S.K. Ali

Love from Mecca to Medina

fc ♡

I wonder if people even know where the word “mecca” actually, originally came from. It came from Mecca with a capital M, the place in the Middle East where people have been gathering for thousands of years to visit the first site of worship in the world still standing (according to Muslim people).

Adam sat up and leaned to the side and caught Zayneb’s eyes from over Hanna’s shoulder. 

They smiled at each other, a secret dancing in their eyes. 

There was no significant news coverage. She wasn’t even named. And I just know she would have been if she’d been a white woman who’d been bombed from the sky. That sounds horrible. But why does it seem to sound less horrible when it’s brown or Black people who get killed like that?

 As one of my favorite writers, Teju Cole, put it, Daadi was an “unmournable” body. 

As I put it, I don’t think anyone should be okay thinking some lives are not worth fighting for, that brown and Black people dying don’t count as much

For flowers, I said I was a Venus flytrap, always ready to bite anyone who needed to be put into place. 

Adam said he was a succulent, if those were allowed to be called flowers, because he didn’t need that much attention and liked being in the background.

Almost every day I had to tell myself that I was worthy. Of being loved, respected, and living a beautiful life.

 Because deep down in that mushy space inside me, maybe because of years of being seen as unwanted by the world outside my home, I didn’t believe it.

 Which is ironic for someone who wanted to fight for the worth of others

with hardship comes ease, as promised in the deen. 

AND SEEK HELP THROUGH PATIENCE AND PRAYER 

 CALL UPON ME AND I WILL ANSWER and WHOEVER DOES AN ATOM’S WEIGHT OF GOOD WILL SEE IT

 IF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT ERUPTS WHILE YOU ARE PLANTING A SAPLING, CARRY ON AND PLANT IT

Adam let me be silent. For a long time. He didn’t say  Zayneb? Zay-by?  his nickname for me, which was a play on “baby.” 

There is only a story that begins anew each day.

And the earth—We have spread it out wide, and placed on it mountains firm, and caused [life] of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner, and provided thereon means of livelihood for you as well as for all [living beings] whose sustenance does not depend on you. 

the same blue hijab Adam had seen me in when our paths first crossed—which didn’t exactly match what I was wearing but I’d wanted to see Adam’s eyes light up and, yes, I’d been duly rewarded

And proclaim unto all people the pilgrimage; they will come on foot and on every [kind of] fast mount, coming from every far-away point [on earth], so that they might experience much that shall be of benefit to them…. —Surah 22:27–28

Allah looks at our intentions and efforts, so start from a good place and just try your honest best. That is enough

cuz many don't experience what Muslim women experience daily 

Walking through the airport to get to this point was the first time I opened my eyes to what Zayneb must go through each day wearing hijab. It felt like everyone whispered to themselves, did a double take, or stared politely or impolitely at my ihram.

Labbayka llāhumma labbayk, labbayka lā sharīka laka labbayk, inna l-ḥamda wa n-ni’mata, laka wa l-mulk, lā sharīka lak. 

At Your service, Allah, at Your service. At Your service, You have no partner, at Your service. Truly all praise, favor, and sovereignty are Yours. You have no partner

“Focus on your inner landscape. On all that is going on internally,” Shaykh Murtaza reminded us. “A clear landscape within, where you can see and reflect on your motivations and inclinations and intentions, is a gift. It can help us survive the harsh conditions of life here on earth. It can lead us to refine ourselves. And to a state of surrender to God’s will, trusting He will take us where we need to be if we rely on Him only—which is a state that comprises the greatest happiness in the world. Truly. Being at utter peace within our own soul because it is connected to the Sustainer of all souls.”

 “No. Unlearning did.”  “You taught me to unlearn. That means take everything I’d learned about something and look at it again and see the things that I’d gotten wrong" 

"I thought it was all about me… when really, they had their own lives and worries and things to think about.” “Through bees, I learned to take myself out of the center of things. Out of the middle, like I was the most important thing in this world.”

It was for the same reason we were all wearing identical clothes on this bus: two simple pieces of cloth for the men, no way to distinguish ourselves by the cut and style and quality of our garments, and basic, unembellished clothing for the women. 

It was for the idea inherent in Islam’s ideals that there is no difference, no elevated status, no clergy structure, no lines of nobility to distinguish any of us humans, except by the good we do, measured only by Allah, not humans. 

Everyone is important. When you know that and believe it and act upon it, everything and everyone around you will feel at peace with you

all of a sudden I glimpsed it: the Kaaba. 

The structure two billion of us around the world faced when we prayed.

