Daily Times

The Eye of the Prophet is a chapter-based book of one of the most loved and known writers of the world Kahlil Gibran. It was published in France. It got the copyrights translation in French in 1991 while in English in 1995 printed in the United States. The book is in overall 76 chapters most of which belong to social sciences like, philosophy, literature, love, people, law, liberty, war, ignorance, pain, body, money, poetry, existence, eternity and much more. It contains 138 pages in the edition of Pakistani publishers.

It seems as though Kahlil Gibran wants to interact with the readers and make them observe things deeply It also helps add English literature and creates humanitarians all across the globe once read thoroughly.

I love the way Gibran evaluates everything so simply with logic and thought. He backs everything with proof forcing the reader to ponder over each and everything. He defines everything with smoothness and perfection. No wonder the book has been read globally

One of the best things about the book is that as a Pakistani reader, Gibran has discussed upon some very critical matters which are rarely discussed in our society such as women, love, encouragement, motivation, hate, the different types of people and much more. Though they are the part of our daily lives, we have very less courage to discuss them openly. I consider such things as promoters of creativity among people.

In another place, I would like to appreciate the flow of writing of the author who manages to convey his message to the readers in the most precise tactic. It’s found in very few writers to have the clarity in disseminating their message to the readers with very few words. But GIBRAN had been doing it quite well and interestingly. He wrote in less wordings but these words speak a lot.

It, on the other side of the picture, motivates readers to get into the habit of reading because everything is placed perfectly in the short book. It has been motivating numerous readers to think of the wonders of the world and visualise what the writer is trying to portray. The youth can especially connect to the book as there are certain moment they can relate to. Many young people have read this book and are in awe of it.

Finally, the book is categorised in different topics which will, for sure, have a great impact on our knowledge and understanding power as far as a student is concerned. Besides, it provides some great motivation to demotivated individuals in any aspect of life for this brief book contains the best leading stories of any society. I strongly recommend it to all.

The Eye of the Prophet is a luminous collection of Gibran’s writings translated from Arabic into French and now into English. Here, the author is the poetic, philosophical moralist, grounded in Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, seeking the best in people, refusing to separate humankind from the natural world. Ordinary work and life, he says, has the potential to be inherently noble, if we can learn to enact our affairs with the sublimity of nature’s creations.

Gibran’s descriptions celebrate the dignity and freedom of animals, birds, the seasons, oceans, clouds. His is a poet’s eye; he abhors the “tentacles of government” and calls on citizens to question all ideologies. In this book, he writes about life’s great moments and passages; eternal essences and grapples with nationalism, religion and spiritual growth. The Eye of the Prophet blends Christian, Muslim and Buddhist ideals into a great spiritual tapestry that transcends all cultural divisions.

The writer is a teacher at DELTA. He can be reached at alijanmaqsood17@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, February 17^th 2019.