Golden Stories of Muslim Women

The second half of this book's purpose is the more unusual one, and the publisher states it plainly: it would also help men fully understand how women possess qualities like bravery, intelligence and patience.

That is a real gap. A Muslim man's picture of the first generations is generally assembled from books about men, and the women appear in it as supporting figures — wives, mothers and daughters of the people the story is about. Read that way for long enough and a set of assumptions forms without anyone ever stating them.

The stories here take those assumptions apart by simply recording what women did. Every aspect of a woman's personality is covered: her intelligence, her courage, her piety, her abstinence and her chivalry — that last word chosen deliberately, since it is not usually applied to women at all.

For women and girls the effect is different and more direct. These are models with substance behind them, and their study instils a new spirit and a motivation toward betterment — which is what a role model is actually for, and why a young reader needs ones she can recognise herself in.

How the Series Reads

Each piece stands on its own, so a reader takes one at a time rather than committing to a continuous narrative. That makes these books well suited to reading aloud at home, to classroom use, and to picking up for ten minutes — and printed in full colour, which is a large part of why children will sit with them.

More in the Golden Series

Abdul Malik Mujahid's full-colour series covers one subject per volume, each written to be picked up and put down. Also available:

• Golden Stories of 'Umar ibn Al-Khattaab
• Golden Stories of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq
• Golden Stories of Sayyida Khadijah
• Golden Words — events from the Prophet ﷺ and the leaders of Islam
• Golden Stories of Accepted Prayers
• Golden Morals — stories from the Seerah
• Golden Supplications
• Golden Seerah — the Prophet's life for young readers
• Golden Stories of 'Ali bin Abi Talib
• Golden Stories of 'Umar ibn Abdul Azeez

Related Reading

• Men & Women around the Messenger — 100 Companions, men and women
• Companions Around the Prophet ﷺ — 26 Companions, illustrated, by the same author
• Glimpses of the Lives of Righteous People — glimpses of the lives of the righteous