Ruqaya's Bookshelf

September 4, 2025

Single Parenting: A Double Role

Single Parenting I have lived the Muslim widow life and have faced the challenges of single parenting. I know how it feels to have all the responsibility-of the mother and father on you alone. Sin...

Community

Reading

July 22, 2025

How to Explain the Rights of Neighbours in Islam to Your Child

You might remind your children to be polite or to say salaam to the neighbours without much thought. But beneath those small habits is a bigger lesson: being a good neighbour is part of our deen....

What is True Muslim Parenthood?

Muslim parenthood is a journey that begins as soon as your child is born. Suddenly, you become a parent, and now you have a lot of duties.

Nature in Islam: Signs of Allah

Explore how nature in Islam strengthens faith and emotional connection in Muslim parenting. Discover Islamic reflections that help reconnect families with Allah’s creation and raise children with mindfulness and iman.

Freedom of Speech in Islam: Your Voice Matters

Freedom of speech in Islam is more than a right — it's a duty. This heartfelt reflection reminds Muslim parents and daughters that every voice matters when used for truth, courage, and faith.

Good Character in Islam: The True Beauty

In a world where physical appearance is heavily emphasized, Islam reminds us that true beauty lies in character and action. This reflection explores how parents can raise children—especially daughters—to value good manners, kindness, and faith over fleeting beauty trends.

Purpose of Arabic Language Learning

Arabic language learning builds a deeper connection with the Quran, especially for children. Discover how one mother’s personal journey to teach her daughter Arabic turned into a lasting gift of faith, healing, and spiritual growth rooted in understanding Allah’s names.

Importance of Maintaining Family Ties in Islam

Strengthening family bonds through love, kindness, and joyful faith-based experiences helps children form lasting connections with Islam. This blog explores how maintaining family ties in Islam can nurture emotional intelligence and create lifelong love for faith.

Knowledge in Islam: Guarding the Mind

A heartfelt reflection on raising Muslim children with knowledge rooted in Qur’an—not blind conformity. Explore how Islamic parenting nurtures free will, emotional intelligence, and the courage to think critically.

Muslim Parenting Principles for Emotion Coaching

Learn how emotion coaching and Islamic parenting principles help raise emotionally strong Muslim children. Discover how mercy, empathy, and emotional intelligence are key to healthy child development in Islam.

Stop Being a Guilty Muslim Mom

Feeling like a guilty Muslim mum for taking care of yourself? Learn how Islam teaches balance between motherhood and self-care. Break free from mum guilt and parental expectations while nurturing your emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing.

Parenting Stress: Planting Seeds of Hope!

Parenting stress is real, but every small act of love is a seed. Learn how Islamic parenting teaches us to plant with patience, persevere through parenting challenges, and trust Allah with the outcomes.

Muslim Parenting Principles: A Parent’s Mercy

Muslim parenting principles start with listening. Discover how nurturing a child’s voice with mercy, not control, shapes confident, emotionally intelligent Muslim children.islamic parenting

What It Really Means to Be Trusting Allah

Trusting Allah means taking action, showing patience, and embracing growth through trials. A heartfelt letter reveals timeless Islamic wisdom for spiritual success.

Patience in Islam: Waiting with Faith and Trust in Allah

Patience in Islam means trusting Allah’s plan, even when answers are delayed. This heartfelt reflection explores how faith, prayer, and perseverance bring peace and reward, especially in parenting and life’s struggles.

Kind Words, Big Impact: Giving Advice in Islam the Right Way

Giving advice in Islam is more than just speaking the truth — it’s about timing, compassion, and sincere care. Learn how to guide others with wisdom, not judgment.

Impact of Islamophobia on Children and How You Can Avoid it

How can we protect our kids from Islamophobia? Learn Muslim parenting strategies to raise confident children grounded in faith and identity.

How Quranic Parenting Helps Stop Comparison and Build Grateful Teens

Quranic parenting teaches us to raise grateful, mindful children by focusing on what we have—not what we lack. In a world full of comparison, Islam guides parents and teens alike to find joy through gratitude, emotional intelligence, and meaningful connection.

