Imagine

Imagine is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 9, told in rhyme, about a girl called Saarah who lets her imagination run wild at bedtime while her brother Yunus tries to get some rest.

Yunus asks if they could talk about something interesting, and Saarah is off. If animals were not wild, she would keep a tiger as a pet and read her Qur'an with the giraffes. If tasbih beads were jewels, she would do as much dhikr as she could. Octopuses could cook extra meals in Ramadan to feed the poor, aliens could come to a tea party and learn some duas, and talking robots could say Happy Eid to children in orphanages. She would squeeze a cloud to make wudu and climb on another to pray, and ask the whales whether they had heard of Prophet Yunus (AS).

In between there is plenty of plain fun: water bombs for raindrops, cars shaped like camels, a royal gown for Mum and a school in a hot-air balloon. At last Saarah asks Yunus what he can imagine, and finds that he is fast asleep.

The story shows a loving brother and sister, and how a child's imagination can be full of kindness, worship and fun. It is written by Shoohada Khanom and illustrated by Faiza Benaouda and Vicky Amrullah. It is music-free.

One bedtime, Yunus and his sister Saarah were lying in their beds, trying to get some rest. Yunus asked whether they could talk about something interesting. "Okay, Yunus," said Saarah, and she began to imagine.

Could he imagine if animals were not wild? She would keep a tiger as a pet. She would read her Qur'an with the giraffes, sitting on an elephant's head.

Could he imagine if tasbih beads were sparkling jewels? She would collect emeralds, rubies and pearls, and she would do as much dhikr as she could, hoping for a reward for being a good girl.

If octopuses lived with them, she would put all those arms to good use. They would cook extra meals in Ramadan and feed the poor with whatever they chose.

If spaceships landed on Earth, she would ask the aliens to be her friends. She would invite them round for a tea party and teach them some duas.

If dinosaurs still lived, she would love to see them roar and stomp. She would take them to the places that were special to her: her masjid, her school and the bookshop.

If she were an engineer, she would build talking robots from scratch and post them to children in orphanages, so that they could say "Happy Eid".

If their mum were a queen, Saarah would design her royal gown. She would spin around, sprinkling petals, before her mother's feet even touched the ground.

If raindrops were water bombs, she would jump around catching a few, throw them at her brothers and sisters, and secretly splash their parents too.

If she had her own iPad, she would download all the Muslim apps she liked. She would go through them in her screen time, and keep the ones her parents thought were all right.

If cars were shaped like camels, she would sit on the hump on the roof and wave to everyone passing by, calling out "As-salamu alaykum".

If clouds floated by down below, she would squeeze one to make wudu, then climb on top of another to pray her salah. That would be cool.

If she were a sailor, she would ask the whales to stay and listen. She would ask them whether they had heard of Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, and if they had not, she would tell them his story.

If schools were in hot-air balloons, she would like her teacher to be a tweeting bird, and she would whoosh up, up, up in a jumbo jet while the pilot did her homework.

Could he imagine a world without imagination? Saarah did not think she could. Imagining things was so much fun, and without it she might just be sad.

"Do tell me something you can imagine," she said, looking over at her brother's bed. Then she smiled and snuggled down in her own. Yunus was fast asleep, snoring and sprawled across his bed.