Hassan Abdul Aziz

Assalamu alaykum,

I’m Hassan Abdul Aziz, the author of Amari.

Fifteen years ago, I set out to become an Islamic filmmaker. I had always been fascinated by Islamic history and the great civilizations and personalities connected to it. One day, while sitting in front of my laptop searching for an idea, I asked myself a simple question:

Why are there epic historical fiction films about so many civilizations and faiths, yet so few centered around Islam?

That question became the beginning of Amari.

At the time, I envisioned it as a massive historical film inspired by the scale and ambition of classics like Ben-Hur. I began writing the screenplay with enormous excitement, convinced I was about to create something unforgettable.

Then reality arrived.

Halfway through the script, I realized that producing a historical epic of that scale would require resources far beyond anything I possessed. The dream of becoming an Islamic filmmaker slowly faded, and eventually I stepped away from both the screenplay and filmmaking itself to focus on building a more stable life and career.

But the story of Amari never truly left me.

Fifteen years later, after finding financial stability through online business, I finally had time to return to creative work again. By then, I had become increasingly aware of how rare Islamic historical fiction novels were, especially stories that explored the shared historical world of the three Abrahamic religions.

So I returned to Amari — not as a screenplay, but as a novel.

Over the next two years, I devoted myself to writing and researching the world of the story, studying the historical timelines, cultures, and traditions connected to the three Abrahamic faiths to make the novel feel as immersive and authentic as possible.

Today, Amari exists as a novel in Audiobook, hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats.

As a debut novelist, I remain deeply grateful to every reader willing to take a chance on this story and support independent Islamic fiction. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading or listening to Amari as much as I enjoyed writing it, inshaAllah.

Assalamu alaykum.