Life of a Sufi (in search of devine)

By Saira Ahmed

Inspired by the Author’s personal search for the Divine, Life of a Sufi novel is centred on the idea that Sufism may be best described as Islamic mysticism or asceticism, which through belief and practice, helps attain closeness to God by way of direct personal experience of deity. The process of taking a concept and turning it into a book is challenging, but the experience is internally demanding and fulfilling and the reader will find a joyous moment of participation in this process.
 
Saira Ahmed was born in Pakistan to a bureaucratic family, and had her primary school education from Vichy, France. She studied Environmental science and sustainability in Australia, International relations in Kazakhstan, and holds an MBA degree from Islamabad. She has vast experience in programmatic humanitarian, gender and disaster risk management work.
She worked with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) supporting the Member states in the economic development as Communication Specialist and also for National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Government of Pakistan. Saira for two years was the face (anchor woman and editor) of the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV World), the English national news channel of Pakistan. Nowadays she is working in an international Organization.
When she is not writing, Saira spends most of her time reading, cooking, decorating home, travelling the world, and catching her favourite Broadway shows. She is fond of jewellery designing and has a passion for selecting pearls and stones from across the world. She loves music and is fond of orchestral classics. Since childhood Saira stand out for her fierce ideas and strong self-motivation to make a difference in her life and for others around her. She is married to an Italian diplomat.
Life of a Sufi is her first book, inspired by her personal search of the Divine.
Devoted to charitable causes, she is a member of numerous diplomatic associations and her search of divine still continues.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Europa Edizioni
• Release date: May 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9791220141321

Book preview

The Early Days

Sunlight came through his opaque curtains, and Mario’s body immediately jerked up to consciousness to the sound of obnoxiously loud car horns from the street.

Despite not being fully conscious, he mustered up enough will to walk to his window and draw his curtains to see what all the commotion was about. To his surprise, there had been a car accident; unusual for this area.

What a shame, he could not help but think, before shutting his curtains again. He decided to ignore what was occurring and instead tried to sleep again; he had been losing sleep for quite a while now.

Just as he felt himself dozing off, he heard his door open. He silently prayed that it was anyone but his mother, but it seemed like his luck had run out, as he heard his mother speak.

Good lord, it’s so late and you’re still in bed? When are you going to start behaving Mario? You need to start behaving and start becoming responsible, you’re old enough. I’ve had enough of you.

Every day it was the same lecture, over and over again by his mother, Tara. Tara was a middle-aged woman who once used to be beautiful but the hard days of life had hardened and matured her pale face, with white hair which she never thought of dyeing. She was tired from life, after spending 25 years with Henry, his father.

Mario who was only 10 years old, was a combination of his father and grandmother in looks, with a peach complexion, dark wide eyes, a straight nose, and a dimple on one of his cheeks which shined whenever he smiled. Despite all the odds in the family, Mario was by nature a cheerful child. Mario and his family including two other siblings Arnold and Teresa lived in the mountainous area in the suburbs of Lebanon. His father was a teacher at a local school with little income and he worked part-time in a chalet as a driver. His father

Henry was a self-made man with a lot of responsibilities. He married Tara when he was just 20 and love made him take decisions that just didn’t work well in his later years of life for him, he continued to work hard every day to make his ends meet and Tara never adjusted to the lifestyle. Tara, who came from a wealthy Muslim family, fled her house one evening so she could wed Henry in a nearby church who loved her more than everything. Tara on the other hand tried hard to adjust but the class and religious differences didn’t let her fully settle with her husband, Once, she had decided to go visit her family that she had left behind, with her children, but they didn’t accept her then and closed all doors on her. It was then that she had the realization that she had given up her entire life for a man who could not provide her with the life she wanted and hence, grew spiteful towards Henry.

On the other hand, Henry had no idea how to make Tara happy. The conflict in their marriage wasn't over religion; rather, it was over Tara's expectations and Henry's financial reality. To no surprise, due to these problems in their marriage, the love that they both shared for each other, gradually faded, until it seemed as though it never existed in the first place. They were both strangers to one another in their marriage.

Mario was the youngest and smartest boy in his school. His curiosity and intuition were his noticeable traits in class. However, due to the conventional teaching methods and culture, he soon got bored.

"Papa can I change school?" one night after dinner time, he asked his dad.

Henry who was already tired of his work, looked into his eyes and smiled, "Dear you are a pearl in the sea, remember; wherever you will go you will bring nothing but happiness, so stay where you are and as soon as I can get a promotion at school I will take you to the new school in the city."

It was a promise. Mario smiled and with hope in his eyes hugged Henry. "I’ll wait but don’t take too long and please don’t tell mama, papa," Henry smiled back and hugged little Mario tight. Though he would never admit it out loud, he loved him the