By Shifa Safadi
National Book Award winning author
As a former book reviewer, there was perhaps not one more request from parents and readers than asking me to recommend to them Non-fiction Islamic books. They asked for more Prophet stories, stories about Islam and the Quran, and stories that had direct Islamic teachings in them to teach their children to be good Muslims.
I loved sending these recommendations, (and my personal favorite Islamic nonfiction is by the wonderful Zanib Mian!) but the majority of my reviews have always been fiction stories (books that are made with imagination and plot). And as an avid reader, I find myself gravitating towards fiction most of the time.
The truth is, fiction can be just as helpful and impactful for Muslim kids as nonfiction is sought to be, but in subtle ways- through character development, themes and emotions, and language skill.
When I was a middle school English teacher, I observed firsthand which stories the students were enjoying reading from the curriculum, and which they skimmed over. And I realized something.
It wasn’t the information itself that made kids either love a book or find it boring- but how it was presented and written. If the story had a well written plot that contained compelling characters, and lots of actions, kids were completely okay with learning themes of friendship, loyalty and bravery.
I realized that kids loved stories with lots of action. Stories that had “drama” and lots of suspense. Stories where main characters made mistakes, but also where those same characters found redemption.
Stories that moved readers to feel emotions.
From a Muslim standpoint, it makes sense that stories are what humans love to listen to and read. After all, the Quran is full of stories from the past- prophetic stories of a father who lost his sight at missing his son (Yaqub alayhi alsalaam), a mother who had to place her son into a basket into the sea to protect him from a pharoah’s genocide (Musa alayhi alsalaam’s mother), stories of young people who slept in a cave to escape religious persecution, stories about brothers who had disagreements, stories of a man swallowed by a whale and doing tawbah and coming back home to find his people changed (Yunus alayhi alsalaam), stories of civilizations that rose and fell…stories of mistakes and redemption. Stories that inspire us and make us shed tears, but also stories that cause us to reflect and move us to feel, deep within our heart.
After all, in Surah Yusuf, Allah swt says: “We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Qur’an.”
Stories are in and of themselves powerful ways to learn, even if those stories are fiction, or even if themes are not exactly didactic, but just subtly shown- as in the case of books that make up the majority of children’s literature.
What does this mean in practical terms?
As parents and educators, we really want our kids to be Muslims who are proud in their identity, and display Islamic values like kindness, empathy and good character. And fiction stories with these values woven in can be precisely what teaches without being heavy handed.
In “Kareem Between”, my main character Kareem is asked by his mother to take care of the new Syrian refugee child who has joined the school. But Kareem desperately wants to make the football team at school and fit in with the “popular” QB. And so, instead- he distances himself from the new kid, which means he also distances himself from his Syrian culture.
While reading this story, students and readers have told me that they were so mad at Kareem. And they could see firsthand that what Kareem was doing was wrong- which showed their strong empathy. Realizing that he was betraying himself in this way was a strong way of modeling that kids shouldn’t sacrifice who they are due to peer pressure.
But many also told me that they understand the pressure of wanting to fit in. That this made them feel seen- and they wanted to see the story to the end, to see what happened.
And when Kareem makes amend with his friend and stands up for himself and his culture, they felt transformed and thought deeply about the theme of having pride in who you are, the whole theme of the book. This reading process is called “catharsis”, which is where the reader feels those same emotions as a character- and it teaches them a theme (or lesson) without them even realizing.
Fiction can also help to normalize Islamic practice.
In “Amina Banana”, my chapter book series- my main character Amina wears hijab. She says Bismillah before eating, says salaam to her parents, makes duaa to win a spelling bee, and goes to the Masjid to learn Quran. In book three, she leans on her community and Masjid to help her family, and in book four she does tahajjud with her Tete. These are all folded into her life naturally- and this normalization within a larger plot can help Muslim kids internalize the feeling of acceptance. They can smile at seeing a loving family practice Islam – a story that will help them feel a sense of belonging and joy, and mirror their own lives.
And maybe- fiction can also help kids feel inspired to act.
In “Kareem Between”, Kareem prays between bookshelves in the library. And this might inspire readers to do the same when they need to pray at school- instead of feeling afraid. Instead of feeling different.
In “Kareem Between”, Kareem learns to protest the Muslim Ban, to stand up for justice and use his rights to speak out. And this might inspire children to act for Palestine, and protest for just causes.
In “Amina Banana” book two, Amina makes duaa for herself to win the spelling bee. And though the answers come in different ways, this might inspire children to make duaa for their own dreams to come true.
And lastly, but not unimportant- fiction is hugely valuable in teaching all children how to critically think and be educated in what they read just simply by reading words.
When students spend enough time between the pages of books, no matter what the story, they are learning spelling skills, grammar rules, and heightening their vocabulary. Readers are building their ability to understand words using context clues- a skill they can take with them into whatever field they decide to pursue- to help them with gaining knowledge. Readers also learn the power of words- and how active language and passive language differ- which will improve their media literacy and help them in evaluating the news they get through both social media and news sites, learning to discern biases and propaganda for themselves.
Gaining knowledge is an Islamic worship itself. A beautiful hadith illustrates the importance of being educated and how being on a path of learning is always a benefit to our society. “If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.” (Sunan Abi Dawud 3641)
Whether through character development, subtle themes, or learning language, young readers can find their Muslim identity in fiction books- and that joy can help them learn to love reading and nurture a strong Muslim identity. And Insha Allah, one day, they might love reading so much, that they will write their own stories, and offer our community more beautiful tales to be proud of.
The Importance of Fiction in Islam
