Wake Up! It's the Ramadan Drummer
Adam persuades his Baba to become the neighbourhood's Ramadan drummer, waking everyone for suhoor, in an audiobook about community and hope.
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What is Wake Up! It's the Ramadan Drummer about?
Wake Up! It's the Ramadan Drummer is an Islamic audiobook for children about a boy called Adam, whose father brings back the old tradition of the Ramadan drummer to wake his neighbourhood for suhoor.
This Ramadan is different for Adam's family: Baba has just lost his job. When an old neighbour greets Baba as "Abu Tabla", Adam asks what it means. Mama shows him and his sister Anissa an old waistcoat, a thobe and a dusty drum in the attic. Baba's own father was a Ramadan drummer, a Musaharati, who walked the streets before dawn with a drumbeat and poetry to wake people for suhoor and Fajr.
Adam persuades Baba to try. But the first morning, Baba raps loudly to a drumbeat on his phone, a cat knocks over a bin lid, dogs bark, and the neighbours shout at the racket. The family trudges home. Then the old neighbour visits with her own drum. People are missing suhoor and Fajr, she says, and the community needs him. The next morning Baba beats the drum gently and sings, calling people to remember Allah. Neighbours join the walk to the mosque, a video of it is shared around the world, and Baba finds new work through the people he meets at Fajr.
The story teaches the blessing of suhoor, the value of serving the community and the courage to try again after a setback. It ends with the hadith "Take suhoor, for there is a blessing in it". It is written by Mariam Hakim, illustrated by Dalia Awad and read by Paul Panting, and it is about 14 minutes long.
What your child will learn
- Suhoor, the meal before dawn in Ramadan, has a blessing in it.
- Serving our community is a way of pleasing Allah.
- When something goes wrong, we can try again in a better way.
- There is always hope for a new day, even in hard times.
Where this audiobook comes from
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1923: The Prophet ﷺ said, "Take suhoor, for there is a blessing in suhoor." The story ends with this hadith.
- Sahih Muslim 1095: The same hadith, reported by Anas ibn Malik.
Talk about it afterwards
- Why did the neighbours complain on the first morning?
- What did Baba change the second time he went out with the drum?
- Why is it important to wake up for suhoor and Fajr in Ramadan?
- How did helping the neighbourhood also help Adam's family?
Words to know
- Suhoor
- The meal Muslims eat before dawn on a fasting day.
- Iftar
- The meal that ends the fast at sunset.
- Fajr
- The prayer at dawn, the first of the five daily prayers.
- Musaharati
- The Ramadan drummer, who walks the streets before dawn to wake people for suhoor.
- Abu Tabla
- A name for the Ramadan drummer, meaning "father of the drum".
Frequently asked questions
What is a Ramadan drummer?
In many Muslim countries, a Ramadan drummer, or Musaharati, walks the streets before dawn in Ramadan with a drum and poetry to wake people for suhoor. In the story, Adam's grandfather was one.
Is Wake Up! It's the Ramadan Drummer based on a hadith?
It ends with the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, "Take suhoor, for there is a blessing in it", reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
How long is Wake Up! It's the Ramadan Drummer?
About 14 minutes.
