2024 was a year that seemed to pass by in a flash, underscoring just how busy it was for me. And indeed, it was.

Many of the projects that came my way were neither planned nor anticipated; they simply unfolded as the year progressed. Inevitably, this led to numerous backlogs, particularly in my translation, writing, and publishing targets for 2024:

• Shahid Murtada Mutahhari’s 2-volume Islam wa Niyāz-hā-ye Zamān (Islam and the Exigencies of Time), which I began translating in 2022, remains far from completion. I didn’t manage to finish even the first volume.

• A major Filipino translation project, which I started years ago and had aimed to complete last year, is sadly still stuck in the editing phase.

ElzyStyle Bookshop also fell short of its ambitious goal to publish one title per month. In 2024, it published only three (3) titles:

1. Jaecian Onoh A. Cesar, et al., Sansinukuban 1 (International Studies from Mindanao): Traversing the Spatial and Ideational Frontiers

As the official book series of the Ateneo de Davao University International Studies Department, Sansinukuban provides a platform for students to publish original research articles, primarily derived from their theses and inspired by their Mindanao positionality.

o Free Sample Copy: https://bit.ly/Sansinukuban1Sample

o Paperback Order Form (Philippines): https://bit.ly/Sansinukuban1OrderForm

o Paperback via Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bvBnUn

o eBook: https://www.elzistyle.com/product/sansinukuban1

2. Christopher Ryan Maboloc, The Question of Justice in Contemporary Liberal Theory

o Free Sample Copy: https://bit.ly/SAMPLEQuestionofJustice

o Paperback Order Form (Philippines): https://bit.ly/QuestionofJustice

o Paperback via Amazon: https://amzn.to/4epr70J

3. Mansoor Limba, The Tri-Justice System in Action: My Personal Journey Through Legal Pluralism in 15 BARMM Barangays

o Free Sample Copy: https://bit.ly/TriJusticeSample

o Paperback Order Form (Philippines): https://bit.ly/TriJusticeOrderForm

o Paperback via Amazon: https://amzn.to/3BzUaRg

o eBook link: https://www.elzistyle.com/…/the-tri-justice-system-in…

Beyond my teaching responsibilities and preparations for the Shari’ah Bar Exam, several other factors contributed to these backlogs:

• Increased air and land travels

• Invitations to deliver lectures, participate in speaking engagements, and present papers at conferences

• Writing a book on tips for taking the Shari’ah Bar Exam (expected to be published this January, in sha’ Allah)

• Editing articles for two international journals

• Reviewing articles for two other journals

• Writing a barangay justice system training manual (expected to be published this January, in sha’ Allah)

• Drafting a medium-term halal industry development plan (expected to be completed and published in the first quarter of 2025, in sha’ Allah)

As we continue to hope and pray for a peaceful and just world, I aim to complete the following in 2025, in sha’ Allah:

• Volumes 1-2 of Islam and the Exigencies of Time

• The major translation project I have been working on during Ramadans and Friday mornings for the past few years

In the Name of the Lord of the Pen (Bismillāhi Rabbi’l-Qalam)!