Yan's Hajj

Yan's Hajj is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 12 about a poor, kind farmer who dreams all his life of visiting the Kaaba for Hajj, and who keeps giving away his savings to help others.

Yan loves Allah more than anything, and his dream is to go to Makkah. After years of hard work his money bag is full, and he sets off. But over the mountains he finds children whose school has burned down, and he spends his money rebuilding it. Years later, with his bag full again, he meets a hurt boy called Habib who is being made to work to pay a debt, and Yan pays it and takes Habib home to care for him. When Yan is old, his bag is full once more, but on the way he helps a village build a mosque. Now he is too old to work fast, and his bag will not fill again.

Then a rider comes to the farm: Habib, grown up, has come to take him to Hajj. On the way, the children of the school and the people of the village come out to greet Yan with gifts and love, and Habib's parents thank him with a bag of money. At last Yan stands before the Kaaba with tears in his eyes and says, "I love You, Allah."

Subtitled The Journey of a Lifetime, the story shows children the meaning of Hajj, and that helping people in need is a way of loving Allah, and that Allah rewards patience and generosity in ways we do not expect.

It is written by Fawzia Gilani and illustrated by Sophie Burrows, and it is music-free.

Yan's dream

Once upon a time, there lived a kind and happy farmer called Yan, who loved Allah more than anything else. His dream was to visit the Kaaba, Allah's house, and do Hajj. The problem was that he was poor, and he would have to fill his money bag first.

After years of hard work, Yan's money bag was full at last. He could go to Makkah! As he took the first steps of his journey, he looked up at the sky and said, "I love You, Allah."

The school

After days of walking, Yan crossed the mountains and came upon a group of children sitting on the ground, looking sad. "Why do you look so sad?" he asked. "And why aren't you at school?"

"Our school burned down," they said, "and we have no money to fix it."

Yan smiled. "I have some money. Insha'Allah, I will fix your school." He mended the leaky roof, replaced the broken windows and rebuilt the crumbling walls. The children were overjoyed and thanked him for his kindness. But when Yan looked in his bag, all his Hajj money was gone.

Yan went back to his farm and prayed. "I will work hard and save my money, and insha'Allah, I will do Hajj."

Habib

Many years went by. Yan cared for his crops and saved all he could, until one day his money bag was full again. "Alhamdulillah," he said. "Now I can go and do Hajj."

He had not ridden far on his horse when he saw a small boy beside the road, holding his leg in pain. As Yan ran over, a big man appeared and stood over the boy. "Get up! You must work," he yelled.

"But the boy is hurt," said Yan.

"He must work. He owes me lots of money."

So Yan gave the man his Hajj money. The man grunted, glanced at the coins and walked away, and the boy was free. "I have nowhere to go," said the boy, "and I cannot walk."

"Don't worry," smiled Yan. "I will care for you until you are strong."

So Habib, as the boy was called, came to live on Yan's farm. He grew strong and helped Yan catch the chickens and look after the animals. But though he loved Yan, he often wondered about his family. One day he said, "I miss my parents. I want to find my mum and dad."

Yan nodded. "Of course. You must go and find them, so you can be happy." Soon after, Habib set out. Life on the farm was hard without him, but Yan's dream of Hajj gave him strength.

The mosque

At last Yan's money bag was full again. He was old now, so he rode in a cart pulled by his horse. On the way, he stopped at a village where people were talking sadly: they wanted to build a mosque, but they did not have enough money.

"Don't be sad," said Yan. "I will help you build a mosque." He carried bricks and stones, hammered nails and cut tiles alongside the villagers, and after two months the mosque was finished. But once again, his money bag was empty.

On the way home he looked up at the sky. "Dear Allah, I will work hard and save my money. One day I will do Hajj." But Yan was old, and he could not work fast. The next time he looked in his bag, it was not full. "I cannot do Hajj," he said sadly.

The journey of a lifetime

Later that day, a man rode up to the farm. Yan peered at him through his glasses. "It's me, Habib," said the man. "I have come to take you to do Hajj."

Yan was overjoyed. "Habib, we must leave before I get any older!" Habib helped him onto the cart, and they set off along the dusty path, talking and praising Allah.

Soon they passed the school. The children ran out, waving and smiling. "We love you!" they shouted. They threw rose petals over Yan and gave him white sheets to wear for Hajj. Days later they passed the village, and the people ran out from their homes and the mosque to greet him, with gifts of food and water. "We love you, Yan," they said.

Some weeks later, Habib stopped the cart outside a small house, where a man and a woman stood waiting. "Thank you for taking care of our son," they said, and they gave Yan a bag full of money. "We love you," they said.

And soon after, Yan arrived in Makkah. Habib took him to the Kaaba. Yan smiled, and tears came to his eyes. He looked up at the sky and said, "I love You, Allah." His dream had come true at last.