Book Review: ‘Broken-Not a Halal Love Story’ by Fatima Bala

The environment and families that raise us shape the kind of people we become later in life. They shape our beliefs and how we perceive the world and people around us. 

Broken: Not a Halal Love Story by Fatima Bala is a love story set in Canada and Nigeria, and it draws us into how this phenomenon happens.

The story follows Fa’iza and Ahmad. Fai’za was raised in an Islamic home in Nigeria by Judge Mohammed and her well-mannered mother, Umma, alongside her two brothers.

Ahmad, on the other hand, as the author describes him, is a handsome and confident man raised in a modern ambassadorial Islamic family in Canada with his sister, Afreen.

The two meet for the first time at an airport when Fa’iza is heading to Canada to study law. Ahmad catches her attention when he accidentally bumps into Fa’iza and unapologetically keeps on walking without acknowledging his mistake. 

Faiza’s family is the opposite of Ahmad’s. She is raised to live by her religious values. The two families are similar and different at the same time. They are both from Northern Nigeria, but Ahmad’s family is liberal and Faiza’s is conservative.

Once in Canada, Fa’iza is left in the care of Ahmad’s mother, Mami. Fa’iza meets Ahmad for the second time when she stays with his family as she finishes logistics at the university.

Ahmad finds himself drawn to Fa’iza; her softness and the way she carries herself blow his mind in ways he did not think possible. Ahmad is not used to her kindness. His past choices were as apart from her as the earth and the sky. He never cared about dating someone with the same beliefs as him until he met Fa’iza.

Their attraction to each other is undeniable. They start a relationship, unaware of how profoundly it will change their lives in ways they could never have imagined.

Amid their differences, they discover similarities that draw them closer, such as a shared love for books and the ease of conversation. They enjoy each other’s company without feeling the need to pretend, embracing who they truly are with one another.

“He loved books as much as I did. We’d even read the same authors,” Fa’iza thought to herself in class.

In Islam, a man is not allowed to touch a woman who is not his wife, and neither are they allowed to be alone without a chaperone to monitor their actions. This makes their relationship haram; it can only become halal if they get married.

This pushes them to start talking about marriage and what it means to them. Ahmad does not see the point of marrying someone simply because he wants to make it halal for him to do what lovers do.

“What sustains marriage, then?” Fa’iza asks. “Security,” he answers. He continues; “It’s knowing that my woman will always be my woman, regardless of what life throws at me: she is a friend first, then my wife. Any man will claim to love you, but true love endures even on the days when you are difficult to love. You need an unshakeable belief in his constancy.”

Through her book, Bala reveals how Muslims are expected to lead their lives, from how they treat people to how they carry themselves in life. She explains why they are expected to wear hijabs and the reason they pray five times a day without fail. Her work uncovers why Muslims need to always eat halal food and why polygamy is a norm in their religion.

Bala brings in how domestic violence affects women and children across the world when Fa’iza starts volunteering at a shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. In the shelter, Bala shows how vital a shelter is for kids and women.

While here, Fa’iza learns how to run a shelter and decides to open one when she gets back home to provide the same home for the women and children in Abuja. 

As they try to avoid sinning and make their relationship halal, a soul-breaking event happens to them—one that only the strongest love can help them overcome.

We are so blinded by the beautiful couples we see on social media, thinking, “Aaw, goals,” but most of the time, we do not see the scars and battles they endure to be who they are.

This book is for everyone, every Muslim girl struggling with her faith. It is for a Muslim brother who struggles to understand what his faith means to him. It is for anyone looking to read about how the power of one’s love could bring them closer to faith and God.

Broken: Not a Halal Love Story by Fatima Bala is a well-written book about what it means to love and to have faith in one’s religion. It is a book worth reading.

Jane Shussa is passionate about books, coffee, nature, and travel. She serves as a Senior Digital Communications Officer for Twaweza East Africa.