Today we talk about The Almighty, a book by (M.A.) Abdul Hannan published with our publishing house Europe Books.
Europe Books had the pleasure of interviewing the author (M.A.) Abdul Hannan to get to know him better, what led him to write his book The Almighty, and how being a teacher inspired him to become a writer.
Below you can find our interview. Take a seat and enjoy your reading!!!
- Was the idea for this book born at a particular moment?
Actually, in my life I never thought one day I would write a book. Though, being a student of Science, I am used to writing papers for publication in Scientific Journals. Maybe the seed of writing a book was embedded in my soul before I appeared in the physical world. Then came a period of time in my life, full of almost unbearably painful moments, which had transformed my horizon of thoughts almost 360 degrees. The intensity of the anguish was so massive that I felt as if my soul was burning on the crater of an active volcano. Or it was a glass fragmented into a million pieces. The impact made me almost speechless for a considerable period of time. God’s immense mercy helped me recover slowly and life was gradually restored to normalcy. I discovered as if I am alive after a crash landing and subsequently identified a brand new version of myself. Whenever some thoughts used to strike my brain, I immediately documented them and made extensive research in Science and Theology to verify and find a link with reality. The process took a period of over six years.
- Which authors of the present and/or past do you take as a model?
To be honest, I did not take any particular author as my model, either of the present or of the past. I think I can modestly claim that I did and still do a lots of reading outside textbooks. To my understanding, in order to feel truly rich inside the heart, one needs to be ardently involved in a relentless quest for knowledge. Knowledge is power which comes from tireless feeding of our soul with new information that gets stored in our brain cells. Our brain is the most sublime creation of God in the whole universe that can often convert a dead knowledge into living wisdom. To me, without knowledge, life may feel inadequate with a plentiful of possessions. Because of my diversified educational experience at home and abroad, I came in contact with remarkable teachers. I was amazed to discover how someone could possibly be so knowledgeable yet be so simple. So, I always tried to stay simple ,keep things simple, taking advantage of my learning from my teachers beginning from my early childhood and eventually set an example of me for others.
- How much your being a teacher has encouraged your passion for writing?
I feel I am extremely blessed to be a teacher. In my reckoning there are three sets of people in this world who can directly touch the lives of others and make a difference ; a teacher, a doctor and a religious leader. I am fortunate to qualify in the first two. While growing up ,we try to idolize our parents and teachers. A small sentence of wisdom from a teacher can change the directions of our lives. I always feel teaching is a noble profession where someone needs to be passionately involved, not just take it merely as a job to make a living. After becoming a teacher, I have striven hard to be an icon to my students. Today I identify that I am blessed to be successful quite reasonably. I feel extremely delighted when I meet a former student after a long time and he remembers what I taught him in the classroom many years ago. I feel further rewarded with a sense of tranquillity in my soul when I discover my students try to bring my teachings into action. My satisfaction as a teacher definitely guides me for writing.
- How did you feel to see your book published?
While opening the Parcel of Europe Books, my heart was wildly rejoicing. The first look of the book gave me a sense of enormous accomplishment and relief of my excitement. My soul was full of satisfaction with Divine blessings. An intangible feeling for which words fall short to describe and can only be felt inside the heart. Putting the perception in words, it was as if a butterfly was gravitating to a full bloom rose in my spirit, began roaming around after reaching there. I also felt what was inside me is now open to the world in documented form, for people who can read it and admire the message and guidance. After I finished compiling the book I was relentlessly trying to get a good publisher. I didn’t know it was such a daunting task. Especially waiting with uncertainty for a response is immensely tedious. Eventually, my work was given due respect by two more editorial boards in England. Finally I signed a contract with Europe Books. I worked with my publisher at a time when the entire planet was shaken by a pandemic but still feel that is the most rewarding time of my life.
- Are you already working on a new book?
In fact, I have not started writing a new book although I am seriously considering it. I am encouraged by the initial success of my first book. Within this short span of time after its publication, the book is travelling to the distant corners of the planet and gaining popularity every day. That is an absolute thrill to a first time author like me. While writing and at its publishing stage, it did never arise, even in my wildest dream, that international readers would accept me as an author. One of my friends from the USA wrote after reading the book, ” Hannan, you have done a wonderful job. Now we have a handy book of God on earth”. Or a friend from Japan, who is a professor in the University of Tokyo, was so excited after I sent him the link. He ordered and received the book shipped from Amazon, even before I got my author’s copies from Europe Books.
But the fact remains, writing on a brand new topic needs plenty of leisure time, lots of reading and more importantly a lot more thinking. I pray for Divine mercy and His graceful wish to bless me with all those.
Europe Books thanks the author (M.A.) Abdul Hannan once again for taking the time and answering our questions. We are really pleased to have walked alongside him on the editorial path that led to the publication of his book The Almighty. We wish him the best of luck for this novel and for his future works.
To you, my dear reader, I wish you to read this book with curiosity and the desire to have new food for thoughts, following the teachings on which the author (M.A.) Abdul Hannan places his attention and which he wanted to share with his readers in this first book.
So, my dear reader, I just have to wish you an inspiring reading!
Your Editor!