Hearts Turn: Sinners, Seekers, Saints & The Road To Redemption

’Hearts Turn’ is a singular and gripping exploration of the act of 'tawba', a Qur’anic term commonly translated as repentance. In English, repentance is a forbidding word that suggests a puritanical finality. But in Arabic the term 'tawba' is dynamic, meaning to ‘turn’ or ‘return’. 'At-Tawwab' is one of the Names of God, the Oft-Returning or Ever-Relenting. It is an active constant, an ongoing, compassionate reality that renews every moment we are alive. The process of purification is a process of continuous turning.

In ‘Hearts Turn’ Michael Sugich, author of ‘Signs on the Horizons’, tells stories that are harrowing and hilarious, heartrending and bizarre, profane and transcendent, and altogether full of hope, showing how men and women from many parts of the world and many walks of life have turned themselves around and taken a fork in the road toward a higher reality. “This book is a declaration of mercy and certainty. Formed of a collection of stories I’ve experienced, read or heard, about how malleable the human heart can be and how wrongdoing, remorse, need, and yearning intersect with Divine Compassion, Forgiveness and Guidance. It is also about the sudden transitions from confusion to clarity, from sin to virtue, from sleep to wakefulness, from ignorance to knowledge, from foolishness to wisdom. And finally it is about the path of our lives, which leads us gradually, and for those who God favours, inexorably to salvation.”

Praise for the Book

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“A proclamation of hope in dark times and a harbinger of grace. Michael Sugich reminds us that even within dysfunctional cultures and in extreme circumstances, hearts still turn in yearning to God and paths still open that lead to profound transformation and personal salvation.” - Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah

“A really heartwarming book…for a generation of young Muslims and converts who face inner doubts and in need of a few smart lessons from Michael’s journeybook, told through many voices and his own unique spiritual history. It is a relief to know I am not alone.” - Yusuf/Cat Stevens

“A brilliantly written reminder that God’s Mercy is always open to each of us, no matter our position in life. Michael Sugich is a master storyteller. I loved this book.” - Sami Yusuf

“Like the bards and griots of old Michael Sugich weaves a collection of stories which take us on a journey, not only into the lives of his protagonists, but deeper into our own self-awareness.” - Baraka Blue

MICHAEL SUGICH IS a native of Santa Barbara, California and studied at UCLA and the California Institute of the

Arts. He was initiated into a traditional Sufi order in 1972. Since that time he has studied Sufi doctrine and practice

with spiritual masters across the Arab and Islamic world. He lived for 23 years in the precincts of the sacred city of

Makkah al-Mukarama where he kept company with many men of knowledge and illumination. He has been a

professional writer and communications advisor for forty years, and has written three books, including ‘Signs on the

Horizon’. He was the co-founder of a successful public relations practice and has advised corporate leaders, senior

religious figures and politicians.

He has lived in London, Bristol, Cairo and Dubai and currently resides in Istanbul beside the Sea of Marmara.

His Muslim name is Haroon.