Islamic Parenting Principles: Nurturing Youth with Purpose

Islam teaches us that youth is a time for growth, purpose, and worship. Discover how to raise Muslim youth with strong values, good companions, and a passion for learning—through parenting rooted in faith, wisdom, and the prophetic example.

Life of Maryam (as): A Reflection of True Strength

Discover the inspiring lessons from the life of Maryam (AS) in the Qur’an — a story of strength, struggle, and trust in Allah. Her example empowers Muslim women to persevere through pain and to act, even when the results seem beyond reach.

Islamic Parenting Principles: Raising Fearless Children

Explore how the story of Musa (AS) and his mother teaches children — and us — the true meaning of bravery. Islamic parenting begins with trust in Allah, especially when life brings us face-to-face with fear. Sometimes, the beast is where the blessing is.

Reviving Critical Thinking: A Forgotten Sunnah of the Prophet (saw)

Explore how Islam encourages critical thinking through reflection, reasoning, and asking the right questions. From Qur’anic verses to prophetic examples, discover how knowledge in Islam is more than memorisation — it's understanding, mercy, and wisdom in action.

Ramadan will Always be Special: Even in Quarantine

Things are different this year. Quieter. Simpler. And that’s okay.Growing up, my family did almost “nothing” for Ramadan (by today’s standards). We...

Read Early to avoid Reluctant Readers

There is a prevalent theory in education that says one of the reasons children become reluctant readers as they grow older is that they might not h...

Inheriting the Love of Writing

Our author Sarah Musa has loved writing since she was a child. She would visit the library weekly to restock and read 300 page books cover-to-cover...

Not Everyone Gets to Go to School!

Back to school season is upon us!Most of us are lucky to be able to go to school. But did you know that in some places around the world, school isn’t so easily accessible?In Kenya, where our author Lela Goldsmith is from, school isn’t free and can be too expensive for some families. Lela’s own mother lived this reality.Lela’s latest book, calledNot Too Little to Make a Difference, is inspired by Lela’s mother, Sofia.

Winter is Perfect Reading Time!

We are in the thick of winter, my least favourite season of the year! Being a parent of an outdoorsy child that's mostly stuck indoors means lots o...

How NOT to Eat Iftar!

In the final nights of Ramadan, let's keep few things in mind when it comes time for iftar. We want to keep our energy high and our bodies and bell...

Worship

Reading

March 27, 2023

Ramadan Activity: Good Deed Jar

Every year we are so happy to see Ramadan come in, and then sad to see Ramadan go! This month passes so quickly, and we always wish we had done mor...

Great Back-to-School Reads

A new school year is often a time of trepidation for kids and parents alike. It’s a whirlwind of emotion and change, excitement and dread. It’s a t...

Unapologetically Muslim: Writing our Own Stories

Many of us were voracious readers as children, and we devoured whatever fell into our hands. However, most of the stories we read were about charac...

The Power of Du'aa

We are a people whose way of life means submission to Allah, and worshipping Him alone is the core of our existence. And as our beloved messenger t...

Our Kids Got Talent!

Reading stories written by kids is always a lot of fun! This past October, we received over 1000 entries for our Islamic Heritage Month story compe...

Hang on to Hope

Sometimes it’s hard to stay hopeful.Even when we ourselves are physically safe, witnessing calamities in our ummah can be so painful it’s immobiliz...

Author Highlight: Robyn Thomas

It’s hard to believe that the sacred month of Ramadan is just around the corner! One of Ruqaya’s Bookshelf’s five titles that are centred around th...

5 Ways Muslim Children’s Books Shape a Child’s Identity

How important are Muslim children’s books in shaping our kids’ Islamic identity? Very! Many of us grew up reading stories about characters who bore...

New Book: Growing Giddo’s Hair

Growing Giddo’s Hair by Sumayyah Hussein is the last of our five newest books available for pre-order. Nuh wants to give his grandpa something amaz...

Ramadan 2025: Everything You Need to Know

With Ramadan 2025 a little over two weeks away, some of us may be thinking about the approaching month with trepidation. There’s so much to think a...

