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Dedicated to my parents, who were my first storytellers: Shabbir Husain Gilani and Munir Fatima Bukhari.
Thank you for always reminding me of my duty to God and the world. I love you.
F. G.
Copyright © The Islamic Foundation, 2010/1431 H, Reprint 2012/1433 H.
Text copyright 2010 Fawzia Gilani
ISBN 978-0-86037-473-2
Author Fawzia Gilani
Editor Fatima D’Oyen
Illustrator Shireen Adams
Cover/Book design & typeset Nasir Cadir
Coordinator Anwar Cara
Published by
THE ISLAMIC FOUNDATION
Markfield Conference Centre, Ratby Lane, Markfield
Leicestershire, LE67 9SY, United Kingdom
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.islamic-foundation.com
Quran House, P.O. Box 30611, Nairobi, Kenya
P.M.B. 3193, Kano, Nigeria
Distributed by
Kube Publishing Ltd.
Tel: +44(01530) 249230, Fax: +44(01530) 249656
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kubepublishing.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
A Cataloguing-in-Publication Data record for this book is available from the British Library
eISBN: 978-0-86037-682-8
In the name of Allah, the One God, the most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
Cinderella
AN ISLAMIC TALE
Retold by
FAWZIA GILANI
Illustrated by
SHIREEN ADAMS
Once upon a time there lived a rich and noble
man and a kind and beautiful lady.
They had a daughter named Zahra who was sweet
and gentle, and as beautiful as the crescent moon. Every
day Zahra and her parents would read the Qur’an, and they never
missed a prayer.
As the months passed by Zahra’s mother became ill. Although many
doctors had been called, no one could find a cure. One sad day Zahra’s
mother died. Father and daughter were heartbroken.
‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un,’ said the father with tears in his eyes.
‘Truly, we belong to Allah and to Him we will return.’
Zahra and her father were very sad, but they put their trust in Allah
and asked Him to grant them patience and comfort.
After some time the father decided to marry again. He married a
widow with two daughters. In the beginning, the new wife tried to be
loving and caring. But as time went on she saw how graceful Zahra
was compared to her own daughters. This made her extremely jealous.
She saw that while Zahra was beautiful and elegant, her own daughters
were plain and clumsy. While Zahra was humble and giving, her own
daughters were proud and selfish. And while Zahra was gentle and
kind, the stepmother’s daughters were rough and cruel.
This was more than the stepmother could bear, and darkness grew in
her heart. When her husband was away, the stepmother was harsh and
unfair to the girl. She made Zahra do most of the housework while
her own lazy daughters slept or played. But Zahra was forgiving and
patient, and never complained to her father.
A few years later, Zahra’s father became very ill. One day he called his
daughter to his side and gave her words of love and advice.
‘My sweet child,’ he said, ‘Follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and never
miss your prayers. Be patient and humble, always speak gently and share
whatever you have with the poor. And know that I love you very much.
May Allah protect you and make you a strong Muslim.’
The poor child clung to her father.
‘You must hold fast to the rope of Allah and never let go,’ he said.
‘La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammadur rasulullah.’ These were the last words
her father spoke.
‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un,’ whispered the poor girl as she wept.
