By Mindful Muslim Reader
“Wisdom is the lost property of the believer. Wherever he finds it, he is most worthy of it.” —Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
Stories transform us and build our narratives. Our children will reflect the stories they consume: in their words, in their actions, and most importantly in their worldview. Hence, we seek stories that carry messages of wisdom and morality rooted in tradition—from Rumi to Austen, we are virtue-hunters.
Here at Mindful Muslim Reader, we curate book lists for children that showcase the best of what the English language has to offer. While some books we recommend celebrate Muslim heritage, others dive deep into fantastical worlds of dragons and beasts. Whether poetry or STEM books, biographies or science fiction, we want to put books worth reading into the hands of our children—books that nurture both hearts and minds.
BEYOND IDENTITY
We aim to reach beyond Muslim identity and ground children in Islamic thinking.
While it is certainly relevant for our children to see an outward expression of themselves represented in books, it is equally–if not arguably–more important for our children to see their inward moral-selves reflected in the stories they read.
Islam guides us to morality, however, Muslims do not own morality. Morality is both universal and unique, both ancient and pristine. It is as intrinsic to human history as it is inherent to the newborn. Indeed, it is in our fitra—our primordial nature.
Therefore, we do not only recommend books that make children “feel Muslim” (i.e. Muslim books), we also recommend books that teach children to “think Islamically” — to view the world from a God-centric frame of mind, a life aligned with the Divine.
We are on a critical quest to find books for children that help them think and act Islamically, through language, virtue, story, and beauty. God willing, with each turn of the page, these books advance the minds and hearts of our children and better equip them to sail the stormy seas of modernity and arrive at the shore of Truth.
