Ramadan is the most natural time to build a reading tradition in a Muslim household. The month already has structure: the pre-dawn meal, the fast, the evening prayer, the iftar. Reading fits into that structure in a way it does not always fit into the rest of the year.
What we have seen, across the families we work with, is that the traditions that last past Ramadan are the ones that start simple. One book. One time of day. Consistent enough to become expected.
For Families with Young Children
The most durable Ramadan reading tradition for young children is a nightly book after iftar, before the evening prayer. The books do not all have to be about Ramadan. Ramadan Around the World by Ndaa Hassan and The Most Powerful Night are both strong for this time of year. So is The Way to Jannah, which ends with duas that work as a natural transition to prayer.
For Families with School-Age Children
A chapter-a-night read-aloud is manageable during Ramadan, when evening time is slower and more intentional than usual. Migo and Ali: Love for the Prophets by Zanib Mian is structured in short stories that work well read in one sitting. The Eliyas Explains series handles questions that come up naturally during Ramadan, particularly about prayer and belief.
One Book That Travels Through the Whole Month
Some families do one longer book across the full thirty days. For older children, Khadijah: Mother of History's Greatest Nation by Fatima Barkatulla works well as a Ramadan companion. It is about a woman whose faith was tested in real and costly ways, and reading it during a month of sacrifice gives it particular weight.
After Ramadan
The families who maintain a reading habit past Ramadan are usually the ones who do not frame reading as a Ramadan practice in the first place. They start with Ramadan structure, but they keep the habit because the books themselves are worth continuing. Let what the child asks for after Ramadan guide what you buy next.
Browse Maktabah's Ramadan and Eid collection and our full children's catalog.