Miracles of the Prophets for Kids

Ask a child what they remember from the prophets' stories and the answer is almost always a miracle: the sea that split, the fire that did not burn, the bird made of clay that flew away. Children are drawn to the wonder, and that is a good thing. The real gift of these stories, though, is what sits behind the wonder: Allah, who made it happen. Here are the miracles of the prophets for kids, each with its Surah and ayah, the story in plain words, and a way to tell them so your child's amazement turns towards Allah.

The one thing to say first

Before any miracle story, give your child one sentence to hold: a miracle is something only Allah can do, and He did it to help a prophet and show people the truth. The Qur'an says it plainly: "it was not for any messenger to bring a sign except by permission of Allah" (Surah Ghafir 40:78, and again in Surah ar-Ra'd 13:38). The prophets were not magicians and had no power of their own. The Qur'an calls these events ayat, signs, because each one points to Allah.

One miracle a night: a simple routine

• Set the scene. "Tonight a prophet is standing at the edge of the sea, and an army is coming." Let your child feel the problem before the help arrives.
• Tell it in a few minutes. The short versions below are enough.
• Say who did it. Every time: "And Allah made the sea split." Not "Musa split the sea."
• Give the address. "This is in Surah ash-Shu'ara." Children like knowing a story lives in the Qur'an.
• Ask one question. "How do you think Musa (AS) felt when the water opened?" Then let them fall asleep on it.

On nights when you are too tired to tell it yourself, an audio story can carry it. Sukun Kids is our app: calm, narrated stories of the prophets, companions and great women of Islam, and the full story of Prophet Yusuf (AS) is free. Stay close while it plays and keep your one question for the end.

The miracles of the prophets in the Qur'an

Prophet Musa (AS): the staff and the sea. Allah asked Musa (AS), "What is that in your right hand, O Moses?" (Surah Taha 20:17). It was his walking staff. When he threw it down, "it was a snake, moving swiftly" (20:20), and his hand came out shining white, "another sign" (20:22). Later, when Pharaoh's magicians threw their ropes, his staff swallowed up their tricks (Surah al-A'raf 7:117). And when Pharaoh's army chased the believers to the sea, Allah told him to strike the water with his staff, "and it parted, and each portion was like a great towering mountain" (Surah ash-Shu'ara 26:63). The same staff once struck a rock and twelve springs gushed out so his thirsty people could drink (Surah al-Baqarah 2:60). Read more on the Prophet Musa (AS) page.

Prophet Ibrahim (AS): the fire that turned cool. His people were angry that he had told them to stop worshipping idols. They said, "Burn him" (Surah al-Anbiya 21:68). Allah said, "O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham" (21:69), and the fire obeyed. This is the clearest story for explaining what a miracle is: fire burns because Allah made it that way, and that day Allah told it not to. See the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) page.

Prophet Isa (AS): the clay bird. Isa (AS) said, "I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah. And I cure the blind [from birth] and the leper, and I give life to the dead, by permission of Allah" (Surah Al 'Imran 3:49). Notice how often he says "by permission of Allah": it is the best line in the Qur'an for teaching a child where miracles come from. Even as a baby in the cradle he spoke, saying "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah" (Surah Maryam 19:29-30). More on the Prophet Isa (AS) page.

Prophet Salih (AS): the she-camel. The people of Thamud asked for a sign, and Salih (AS) told them, "This is the she-camel of Allah [sent] to you as a sign. So leave her to eat within Allah's land and do not touch her with harm" (7:73). The miracle came with a test: would they be kind to her? See the Prophet Salih (AS) page.

Prophet Sulayman (AS): the wind and the ant. Allah gave Sulayman (AS) control of the wind, which blew "by his command" (21:81), and taught him the language of birds (Surah an-Naml 27:16). When he heard a little ant warn the others to hide from his army, he smiled and thanked Allah (27:19). A gift this big, and his first thought was gratitude. Read the Prophet Sulayman (AS) page, or the ant's full story in animals in the Qur'an for kids.

Prophet Dawud (AS): the singing mountains and soft iron. Allah said, "O mountains, repeat [Our] praises with him, and the birds [as well]." And He made iron soft in Dawud's (AS) hands (Surah Saba 34:10). Children love imagining the mountains and birds praising Allah together with him. See the Prophet Dawud (AS) page.

Prophet Yusuf (AS): the shirt. Prophet Yaqub (AS) had wept for his lost son for years. When Yusuf (AS) sent his shirt home and it was laid over his father's face, "he returned [once again] seeing" (Surah Yusuf 12:93 and 12:96). It is a gentle miracle about a family brought back together. See the Prophet Yusuf (AS) page.

Prophet Ayyub (AS) and Prophet Yunus (AS): help after hardship. After years of illness, Ayyub (AS) was told, "Strike [the ground] with your foot; this is a [spring for a] cool bath and drink" (Surah Sad 38:42). Yunus (AS) was swallowed by a whale, and because he glorified Allah, he was cast out onto the shore alive (Surah as-Saffat 37:142-145). These two are the miracles to tell a child who is going through something hard. See Prophet Ayyub (AS) and Prophet Yunus (AS).

The greatest miracle: the Qur'an

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, "Every Prophet was given miracles because of which people believed, but what I have been given is Divine Inspiration which Allah has revealed to me" (Sahih al-Bukhari 4981). That revelation is the Qur'an. Allah challenges anyone in doubt to produce even one Surah like it (2:23), and says that if all mankind and jinn worked together, they could not produce its like (Surah al-Isra 17:88). For a child, the beautiful part is this: the other miracles happened once, long ago, but this one is still here, and they can hold it and recite it tonight. The Prophet ﷺ was also given other signs; when the people of Makkah asked for a miracle, he showed them the moon split in two (Sahih al-Bukhari 3637; see Surah al-Qamar 54:1).

Miracles by age

• Ages 3 to 4: one picture per night. "The fire was cool. Who made it cool? Allah!" Repetition is the point.
• Ages 5 to 7: the full story and the phrase "by Allah's permission." Ask what problem the prophet had and how Allah helped.
• Ages 8 to 10: the harder questions. Why did people who saw miracles still refuse to believe? Why is the Qur'an called the greatest miracle? Pair it with how to answer "are the Qur'an stories real?".

Three things to avoid

• Making the prophet the hero of the power. Musa (AS) did not split the sea; Allah did. Keep the wording careful.
• Adding details the Qur'an doesn't give. If your child asks what colour the snake was, "Allah didn't tell us that part" is a fine answer.
• Treating miracles like magic tricks. The magicians in Musa's (AS) story had tricks; Musa (AS) had a sign from Allah. Older children can learn the difference.

Where Sukun Kids fits

Full disclosure: Sukun Kids is our app. It narrates the stories of the prophets, companions and great women of Islam, written from the Qur'an and classical tafsir, with read-along text and a sleep timer, for children from about 3 to 10. Most of the miracles above appear inside those stories. Start with the free story of Prophet Yusuf (AS), browse all our Islamic stories for kids, or see the full list of the prophets in Islam. (Qur'an translations are Saheeh International, as shown on Quran.com.)