A WORLD OF WISDOM

A CHILDREN’S book featuring a collection of 40 wisdoms aimed at teaching manners and spirituality and encouraging discussion has been released by a Bahraini author, writes Nader Adnan.

Afnan’s World, written by Dr Muhammad Al Zekri, author of Echoing Jesus of Nazareth: The Spiritual Imprint for the Community of Fathers and Mothers in the Arabian Sands, is the writer’s first entry in the world of bedtime stories.

Dr Muhammad, who lived in Germany, teaching in various universities over sixteen years, fell in love with the country’s culture when it came to children’s books.

The country has a long history of such tales, some of it dating all the way back to the 1800s, with collections from Heinrich Hoffmann and The Brothers Grimm still being looked upon fondly in the modern day.

“That tradition remains alive and well,” Dr Muhammad told GulfWeekly. “Children’s books are everywhere, and there is a wide variety of bedtime stories.

“At night, it is customary for German parents to give their children a small flashlight, then they turn off the lights and the read the book with the kids until they fall asleep.”

These traditions inspired Dr Muhammad to write his own book with the desire to give young readers a sense of culture.

One day, he remembered one of the works of an Egyptian murshid (spiritual leader) called Ibn Ata Allah Al Iskandari who wrote The Book of Wisdom, which consists of 360 wise sayings, one for every day of the year.

“Many people think these wisdoms are complicated,” he said.

“So I thought about explaining them in a way that people can understand by putting them in the form of bedtime stories.”

Dr Muhammad spent two years gathering 40 wisdoms, coming with characters, and integrating them into stories.

He chose the number 40 because of its significance in Islam. The Quran mentions that when a person reaches 40 years of age, it is when they reach their intellectual perfection.

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also emphasised the importance of the number saying that the prayer of a person who gossips would not be accepted for 40 days and nights.

Similarly, millions of Muslims travel to Karbala 40 days after Ashoora, with an estimated 20 million having made the pilgrimage in 2023.

“I always thought Afnan, which means ‘branch of a tree in heaven’, was beautiful, so I decided to call the book Afnan’s World.”

That is further illustrated on the cover of the book, which features a tree with wide spread out branches.

In the story, Afnan walks in on her father who is reading a book with a solemn look on his face.

Overcome by curiosity, she asks her father why he had such a peaceful expression, and he said it was because he was reading a book of wisdoms.

Afnan wanted to learn some of the wisdoms in the book, so he tells her he will teach her one every single night before bed.

Every day after she learns a wisdom, such as one involving God and his creations, she goes to her school and talks to her friends and her teacher about it.

Some of her friends are more logical, some are more spiritual, and each child interprets and reacts to it differently, which encourages discussion between them.

What makes this story unique however, is the inclusion of a section prior to each chapter called Parent’s World, which provides readers with more information should they need it.

“It is a way to prepare the parents for the story ahead,” said Dr Muhammad.

“It consists of the original wisdom, the explanation for it, and further details and clarifications about the upcoming chapter, which allows parents to answer any questions children may have. Overall, it helps set the scene for them ahead of time.”

Dr Muhammad also stated while this is the first volume, it might not be the last, as plans are in place to adopt all 360 of Ibn Ata Allah Al Iskandari’s wisdoms in the future.

The book is already out for sale in Germany and is expected to hit the shelves in Bahrain soon.

Parents can contact Dr Muhammad by email at m.alzekri@gmail.com for a copy.