CHILDREN’S CORNER

Name of the book: Goodnight Stories from the Life of the Prophet Muhammad

Name of the author: Dr Saniyasnain Khan

Pages: 132

ISBN: 99788178985336

Goodnight Stories from the Life of the Prophet Muhammad is the answer to every child’s longing to hear a good bedtime story. It contains a careful selection of twenty-three magnificent tales from the life of the Prophet retold in age-appropriate language. A simple text and fabulous colour illustrations, which bring the narratives vividly to life, make the message of the Prophet more meaningful for children. The book offers a special dimension to these wonderful goodnight stories, and acts as a foundation on which to build a growing knowledge of Islam.

Saniyasnain Khan is a children’s author, with over 100 children’s books to his credit. His books have been  translated into Arabic,  French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Swedish, Bosnian, Russian, Turkish, Malay, Thai, Urdu, Malayalam, and other languages. He hopes that his books will be a true companion on the path of spiritual development and will help children to know the true purpose and meaning of life.

NURSED IN THE DESERT

The Prophet Muhammad was not yet born when his father, Abdullah, died. Amina, the Prophet Muhammad’s mother, was left alone. When the little boy was born, she was very happy. She thought of her baby as being very special. There was a custom among the Arabs of that time for little children to be brought up in the desert. They thought that was best for them. So, they sent them to live with the desert tribal women, who looked after these foster children as their own.

Halima Sadia and her family lived in the desert. They were very poor. Their donkey was very old, and their she-camel gave no milk. Halima had a little son, but he was always hungry. She had no milk to give him.

Halima came to Makkah with some other desert women. The townspeople gave their children to these women to take to the desert. The Prophet Muhammad’s grandfather, ‘Abdu’l Muttalib, was also looking for a nurse for his grandson. But the desert women did not want to take little Muhammad. They thought: “He is an orphan. His grandfather and his mother have nothing.” It was already evening, and Halima had not found any child to take with her. So, she said to her husband: “Let me take that orphan boy with me. Nobody wants to take him.” Her husband said: “Do it. Maybe Allah will bless us because of him.”

Halima then took charge of little Muhammad, and they left Makkah. They only stopped when they reached the desert. Halima’s husband went to milk the she-camel. He cried in surprise: “The she-camel has lots of milk!” All of them drank the milk and then happily went to sleep. In the morning Halima’s husband said: “Halima, you have taken a blessed boy.” Halima’s friends were surprised at how Halima’s camel was now giving lots of milk. And Halima’s old donkey started being able to walk very fast.

Halima’s tribe lived in a barren stretch of desert where nothing grew. All of them often went hungry. But when little Muhammad came to live with them, everything changed. Now Halima’s sheep and her camel always had lots of milk. People began to say: “Let’s graze our sheep and our camels where Halima takes her flocks. Her animals are well fed. And they always give lots of milk.”

Muhammad grew up and returned to his mother. But his mother died soon afterwards. He then went to live with his grandfather, ‘Abdu’l Muttalib. When he died, the Prophet’s uncle, Abu Talib, became his guardian.