 Tears rolled down my cheeks as we all paused to repeat the special first-sighting-of-the-Kabaa dua after the shaykh

Here, at the Kaaba, it felt like we were in the very middle of the luminescent orb. The pull I felt was like nothing I’d ever felt before—a magnetic connection

Sajiya Chaudhary

Immediately after finishing the first book in this series, I jumped to this beautiful story. Although it's pretty clear there's a lot of miscommunication between Adam & Zayneb here, it's understandable why that would be. Sometimes anger rises above every other emotion, and it's difficult to think straight - which happened way too many times here. Anger as a result of jealousy, sadness, and frustration. But this story was heartwarming, it takes place in the most beautiful place in the whole world and is worthy of re-reads just to experience the beauty of Mecca, the peace and tranquility of Mecca & Medina. 
I love that every part started with verses from the Quran that were analogical to the scenes, situations, and emotions that our characters were going through at the time. Even though there is less interaction between Adam & Zayneb here, it's refreshing to see them going through rough patches and still being able to solve things and love each other through it all. 
I don't want their story to end with this book 🥺 Please can you write more books with Adam & Zayneb, Sajidah <3
Thank you for bringing Adam & Zayneb to life!!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Diversity: American Muslim MC (Pakistani/West Indian descent), Canadian Muslim convert MC with Multiple Sclerosis (Chinese/Finish descent), other Muslim and Muslim convert characters, Jewish character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, new adult readers, contemporary, romance, Muslim

Genre: YA Contemporary/NA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 16+ (romance, war, Islamaphobia, homelessness, alcohol consumption, illness, white supremacy, religion, sexual content, vomit gore)

Explanation of Above: There is a lot of romance in this book between our two MCs and some very vague sexual content mentioned. The romance is mostly hand holding, love affirmations, and stolen kisses. There is one fade to black scene and the characters have had their Nikah ceremony. There is some Islamaphobia and white supremacy mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes and mentions of homelessness. There is alcohol consumption mentioned (not by the main characters). The Muslim religion and a Muslim pilgrimage is mentioned and shown throughout the book. There is also some vomiting shown and mentioned in the book.

Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Synopsis: Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.

Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.

Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.

But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?

Review: I really loved this sequel! I thought it was better than the original and I loved seeing how in love Adam and Zayneb were. I loved seeing what happens after the first book and how Zayneb is navigating law school and homelessness while they both deal with a long distance marriage also while Adam struggles with unemployment. The book focuses on their unexpected decision to do the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina and how their love ebbs and flows along the way. The book did much better with the character development and the world building remained immaculate. I also thought the pacing was much better written in this one, I thought this read was super informative and I learned so much from it, and overall I loved it so much. I was also very impressed with how the author cut out all of the HP references that were plaguing the other book and I thought the book was better for it.

The only complaint I have with the book is that I did think that the ending was a bit too scrunched up, like it didn’t have time to fully work out naturally.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

 

Book: Love From Mecca to Medina

 

Author: S.K. Ali

 

Book Series: Love From A to Z Book 2

 

Rating: 5/5

 

Diversity: American Muslim MC (Pakistani/West Indian descent), Canadian Muslim convert MC with Multiple Sclerosis (Chinese/Finish descent), other Muslim and Muslim convert characters, Jewish character

 

Recommended For...: young adult readers, new adult readers, contemporary, romance, Muslim

 

Publication Date: October 18, 2022

 

Genre: YA Contemporary/NA Contemporary Romance

 

Age Relevance: 16+ (romance, war, Islamaphobia, homelessness, alcohol consumption, illness, white supremacy, religion, sexual content, vomit gore)

 

Explanation of Above: There is a lot of romance in this book between our two MCs and some very vague sexual content mentioned. The romance is mostly hand holding, love affirmations, and stolen kisses. There is one fade to black scene and the characters have had their Nikah ceremony. There is some Islamaphobia and white supremacy mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes and mentions of homelessness. There is alcohol consumption mentioned (not by the main characters). The Muslim religion and a Muslim pilgrimage is mentioned and shown throughout the book. There is also some vomiting shown and mentioned in the book.

 

Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

 

Pages: 352

 

Synopsis: Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.

 

Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.

 

Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.

 

But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?

 

Review: I really loved this sequel! I thought it was better than the original and I loved seeing how in love Adam and Zayneb were. I loved seeing what happens after the first book and how Zayneb is navigating law school and homelessness while they both deal with a long distance marriage also while Adam struggles with unemployment. The book focuses on their unexpected decision to do the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina and how their love ebbs and flows along the way. The book did much better with the character development and the world building remained immaculate. I also thought the pacing was much better written in this one, I thought this read was super informative and I learned so much from it, and overall I loved it so much. I was also very impressed with how the author cut out all of the HP references that were plaguing the other book and I thought the book was better for it.

 

The only complaint I have with the book is that I did think that the ending was a bit too scrunched up, like it didn’t have time to fully work out naturally.

 

Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!