The Story of the Elephant: Surah Al-Feel

Synopsis:

The first page has a prologue which consists of an Ayah from Surah Ibrahim (14:35) telling us the dua Prophet Abraham made after he finished building the Kaba with his son Prophet Ismael.

The story starts with a small introduction on how Abraha became the ruler of Yemen and built a church to compete with the Kaba. It continues with how Abraha sent the army of elephants to Mecca and captured 200 camels belonging to Abdul Mutalib – leader of the Quraysh, and the response of Abdul Mutalib when he was called to see Abraha. The story also includes the dua Abdul Mutalib made to Allah, how Mahmud the elephant would keep sitting down when he was ordered to attack the kaba, and the flock of birds defeating the army of the elephant.

The story concludes with a page about how Allah protects the Kaba to this day, and how that year is known as the year of the Elephant and that Prophet Muhammed was born in this year. (This page is awesome! LOVE LOVE LOVE the pop up Kaba!)

At the end the author summarizes three points we learn from this Surah, about answering of duas, Allah’s protection, and that we should control our anger.

Why I like this book:

• The story is well written in simple words for little kids to understand easily
• The story includes ayahs from the Quran so kids will be learning a bit of the Quran.
• There’s a pop up or interactive flap and pull tab activity on every page to keep the kids intrigued.
• It has an English translation of Surah Fil.
• The pages are made of high quality glossy paper.
• There’s a small 10 question Quiz at the end.
• This book also includes an activity game for the kids to play. They can color the press out elephants pieces.

Activities:

• In addition to the activities at the back of the book you can do “elephant crafts”. (Check out our Pinterest board!)
• You can make a whole diorama of the story with your children
• You can pair it with other resources (ie. Zakys Quran DVD and the My First Quran with Pictures) and do a mini Surah Feel Unit.
• Its a great book to include in a Hajj basket that teaches children that “the Kaba is Allah’s house, and Allah will protect it”

Overall:

I totally recommend it to everyone! The little ones will just love looking at the Kaba pop up, while the older kids will understand the story! Because its an interactive book, with pull tabs and flaps you’ll need to supervise toddlers for longevity! Otherwise its really durable! I got a copy of this when it first came out! And its still on my bookshelf being loved by my younger kid now!

My two year old excitedly screamed “Kaba! Kaba!” when he saw the Kaba pop up. Other kids have loved the page with the elephants and the bird. And its just wonderful to see the kids faces light up when they see the book with such amazement. This book has been a hit among the parents too.

It’s evident that a lot of hard work went into creating this book and it truly is a MUST HAVE for every child. Plus its awesome for library story time!