Hijab & Basketball

About the author

Umm Nura: Umm Nura is the pen name associated with Jannah Jewels, an award-winning Islamic adventure series written for children and early readers. The series was launched in 2009 by a small team based in Vancouver, Canada, and grew into a widely read collection of chapter books illustrated for young Muslim audiences. The author has described herself as a homeschooling mother with a background in education, holding a master's degree in curriculum and instruction and years of classroom teaching experience. The Jannah Jewels books follow four young Muslim girls, each with her own skills and strengths, who travel back through time and across the globe, with destinations such as Timbuktu, China, Baghdad, and Cordoba, working together to keep a precious trust safe from a power-hungry villain. Woven through the adventure are glimpses of Islamic history, geography, and notable figures, presented in an accessible, engaging style. The stated aim of the series is to nurture confident Muslim identities and to offer children protagonists they can see themselves in, while encouraging initiative, physical activity, courage, and good character. The books are produced collaboratively, with co-authors and illustrators contributing across the volumes, and have become a familiar fixture on Muslim children's bookshelves. As a contemporary children's author working under a pen name, biographical detail beyond this remains limited.