If you take small bites of something, it is easy to relish the taste and enjoy eating it than trying to swallow a large chunk in one go. In the same way, when we read something, understanding and remembering short passages or stories is easier than trying to take in a huge amount of information in one sitting.

A book that gives you bite-size information in an innovative manner is 366 Q&A from the Hadith, where 366 questions are put across and their answers are derived from the sayings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).

Instead of chapters, the book is divided into sections named after the 12 months, with one question based on a hadith under the heading of each day, and its answer given alongside.

This means the textual content of the book is concise and to the point. So you can easily finish the book in a couple of sittings, or take your sweet time and open up a page each day and read the question and its answer, think about the lesson it teaches us and even quiz others about it.

For instance, the question of March 6 is: “What is the best charity?” The answer is: “Charity which is performed in secret is better 70 times than charity done openly. (As-Suyuti, Al-jami’as-Sagir. No 4467)

While the text is easy to understand for kids eight years and older, it is better that an adult reads it with them, to make them understand the lesson being conveyed in such a simple manner and even relate it to our everyday life to show how we can live these teachings. The attractive design and illustrations are suited to appeal to young readers.

Learning good moral lessons early in life help in building a solid foundation of a good character and what better way there is than to learn about and follow the teachings of a person who had the noblest of character.

Available at Paramount Books

Published in Dawn, Young World June 10th, 2017