DIY Ramadan Decoration Ideas

Many Muslims who live in non-Islamic countries and even those living in Islamic countries are enthusiastic towards Ramadan decorations. For many of...

How Sarah Musa Turned Her Pain for Gaza into a Powerful Story for Muslim Kids

Sarah Musa’sMy Garden Over Gazatransforms pain into purpose. Rooted in truth and resilience, it’s a powerful children’s story that nurtures hope, identity, and strength — written by a Muslim author reclaiming the narrative.

Why Talk About Hajj Rituals with Our Kids (Even When They’re Young)

How many times has your child asked why we fast in Ramadan, or why we pray five times a day? You know how curious they can be. Hajj rituals are no ...

Raising Little Muslim Readers with Ruqaya’s Bookshelf

Have you ever noticed how quickly a child memorizes a story? Stories shape how our children see the world. More importantly, they shape how childre...

Being a Religious Parent Doesn’t Have to Be All or Nothing

Some nights, being a religious parent feels like struggling to pay attention to the Qur'an playing in the kitchen while packing lunch boxes and wip...

Gift Card

E-Book: A Temporary Gift

Snatched

Mr. Gamal's Gratitude Glasses

Blackout! (Chapter Book)

The Adventures of Malik and Ameerah (Activity Book)

Nusaiba and the 5th Grade Bullies

Alana's Bananas

One Hundred Flavours of Ice Cream

Zaid and the Gigantic Cloud

The Forever Tree

Yasmine’s Belly Button

Who Will Help Me Make Iftar?

A Temporary Gift

Bismillah Soup

Secret Recipe Box

Basirah the Basketballer says Insha'Allah

Bibi's Blessing

The Great Hair Exchange

Littering Stinks! (Chapter Book)

Bilal's Second Surprise

Rami the Ramadan Cat

A Place of Refuge

Stuck in the Middle (Chapter Book)

Ahmed and the Very Stuck Teapot

Spell it Like Samar

Pepperoni, Pitches (and Other Problems)

The Green Dinosaur Umbrella

Not Too Little To Make a Difference

Elephant's Makeover (Hardcover)

There was an Old Auntie who Swallowed a Samosa

Heaven is at Mama's Feet

The Ali Series

Amir's Blue Jacket

Made from the Same Dough

My Garden over Gaza

Mama Musoo's Dhikr Plants

Idrees and the New Old Shoes

Trouble at Taraweeh

The Enormous Apple

Dawud Helps

Growing Giddo's Hair

The Mismatched Finjan

Sido's Prayer Beads

Amar's Fajr Reward

Rahim, Wali, and the Wise King

Ayeyo's Blues

The Last Resort (Chapter Book)

If the Sea Was Ink

Pushed to the Back (Chapter Book)

Reading

Readers In The Making

Readers In The Making

Single Parenting: A Double Role

How to Explain the Rights of Neighbours in Islam to Your Child

What is True Muslim Parenthood?

Nature in Islam: Signs of Allah

Freedom of Speech in Islam: Your Voice Matters

Good Character in Islam: The True Beauty

Purpose of Arabic Language Learning

Importance of Maintaining Family Ties in Islam

Knowledge in Islam: Guarding the Mind

Muslim Parenting Principles for Emotion Coaching

Stop Being a Guilty Muslim Mom

Parenting Stress: Planting Seeds of Hope!

Muslim Parenting Principles: A Parent’s Mercy

What It Really Means to Be Trusting Allah

Patience in Islam: Waiting with Faith and Trust in Allah

Kind Words, Big Impact: Giving Advice in Islam the Right Way

Impact of Islamophobia on Children and How You Can Avoid it

How Quranic Parenting Helps Stop Comparison and Build Grateful Teens

Islamic Parenting Principles: Nurturing Youth with Purpose

Life of Maryam (as): A Reflection of True Strength

Islamic Parenting Principles: Raising Fearless Children

Reviving Critical Thinking: A Forgotten Sunnah of the Prophet (saw)

Ramadan will Always be Special: Even in Quarantine

Read Early to avoid Reluctant Readers

Inheriting the Love of Writing

Not Everyone Gets to Go to School!

Winter is Perfect Reading Time!