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Alhamdulillah For Everything (Book Review)

This is a book, written by a passionate mother alongside her two boys, that portrays the different features and blessings Allah ﷻ has bestowed upon all His creations. The least we could do is be grateful to Him as we utilise the blessings in our daily lives.

Educational

Showing gratitude to Allah ﷻ is in two forms, and that is through words and actions.

Through Words

Our beloved Prophet ﷺ has taught us a beautiful dua to say, apart from the regular we all know, and that is two words: الحمد لله (Alhamdulillah).

Shaddad ibn Aws reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say in his prayer, “O Allah, I ask You to make me firmly grounded in the matter and determined upon right guidance. I ask You to make me grateful for Your blessings and to help me worship You in the best manner. I ask You for a pure heart and a truthful tongue. I ask You for the good You know, I seek refuge in You from the evil You know, and I seek Your forgiveness for what You know.”  [Sunan an-Nasā’ī 1304 | Grade: Sahih li ghayrihi (authentic due to external evidence) according to Al-Albani]

Through Actions

This is done using our physical body to learn, practice, apply and spread gratitude to all.

Just like it’s described in the book, it includes using our two ears to hear the halal sounds around us, using our nose to smell all the good and bad scents, using our hands to write a thank you card, giving a free hug and much more. Being thankful even for the negative things in our life is a sign of a true believer.

This book teaches young ones the aspect of being grateful for the simple and little things in life that we often neglect. How many have lost a limb, yet we haven’t! How many have lost eyes, yet we can read this post! How many have lost their lives in destruction, yet we are here, still breathing healthily! Indeed! Alhamdulillah for everything!

Inspirational

This book was illustrated by two young boys of less than 10 years of age, Allahuma Baarik Lahum! Kids inspire other kids on a different level. They connect to each other’s drawings and understand the message passed across better. In simple words, trees on a pathway may simply be understood as just a bunch of trees that had grown there; however, for kids, it shows the many beautiful creations of Allah ﷻ and how abundant they are.

This book surely inspires young ones to dream big and make the impossible possible at a young age! Be an illustrator! Being an author doesn’t have an age limit.

Creative, Colourful & Bright Illustrations

We are used to perfect digital drawings, which is good, but they tend to remove the traditional fun of painting, drawing and playing with colours. The images used in this book aren’t perfect, but they sure do speak a language that kids easily understand.

Quality of the Pages

Glossy papers, not easily tearable at all. There’s also a notes section at the end of the book for kids to write down the things they are grateful for.

Parent/Guardian-Child Connection

This book was authored by a mother and illustrated by her two sons. This teaches us to create a loving bond between parents and children, and one of those ways is authoring a book. It’s an experience that would be etched in their memories for years to come.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

This book has been designed in a way that caters to the educational theory: Bloom’s Taxonomy.

The images used are easy to recall and remember the concepts being taught. The idea of using hands, ears, eyes and nose for kids to understand the concept of gratefulness is brilliant. Be ready to explain and apply the information in new scenarios, like having hands to eat and feet to walk to the masjid. This book enables the kids to analyse and contemplate the lives of individuals who lost their sense of smell, and how grateful they should be to have the sense of smell. It makes them capable of giving an evaluation that all their blessings are from Allah ﷻ alone, and that those without these blessings aren’t devalued in the sight of Allah, and we should always be grateful for everything in life – the good and the bad.

The illustrations inspire kids to recreate and produce new illustrations that teach about gratefulness, like the following drawings done in Kids’ Hajj Challenge, Season 1, where kids were asked to recreate the drawing of a masjid and produce a new drawing of things they were grateful for in life.

Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet said, “Whoever is not grateful for small things will not be grateful for large things. Whoever does not thank people has not thanked Allah Almighty.” [Al-Firdaws lil-Daylamī 5962 | Grade: Lahu shawahid (corroborated) according to Al-Sakhawi]

The formula to a peaceful life is simplicity and being grateful for what Allah ﷻ has already given us.

Reviewed by Sr. Amatullah B.M.

Founder & President

Islamic Reflections

Author’s Note

Allah’s ﷻ every creation is an inspiration, humans being one of them. Each part of our body, each ability we have is special. Every human being is unique in their own way. We have so much to be grateful for, even every second in remembrance of Allah ﷻ is not enough. We should make a habit of saying Alhamdulillah every time we realise we have one more thing to be thankful for. Alhamdulillah For Everything!

Please let everyone know about the book, it’s available in Kenya, and on Amazon for people abroad. Proceeds from the sale of the book also go to charitable causes, In Shaa Allah.

JazakAllah Khair.

Rahila. S. V

Illustrators’ Note

We have painted the pictures in the book to show that Allah ﷻ must be remembered continuously. Allah ﷻ put it in our hearts to help our mother to make writing the book easier, as the words were hers and the images, ours. We hope that kids all around the world will use the book as an inspiration that if we could do it, they can too, In Shaa Allah.

Please spread the word about our book as much as possible. Every time someone buys the book and says Alhamdulillah, you and we will all be blessed, In Shaa Allah.

JazakAllah Khair.

Aahil Harunani

Ayaan Harunani

3 thoughts on “Alhamdulillah For Everything (Book Review)

  1. Alhamdulilla,this is all that is worthy that could be said.

    1. Ma Shaa Allah Tabaaraka Allah
      Jazakillah Khairan for your comment. Indeed Alhamdulillah for everything

    2. Alhamdulillah and JazakAllah Khair, appreciate it from the bottom of my heart that you could think of the book as worthy of saying Alhamdulillah 😊

Jazaakumullah Khairan! Thank You! We appreciate your efforts to leave us a comment :)