A living faith in the heart of the world: My journey of faith by Soundous Moustarhim

With My journey of faithSoundous Moustarhim, 34 years old, has written a rare book: both an intimate story, a spiritual meditation and a manifesto for a spirituality anchored in everyday life. Published by J’ai Lu, in the Phaos collection, the work recounts the journey of this Belgian author of Moroccan origin, known on the networks under the name @SounFit. From her childhood in a caring Muslim family, where her parents passed on the faith without ever imposing it, to her overwhelming experience of Umrah in Mecca, from her motherhood to her personal trials, she delivers words that are both modest and deeply embodied.

A free and peaceful spirituality

What strikes you first is the tone. No trace of preaching or defensive speech: Soundous Moustarhim does not seek to convince, she tells. His Islam is neither restrictive nor austere; it is experienced as a breath that connects to God and the world. Prayer, “my refuge”, becomes a moment of vital refocusing, a force that accompanies joys and pains. She describes moments of grace where the divine presence becomes almost palpable, but also passages of doubt: faith “breathes, evolves, flashes”.

She talks at length about the educational tenderness of her parents, two teachers who made their home a place of fairness, respect and serenity. Among them, religion was not constrained but exemplary: a peaceful framework where love and justice naturally gave meaning to spiritual practices. This family atmosphere has rooted an essential certainty: faith is received as an interior light, never as an imposed rule.

A faith lived beyond dogma

Soundous Moustarhim never reduces faith to a simple sum of rites. She repeats: the pillars of Islam – prayer, fasting, sharing, pilgrimage – “are not an end in themselves”, but supports the inner journey. For her, faith is an intimate pilgrimage, a movement of the heart that goes beyond formal obligations. She speaks of “total love”, of “intelligence of the heart”, of this force which “transforms pain into power”.

This spiritual outlook, nourished by Sufism, opens up a space of freedom. We can be close to God “without necessarily claiming to be a religion,” she writes. His Islam is neither a closed system nor an identity marker: it is a living quest, where each emotion, each trial becomes a sign of the divine.

Deconstruct the clichés

Soundous Moustarhim also responds, implicitly, to the reductive image of Islam often conveyed in Europe. The hijab, she says, can be a “spiritual and personal choice”; Muslim women are not condemned to submission but, from the beginning, honored and active. By recounting the simplicity of her family – parents who were schoolteachers, a balanced childhood in Brussels – she shows an Islam lived on a daily basis, far from caricatures.

This desire for reconciliation is at the heart of the book. It is aimed at Muslims in search of meaning as well as those who feel distant from a religion sometimes presented in a rigid way. But also to non-Muslims curious to understand a relationship with God that is neither withdrawal nor identity claims.

Simple writing, universal depth

The strength of My journey of faith is due to the clarity of his language. Written in clear French, the book reads like listening to a nearby voice. Soundous Moustarhim talks about motherhood, pain, letting go, without theological jargon. She inscribes Islam in the texture of ordinary lives: a prayer rug that keeps the dust of the desert, a tear that becomes prayer, a thank you whispered in the night.

His remarks join a universal quest: how to inhabit the world without owning it? How to transform suffering into strength? How to love unconditionally? In this sense, his approach recalls the great witnesses of spirituality – from Rûmî to Etty Hillesum – for whom faith is not a narrow refuge but an opening.

A voice that counts

By mixing personal story, mystical depth and reflection on society, Soundous Moustarhim offers more than a simple testimony: a literary and spiritual gesture. My journey of faith is an invitation to re-enchant our relationship with the divine, whether we are believers, searching or simply attentive to the spiritual dimension of existence.

In a landscape where Islam is too often caricatured, this book makes a female voice heard, free and peaceful. A book to read, absolutely, for anyone who wants to understand the vitality of a spirituality which combines fidelity and freedom. It’s a reading that soothes, that uplifts, that makes you want to slow down and look at life differently.

Soundous Moustarhim, My journey of faithÉditions J’ai Lu – Phaos Collection