Islamic Books for Children

The wonderful Sister Umm Nassim recently asked "Can you recommend some Islamic books you read with/to the children, especially Little Lady?" So I had a quick root around on their book shelf and bedroom and found the following:

The Berry and Acorn series by Sajda Nazlee - these are suitable for fairly fluent readers and Little Lady really enjoyed reading them and has done so more than once.

Tell Me About Muhammad bySaniyasnain Khan - again suitable for a fluent reader. This book has a good level of detail but was still interesting enough to hold Little Lady's attenion. I felt like she learned a lot from this book. This is also a good one for quiz type question and answer learning as it is full of facts.

I Can Pray Anywhere by Aisha Ghani - This one didn't peak the children's interest as much. I think because it is not in a story format which will often keep children involved. I think this book is best used with younger children and with plenty of enthusiasm and opportunities for discussion with children.

What do we say...(A Guide to Islamic Manners) by Noorah Kathryn Abdullah - again, one that Little Lady has looked at but not returned to. I don't think that this reflects on the quality of content, but rather the format and her age. I think this is good for younger children, with its nice picture prompts and some basic situations and what you should say in them. I think this needs parent-child interaction and discussion to be beneficial.

Goodnight Stories from the Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Saniyasnain Khan - All of my children enjoyed having this read to them and really benefitted and remembered the events desrcibed. Little Lady also enjoyed reading this on her own.

These books are from the Quran Stories for Little Hearts and The Prophet Muhammad for Little Hearts series by Saniyasnain Khan - again the children enjoyed having these read to them and Little Lady was happy to pick them up herself. It has been gratifying to see that the children remember the stories.

My Quran Freinds Storybook and My First Quran Storybook by Saniyasnain Khan - Little Lady reads these herself and to the boys, again they have learnt a lot from these.

My Prayer Book by Darrussalam - I liked th step-by-step guide and pictures in this book which show us how to perform our daily prayers. Each step is accompanied by the relevant prayers in Arabic. I think this book would be ideal for an adult trying to learn to pray for the first time. However children who don't already know the arabic words might find this book difficult to use. This might be good to supplement your children's practical learning at the stage you are physically showing them how to pray as the pictures would serve as good memory prompts.

This is the book we use for our daily studies (usually 15 minutes a bedtime). The purpose is for the children to learn from the example of the Prophet (PBUH), start to learn some short hadith and to be inspired by the example of the Sahabah (RA), the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH). There is a section called "Children's Devotion to Islam" whicc chronicles events in the lives of the Sahabah's children and another called "Women's Couarge and Spirit for Islam" which is my and Little Lady's favourite, particularly any mention of the Prophet's (PBUH) aunt Saffiyah (RA) who is one of the Sahabah who we are really inspired by (although we have love and awe for all of them insh'Allah)

I think this is one book in particular which has inspired the children, particularly in terms of emphasising the importance of dawah for each and every Muslim and the fact that children have a role too. I like that it gives role models of children who are aspire to be great Muslim's and will do anything in their love of Allah (SWT) and his Prophet (PBUH).

The kids came home from madrassah recently and stated "Mum, a man came to madrassah and embraced Islam today, now he is in our family" (LL's exact words) mash'Allah, their sheer joy made me sooo happy.

Below is the basic Quaida, or practice book, called Ahsanul Qawaid which my children use. This teaches from the alphabet to full sentences of the Quran. This Quaida also includes tajweed, or pronunciation, rules and explanations to ensure you are reading accurately insh'Allah (I used the same book for my tajweed lessons a few years back)

I would love to hear from Sisters about which books or resources really made a difference in their children's learning and love for Islam insh'allah.