Bedtime story at the park? | Mommy, remind me of Allah

What happen when we bring our (new) favourite bedtime story to the park?

It was a little awkward at the beginning (I think the last time we had this Kakak was still very little, and not that we did this often),  but once the girls got hooked to the book, voilà! They can't wait to exchange books to read more!  What a beautiful way to start our fun time at the park :)

Adik wanted to follow, but she had school.

I promise we'll do this again, in shaa Allah. And next time we'll bring picnic mat, snugly pillows, throw blankets and of course food + drinks.  I can imagine how cosy it will be!

Picnic + books + play can never go wrong, don't you think?

On another note, I have fallen in love with our new children's books by Emma Apple. When I first discovered about them, I just couldn't wait to read the books and share them with my children. A lot of questions came in my mind. How did she answer those questions usually asked by children? I was so intrigued to find out, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

And finally her books arrived.

And guess what?  Masha Allah long I have been looking for Islamic children's books such as hers!

"This book is awesome!" 

The words came out from Kakak - my eldest - when she read it for the first time. I could not wait to share the books with her I brought them along when we fetched Kakak from school. Immediately her nose was already inside Emma's books!

Yes, I couldn't agree more with my eldest.  Emma's 'How Big is Allah' and 'How Does Allah Look' celebrate children's curiosity and imagination. Children's minds are always in constant inquiry. They are always in thirst to find out the 'why' and 'how' of so many things, and some of them are very challenging to answer by us parents.   

Questions such as how big is Allah and how does Allah look would put parents in tough situations especially if we do not equip ourselves well. 

Certain things are beyond our very limited knowledge, but we could not avoid the questions or simply tell them of our limitations.  Doing so would actually undermine their inquisitive mind. They need some explanations and understanding to actually come to the point that humans have limitations.  

Allah's knowledge is far beyond the imagination of human minds. Science has proven it - we know too very little. Our brains are amazing and we have achieved so many with our minds.  Yet they are limited too at the same time.  No matter how hard we try, we will never ever truly understand the Rules and Orders of Allah. Not without His permission. Allah said in the Quran [6 : 59] ,

“And with Him (Allah) are the Keys of the Unseen. No one knows them (the Secrets of the Unseen) except for Him (Allah). And He (Allah) knows all that is on the land and all that is in the seas and there is not even a single leaf that falls except that He has full knowledge of it and there is also not a single dry thing that is hidden in the darkness of the Earth, nor anything that is wet or dry, except that (all of these) are preserved in a Clear Book.

Yet Allah give us many signs - through His creations -  for us to ponder upon. Allah said in the Quran [3:190-191],

"Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day - there are indeed signs for men of understanding; Men who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and contemplate the creation of the heavens and the earth (with the thought) Our Lord! Not for nothing have You created (all) this. Glory to You! Give us salvation from the suffering of the Fire."

The question is how do we explain the greatness of our Creator and the fact that we do have limitations in children's language? 

For example, we don't know the true reasons why we could not see Allah in this worldly life, but by knowing our limitations - through scientific discoveries - we could at least understand how it is impossible for us humans to see Allah with our (earthly) eyes.

The challenge for parents is to convey the understanding to our children in the simplest possible way. This is when books such as Emma's come in handy. Masha Allah!

Her books help to answer children's inquisitive minds by showing them - using beautiful illustrations and simple words to explain scientific facts - for instance how certain things work. Thus giving them the understanding why some things are beyond our grasp.

The books will not only delight and inspire children, but would move us, adults too. Emma puts everything so brief and simple for the little readers, yet her books would also rekindle our souls to reflect on our existence.  It's like a reminder to us - of who we are and the fact that we do have limitations. Sometimes in our efforts to pursue this worldly life, we forget about our limitations and tend to push the boundaries.  

In her first book 'How Big is Allah' Emma brings her readers - small or big - to take a moment and let our imaginations wonder upon this big, big universe - from the tiniest little thing to the biggest creation we could imagine.  

I love that this book also instil humility in a beautiful, subtle way. The book starts with asking little children of the smallest thing they know before the author leads them to imagine how big they are compared to the smallest thing they know.

And then the 'serious' thinking begins. She asks her young readers to think of the biggest thing they know, before proposing them to imagine how small humans are compared to that. 

Further on, the realisation continues.  Humans are getting even smaller, and smaller.  Then she calls little ones' attention that every small or big things there are in the universe are all created by Allah. 

Looking at the illustrations and simple scientific explanations she provides, I have to put a pause to the facts. When you read the book, you can't help yourself but to do the maths.  Masha Allah how very, very tiny we are - even the planets too.  And how great is our Creator.  Indeed Glory is only to Allah.  What a beautiful reminder!

And I can tell the little ones too, grasp the idea.

"Just when we though that we are pretty big, the mountain is bigger than us.  The mountain is big enough for me, but our earth is even bigger.  The sun is so big, but other stars are bigger. And then there's a milky which is bigger than the stars yet there are many other bigger galaxies.  And the universe! Allah created all these." Said Kakak in awe.

"Wow, I didn't know we are that small, we're just like a little ant - and even tinier- compared to the other bigger things" said M, Kakak's best buddy when she finished reading the book.

One night when I was about to read Emma's second book, my younger girl happily interrupted,

"We are so small Mommy, and we are in the Milky Way," remembering what we have read in Emma's first book, 'How Big is Allah?'

Isn't that inspiring and humbling at the same time?  Hearing the words coming out from our children.

