Looking back at 2023 is for me a moment of both gratitude and reflection – gratitude for the given ability (tawfiq) to do small things and reflection on the craziness in the world and the things that can still be done.

We say al-hamdulillah (all praise is due to God) for the tawfiq, among others, to:

* Write and publish a book (FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR MUSLIM TEENS: 12 SHORT STORIES OF EMPOWERMENT, free sample copy: ).

* Edit and publish two books:

– ‘Abd al-Karim Biazar, THE COVENANT IN THE QUR’AN, free sample copy:

– Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc, THE HARSHEST THINGS YOU’LL EVER LEARN ABOUT LOVE, free sample copy:

How about backlogs?

Actually, there are many backlogs. One of them is the translation of the first two volumes of Shahid Murtada Mutahhari’s “Islam wa Niyaz-ha-ye Zaman” (Islam and the Exigencies of Time) which are supposed to have been finished and published last year as I announced on social media and email last March 21.

The ‘culprits’?

Usual ‘culprits’ can be identified, some of which you already know well:

* Resumption of face-to-face classes

* Back-to-school mood for almost two months

* Increased air and land travels

* Invitational lectures and speaking engagements here and there

* Editing some articles in two international journals

* Engrossment with the promotion of Islamic finance and halal industry for five months

As we fervently hope and pray for a peaceful and just world ahead of us, this year I hope, in sha’ Allah, to finish translating:

* Volumes 1-2 of “Islam and the Exigencies of Time”

* A major translation project that I have been doing in Ramadans and Friday mornings for the past few years

There’s also a textbook on “Conversational Arabic for Hospitality Management” (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1iBD2Rp_ijkuZUQZJoiiA0HqQloLCCo0) to be written and published in the third quarter of this year, in sha’ Allah.

In the Name of the Lord of the Pen (bismillahi rabbi’l-qalam)!

#ElziStyle #DivineCovenant #AbrahamicCovenant #Mutahhari