Asalamaulikum wa Rahmatullah!

Outshine the Sun is a book detailing the lives of 40+ Muslim women in history! While it is primarily a children’s book, the text is informative and entertaining for people of all ages. The women in this book are role models for us today, and the lessons their lives provide- holding to faith despite hardship, working to serve the community, and aspiring towards excellence in everything- resonate throughout time.

We hope you support our work and we appreciate your consideration!

In history and her-story, 

We hear some tales of mystery.

We learn old truths and long-lost dreams,

We find these heroes of our deen.

These Forty Women changed the world-

They lived their faith, and legends paled. 

Their lights were brighter than the sun.

Let’s read their stories one by one.

What this book entails 

This book contains 40+ biographical entries on Muslim women! The figures discussed in the book come from a wide range of geographies, backgrounds, and times, extending from the Prophet SAW’s day to the present! They are scholars, heroes, scientists, poets, and more.

Figures in the book include:

-Fatima RA, the daughter of the Prophet SAW

-Rabia al-Adawaiyya, the 8th century pious predecessor

-Fatima al-Fihri, founder of the worlds’ oldest college

-Razia Sultana, ruler a wide swath of the Indian subcontinent

-Malahayati, defender of Aceh, Indonesia from invasions

-Nana Asma’u, teacher and translator of Islam for thousands of people

And many more!

Each entry contains:

-a beautiful watercolor illustration, rich in meaning. 

-a biography for children rendered as a quatrain poem. 

-a quote from the figure (if one can be found in historical sources)

-details of where and when she lived

-an explanation of the symbolism in the illustrations

-a prose biography for older children and parents

-a list of some of the lesson’s that can be learned from the figure’s life

Additionally, after every 5 entries, there is a two page spread detailing exercises that children might do to internalize the values learned!

Our goal with this format is to help readers learn about the lives of these women in aesthetically-pleasing, informative, and entertaining ways, and to make it clear how relevant their lives are to us today. 

Why this book 

Western Media portrays Muslims as exceedingly patriarchal, and unfortunately many Muslims buy into that same myth. They forget that the first person to accept Islam was a woman, that Islam was passed down and further by pious, educated women. They don’t acknowledge that Muslim women have always played crucial roles in building our civilizations and cultures. 

Knowing this history is important, both because it undoes so many of the biases that exist today, but also because it inspires us and teaches us what is possible. Muslim women throughout history are incredible role models- to Muslim girls, yes, but honestly to everyone. This book is an attempt to teach and popularize a small chunk of this history. 

How are you helping?

By supporting this campaign, you are helping Fons Vitae afford publishing and distribution costs. In addition, you can receive physical or digital copies of the work, and thereby help with its spread! The great help is simply to read the work and make dua- financial support and buying copies is also welcome though :)

If this campaign is successful, we anticipate distribution of the giving level tier rewards and publication in late Summer 2023 inshaallah. We intend to include the names of all supporters (who do not give anonymously) at the end of the book.

Who are we?

Selam! I’m H. Sumeyra Korkmaz, the book’s illustrator and formatter. I am currently working on my PhD in Islamic studies at Marmara University in Istanbul. I’m the co-founder of a Children’s education NGO in Turkey and a student of classical illumination techniques. You can see some of my artwork here. 

Salam everyone! I’m Abdul Rahman Latif, the book’s author. I’m a PhD Candidate in Religion at Columbia University in New York. I currently serve as the Muslim Chaplain at Dartmouth College. My research, my work, and my creative pursuits all involve a love of storytelling and education.

We met several years back when we worked on another, much smaller children’s book at the behest of a mutual friend. That children’s book is available freely online here. Inshaallah we think that both our art and writing have improved since then! 

Our publisher, Fons Vitae ("al-Kauthar" or “fountain of life”), is a non-profit academic publishing company based in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in interfaith scholarly works focused on world spirituality. It is known for its significant English translations of Arabic and Persian works, especially in the field of Islamic spirituality, Tafsir and Jurisprudence. Its award-winning books and DVDs are used throughout the world in university classrooms and by the general public. Fons Vitae was founded by A. Gray Henry, who co-founded the Islamic Texts Society (ITS) in 1980 after studying at al-Azhar University for 10 years. Fons Vitae is well known for its The Ghazali Children's Project.

Jazak Allah Khair to Aimen Mimiko for making the campaign video, Sister Grey for her support, and our many proofreaders and friends who gave feedback-  Sherife Slocum Arslan, Rümeysa Öztürk, Aisha Yaqoubi, Husna Zülfikar, Attiya Latif, Sarah Mokh, Saadia Yacoob, Zaid Adhami, Sarah bin Tyeer, Zawar Jafri, Salwa Ahmed, and Sania Rahim, among others. Also thanks to you for taking a look at this campaign!