Muslim parents who shop for Islamic books regularly start to notice certain publisher names appearing on the spines of the books their children love most. Learning Roots, Ruqaya's Bookshelf, and Imam Ghazali Publishing are three of the most important names in Islamic publishing in the English-speaking world right now, and they do very different things. Understanding what each one does well helps you buy with more confidence and less guesswork.
Learning Roots
Learning Roots is a UK-based publisher founded with a specific educational mission: to produce high-quality Islamic learning materials for Muslim children in the English-speaking world. Their books are grounded in sound scholarly sources, checked and approved by qualified scholars, and designed with early childhood development in mind.
Their strongest titles are the ones that introduce foundational Islamic concepts to very young children. Allah Knows All About Me builds a sense of Allah's nearness through the ordinary moments of a baby's day. My Touch and Feel Alif Baa Taa is the best Arabic alphabet board book we have found for English-speaking Muslim families. My Prophet Muhammad My Hero covers the full Seerah in large-format, double-spread illustrations that children ask to look at again and again.
The Eliyas Explains series, also by Learning Roots author Zanib Mian, takes the same commitment to scholarly accuracy and delivers it through humor and direct address. These books are approved by Shaykh Ibrahim Nun Al-Azhari and they read nothing like curriculum. If your child has questions about angels, miracles, or why we pray, the Eliyas Explains books are the first place to send them.
Ruqaya's Bookshelf
Ruqaya's Bookshelf is a Toronto-based Muslim-owned publisher that has produced some of the most beloved Muslim children's picture books in North America. Where Learning Roots leads with educational intent, Ruqaya's Bookshelf leads with story. Their books are rooted in Islamic values, but those values emerge through character and narrative rather than instruction.
The core Ruqaya's Bookshelf list includes titles by Asmaa Hussein, Hafsah Dabiri, Shifa Saltagi Safadi, Sarah Musa, and Helal Musleh, among others. Snatched, Yasmine's Belly Button, The Great Hair Exchange, Ahmed and the Very Stuck Teapot, Secret Recipe Box, and Who Will Help Me Make Iftar? are all Ruqaya's Bookshelf titles, and they have a consistency of quality that is unusual in independent publishing.
Their books tend to be softcover, 36 pages, 8.5 by 11 inches, and priced accessibly. They are built for the school book fair and the classroom as much as the home library.
Imam Ghazali Publishing
Imam Ghazali Publishing operates in a completely different register. Where Learning Roots and Ruqaya's Bookshelf serve children primarily, IGP publishes for adult Muslim readers seeking serious Islamic scholarship in accessible English translation.
Their catalog includes Al-Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya by Imam al-Tirmidhi, the most detailed classical description of the Prophet's physical and spiritual qualities. Blackness and Islam by Imam Dawud Walid addresses race and anti-Blackness within Muslim communities with scholarly rigor and pastoral care. The Isra and Miraj by Shaykh Muhammad al-Mahi Ali Cisse is a close reading of the Night Journey that goes well beyond the basic narrative most Muslims know.
IGP titles belong in the libraries of serious adult readers, Islamic studies students, and anyone who wants to understand the tradition more deeply than popular summaries allow.
Which One Is Right for You
For young children learning to love Allah, the prophets, and Islamic practice: Learning Roots.
For children who need stories that feel real and human and funny and grounded in Islamic values without feeling like school: Ruqaya's Bookshelf.
For adult Muslims who want to read the tradition seriously: Imam Ghazali Publishing.
All three are well represented in our catalog. Browse by publisher using the search bar, or explore by age and topic through our full collection.