A Little Girl's Prayers

A Little Girl's Prayers is an Islamic picture book for children aged 4 to 9 that follows a little girl through her day as she thanks Allah for His gifts and asks Him for what she and other people need.

She knows Allah listens to her every time she prays. In the bright morning, she asks Him to fill her day with joy. She asks Him to help hungry people and animals, and to help her share with them. When it rains, she thanks Him for the grass and the rain and asks for more puddles to play in. She thanks Him for her eyes, ears, nose and mouth, and asks Him to make her as beautiful inside as He made her outside.

Her prayers follow her everywhere: for her friends, her teachers and the bus driver at school; for a friend who is ill, whom she visits with a gift because the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ told us to visit the sick; and for her mum, who looks after her. At bedtime she thinks about her day, thanks Allah for the good things and asks Him to forgive her mistakes. And if she wakes in the night and feels afraid, she says the prayer her mum taught her, because Allah is the One who protects us.

The book shows children that dua is not only for special times: they can talk to Allah about anything, all day long.

A little girl thanked Allah for all the beautiful things around her and asked Him for whatever she needed, because she knew He listened to her every time she prayed.

On a new morning the sun was bright and filled the world with light, and the flowers were blooming. She felt excited and wondered what would happen that day, so she asked Allah to fill her day with joy and happiness.

When she did her prayer, she prayed that everybody who needed food would receive it. She asked her gracious Allah to help the hungry people and animals, and to help her share with them.

When it rained, she went out to have fun. She gave special thanks to Allah for the grass that grew beneath her feet and the rain that fell on the earth, and she asked Him to keep sending rain so that she could play in the puddles.

She thanked Allah for her eyes, so that she could see; for her ears, so that she could hear; for her nose, so that she could smell; and for her mouth, so that she could talk and laugh. And she asked Him to make her as beautiful inside as He had made her outside.

She loved going to school. She asked Allah to take care of her friends, her teachers and the bus driver, and to help her learn new things.

If she could go up in a balloon, she thought, she would see the whole world: the hills, the lakes, and the birds within reach. She thanked Allah for this wonderful world. She tried to be kind to her friends and to all animals, and she asked Allah to make her a better person.

She was sad because her friend was ill. Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that we should visit people who are sick, so she brought her friend a gift and asked Allah to help her get better soon.

Her mum looked after her and gave her hugs and kisses. She loved her mum, and she prayed that Allah would love her too and always keep her safe.

At bedtime she thought about what she had done during the day. She told Allah that she was happy with the good things, and she asked Him to forgive her for any wrong things she had done.

Sometimes she woke up at night and worried. Then she said the prayer her mum had taught her, and asked Allah to help her not to be scared of the night and the darkness, because He is the One who protects us.

• Sahih al-Bukhari 5649: Feed the hungry, visit the sick and set free the captive.