All About Stories…

I checked my email today and was pleasantly surprised (nay, shocked) to see an email informing me I’d won the third prize in Muslim Matters‘ short story contest that was held in Ramadan this year. Yes, you can imagine my shock! Alhamdolillah!

Once I got over the initial surprise, I was faced with the knowledge that my story would now be posted up on the website for everyone to read – everyone! The story had to be a real incident, inspiring, with Ramadan as the theme. One evening in Ramadan, after Iftar, I wrote a short piece about my own life before really knowing Islam and sent it in. Now, why am I slightly uneasy about everyone reading it?

That’s because it’s always weird to write about yourself and then to post it up for the whole world to read!

Now, my sister wants to know what I’ve written. I’m sure that’s even more difficult to imagine – I’m hoping she’ll forget all about it by tomorrow morning. Siblings know you inside-out, so well… it’s difficult for them to take an objective stand – they’d rather just laugh at you!

I’m hoping this little incident will buoy me sufficiently to carry ahead with a fledgling idea that I had – to write short stories for children/young adults from an Islamic aspect. I’m not referring to those bedtime “moral” stories but simple stuff you could pick up and enjoy. without worrying about unIslamic stuff coming in between. Stories, imagination shape the personality… I want to write something that enables people to imagine scenarios where Islam is being simply implemented. It might be the story of a small household struggling to raise ten kids (heheh) decently, with Islamic principles. Or, real-life school incidents with exam tensions, bullying, peer-pressure… all with practical, do-able solutions. Sounds like a truck-load but there’s a great big vaccum in this corner of Islamic literature – kids and us “growing-ups” have wild imaginations, inspirations that need good guidance in a language we understand easily.

Enough story-telling for today.

Assalam-o-alaikum!