Dar al-Safwa in Lebanon has issued the fourth edition of the book (Love in Marital Relationships) by Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi, after it was printed in three editions that sold out from the markets.
The fourth edition is distinguished by being a revised edition, expanded with some ideas and stories, and it also contains an introduction particular to this edition.
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You can download the fourth edition and read it from here
And to view the previous edition and the covers of the other editions
Introduction to the Fourth Edition
When I wrote this book that is in your hands, dear reader, and it came out into the light in its first edition, it stirred a relative stagnation on the subject of marital love in the milieu in which it spread. That stirring gave rise to the readers' reactions, the divergence of their opinions, and the difference in how they dealt with and received the book and the subject of the book. All of them, despite their divergence, were gladdening to me.
I saw fit in this edition, to which I have added some modifications and vital additions, to present to you some of those reactions, so that you may see the ways in which people received the book and how they dealt with it.
Perhaps we may come to know our reality better through these opinions; indeed you will benefit from the angles from which some looked at it and the remarks they mentioned. So I leave you with those pleasant situations:
He Reads the Book in Secret
One of the men who obtained a copy of the book, who owns an office in public relations and design, read the book stealthily, without telling his wife about the book. One day she noticed that he was hiding a book from her, so she asked him about the subject of this book he was reading. He did not tell her, and merely asked her: Have you felt an improvement in my treatment of you these days? She said: Yes, praise be to Allah, you have become very gentle.. He replied to her: That is enough.
This man afterwards offered to me to print the book in a completely different form, so that it would be like a precious artifact, and I refused the offer, because the price of the book would have become exorbitantly expensive for people.
The Two Mark with a Pen What They Hope For
A husband and wife, recently joined by the legal marriage contract but before the wedding, agreed that each of them would read the book and place a mark on what he or she hoped the other party would practice in the coming marital life. So the husband read it and placed his marks, and the wife read it and placed her marks..
A Costly Gift
One of the husbands gave his wife a copy of the book as a gift on the occasion of her birthday. She was very pleased with it and read it avidly, and after that she began to remind him of what was in the book he had given her whenever he fell short in something or neglected something.
I do not know this man, but he sends me greetings through an acquaintance from time to time, saying to him: Convey greetings of peace to the Sayed who got us into trouble.
He Is Embarrassed by the Cover
One of the distributors of the book told me that some people said they wished to acquire the book, but what prevented acquiring it was the cover, of the first edition, for it is romantic, with a deep-red rose on it and a gift-box ribbon, its background studded with roses, and the title of the book in the shape of a heart!
A Valuable Gift
When I gave the book to one of the well-to-do, I was surprised by his call a week later; he showered me with words of thanks and praise and said: I have read the book three times. And he gave me, may he be thanked, a valuable gift.
A Desire to Translate the Book
The book reached one of the Arab countries and fell into the hands of a married couple who work in university teaching. They were affected by the book and told a friend that they had the desire to translate the book into French, since that language is widespread in that country, because the book on love had changed their marital concepts and they felt the warmth of marital love, so they wished that the greatest possible number might benefit from it.
They contacted me and I agreed to the request. The Ministry of Information in their country asked them for written permission from the author, so I gave them the permission, but the ministry rejected the request after it had read the book, for it read in it the verses and narrations from the Prophet (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (a).
The Wishes of Wives
Many wives read the book and wished their husbands liked reading, so that they would read the book and their horizons would open to some ideas on marital love. However, some of them practice some of the guidelines that appeared in the book, because practicing them on one side is enough to bring back an echo.
The Book Is Beautiful Except for One Chapter
The husband expressed his admiration for the book, and the wife likewise shared his opinion, except that she said: Everything in the book is beautiful and useful, but there is a chapter at the end that speaks of the love of a second wife.
The husband smiled and said: But that is for one who is actually married to a second wife; the solution is that he love them both together, and that they both love him together.
Sold at Four Times Its Price
When I was on the Hajj to the Sacred House of Allah, I met an old acquaintance. I exchanged conversation with him and asked him about his work, and he told me that he had a side job selling books. I said to myself that this was an opportunity to tell him about distributing the book on love in their country, in which many books are banned. I said to him: I have a book entitled (Love in Marital Relationships); can you sell it? Note that I said to him I have a book, and I did not tell him that I am the author of the book. He said: I have this book, but we sell it in our country as a photocopy. I said: Are you sure? What is the author's name? And what is the cover like? He said: I know it, and he did indeed describe the cover, but he did not remember the author's name. So I said to him: For how much do you sell the book? He mentioned an amount equal to four times its price in bookstores.
A Religious Scholar Should Not Write about Love
The host of the program (And What They Write), while conducting a television interview with me about the book, told me that one of the intellectuals told him that he does not support men of religion writing on the subject of love, and attributed the reason to the fact that one other than a man of religion would feel freer in writing.
He asked me for my comment, and I said to him: Since religion has a conception of love, it is our responsibility to bring it out, so that people do not take their ideas from those who promote mistaken concepts in the field of love; and there is no objection to any other writer feeling free.. but everyone must speak within the limits of morals and decency.
The Author of Love
A religious scholar said to me when he first saw the book: al-Akhund, one of the scholars of usul, is called the Author of al-Kifaya, in reference to the name of his book which is taught in the Hawzas, and you will be called the Author of Love!
I said to him with a smile: And is religion anything but love!
There are many amusing incidents, pleasantries and opinions that I cannot remember in full, and there is no objection to a few references: One of the scholars, when the book fell into his hands, said with a smile: We must examine ourselves against the book after this lifetime. Another scholar said jokingly: Ma shaʾ Allah, has it come to this with you?!.. Another said: Among our priorities is that we write and educate people on such topics, because they are a matter of common affliction. And when the eyes of one of the scholars fell on the book he asked me about the number of copies I had printed and how the book was financed. Another asked me: Does the book contain narrations of the Ahl al-Bayt? I said to him with a smile: Yes. He said: Then I will read it; I really do want to read this book.
I cannot fail, at the end, to thank everyone who offered thanks and remarks about the book, verbally, or by messenger, or by e-mail, or on my website on the internet.
And I hope for you, dear reader, as you read the fourth edition of the book, that it offers you something that serves your marital life.
And I thank you for choosing this book.
Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
