Books have been my constant companions since I started to read age 2+. The blog wouldn’t be complete without me recommending some books that I found pivotal to shaping my worldview on nature. Without doubt, the Qur’an tops the list.
Some of the other books are:
- The Children of Cherry Tree Farm by Enid Blyton. I read this book in my formative years and wanted to live like Tammylan, the “wild man,” in his house of trees and with his animal friends.
- The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Another one of my formative years’ books. It sparked the idea that animals can also communicate just like us.
- Man and Nature by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Reading it in my university days, this book transformed my thinking about the Islamic framework on our relationship with the natural world.
- Green Deen by Ibrahim Abdul-Matin. It discusses about how we can live an environmentally ethical way of life guided by Islamic values.
- Natural Connection by Joycelyn Longdon. It is a powerful book about how we can learn from the indigenous and marginalised people about environmental action. Breaks away from the colonial mindset of dominating nature.
- Seeing God Everywhere edited by Barry McDonald. A collection of essays from various world religious traditions on how nature is a reflection of God.
- Signs on the Earth by Fazlun M Khalid. An appeal to people of faiths, especially Muslims, to anchor ‘progress’ and ‘development’ within the sacred traditions of caring for the Earth.
- The Nature Process by Tabitha Jayne. Tabitha Jayne is also my coach in the NatureAware Project. The book explores how to become attuned to our multiple senses.
- A Climate of Truth by Mike Berners-Lee. In essence, to speak truth to power, especially when the powerful are lying to us and destroying the planet.
What I am currently reading:
- Animals in the Qur’an by Sarra Tlili. Much of what she wrote is basically what I have already deduced from my own study of the Qur’an. But her usage of the earlier exegesis as her basis of argument is interesting.
