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      In the name of Allah, the One God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful

      To my parents-in-law, Judy Arleen Kayden and Terry Lee Kayden,

       who never tire of illuminating the world with their generosity and kindness. I love you.

       F. G.

      Snow White: An Islamic Tale

      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

      Distributed by

       KUBE PUBLISHING LTD

       Tel +44 (01530) 249230, Fax +44 (01530) 249656

       E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kubepublishing.com

      Text copyright © Fawzia Gilani 2012

       Illustrations by Shireen Adams © Kube Publishing 2012

      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

       Author Fawzia Gilani

       Cover and Book Illustrations Shireen Adams

       Book design Nasir Cadir

       Editor Yosef Smyth and Fatima D’Oyen

      A Cataloguing-in-Publication Data record for this book is available from the British Library

      eISBN: 978-0-86037-687-3

      Snow White

      An Islamic Tale

      FAWZIA GILANI

      Illustrated by SHIREEN ADAMS

      Once upon a time there lived an honest and rich merchant who had a kind-hearted wife.

       Their only sadness was that they didn’t have a child.

      One winter’s day, as the snow fell gently, the merchant’s wife sat by a window reading the Qur’an.

       Suddenly she felt very tired and fell asleep. In her dream she saw a little girl playing. As soon

       as the merchant’s wife awoke, she made a du‘a. “Dear Allah,” she said, “please bless me with a

       daughter who is as patient as Job, as peaceful as dawn, with a heart as pure as snow.”

      4

      A year later the merchant’s wife had a baby daughter.

       The wife remembered her dream on the snowy day, so

       she named the child Snow White. As the child grew

       her parents brought many teachers to educate her.

       She learnt about Islam, science, language and played

       sports. One day, her mother gave her a gift of a

       Qur’an, “My sweet child,” she said, “always keep this

       close to you. May Allah bless you with patience, peace

       and purity.”

      Sadly, Snow White’s mother

      fell ill and died when she was

      ten. The little girl and her father were

      heartbroken. It was all they could do to ask Allah to give

       them patience and strength.

      Snow White took great comfort in the words of the

       Qur’an and her prayers. At times she missed her mother

       very much. This worried the merchant greatly so he

       decided to marry thinking that Snow White would be

       happier if she had the love of a mother again.

      The merchant’s new wife was very beautiful. At first she behaved affectionately towards Snow White.

       She appeared to be concerned with prayer and charity but eventually it all stopped.

       The stepmother was very vain. She was constantly adorning herself, changing from one costume to

       another and admiring herself in the many mirrors she surrounded herself with. Rather than caring

       for Snow White, the stepmother demanded that the child prepare all the meals, wash the clothes

       and clean the house. It greatly angered and saddened the merchant to see his young daughter being

       mistreated and neglected, so one day he complained to the stepmother.

      6

      It was shortly after this that the merchant died of a strange illness. Sadness filled the poor orphan’s

       heart. She tried to console herself with the story of Prophet Job. Many tears were shed as Snow

       White spent her nights in prayer.

      Now that the merchant was gone, the stepmother began to do many horrid and dreadful things.

       If she saw something she liked, she would take it by force, whether it was from a child or an elder.

       And it was common for people to mysteriously disappear if she disliked something they said or did.

      It came to be known that the stepmother practiced magic. At night strange words could be heard

       from her room followed by a loud and wicked cackle. Poor Snow White would shake in her bed and

       remember the verse in the Qur’an about those who studied magic,

      And they learned what harmed them, not what profited them. And they knew that the buyers of

       (magic) would have no share in the happiness of the Hereafter.1

      7

      The stepmother also owned a jinn, which would answer all her questions. She would say

       to the jinn, “Jinn, jinn, obey my call. Who is the fairest of them all?”

       The jinn would reply, “O Lady, you are beautiful, fine and fair. To you there is no other

       who does compare.”

      Whenever

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