بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Alhamdulillaah, if you've been following this blog for over a decade, you'll remember how our homeschooling journey began with Maimoonah, who was almost two years old. You can find posts here detailing the day we officially started homeschooling and documenting her journey over the years. Today, she is a 17-year-old young lady, Alhamdulillaah. Time has flown by, and Allaah has blessed us with countless blessings.
Maimoonah never attended school, but she completed her IGCSEs, earned a Higher Diploma in English, and is now in her final year of a BA in English and English Literature. She hopes to begin her Master's soon, bi idhnillaah.
One of the beautiful blessings of Allaah for us is living in Doha. Alhamdulillaah! We started our homeschooling journey in Doha, and Maimoonah has grown along with the places that nurtured and encouraged her writing skills. When we first came to Doha, there were no libraries, museums, or major activities for children.
Qmuslimah a community of expat sisters came together to create a library and we were blessed to be part of it and Maimoonah benefitted a lot from that initiative too.
Alhamdulillaah, Qatar has advanced rapidly over the years, focusing more on literacy and building spaces catering to children's development. Maimoonah was one of the few homeschooled children who loved attending workshops at the Museum of Islamic Art and participating in Maktabah story times at the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art when they first opened. She continued to flourish with them as she grew, and when the Qatar National Library opened, she was thrilled. It has become her second home, offering incredible resources and state-of-the-art facilities. May Allaah bless the rulers and authorities for creating such safe, enriching environments that align with our values and morals and for continuing to support us. Aameen.
Why am I sharing all this? What's the connection between this introduction and the title of this post?
Today, I want to share a beautiful milestone of a homeschooled child. At 17, Maimoonah has published her first book on Amazon. But what I love most about this achievement is how she managed to gather like-minded youth, providing them with a platform to showcase their talents, too. From the start, my intention with blogging was to share beneficial resources and experiences with other families. This anthology that Maimoonah published aligns perfectly with that original purpose.
We've published many digital books for children over the years, but I never intended to venture into print publishing. While many advised me to do so, the nature of our work and the community we serve made it impractical, especially with Amazon's high costs for print publishing while living in the Gulf. I didn't explore that avenue for these reasons and the other complexities involved.
However, Maimoonah took the initiative and was determined to make her dream come true with the permission of Allaah. This entire project was her's. Since she is not yet 18, she couldn't publish the book independently, so it went through me.
The idea, the design, the front and back cover, formatting, calling for submissions, preparing contracts, communicating with contributors, marketing, and the entire process of publishing on Amazon were done single-handedly by her. May Allaah bless her. She also wanted Ustadh Abu Afnan Muhammad Abdullah to review the book, who graciously agreed and completed the reviewing and editing process. May Allaah reward him immensely. All of this was accomplished within just a couple of months, which, at her age, is truly a remarkable achievement and a blessing of Allaah to proclaim. Alhamdulillaah.
My Heart is a Pomegranate: A Youth Anthology features nonfiction prose, poetry, short fiction, beautiful artworks, and thought-provoking musings from young Muslims. Maimoonah carefully handpicked each submission, maintaining the standards she aimed to produce while providing a platform for these talented young artists. In an era where AI-generated content is often misused, she ensured the originality of every piece, Alhamdulillaah.
We thank our young Muslimahs for their excellent contributions and hope they are pleased with the end result.
Alhamdulillaah, we have many resources for young children. But there's a considerable gap in catering to preteens and youth. While it's natural for us to focus on nurturing our children when they are small, it's equally important to continue supporting their spiritual, emotional, and intellectual growth as they mature and become responsible adults.
It reminds me of the statement of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī when he would see a young Muslim:
"Welcome to the individuals that the Prophet ﷺ had advised us regarding. Make space for the youth in the gatherings and explain the narrations to them. You are the ones to inherit from us, and you are the people of ḥadīth after we pass away."
I am glad that this anthology has provided a much-needed safe space for young Muslimahs to express their thoughts and showcase the outstanding talents Allaah has blessed them with. It also allows the community to witness that our Muslim youth are truly the shining stars of the Ummah.
Please support them by purchasing the book from Amazon. The links are provided below. And please remember to leave a review on Amazon once you've read it. Share this with youth and families; it would make a wonderful Eid gift for a special Muslimah.
