Manzil: A Gift of Spiritual Eminence 
 On the day of my parents' marriage in 1999 they were given a significant gift. It was a book of supplications called Manzil. This compact book contains Quranic verses recited for protection and healing. The pages are worn and softened by years of use. Its condition shows the deep reliance my family has placed on it in their daily spiritual lives.  More importantly, it contains the pride that has been bridging the cultures of more than fifty seven countries for centuries.     
              Manzil has origins far older than my family. It dates back centuries as a collection of 33 specific Quranic verses.  It prominently includes the greatest ayah or verse of the Quran, “Ayatul Kursi.” The Prophet Muhammad recited these verses for protection. The Manzil is typically recited for protection against the evil eye, black magic, and other forms of attainable spiritual harm. Over time scholars ensured that its practice endured.
             Opening the unassuming book yields the sight of human writing on the first page. It is the fully handwritten note of my grandfather in Bengali. As a college professor, he never shirked the habit of reading both the academic and the spiritual. And it is the proficiency in the latter that he so deeply wished for his son and daughter-in-law regardless of where they were in life. 

– Ali Hasnain

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child