The Clear Quran® Tafsir For Kids – Surah 1, And 49-114 Volume 4
The Clear Quran® Tafsir For Kids – Surahs 29-48 Volume 3
The Clear Quran® Tafsir For Kids – Surahs 10-28 Volume 2
The Clear Quran® Tafsir For Kids – Surahs 1-9 Volume 1
The Clear Quran® Tafsir For Kids – Bundles
LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR
As-salamu alaikum! (Peace be upon you!)
Many Muslim families in the West are keen on getting their children to memorize the Quran in Arabic, the original language of revelation. However, most Muslims don’t speak or understand Arabic, making it challenging for many young Muslims to connect with the Quran and understand its message.
Recently, I came across a copy of the Quran for children with the Arabic text on one page and the English meaning on the other. To my surprise, the English text was none other than Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s 1934 original translation, written in a dense, archaic style—which is difficult for even college graduates to understand, let alone a 7-year-old!
Al-ḥamdu-lillah, my original translation, The Clear Quran® Series (2015), has been well-received, and many Islamic schools in North America are using it for grade 5 and up. Now is the time to produce an easier translation for younger students.
How the volumes are divided
Based on an authentic ḥadith recorded by Imam Aḥmad, the Prophet ﷺ said that the Quran is made up of four sections:
1. Aṭ-Ṭiwal الطِّوَال (the long surahs), which—according to many scholars—include Al-Baqarah (2) to At-Tawbah (9).
2. Al-Mi’un الْمِئُون (the surahs of about 100 verses), which include Yunus (10) to Al-Qaṣaṣ (28).
3. Al-Mathani الْمَثَانِي (the surahs less than 100 verses), which include Al-’Ankabut (29) to Al-Fatḥ (48).
4. Al-Mufaṣṣal الْمُفَصَّل(the short surahs), which include Al-Ḥujurat (49) to An-Nas (114) as well as Al-Fatiḥah (1).
What makes this translation unique is that it has been edited by kids, for kids.
I have worked diligently with a team of students (mostly grade 2-5) to identify difficult words and replace them with easier ones that carry the same meaning. As for the words we couldn’t replace, they are explained in the glossary, along with the Arabic terms used in this book. With the help of qualified Islamic and public school teachers and professional editors, we made sure that the translation is accurate and accessible.
| QUIZ ANSWERS
| The following samples illustrate how simple and straightforward this book is, compared to other translations:
| Verse | Other Translations | THE CLEAR QURAN™ for Kids |
| 73:6 | Lo! The vigil of the night is (a time) when impression is more keen and speech more certain. | Surely worship in the night is more effective and suitable for recitation. |
| 89:23 | On that day man will take admonition but what will the admonition avail him? | This is when each ˹evil˺ person will remember ˹every sin˺. But what is the point of remembering then? |
| 90:4 | That We created man and set him on earth wherein he strives and struggles from womb to tomb, each according to his disposition and inclination and whether he will acknowledge resurrection and adjudication. | We have certainly created humankind to go from one challenge to another. |
I have added Learning Points at the beginning of each surah (chapter), as well as hundreds of Background Stories, Side Stories, and Words of Wisdom throughout the book, making it both informative and entertaining.
Learning Points
Sum up the lessons of each surah.
Background Stories
Provide the context and reason why certain passages or surahs were revealed. I made sure that all Background Stories are authentic, citing the book of ḥadith or tafsir from which the story was taken.
Side Stories
Historical, contemporary, and personal stories that help students better understand a passage or a surah. However, these stories may not be directly related to why a passage or a surah was revealed.
Words of Wisdom
Highlight some of the lessons that we can learn from a passage or a surah. Moreover, some Words of Wisdom try to answer some challenging questions that are commonly asked by young students.
| Challenging questions commonly asked by young students:
- If Allah created everything, who created Allah?
- Why do bad things happen to good people?
- The Quran says that men will be rewarded with heavenly wives (known as ḥoor ‘ein) in Jannah—what is the reward for women?
- If Allah exists, how come He is not doing anything about the suffering of innocent people?
- If men and women are equal in Islam, how come there are no female prophets?
- If Allah already knew who would be good and who would be evil—why didn’t He just send them straight to Jannah or Jahannam without testing them in this world?
- If Allah sent 124,000 prophets, how come only 25 of them are mentioned in the Quran?
Kids are curious—they ask questions to learn, which is essential to their development. Answering these questions in a way they can understand and relate to will help them grow confident in their faith.
Moreover, most people—including myself—are visual learners. Growing up as a student at Al-Azhar, I used to sum up complex lessons (from fiqh and poetry to sirah and history) into simple drawings to help me recall the general ideas of those lessons. It worked! And I believe we can use the same technique with Quranic translations intended for young learners, following the opinion that decent illustrations are permissible for educational purposes. Keeping in line with our traditional Islamic values, no prophet or companion of Prophet Muḥammad (S) is depicted in any of the illustrations within this book.
The purpose of this translation is to make it easy for students to understand the Quran, and appreciate its message and relevance to our daily lives. Each surah is divided into themes, so students know exactly where to start and where to stop when studying or memorizing passages.
While we appreciate past efforts to translate the Quran for kids, we must acknowledge that times have changed, and so have our children’s scopes of learning, challenges, and aspirations. This current work is a tool that enables teachers and parents to explain passages and surahs in a simple way that helps children learn, love, and live the message of the Quran.
May Allah accept this effort.
Mustafa Khattab
Mississauga, Canada
2019
| Meet our young editors:
