KARACHI UNIVERSITY BUSINESS

SCHOOL

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
BOOK REVIEW
SUBMITTED TO:
MAAM SIDRA HUSSAIN
SUBMITTED BY:
SYEDA MAHEEN MEHMOOD
SUBMITTED ON:

8
th
June 2012
ROLL NO.
67








PEER-E-KAMIL
Peer-e-Kamil (S.A.W), meaning The Perfect Mentor, is a fiction novel authored by
Umera Ahmad. It was first published in Urdu in 2004 and later in English in 2011. The
book deals with the turning points in intervening lives of two people: a girl named Imama
Hashim; and a boy named Salar Sikander having an IQ level above 150. The story spans a
time period of around ten years. It is a story about the belief and faith of a person and
how it can take you to eternal peace.
It is one of the best works of Umera Ahmed and one of the most acclaimed Urdu novel of
the world.
About the author
Umera Ahmed is one of the most widely-read and popular Urdu fiction novelist and
screenplay writer of this era. She was born on December 10, 1976. She belongs to the
renowned city of Sialkot. Umera Ahmed completed her masters in English literature from
Murray College, Sialkot. Later she became an English language lecturer for the students of
O and A levels at Army Public College, Sialkot. However she left the job a few years back
in order to devote her full attention to writing.

She began her writing career in 1998 at a quite young age. Her initial stories were
published in monthly Urdu digests and later came out in the form of books. She has
written about 16 books, comprising of complete novels and compilations of short stories.
However it was her novel "Peer-e-Kamil (S.A.W.W)" which became her identity.

Umera Ahmed earned a big name in showbiz industry as well in a very short span of time.
Many of her novels like Man-o-Salwa, Lahasil, Amar Bail, Husna Aur Husn Ara, Meri
Zaat Zarra-e-Benishan, Darbar-e-Dil, Thora Sa Asmaan, Mein Ney Khwabon Ka
Shajar Dekha Hai, Daam and Sauda have been adapted by television and aired by
different TV channels. Whereas her other TV plays like Uraan, Qaid-e-Tanhai, The Ghost
are based on her scripts. Her plays have been as much of a success as her novels, as they
are watched by the families together.

Her works depicts her pragmatic and mature approach. Her stories revolve around many
social, domestic and spiritual issues; comprising colors of true love, friendship, suspense
and tragedy. What differentiates her from others is her dynamism; resourcefulness and
ambition of bring to light certain controversial issues.
Characters
Main characters:
Imama Hashim - A girl who converts to Muslim from Ahmadiyya.
Salar Sikander - A rich boy, neighbor of Imama, who has an IQ level above 150.
Major characters:
Waseem - Imama's brother
Hashim Mubeen - Father of Imama and Waseem
Javeria - Imamas Friend
Zainab - Imamas Friend
Jalal - A doctor and older brother of Zainab.
Sikander Usman - Salar's father.
Tayyaba - Salar's mother and Sikander Usman's wife.
Saad Zafar - A friend of Salar in New Haven.
Dr Furqan - A devoted Muslim and doctor.
Dr Sibt-e-Ali - An Islamic scholar in Lahore.
Saeeda Amma - First cousin of Sibt-e-Ali.
Plot Summary
Zindagi mein ham kabi na kabi os maqam per aajatey hein jahan saarey rishtey khatam ho
jate hein.Vahan sirf ham hotey hein aur Allah hota ha. Koi maan baap, behan bahi, koi dost
nahi hota. Phir hamein pata chalta ha ke hamarey pairoon ke neechey zameen ha na
hamarey sir ke oper koi aasmaan, bus sirf aik Allah ha jo hamein is khala mein bhe thamey
hoye ha. Phir pata chalta ha ham zameen per parii mattii ke dher mein aik zarey ya
dharakht per lagey hove aik patey se zada ke voqat nahi rakhtey. Phir pata chlata ha ke
hamarey honey ya na honey se sirf hamein he fark parta ha. Sirf hamara kirdaar khatam ho
jata. Kaenaat mein koi tabdlie nahi aatii, kissi cheez per koi asar nahi perta.
Peer-e-Kamil (S.A.W) is about a journey from an extreme to another extreme and it is
justified. It seems to deal with life in general, rather than anything else. With such
amazing charisma, Umera Ahmad has written this profound novel on how a man with so
many talents is surpassed by an average girl, when it comes to arriving on the path of
righteousness. It is a book about how man is nothing and no one to anyone else but
himself, and that it is entirely up to him if he wants to save himself.

