Letters from a Prophet by Zimarina Sarwar illustrated by Giorgio Bacchin
I’m not a fan, as a general rule, of lift the flap books for toddlers (they just tear them), so imagine my delight when I was completely captivated with a lift the flap book for middle grade and up! And the flaps are not trivial, they reveal letters from Prophet Muhammad (saw), maps, interesting facts, and make an already impressive, beautiful non fiction picture book, feel interactive and somehow even more enticing. The book gives context and information for four letters sent by RasulAllah to Emperor Heraclius, Al-Muqawqis, King Chosroes, and Al-Nijashi. Each section has the story of the letter and then a two page spread that details lessons we can learn. The book itself starts with an introduction, a section about the seal and where the ideas to send the letters came from. It concludes with final thoughts and a bibliography. I do wish the book was perhaps checked by a scholar, but at least it has sources at the end. Truly, I learned so much from reading this book and discussing it with my kids, I’m even thinking I might need to gift my mom a copy for Eid. It works for adults and kids alike, a few pages at a time at bedtime, in a classroom setting, as a resource. I hope books like this become the norm for teaching Islamic history to our children, it really has raised the bar, alhumdulillah.
The book starts with the cover, the large 55 page hardback book with raised images, really sets the tone that this is going to be an experience. The introduction starts with the basics explaining the value of lettering writing in history, it then establishes where the idea came from to reach out to Byzantium, Egypt, Persia, and Abyssinia.
It gives a brief timeline of the life of Prophet Muhammad saw, tells about the value of seals and what the Prophet’s seal looked like before starting the letters. Then the four sections begin, the first being to Heraclius the Emperor of Byzantium, then Al-Muqawaqis also known as the Ruler of Egypt: Jurayj ibn Mina-Kiolos, Leader of the Copts, then King Chrosroes also known as the Shah of Persia Khosrow al-Parvaiz II, and then finally Al-Najashi also known as King Negus of Abyssinia As’hama Ibn Abjar.
The Final Thoughts discuss the impact even though most did not convert and offer the reader different aspects to consider while looking at the bigger picture.
The book won the Muslim Book Awards 2023 Non Fiction category and is available for purchase here at Crescent Moon Store.
