Ayat Jamilah: Beautiful Signs: A Treasury of Islamic Wisdom for Children and Parents (This Little Light of Mine)

We read a story each night and loved it! We will be rereading this, inshaAllah! My kids thoroughly enjoyed the stories and I love that these stories come from all over the Muslim world. It was very enlightening to hear different perspectives, based on culture, to teach a lesson.

In the name of God the Merciful and the Benevolent... Thus opens every story in this book, a collection of Islamic stories for families and children. Drawn from across the Muslim world, this book collects together countless folk stories, sayings and proverbs. Excerpts from the Holy Qur'an, the Hadith and the life of Muhammad appear beside traditional Arab, Persian, Turkish, Mande, Swahili, Hausa, Pakistani and Asian fairy tales and proverbs. Historic accounts of great Muslims like Ali ibn Abu Talib, Uthman ibn Affan, Rabiah of Basra and al-Hakim stand next to the wit of Mullah Nasruddin Hodja and the poems of Sufi mystics like Saadi and Idries Shah. A huge range of cultures, countries and time periods are represented, from China and Indonesia to Al-Andalus and Nigeria, from the early days of Islam in the 7th century to the Swahili city-states of the 16th century, but all are united by the common faith of Islam.This book is an invaluable resource for Muslim families wishing to pass on their culture and heritage to their children, but the morals and lessons contained within these stories carry a timeless wisdom that all peoples can benefit from regardless of faith. Non-Muslim families who want to teach about other cultures, or who want to show that Islam is not some evil monolithic force the media tries to portray it as, will also benefit from reading this. Stories of faith, honesty, kindness, charity, mercy and love are balaneced out with humor. The beautiful artwork and Arabic calligraphy add to this books appeal. Appearently, this book is part of a series detailing folk tales and proverbs from all of the world's great religions and there is at least one other book in the series published (this time focusing on Buddhism). I have yet to read it, but considering the outstanding quality of this book, I should like to get around to it eventually.All in all, this is a book well worth getting. Even adults will appreciate reading some of the stories in here. I certainly did, and if you approach this book with an open mind I honestly believe you and your children will appreciate this book as well regardless of your religious or cultural beliefs.

Nice short stories from around the world with moral values. For some stories, adult help is needed to tell your child what the moral of the story was. Overall good.

Though I bought this book for my young children, I am the one that is constantly pausing in the middle of my busy day to sit, read and absorb the wisdom in this book. I love it! It's so deep, so multi-faceted and spiritual. Many of my treasured memories of my grandmother's tales are in this book.Update more than 2 yrs after first buying this book:I still LOVE this book! (I will take it tomorrow and read a couple of stories to my kids' class, to commemorate Eid, in addition to reading Hena Khan's 'night of the moon'). A great gift book to cherish for years to come!

This is a great book. I bought it for my daughter who is 6 years old. She likes reading books and I thought she might like it despite the fact that the description states that age range is 9 and up. I am sure she will like this book when she grows up a bit. Just a small suggestion for the author: it would be great if you can work on its simplified version, that would be interesting for kids in the age range of 5-9.In any case, this book is really great! Many thanks for the great product!

I purchased this book for my 5 year old niece. While the language is too advanced for her to read on her own, she loves having this book read to her. As she has grown familiar with the stories over the last year, she has also gotten better at trying to read them on her own. One of the nice things about this book is it includes stories and sayings from across many different countries and cultures, reflecting the diversity of people following the Islamic faith, which is also reflected in the artwork. It also provides a human face for Muslims around the world, given the stereotypes and prejudice abounding in the media. A great book for the children in your life.

I read this whole book in one day I just could not put it down. Its a wonderful book for children who understand concept. The book uses teachings of mohammad (PBUH) and verses of the Quran and incorporates them into everyday life obstacles, it gives a profound understanding on how muslims are taught to handle situations according to the teachings of the Quran. If you have a child under 5 years old it may be hard for them to understand and put the two together but nevertheless I recommend it.

Bought as a gift for my daughter Jamila, very informative for me and all my children Al-hamdulillah.

What a beautiful collection of stories with great morals. My children aged 5 & 7 thoroughly enjoyed the stories, as did I. Thank you

My husband and I enjoy reading these outloud to one another and rhe kids will listen in curiously as we discuss the lessons imparted.

Great book - I was especially impressed by how well-written it was. Easy to read aloud, and easy for the audience (a ten year old and his 8 year old brother).The illustrations are gorgeous, and the stories/tales timeless. Very easy to apply to current life, as great tales should.

This book is so good that i keep having to buy it again and again as i keep giving it to whoever likes it!

great collection of short stories from hadith and around the Islamic world. Good for all ages. not a lot of pictures but still good for reading to younger kids as the stories are really short. good for ages 3+ in my opinion