From the cover page it seems a book based on Islamic values or religion but its more then
its cover portrays. Writer brought the story in black and white in a manner that couldnt
be done better then that anyway. It just grasps the person in its illusion and mesmerizes
the world which gives the affection as everything is unreal and we are just lying in fantasy
of being Muslim. We are impudent living in a shell of our own designed life along
materials and luxuries.
Set against the backdrops of Islamabad, America, Paris and Lahore; Peer-e-Kamil tells the
story of a boy blinded by his own misgivings about life. It is his journey into a man who is
a complete opposite of the boy he was.
The story begins with a girl named Imama Hashim, belonging to an elite class family of
Qadiyanis, a group of people who choose divergence by selling their faith for money and
are considered non-believers by Islamic Law. Imama grew up in that family but feels
something to be missing. Her friends point out that her religion may be the cause. This
struck her and she found herself pondering over Quran Kareem and Islamic books. She
found what she was looking for in Islam to fulfill the void of her heart. She converts into a
Muslim. Her conversion to Islam brought challenges to her life, and faced rejection and
harsh behavior of her family on her becoming a Muslim. Her family planned her wedding
with her cousin, Asjad, who belonged to Qadiyani firqa too. As it isnt permissible for a
Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim, so she asks for her neighbor, Salars help.
Salar Sikander is an elite class boy with the IQ Level 150+, who was living hell and beyond
ecstasy was the only question for him, but his origin was Muslim Family. He is a very
different and complicated character, who was living a sinful perverse life, life of anyone in
the world but not that of how a good Muslim should live.
Imama wishes to marry Jalal, but Salar lies to her that Jalal has married someone else.
Imama is saddened and asks Salar to marry her so that her family will not be able to force
her. Salar helps her and marries but soon after loses contact with her.
Imama finds a sanctuary under Sibt-e-Ali and his family. She changes her name and
completes her studies and starts working in a pharmaceutical company in Lahore. She
hates Salar because he refused to divorce her as he had promised.
Salar later travels to New Haven for education, then he works for United Nations for
some time before permanently settling in Lahore. Getting involved in helping Imama,
gave him a chance to study and examine Islam and get the chance to examine himself
closely and see how sinful life he has been spending all life long.
Being an extraordinary student, he has always been so far gone heady into the feeling of
superiority that he cannot understand the meaning of 'Siratum Mustaqeem' or the right
path. He doesn't know what the right path is and of all the people he has ever met in life,
he loathes the one who claims to be religious. Those people are the worst because to him.
They just exaggerate everything about themselves to the hilt.

Time goes on and Salar finds himself changing, especially the time he is tied to a tree for a
whole night wearing only his Bermuda shorts. There he truly understands the next levels
of ecstasy.
Coming to point after salutation, the facts shown in the book were heart & soul shaking.
Many among us dont think about this and coming life but only consider it as to have the
luxuries and to relax after working hard for gathering these luxuries. The only right path
starts from ALLAH and ends at his beloved last Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W).
Life is to live according to what deem you right, not what the system deem it right. God
has given us the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. And when we are given
the option, we have to choose wisely, we wont be given chances too many times.
Peer-e-Kamil is about following the path of righteousness. It is about un-deterring faith in
the face of every difficulty in life. It teaches a profound lesson about how to live and how
our life will achieve a meaningful stage. It is about finding ourselves through our Creator.
It is about the search for life itself.