Review of The Miracle of Ramadan

[Triciat50]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Miracle of Ramadan" by Wassim Hijazi.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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The Miracle of Ramadan by Wassim Hijazi is an updated version of Charles Dicken's “A Christmas Carol”, written for a modern audience. Anyone familiar with the original story will instantly recognize the basic outline and characters of Dicken’s classic novella. However, Hijazi adds an interesting twist to his version of the story. Although the opening line starts with “Long ago, in a faraway land”, he sets his tale in a modern time frame, in an unknown country. Most importantly, the book centers around the holiday of Eid, which occurs at the end of Ramadan, instead of Christmas.

Karim Malik, the hard-hearted and very wealthy man at the center of the story, became embittered by the deaths of his parents, his twin sister, and his close friend and business partner. His village was bombed to rubble during a war. As the story opens, we find that he owns a shoe-making factory and employs many of his friends and neighbors, including his former fiancé. Since he is focused only on money, he refuses the request to close the factory for Eid. That evening, he is visited first by the ghost of his deceased former business partner, and by three angels, who magically whisk him away and show him scenes from his past, his present and his future, in an attempt to change his feelings.

It was impossible to avoid comparing this book to the original story. I had a difficult time understanding how Malik had turned into such a terrible person. Unlike Ebeneezer Scrooge, the scenes of Malik's past show a wonderful childhood with loving parents. Even after his parents died when he was a teen, he lived with relatives and had the opportunity to go to school with many of his closest friends, including the woman who would become his fiancé. However, he becomes a highly successful businessman, but turns into a mean, miserly, lonely jerk. The Miracle of Ramadan is a classic story of personal and moral redemption.

The only negative thing I can say about this book is that it is written specifically for a Muslim audience. Although the story was quite familiar to me, I do not understand the significance of Ramadan or Eid, nor am I familiar with the foods the author mentioned at the end-of-fast feast. I would have appreciated it if the author had worked some sort of explanation into the story. Despite this, I give The Miracle of Ramadan a five out of five rating. It is beautifully written, with several sketches included, and I enjoyed reading an updated version of this perennial classic. The book is professionally edited, with no typos or grammatical errors, and contains no strong language or sexual scenes. It is appropriate for anyone over the age of seven and would be a perfect book for parents and grandchildren to read to younger children.

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The Miracle of Ramadan
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[Yasmine M]

Drawing a parallel with the classic Charles Dicken's “A Christmas Carol”, and adapting it to ramadan and eid for the Muslim children is quite interesting. I wish the author had explained the cultural background, the customs and food to make it easy to understand for all readers.

[Lunar gate]

It sounds like a must read to me , I am curious about what exactly made him change from a mean, miserly, lonely jerk to a better person