Peer- e kamil by Umera Ahmed Book Summary

Today’s book is a very popular one—Peer-e-Kamil. After reading this book, I felt a little disappointed. Why? I will tell you at the end, we will talk about the book in detail. First, let’s go through the summary of this book.

Imama was a career-oriented girl who wanted to become an eye surgeon. She was passionate about her career. She wasn’t very strong emotionally, nor was she particularly religious. Her family was not deeply rooted in Islam, though they claimed to be Muslims. Imama was engaged to a family member against her will, and even though her father insisted, she agreed under pressure.

Imama’s friends often told her, “I wish you were a Muslim,” which made her curious. She began reading about Islam, did extensive research, and gradually her interest grew. Eventually, she accepted Islam without informing her parents and kept it hidden.

One day, Imama called her friend Zainab and, while they were talking, heard someone reciting Naat in the background. She asked Zainab who it was, and Zainab said it was her brother Jalal, who was very talented in Naat recitation and had won many awards. Imama became more interested in him, and gradually she fell in love. They got into a relationship.

Once, when Imama was home for a holiday, her brother Wasim rushed to her, saying that their neighbor Salar Sikandar had attempted suicide again. Wasim asked Imama to help, but she responded that she wasn't a doctor yet and told him to take Salar to the hospital. Wasim insisted, so Imama visited Salar’s house, bandaged his hand, and sent him to the hospital.

Salar was an intelligent but stubborn and reckless boy with an IQ above 150. He was obsessed with the idea of death and kept attempting suicide just to feel what it was like. His father was wealthy, and Salar was spoiled, not religious, and behaved badly with everyone.

Meanwhile, Imama’s father was arranging her marriage, but she didn’t want to marry anyone except Jalal. Since she had accepted Islam, she couldn’t marry a non-Muslim and couldn’t explain this to her father. When she finally tried to, her father beat her and locked her inside the house.

Imama then called Jalal and explained everything, asking him to marry her to escape the forced marriage. Jalal refused, saying that her family was too rich and influential, and he couldn’t deal with that. Despite her pleading, Jalal didn’t agree. So, Imama turned to Salar for help. Salar approached Jalal, but he still refused. Imama then asked Salar to marry her.

Salar, craving adventure, agreed and married her secretly. When her parents found out she had married someone, they still tried to force her into their arranged marriage. Imama ran away from home with Salar’s help, and he dropped her in another city. Afterwards, the police came to Salar’s house because of Imama’s influential family. Salar’s father, who was also wealthy, handled the situation and then sent Salar to America for studies.

Before leaving, Salar’s father asked him to divorce Imama, but Salar refused. In America, he had multiple girlfriends and continued living recklessly, yet remained mentally disturbed and guilty. Slowly, he began changing—he started praying, going to the mosque, and adopting a more religious life. Even after all this, he still felt lost.

One day, during a vacation in his home country, Salar was attacked by goons who tied him up and left him in a jungle. He was rescued and taken to a hospital. His parents, thinking it was another one of his stunts, didn’t take him seriously at first. Salar cried and confessed everything, and from that point on, he gradually changed. He changed his look, his behavior, started reading books, burned all his posters, and became a religious man.

He returned to America, finished his studies, got a job, and started working. Around 5–6 years passed, and no one knew where Imama was. Salar kept looking for her but couldn’t find her.

Upon returning to his country, Salar met a man named Furqan and they became good friends. Furqan admired Salar’s intelligence and new personality. Wanting to contribute to the country, Salar began working on several initiatives with Furqan’s help. Furqan took Salar to meet a man named Sibte Ali. Salar grew to respect him deeply.

Salar also met an old woman, who turned out to be Sibte Ali’s sister. One day, he received an invitation to her daughter’s wedding. Salar didn’t want to attend social events and stayed away, but Furqan went. A disaster happened there—the groom ran away. Everyone began urging Salar to marry the girl.

Salar was hesitant because he was already married and had told everyone he was waiting for someone. However, Sibte Ali personally requested him. Unable to refuse, Salar agreed. Neither the bride nor Salar wanted to live together.

Before going ahead, Salar decided to tell the girl everything. When he met her, he was shocked—it was Imama. At first, Imama didn’t want to go with him because she didn’t consider him a good person.

Imama then talked to Sibte Ali, who explained that Salar had changed completely and deserved a chance. That night, Salar visited Sibte Ali and confessed everything—his guilt, his transformation, and how he had always waited for Imama. Imama was moved by his sincerity and agreed to go home with him. They started living together.

Now, coming to the review of the book—honestly, it felt very dragging. The story had a TV serial vibe. Salar’s character is well-developed, and Imama is portrayed as a strong girl. The setup is solid, but the pace is slow. The book has about 400 pages, and most of it focuses on Salar—his transformation from a non-religious person to a religious man.

Imama’s portion is very small—around 10–12 pages at the end and 50 pages in the beginning. The rest is all about Salar. Additionally, a major disappointment for me was that the second part of the story, which depicts how Salar and Imama live together and what happens next, is written in Urdu—a language I am unfamiliar with.

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