Stories from the Quran 4

Stories from the Quran 4 is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 6 with two short stories from the Qur'an: the Prophet Dawud (AS) and Goliath, and the Prophet Sulayman (AS) and the Queen of Sheba.

In the first story, Dawud, called David in the book, is a young shepherd who protects his sheep with his sling. When his king's army faces a far bigger army led by the giant Goliath, and the soldiers shiver with fear, Dawud is the one who steps forward. He defeats Goliath with a single stone, and the enemy army runs away. Many years later Dawud becomes a great prophet, and Allah gives him the Zabur, a book of prayers, which he sings with the birds and the mountains.

In the second story, Dawud's son Sulayman, called Solomon in the book, is a wise king who can speak to birds and animals. The hoopoe tells him about the land of Sheba, whose people worship the sun instead of Allah. Sulayman sends the hoopoe with a message to the queen. She tries to satisfy him with a caravan of gifts, but he sends it back and asks her to come herself, and she submits to Allah.

The book shows young children that courage comes from trusting Allah, and that a wise leader calls people to worship Him alone. It is written by Dalia Salam and takes about six minutes to read aloud.

Dawud and Goliath

Dawud (AS), called David in the book, was a young shepherd. He played his flute to his sheep, and the sheep loved it.

Allah told the birds and the mountains to praise Him with Dawud.

Dawud was very brave. He protected his sheep from wild animals, using his sling to throw stones and chase them away.

One day the king called his people together and told them they were going to fight their enemies. "Will you fight with me?" he asked. "Yes!" they all shouted with one voice. But some of them were brave and some were not. Dawud decided to fight too, so he left his sheep and went with the army.

The enemy's army was much bigger than theirs. It was led by Goliath, a huge man who was very fierce and very strong. Goliath waved his sword in the air and shouted, "Who is brave enough to fight me?"

The soldiers shivered with fear. Then a voice said, "I will fight you." It was Dawud.

Goliath laughed and laughed at this small young man who did not even have a sword. Quickly, Dawud threw a stone from his sling, straight at Goliath. It hit the giant right in the middle of his forehead, and that was the end of him. Goliath's soldiers were so scared that they all ran away, and Dawud's army cheered and cheered. The young shepherd's courage had won the battle for them.

Many years later, Dawud became a great prophet. Allah gave him a beautiful book of prayers called the Zabur, and he recited them to the birds, the mountains and the people.

Sulayman and the Queen of Sheba

Sulayman (AS), called Solomon in the book, was Dawud's son. He was a very wise king, and people came from near and far to listen to his advice. Even the birds and animals loved him, from tiny creepy-crawlies to giant elephants. Sulayman could speak to them and understand what they said.

One day he called all the animals and birds to him, and they all came, running, walking and flying. But someone was missing. Who could it be? It was the hoopoe bird.

Suddenly, the hoopoe arrived, out of breath. "Your Majesty, I flew far away and found a marvellous land called Sheba. It is ruled by a beautiful queen. But her people worship the sun instead of Allah." The animals gasped in horror.

Sulayman gave the hoopoe a message to take to the queen, asking her to worship Allah. The hoopoe shook his feathers proudly. He felt very important. He flew all the way back to Sheba and gave the queen the message.

The queen was scared to disobey the mighty king. So she sent him a huge caravan full of gifts from her people: gold, jewels and spices. She thought that Sulayman would be so pleased with the gifts that he would not ask her to worship Allah.

But wise King Sulayman was not fooled. He sent the caravan home and told the queen to come herself. When she arrived, he said to her, "You must believe in Allah. He will give you all the gifts you need."

The queen knew that Sulayman was a great prophet, and she submitted to Allah.

• Surah Al-Baqarah 2:249-251: Talut's army faces Jalut (Goliath); a small group stands firm, and Dawud (AS) kills Jalut; Allah gives him kingship and wisdom.
• Surah Saba 34:10: Allah commands the mountains and the birds to glorify Him along with Dawud (AS).
• Surah An-Nisa 4:163: Allah gave Dawud (AS) the Zabur.
• Surah An-Naml 27:15-44: Sulayman (AS) and the speech of the birds, the hoopoe's news of Sheba, the letter, the queen's gift and her submission to Allah.