Her book opens up to so many discussions and explorations with our children.  They learn that they are tiny little beings with limitations. Yet at the same time it inspire the little ones to know more about Allah's creations. 

And what put a smile on my face is that through it, they begin to admire and be in awe of their Creator. That they can relate and understand why do we say Allah is the Most Great. Things make more sense to them, why Mommy and Daddy keep telling them Allah is the Greatest. Allah is the Best.

It would be lovely too if we can add to our children that despite our limitations Allah love us so much and He especially love those who truly love, fear and have hopes in Him. 

And the best part is to let them know how much Allah love them, the little ones. Imagine the thrills they have knowing they are being so loved by their Creator. The Greatest, the One and Only. And that leads to many more delightful conversations with the little ones.

That's why I admire this book so much. It opens doors to many, many discussions! 

I love that in the end of the story - How Big is Allah - Emma includes a verse in the Quran [39 : 67]. The verse gives a room for me to share - especially with my elder child - and further discuss the endless power of Allah the Almighty. Giving her an encouragement to ask and ponder upon. Also a task for me to further equip myself with knowledge!

Just like us, children do not like to be told.  Their minds are always exploring and figuring out things around them.  Their brains are always in thirst for nourishment. It can get scary thinking of the things our children could be exposed and attracted to in today's world.

Too much fitna (trials, tribulations and also distractions from getting closer to Allah) in our world today - to the extent that something bad that was loathed back during our grandparents' or the older generations time are considered something cool in the present. It's pretty obvious don't you think? The kind of music, movies, games, pop cultures that are being shared on our (social) media are sometimes just too much. 

The surroundings nowadays may give us a bigger challenge in our efforts to instil Islamic values and nurturing eeman (faith) in our little ones' hearts. But this condition should not dampen our spirit, but motivate us to strengthen our parenting roles.

According to Aisha Hamdan, author of 'Nurturing Eeman in Children',

"Those who have taken the remedy from the time of birth will find it less difficult or strange to continue it (instilling Islamic values and faith) throughout their lifetime. It will naturally flow and progress as the person develops and grows through each phase of life. In actuality, children have within them a very special seed known as the fitrah. The fitrah is the innate, inborn tendency to know Allah, to believe in the oneness of Allah, and to develop eeman. The seeds of eeman are already planted and only need to be nurtured lovingly in order to grow into beautiful, flowering plants.

One of our big tasks is to develop an Islamic personality in our children.  For instance, what kind of home and environment we provide to our children? Do we we make Solat and reading Quran a routine in our home? What kind of entertainment do we give them? e.g. the kind of cartoons we let them watch, the games we play with them, and the books we read to our children.

Apart from playing with our children, I think reading storybooks to them is probably one of the best entertainment we can give to our little ones. The ones that celebrate their curiosity, make them smile and giggle, talk about it, and also at the same time instilling values in them. Best of all reading is a lovely time to snuggle and cuddle with our children.

Aisha Hamdan indicates in her book how important it is to provide a small Islamic library in a Muslim home.  Parents are encourage to provide a variety of material - e.g. videos, books, Cds - covering the needs of all age and language.

Alhamdulillah when it comes to children's books, we are now being blessed with so many wonderful Islamic books for children.  However I found a huge number of them are catered for older school children. The language used in them are rather complex and heavy for younger children to comprehend.

Children of a younger age (especially our preschoolers, toddler and babies) need something simpler. Something they can relate to. Something that attract them to Islam, not to bore or force them. Something they can easily grasp and comprehend. And something that celebrate their curiosity and imagination - in a fun and loving way. 

So to finally discover Islamic children's books catering to the young minds really makes a wonderful impact in my little ones's interest for Islamic storybooks.

These books, e.g. Zayd's series (I'll share about them hopefully soon here on my blog), Emma's books, Quran Stories for Little Believers (e.g. The Story of the Fly) and many more (I hope I'll be able to share them too) have helped me tremendously in instilling Islamic values to my little ones - in a very simple and entertaining way - with a touch of love. 

I also think we are much in need of Islamic children's books that help to answer children's curiosity and encourage their imagination, e.g. the likes of Emma's books.  We need more children's books in this genre. Children's books told in a simple and fun manner that could explain words of Allah through scientific discoveries and instil the love and awe towards their Creator.

I was astonished at how simple Emma's books are.  All the facts in her books were something that we are familiar with, especially back in school.  But it never occurred to me to present them like Emma does to my children.

A friend of mind shared the same thought. "Wow they were very simple ideas actually, some I never thought of before."

Alhamdulillah for such wonderful children's books.  Storybooks that make complex things become so easy to digest and grasp. And help strengthen their beliefs - making them understand Quran better - and hopefully inspire them to be among the ones Allah mentioned in the Quran,

"Read! In the name of your Lord who created - Created the human from something which clings. Read! And your Lord is Most Bountiful - He who taught (the use of) the Pen, Taught the human that which he knew not."
[96:1-5]

"He [Allah] grants wisdom to whom He pleases; and he to whom wisdom is granted indeed receives a benefit overflowing. But none will grasp the Message except men of understanding."
 [2:269]

In shaa Allah.  I can see we are moving towards that. To more storybooks that guide, inspire and at the same time bring beautiful memories to our children. Memories so dear and close to their hearts - the ones that remind them of their Creator.


PS: If you are in Malaysia, you can purchase Emma's Books at ByUmmWaliyya