My name is Bushra Taslim Hussain and I am a mother to two young ladies: five-year-old Inaayah and two-year-old Aisha. I am also an auntie and cousin to a whole troop of little ones alhamdulillah!

Five years ago, when Inaayah was born I was looking for good quality Islamic baby books. Something comparable to the English books on offer with beautiful illustrations; well written, age appropriate English and quality binding and printing. I’m afraid to say I was extremely disappointed with what was on offer.

And that is what started this amazing journey. I was apprehensive about writing a book as I had no idea about being an author or an illustrator, let alone navigating self-publication and running a business! But alhamdulillah (praise be to God), five years later here I am!

The first consideration that I gave to the book was ‘what do I want to teach my daughter’. I quickly realised that I wanted her to know Allah’s love and mercy and the beauty and diversity of Islam. I wanted the book to have engaging illustrations that my daughter would look at and ask questions about. I wanted her to see herself, her family and friends in the pages.

My Islam A-Z is a picture book that incorporates the core principles of Islam in a fun A-Z format that is engaging for young children, with a focus on Allah’s love and mercy. It is perfect to read to babies, all throughout toddlerhood and beyond!

In the book I have deliberately chosen to not include any concepts of disbelief, hellfire and punishment because I believe that children have a natural, pure disposition to love and obey Allah. If we help our children to love Allah and Islam then we can be sure that they will display the characteristics that we want them to have in shaa Allah (God willing), because they will not want to displease Allah. If we can instil taqwa (God-consciousness) into our children from such a young age then I have faith that our children will be beacons of light for the Muslim ummah and society. (Disclaimer: your child will still have the terrible twos and push every button through the early years, like only they can!)

As time went on and I started thinking about the wider audience of the book instead of a mother writing a book for her daughter. I realised that my book could be used to educate people of all faiths and ages about Islam. I tried to make the book more user friendly by adding a glossary and writing the definitions of some words in English (such as Hajj = pilgrimage) on the pages. I showed the book to some of my friends who were recent reverts to Islam and they helped me to see where further explanation was needed to ensure clarity of information and ideas.

I believe that My Islam A-Z is the perfect book to have in your school, nursery or library to introduce Islam as part of a religious education syllabus in the classroom or at any out of school setting.

My Islam A-Z
Teaching children that A is for Allah

Bushra Taslim Hussain

My Islam A-Z is an educational picture book to teach the core principles of the Islamic faith. It has beautiful, relatable and diverse images that represent Islam and show Allah’s love and mercy. It is perfect for people of all faiths and ages.

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