Stories of the Prophets for Kids: What Order and How to Tell Them

Every family has its stories: how your grandparents met, the day your child was born, the time the car broke down on the motorway. Children ask for them again and again, because stories tell them who they are.

The stories of the prophets work the same way. They are the family stories of the believers. A child who knows that Yunus called out to Allah in the dark, or that Yusuf forgave his brothers, has something to reach for when they feel scared or hurt. This guide suggests an order, one lesson to draw from each story, and how to tell them as your child grows.

Why stories work

Allah Himself teaches through stories. A whole surah, Yusuf, is one long story, and it opens like this:

And it ends by telling us why:

A suggested order

There’s no single correct order. Going roughly in time order helps older children see that the prophets brought one message, one after another. Here’s a sequence that works for many families, with one lesson for each.

The Qur’an names many more: in one passage alone, Ishaq, Ya’qub, Dawud, Sulayman, Ayyub, Harun, Zakariyya, Yahya, Ilyas, Isma’il, al-Yasa’ and Lut are mentioned (Qur’an, Al-An’am 6:83–86). Add them as your child grows.

Anchoring verses for each lesson

When you finish a story, you can read the verse it comes from. A few favourites:

Adam’s sorry. “They said, ‘Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.’” (Qur’an, Al-A’raf 7:23)

Yusuf’s forgiveness. “He said, ‘No blame will there be upon you today. Allah will forgive you; and He is the most merciful of the merciful.’” (Qur’an, Yusuf 12:92)

Musa’s mother. “Cast him into the river and do not fear and do not grieve. Indeed, We will return him to you…” (Qur’an, Al-Qasas 28:7)

Yunus’s dua. This one is worth learning by heart together:

Telling stories at ages 3 to 6

Small children need short, concrete stories with one feeling and one lesson.

1. One scene a night. “Baby Musa in the basket” is a whole story. You don’t need his entire life.
2. Five or six sentences. Who, where, what went wrong, what they did, how Allah helped.
3. Name the feeling. “Yunus felt scared and alone in the dark. What did he do?”
4. End with one line. “When we’re scared, we can talk to Allah too.”
5. Repeat. Children want the same story twenty times. Let them. They’re learning it.

A script for Yunus, ready to use:

“Once there was a prophet called Yunus. He got on a boat, and a big storm came. Yunus fell into the sea, and a great big fish swallowed him! Inside the fish it was dark, dark, dark. But Yunus remembered Allah. He said, ‘There is no god but You, Allah. I’m sorry.’ And Allah heard him, even inside a fish at the bottom of the sea, and kept him safe.”

Leave out frightening detail

Several stories include floods, fire or whole peoples being destroyed. With three to six-year-olds, keep the focus on rescue and on trusting Allah: Nuh and the animals safe in the ark, Ibrahim kept cool and safe in the fire (Qur’an 21:69). You aren’t hiding the truth; you’re choosing what a small child can hold. The rest comes later.

Telling stories at ages 7 to 12

Older children can handle more of the story, and they start asking why.

• Follow a whole story across several nights. Surah Yusuf is perfect: a cliffhanger every evening.
• Read the verses together. Use a translation alongside the Arabic and let them find the verse in the mushaf.
• Ask open questions. “Why do you think Yusuf forgave them?” “Was Nuh’s son’s choice his own?” “How did Musa’s mother feel?”
• Link to their lives. “Have you ever had to keep going when people laughed at you?”
• Talk about the hard parts. Why were some peoples punished? A good answer for this age: Allah is perfectly just and perfectly merciful; those people were warned for a very long time, and they chose to hurt others and refuse the truth.

Accuracy: sticking to what’s authentic

Many popular prophet storybooks add colourful details that aren’t in the Qur’an or authentic hadith: names of people, conversations, exact numbers, extra miracles. Some come from older Jewish and Christian traditions (often called isra’iliyyat). The Prophet ﷺ gave a balanced rule for these:

In practice:

• Tell the core story from the Qur’an. It’s enough, and it’s rich.
• Be cautious with extra details. If you’re not sure where something comes from, leave it out, or say “some books say”.
• Prophets are the best of people. Avoid versions that make them look foolish or comic.
• Never depict them. No drawings of their faces or figures, and no one dressing up as a prophet.

Books and audio

When choosing books, look for:

• Stories drawn from the Qur’an and authentic sources, ideally with the verses quoted.
• No images of prophets, angels’ forms or companions; landscapes, animals and objects instead.
• Short chapters with reflection questions for older children.
• Language that matches your child’s age.

As one example, CelebrateMercy sells a five-book Stories of the Prophets set covering Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa and ‘Isa, aimed at reading aloud from about four and independent reading from about six. Ask your imam, your child’s Islamic school or a trusted bookshop for others available in your language. Audio stories are wonderful for car journeys, but your own voice at bedtime is the best audio of all.

Context notes

In a Muslim-minority setting, your child may hear about Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus at school or from friends. That’s a natural bridge: “Yes! We believe in Nuh too. We call him Nuh. He’s one of Allah’s prophets.” Where details differ, keep it calm: “In our Qur’an, the story says…”. In a Muslim-majority setting, children may know the names well but not the stories; bedtime is your chance to bring them to life. Families from many backgrounds, from Bengali grandmothers to Nigerian aunties, have told these stories for generations, sometimes with local flavour. Enjoy the telling, and keep the facts to what’s sound.

Next, go deeper with teaching kids about the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, pair stories with the short surahs to memorise, turn them into play with our Islamic activities for preschoolers, or answer the questions they spark with how to explain Allah to a child.