Sunnah and Science: What Modern Research Tells Us about Prophetic Traditions by Aquila Fatima illustrated by Azra Momin
The title and premise of this hardbound 54 page resource book for children definitely caught my eye. The contents covered, the two page fully illustrated compelling spreads, and the intext labeling of hadith and Quranic ayats make this book versatile in homes and classrooms for a wide variety of ages. As a mother of a convert, the knowledge that science is not in contradiction to Islam is something I grew up hearing about a lot in casual conversation, and I love that this book addresses it head on for children with pull out bubbles, reminders, fun facts, duas, and the like. My only concern that I truly can’t wrap my head around, is why isn’t their sourcing for the “scientific” information? Nothing is overly scientific, and nothing “feels” off, but none-the-less, the book repeatedly says “Research shows,” and “Science proves,” “Scientists are still,” “Scientific research says,” but never once shares what scientist, or research, or science. The book has the space for footnotes or sourcing or a bibliography, and in a book trying to give readers the confidence to show how the sunnah and science support one another, to not have the sourcing to back it up, is a glaring admission. Buried in the author bio it states the author has “a Masters degree in genetics” and worked as a “science teacher for elementary school students,” but to me, the book needs to back up the statements to successfully empower and accomplish what it sets out to do. I hope future printings will include sufficient backmatter, even without the book is well done, but the standard is the standard for good reason, non fiction needs sourcing.
The book covers 25 topics, dedicating two pages to each topic, with a title heading, and an Islamic source subheading. The topics include, smiling, rain, sleeping, swimming, wudu, salah, fasting, honey, cleanliness, bathroom etiquette, yawning and hygiene to name a few.
Most pages contain facts, ayats from the Quran, sunnahs, benefits, supporting scientific tie ins, and adorable illustrations. The book concludes with an author’s note, thoughts by readers on the book, and an author bio.
