Muslim Family Blog | Ruqaya's Bookshelf

Come with me on a virtual journey to the island of Lamu in Kenya, where Lela Goldsmith, the author of Bibi’s Blessing and Not Too Little to Make a Difference, grew up.

The island is just off the coast of Kenya and has beautiful traditional architecture with Portuguese, Indian, and Arabian influence. The region has long been on the oceanic trade route between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.

October is Islamic Heritage Month here in Canada and in celebration of our Islamic Heritage, we invite you all to share our collection of Muslim literature with your local schools and libraries. Reach out to us at info@ruqayasbookshelf.com for special discounted bundle rates!

Do you know that censorship and shadow-banning by major social media platforms limit the reach of most of the Palestinian content? Even content tha...

Our author Sarah Musa has loved writing since she was a child. She would visit the library weekly to restock and read 300 page books cover-to-cover...

Back to school season is upon us!

Most of us are lucky to be able to go to school. But did you know that in some places around the world, school isn’t so easily accessible?

In Kenya, where our author Lela Goldsmith is from, school isn’t free and can be too expensive for some families. Lela’s own mother lived this reality.

Lela’s latest book, called Not Too Little to Make a Difference, is inspired by Lela’s mother, Sofia.

In recent weeks and months, we’ve seen a number of Muslim bloggers and influencers with large platforms remove their hijab. Every time it happens, ...

This morning I opened up my Instagram DMs to find the following message from one of my followers:   This is not how we show up. In no uncertain te...

Things are different this year. Quieter. Simpler. And that’s okay.Growing up, my family did almost “nothing” for Ramadan (by today’s standards). We...

There is a prevalent theory in education that says one of the reasons children become reluctant readers as they grow older is that they might not h...

For many of us, instant gratification is the default. Almost all forms of entertainment are right at our fingertips. A few clicks and we're browsin...

Last year I wrote and published a story called "Who Will Help Me Make Iftar?" The idea for this story occurred to me several years ago when peru...

I bought a Best Mom Ever mug...for myself.We always talk about positive reinforcement with kids. We tell them they’re doing great, and we give the...