Hayaa Series
In 2019 I was inspired to write “Hayaa’s Chador” after watching little girls run around the masjid in their Chadors and Abayas, flapping them in the wind. And the book “Mommy’s Khimar” was the writing style I wanted to emulate. Coupling the two, “Hayaa’s Chador” was written and production for it was greenlit by Kisa Kids Publications. We went through a bunch of illustration options, but ultimately landed on the incredible Eman Abdul-Razzak, who was working for Pixar. Her illustration of Imam Husayn’s haram was what cemented her as the perfect choice for this book. It was elegant, regal, and yet spunky enough for kids. The book came out in 2021, the year I was pregnant with my daughter, aptly named Hayaa. (People ask if I chose my daughter’s name before or after the book, and the answer is with. There are several hadith linking ‘emaan - faith’ and ‘hayaa-modesty,’ so the two were meant to be together!)
The response to the book was more than I could have anticipated, Subhanallah. It was loved by so many, and I receive so many messages, videos and pictures of little ones who connect with the book. I am only a vessel, but a delighted one at that.
A little while later, I started writing “Hayaa’s Turbah,” as I wanted to equip young ones with the tools to be able to explain to others why we pray on a Turbah, and its significance. Afterall, it was through a case of missing turbahs in our University prayer room that my now husband and I found a path to talk to each other for the sake of marriage. I have a tendency to write in poetry and prose (and have won some poetry contests in the past), so it was only natural for the book to come out in rhyme. Plus, Islam has quite a beautiful history with poetry and prose, so why not pay ode to what the incredible Imams used to support. (I also love alliteration. Always have, always will).
While writing the turbah book, I thought it only natural to add a story about the tasbih, another important artifact. I wanted to pay as much homage to Sayyidah Fatimah (a) as possible within the book, so this one took a lot more back and forth and help from the amazing team at Al-Kisa. When “Hayaa’s Tasbih” was finally done, we had back and forth deciding if we should produce one large book with two stories, or two separate books, and we landed on a three book series.
They were launched together in 2023, and again, received a wonderful readership.
Fast forward to October 2024, on the way back from my late grandfather’s 40th, I wrote “Hayaa’s Quran” as another children’s book to add to the series. Unfortunately, the illustrator was not available, and Kisa Kids said it could not be published under them by the coming Shahr Ramadan, so I pivoted. I turned it into a short chapter book and repurposed images from all three books (and a couple canva images) to populate the pages for our readers who had also grown by a few years.
Alhamdulillah, I have also received messages of appreciation for the newest book, and when tabling recently, I had a little girl point out “Hayaa’s Quran” as her favorite book. And today, (April 2025) I was asked by a reader if I was writing more. While I think the Hayaa series is on hayaa-tus (get it?), I have sprinkled some seeds in the chapter book for new characters and an entire written universe to come Insha’Allah.
