Stories from the Quran 2

Stories from the Quran 2 is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 6 with two short stories from the Qur'an: the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and the Holy House, and the Prophet Yunus (AS) and the whale.

In the first story, Allah tells Ibrahim (AS), called Abraham in the book, to take his wife Hajar and their baby son Ismail into the desert and leave them there. When their water runs out, Hajar runs up and down the hills looking for more, and the water of Zamzam bubbles up out of the ground. A town grows around it, Makkah, and later Ibrahim and Ismail build the holy house there, walk around it and pray, and Ibrahim asks Allah to bless Makkah.

In the second story, Yunus (AS), called Jonah in the book, tells the people of his city to be good, but they will not listen, so he runs away on a ship. In a storm he is thrown into the sea and swallowed by a whale. In the dark, he tells Allah that nobody can hide from Him and that he is sorry. Allah forgives him, and back at home the people are sorry too and ask him to teach them.

The book shows very young children that Allah takes care of those who trust Him, and that He forgives those who turn back to Him. It is written by Nura Durki and takes about six minutes to read aloud.

Ibrahim and the Holy House

The Prophet Ibrahim (AS), called Abraham in the book, had a dream. In it, Allah told him to take his wife, Hajar, and their baby son, Ismail, into the desert and leave them there.

So they set off with a camel, some water and a sack of dates to eat. It was a long journey. In the desert, Ibrahim left them, just as Allah had told him to.

Ismail ate all the dates and drank all the water, but he was still very thirsty, and he cried and cried. Hajar went looking for water. She ran up and down the hills, and then up and down again. Then, whoosh! Lovely fresh water bubbled up out of the ground. They called it Zamzam.

Birds came to drink the water, and then people came too. They put up their tents and stayed, and so did their goats and sheep. Soon a town grew there, and its name was Makkah. Hajar and Ismail lived there, and Ibrahim often came to visit.

Allah told Ibrahim to build a holy house in Makkah, and Ismail helped his father. An angel brought a special black stone, which was very old. When the holy house was finished, they walked around it and prayed. Ibrahim asked Allah to make Makkah a wonderful place, and his prayer was answered.

The years passed, and many people came to Makkah from all over the world to pray there. To this day, millions of people drink from the well of Zamzam.

Yunus and the whale

The Prophet Yunus (AS), called Jonah in the book, lived in a big city with lots of people. "People, be good," he told them. "Don't steal. Don't cheat."

But the bad people would not listen to him. They were angry. They shouted at him and threw things at him: potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, fish bones and eggs.

Yunus was upset. "They don't care," he said. "They won't listen to me. I'm going to run away, far, far away."

He found a ship and got on board. Soon a huge storm came. Waves crashed and the wind blew. "God must be angry," said the captain. Yunus began to shake and shiver. "It's me," he said. "God is angry with me."

In a flash, the sailors threw Yunus off the ship and into the sea. Down he went, past the fish and past an octopus, right into the mouth of a whale.

It was dark inside the whale, and Yunus was very scared. "Nobody can hide from You," he said to Allah. "I am very sorry I ran away."

Allah forgave Yunus and told the whale to take him back home. When the people found him, they were sorry too. "Teach us to be good," they said.

• Surah Ibrahim 14:37: Ibrahim's (AS) dua after settling his family in a valley without crops, near Allah's Sacred House.
• Sahih al-Bukhari 3364: The hadith of Hajar and Ismail in the valley of Makkah, her search for water and the spring of Zamzam.
• Surah Al-Baqarah 2:125-127: Ibrahim (AS) and Ismail (AS) raise the foundations of the House, and Ibrahim prays for Makkah to be a place of safety.
• Surah As-Saffat 37:139-148: Yunus (AS) boards the ship, is swallowed by the whale, glorifies Allah and is saved; his people believe.
• Surah Al-Anbiya 21:87-88: Yunus (AS) calls out from the darkness, and Allah answers him and saves him from distress.