander having an IQ level above 150. The story spans a time period of around ten years. It is a story about the belief and faith of a person and how it can take you to eternal peace. It is one of the best works of Umera Ahmed and one of the most acclaimed Urdu novel of the world.

About the author Umera Ahmed is one of the most widely-read and popular Urdu fiction novelist and screenplay writer of this era. She was born on December 10, 1976. She belongs to the renowned city of Sialkot. Umera Ahmed completed her masters in English literature from Murray College, Sialkot. Later she became an English language lecturer for the students of O and A levels at Army Public College, Sialkot. However she left the job a few years back in order to devote her full attention to writing. She began her writing career in 1998 at a quite young age. Her initial stories were published in monthly Urdu digests and later came out in the form of books. She has written about 16 books, comprising of complete novels and compilations of short stories. However it was her novel "Peer-e-Kamil (S.A.W.W)" which became her identity. Umera Ahmed earned a big name in showbiz industry as well in a very short span of time. Many of her novels like Man-o-Salwa, Lahasil, Amar Bail, Husna Aur Husn Ara, Meri Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan, Darbar-e-Dil, Thora Sa Asmaan, Mein Ney Khwabon Ka Shajar Dekha Hai, Daam and Sauda have been adapted by television and aired by different TV channels. Whereas her other TV plays like Uraan, Qaid-e-Tanhai, The Ghost are based on her scripts. Her plays have been as much of a success as her novels, as they are watched by the families together. Her works depicts her pragmatic and mature approach. Her stories revolve around many social, domestic and spiritual issues; comprising colors of true love, friendship, suspense and tragedy. What differentiates her from others is her dynamism; resourcefulness and ambition of bring to light certain controversial issues.

Characters  Main characters:  

Imama Hashim - A girl who converts to Muslim from Ahmadiyya. Salar Sikander - A rich boy, neighbor of Imama, who has an IQ level above 150.

 Major characters:           

Waseem - Imama's brother Hashim Mubeen - Father of Imama and Waseem Javeria - Imama’s Friend Zainab - Imama’s Friend Jalal - A doctor and older brother of Zainab. Sikander Usman - Salar's father. Tayyaba - Salar's mother and Sikander Usman's wife. Saad Zafar - A friend of Salar in New Haven. Dr Furqan - A devoted Muslim and doctor. Dr Sibt-e-Ali - An Islamic scholar in Lahore. Saeeda Amma - First cousin of Sibt-e-Ali.

Plot Summary “Zindagi mein ham kabi na kabi os maqam per aajatey hein jahan saarey rishtey khatam ho jate hein.Vahan sirf ham hotey hein aur Allah hota ha. Koi maan baap, behan bahi, koi dost nahi hota. Phir hamein pata chalta ha ke hamarey pairoon ke neechey zameen ha na hamarey sir ke oper koi aasmaan, bus sirf aik Allah ha jo hamein is khala mein bhe thamey hoye ha. Phir pata chalta ha ham zameen per parii mattii ke dher mein aik zarey ya dharakht per lagey hove aik patey se zada ke voqat nahi rakhtey. Phir pata chlata ha ke hamarey honey ya na honey se sirf hamein he fark parta ha. Sirf hamara kirdaar khatam ho jata. Kaenaat mein koi tabdlie nahi aatii, kissi cheez per koi asar nahi perta.” Peer-e-Kamil (S.A.W) is about a journey from an extreme to another extreme and it is justified. It seems to deal with life in general, rather than anything else. With such amazing charisma, Umera Ahmad has written this profound novel on how a man with so many talents is sured by an average girl, when it comes to arriving on the path of righteousness. It is a book about how man is nothing and no one to anyone else but himself, and that it is entirely up to him if he wants to save himself.

From the cover page it seems a book based on Islamic values or religion but it’s more then its cover portrays. Writer brought the story in black and white in a manner that couldn’t

be done better then that anyway. It just grasps the person in its illusion and mesmerizes the world which gives the affection as everything is unreal and we are just lying in fantasy of being Muslim. We are impudent living in a shell of our own designed life along materials and luxuries. Set against the backdrops of Islamabad, America, Paris and Lahore; Peer-e-Kamil tells the story of a boy blinded by his own misgivings about life. It is his journey into a man who is a complete opposite of the boy he was. The story begins with a girl named Imama Hashim, belonging to an elite class family of Qadiyanis, a group of people who choose divergence by selling their faith for money and are considered non-believers by Islamic Law. Imama grew up in that family but feels something to be missing. Her friends point out that her religion may be the cause. This struck her and she found herself pondering over Quran Kareem and Islamic books. She found what she was looking for in Islam to fulfill the void of her heart. She converts into a Muslim. Her conversion to Islam brought challenges to her life, and faced rejection and harsh behavior of her family on her becoming a Muslim. Her family planned her wedding with her cousin, Asjad, who belonged to Qadiyani firqa too. As it isn’t permissible for a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim, so she asks for her neighbor, Salar’s help. Salar Sikander is an elite class boy with the IQ Level 150+, who was living hell and beyond ecstasy was the only question for him, but his origin was Muslim Family. He is a very different and complicated character, who was living a sinful perverse life, life of anyone in the world but not that of how a good Muslim should live. Imama wishes to marry Jalal, but Salar lies to her that Jalal has married someone else. Imama is saddened and asks Salar to marry her so that her family will not be able to force her. Salar helps her and marries but soon after loses with her. Imama finds a sanctuary under Sibt-e-Ali and his family. She changes her name and completes her studies and starts working in a pharmaceutical company in Lahore. She hates Salar because he refused to divorce her as he had promised. Salar later travels to New Haven for education, then he works for United Nations for some time before permanently settling in Lahore. Getting involved in helping Imama, gave him a chance to study and examine Islam and get the chance to examine himself closely and see how sinful life he has been spending all life long. Being an extraordinary student, he has always been so far gone heady into the feeling of superiority that he cannot understand the meaning of 'Siratum Mustaqeem' or the right path. He doesn't know what the right path is and of all the people he has ever met in life,

he loathes the one who claims to be religious. Those people are the worst because to him. They just exaggerate everything about themselves to the hilt. Time goes on and Salar finds himself changing, especially the time he is tied to a tree for a whole night wearing only his Bermuda shorts. There he truly understands the next levels of ecstasy. Coming to point after salutation, the facts shown in the book were heart & soul shaking. Many among us don’t think about this and coming life but only consider it as to have the luxuries and to relax after working hard for gathering these luxuries. The only right path starts from ALLAH and ends at his beloved last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W). Life is to live according to what deem you right, not what the system deem it right. God has given us the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. And when we are given the option, we have to choose wisely, we won’t be given chances too many times. Peer-e-Kamil is about following the path of righteousness. It is about un-deterring faith in the face of every difficulty in life. It teaches a profound lesson about how to live and how our life will achieve a meaningful stage. It is about finding ourselves through our Creator. It is about the search for life itself.