Tag Archives: Zaheer Khatri

The Prophet (salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)Described by Zaheer Khatri illustrated by Fatima Zahur, Elaine Limm and Jannah Haque

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The Prophet (salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam)Described by Zaheer Khatri illustrated by Fatima Zahur, Elaine Limm and Jannah Haque

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This 48 page rhyming prose filled picture book details our beloved Prophet Muhammad (saw) in accordance with the Holy Qur’an and as stated by Hadith.  The repetitive refrain highlights the two-page spread’s thematic descriptions of Rasul Allah’s appearance, speech, mannerisms, walking style, etc., and the best part is, it is all sourced and referenced at the end.  It features the same two characters and the same layout, as The Prophet’s Pond, which this book even references, but notably, my copy of that book does not have faces in the illustrations of the boy and his mom, and this new book does.  I tried to see if you could find a faceless version and could not, perhaps, that option is forthcoming.  As I often remark to those around me, there are not that many books about Prophet Muhammad (saw) that are factual, but framed in a fictitious manner for children, or that are fun and playful, and this book helps fill that void in creating love and connection to the Prophet.  It is a bit text heavy and it is very thoughtful, but the repetition and rhyme along with the beautiful large horizontal illustrations, create a mood of reflection, appreciation, love, and admiration and will be suitable for ages five and up.

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Zayd and his mom are back and the book starts with Mummy telling Zayd that one day he will meet a special man inshaAllah, and Zayd asking her to give her details so that he can guess who it is. The first set of clues describe how gracious the most handsome man is, and how he will greet Zayd one day.

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The story then moves on to describe Prophet Muhammad’s fragrance, his hands, his words, his stature, his complexion, his hair, and so on.  As the details flow, Zayd and his Mummy journey through nature, standing near beaches, and forests, and rivers and waterfalls.  They cross a bridge on their way out of the city, and the full color pages move from night (or possibly really early morning) to day to night again.

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Zayd seems to know it is Prophet Muhammad (saw), but keeps begging to hear more details, before he proudly proclaims the only human whose beauty reaches so far is Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him.  The book then says he will be waiting by a pond, but that is a story for another day, giving a shoutout to its companion book.

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There are questions recapping what is learned in the story before 10 pages of reference material.  It really is incredibly well done and is a great resource in addition to being a lovely story.  Thank you @crescentmoonstore for getting the book to me so quickly.

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The Prophet’s Pond by Zaheer Khatri

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The Prophet’s Pond by Zaheer Khatri

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Based on the hadith as narrated by Saheeh Al-Bukhari, “Remain patient until you meet me by the pond.”  The book follows a little boy (and his mom) searching for the pond mentioned in hadith as the place Prophet Muhammad (saw) will be waiting for us in the hereafter.

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The beautiful, faceless pictures, radiate with beauty and light as they journey from pond to pond in search of one that has all the characteristics of the one described to us.  One that takes a month’s journey to cross one of the sides, one that is whiter than milk, smells better than musk, is colder than ice, is sweeter than honey, that has as many cups to drink from as stars in the sky, and one that if you drink from it you will never be thirsty again.  theprophetspondinside3.jpg

The mother is brought along on this journey to help, and it takes her a few ponds to figure out who her son is hoping to meet in this 23 page hardbound book.  But alas, the rhyming stanzas come to an end and she advises her boy, and the reader, to live the way the Prophet instructed to, inshaAllah, in the akhira meet him by his pond.

The book is perfect for 3  to 7 year olds, with older children enjoying a reading or two as well.  

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