Book Review: 30 Stories for 30 Nights about our Prophet
By Miriam Mohamed

We are in the midst of the most sacred month of the year and while we strive to fill our days and nights with worship, strengthen our faith, and purify our intentions in the hopes of attaining  taqwa  or God-consciousness, we must not forget to give attention to building our character. Good character and ethics are qualities that Muslims must continuously refine and put into practice because it is an essential part of our religion.

Allah stated in the Qur’an:

“Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.”

(Surah Al-Ahzab, 35:21)

And the best way to emulate the Prophet Muhammed’s character, peace and blessings upon him, is to constantly familiarize ourselves with his story. For in his  Seerah, recordings of his sayings and actions,  there are many lessons for believers to learn about how he treated Muslims and non-Muslims throughout his life.

The Story of the Holy Prophet Muhammad: 30 Stories for 30 Nights  by Humera Malik is a Ramadan collection of short stories from the life of our beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that can be shared with our children. Written for young Muslims this is a good Ramadan read that begins with his blessed birth and ends with the Farewell Sermon and his death. The stories are more like summaries of important events but allow for discussion and more in-depth details to be shared during a family time read. We enjoyed being able to sit together, read, and delve into characteristics and mannerisms and how they can be applied to our daily lives.

I do have to mention that there were some errors in the book and that is why I would recommend it as a family read and discussion as opposed to encouraging your young one to read it alone. This allows an opportunity to correct or omit any misinformation. The book could benefit from more thorough fact-checking as well as linguistic changes and extra editing. Nonetheless, I do recommend the book because it is challenging to find good Islamic books for our children in this age group.

(Miriam Mohamed is a mother to seven children and a granny to two cats!  She loves trying new things and learning cool facts. She has taught in an Islamic school setting, has experience assisting children with special needs, and enjoys volunteering and being a part of the community. Miriam lives in Chicago with her beautiful flowering cherry tree and big family.)