Some stories do more than entertain. They plant a love that lasts.
When twelve year old twins Aisha and Umar move with their younger siblings to their grandfather's quiet country home, they brace themselves for dusty books and endless boredom. Then they discover a mysterious white turban, an ancient relic with the power to carry them through time. When their youngest sister, Fatima, suddenly vanishes and leaves the turban behind, Aisha, Umar, and their brother Ali are thrust into a breathtaking journey to the sacred valley of Hadramawt in tenth century Yemen. There they must cross unfamiliar desert terrain, outwit a band of dangerous bandits, and protect the turban's powerful secret. Can they rescue Fatima and return home before it is too late?
Inspired by real figures from Islamic history, Imam Ahmad and the Bandits is the first installment in the Hadi Twins Adventure series. It carries young readers to meet the great scholars and righteous of Hadramawt, and to fall in love with the people who preserved the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. It is a fast, gripping adventure and, beneath it, a quiet work of tarbiya: courage, truthfulness, and faith woven into a story children will not want to put down.
Written by Anisa Rasul, who studied the Islamic sacred sciences under traditional scholars in Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, and Yemen and holds an ijaza in Qur'anic recitation. Illustrated by Giorgio Bacchin and edited by Fatima D'Oyen Waley.
- Author: Anisa Rasul
- Illustrator: Giorgio Bacchin
- Publisher: Ihya Publishing
- Format: Paperback, 280 pages
- Reading level: Confident readers aged 8 and up, and a wonderful family read aloud
- Series: Hadi Twins Adventure, Book 1
- ISBN: 9781939256256
