I've always loved listening to him and reading his book because for me he shows the real face of Islam. The Islam that is warm, loving and all around beautiful.

In the first few pages I found his quote "Bacalah Al-Qur'an seakan-akan dia diturunkan kepadamu" and I was stunned because I've never thought of that. Now that I see it that way, I can see how relatable it is to our daily life and how it can guides us every step of the way. The answer is all there, we just have to look.

There was a story about his relationship with Soeharto especially since he stepped down, losing the first lady and until the former President took his final breath. He gave his eulogy and stood by his belief that you should just speak good about other people whether they are still alive or not.


This reminds me of the talk he gave during break-fasting event at Mbak Elaa's house two weeks ago. He said that it's not the big thing that Allah is asking from you, like going to Hajj or perform Umrah every single year. Allah likes the things you do on your everyday life, He prefers you to forgive and be nice to people who've hurt you. We never know which good deeds that will bring us to heaven, that's why we have to plant kindness and good deeds.

It was also mentioned in the book that for him, one of the worst things we can do is to stop where we are now, not improving and not trying to achieve perfection. Exactly what he said during the talk that Allah likes those who are willing to go the extra mile!

So note to self: don't stop and never think you've done enough. There's always more you can do and there's always things to improve.