Spiritual Transformation under Family Strain: The African American Muslim Revert’s Journey in Umm Zakiyyah’s A Voice

Abstract

This study performs a rigorous analytical reading of Umm Zakiyyah’s A Voice via the Qur’ānic ethical framework incorporating tawḥīd–istiqāmah (oneness and steadfastness), sabr–tawakkul (patience and trust), jihād al-nafs–tazkiyah (inner striving and purification), and birr al-wālidayn–ibtilāʾ (filial piety during trials), with the aim of examining the novel’s African American Muslim revert character’s transformation whilst navigating strong maternal opposition. The analysis demonstrates the novel’s form in performing its ethics: internal monologues elucidating theology; calibrated dialogues and strategic silences enacting speech ethics; pacing and repetitions modelling patience and trust; and recurrent threshold, sound, and touch motifs translating filial duty into personified care. It is revealed that ethical heroism is embodied by domestic spaces such as the kitchen, doorways, phone line, and hospital ward; speech restraint represents moral agency, clearly distinct from tenderness; and the four clusters are interdependent on one another, with virtue under trial being anchored by tawḥīd, sustained by sabr–tawakkul, refined by jihād al-nafs, and concretized by birr. Positioned within the African American reversion narrative, A Voice puts the spotlight on the female protagonist and the intimate labour of belief. The study provides a Qur’ānic ethical framework replicable for literary criticism, emphasizing craft while shedding light on theological issues. The notion of “steadfast tenderness” can be used to guide Muslim minority communities, mentor reverts, and lead interfaith family interactions.

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