What Stories Are in the Qur'an?

Your child knows the whale and the ark, and now wants another. You know there are more, but it is hard to remember them at bedtime. So what stories are in the Qur'an? Broadly three kinds: the stories of the prophets, the stories of other people Allah chose to tell us about, and events from the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Here is a map of them, each with its Surah and ayah, a simple way to start tonight, and which stories suit which age.

The short answer

• The Qur'an calls its stories the best of stories. "We relate to you, [O Muhammad], the best of stories in what We have revealed to you of this Qur'an" (Surah Yusuf 12:3).
• Most of them are about prophets. Adam (AS), Nuh (AS), Ibrahim (AS), Yusuf (AS), Musa (AS), Yunus (AS), Isa (AS) and others, often told in pieces across several Surahs.
• Some are about people who were not prophets. The young believers of the cave, Maryam, Asiya, Luqman and his son, and people who turned away, like Qarun.
• Not every messenger's story is told. Allah says that among the messengers "are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you" (Surah Ghafir 40:78, and see 4:164).

Starting tonight: one story, one week

• Pick one story for the whole week. Young children love repeats.
• Tell it in five minutes. Use the summaries below as your outline.
• Give it an address. "This story is in Surah Yusuf, the twelfth Surah."
• Ask one question at the end. "What would you have done?" works for almost every story.
• When you don't know, say so. If your child asks something the Qur'an doesn't tell us, "Allah didn't tell us that part" is an honest and complete answer.

If you would rather listen together some nights, Sukun Kids is our app: calm, narrated stories of the prophets, companions and great women of Islam, written from the Qur'an and classical tafsir. The full story of Prophet Yusuf (AS) is free.

The stories of the prophets

• Prophet Adam (AS): Allah tells the angels He will place a successor on the earth (2:30), the angels bow and Iblees refuses out of pride (2:34), and Adam and his wife turn back to Allah with the dua "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves" (7:23). Read the story.
• Prophet Nuh (AS): told to build the ship under Allah's watch (11:37), loading two of each creature with the believers (11:40), until the water went down and the ship came to rest on al-Judi (11:44). Read the story.
• Prophet Hud (AS) and Prophet Salih (AS): two prophets sent to their own people, the 'Aad (7:65) and the Thamud, who were given the she-camel of Allah as a sign (7:73). See Hud and Salih.
• Prophet Ibrahim (AS): thrown into a fire by his people, and Allah said, "O fire, be coolness and safety upon Abraham" (21:69). Later he raised the foundations of the Ka'bah with his son Isma'il (AS) (2:127), and he and his son passed the great test of the dream, after which Allah ransomed the boy (37:102-107). Read the story.
• Prophet Yusuf (AS): a story told from start to finish in one Surah. It begins with a dream of eleven stars, the sun and the moon (12:4) and ends with Yusuf forgiving the brothers who threw him in the well: "No blame will there be upon you today" (12:92). Read the story.
• Prophet Musa (AS): the prophet whose story the Qur'an returns to most. As a baby his mother placed him in the river by Allah's inspiration (28:7); as a prophet he struck the sea with his staff and it parted (26:63); and he travelled to learn from al-Khidr, a servant Allah had taught (18:65). Read the story.
• Prophet Dawud (AS) and Prophet Sulayman (AS): Dawud defeating Goliath by Allah's permission (2:251), and his son Sulayman with the ant (27:18) and the hoopoe who brought news from Sheba (27:22). See Dawud and Sulayman.
• Prophet Ayyub (AS): a long trial of illness and loss, a patient dua (21:83), and a cool spring to wash and drink from when his relief came (38:42). Read the story.
• Prophet Yunus (AS): swallowed by the whale, calling out in the darkness, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers" (21:87). Read the story.
• Prophet Zakariya (AS) and Prophet Yahya (AS): an old man's dua for a child, answered with the good news of a son named Yahya (19:7). See Zakariya and Yahya.
• Prophet Isa (AS): speaking as a baby in the cradle, "Indeed, I am the servant of Allah" (19:30), and the clay bird that became a bird "by permission of Allah" (3:49). The disciples' request for a table of food from the sky (5:112) gives Surah al-Ma'idah its name. Read the story.

Many of these stories hold an animal or a miracle at their centre, which is often what a young child remembers first. We collected them in animals in the Qur'an for kids and miracles of the prophets for kids. For every prophet named in the Qur'an, see the prophets in Islam.

Stories of people who were not prophets

• Maryam: Allah's provision reaching her in the prayer chamber, and her answer, "It is from Allah" (3:37); later, alone and afraid, the stream and the palm tree (19:24). Read her story.
• Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh: a believer in the palace of a tyrant, whose dua was "My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise" (66:11). Read her story.
• The People of the Cave: young believers who took shelter in a cave and asked Allah for mercy and guidance (18:10), then slept for many years. Read the story.
• The owner of the two gardens: a man so proud of his gardens that he forgot who gave them (18:32). A good story for 8 to 10 year olds about gratitude.
• Dhul-Qarnayn: a just ruler who travelled far and built a barrier to protect a people from Gog and Magog (18:83, 18:94).
• Luqman and his son: a father's advice, starting with "do not associate [anything] with Allah" (31:13) and going on to prayer and patience (31:17).
• Qarun: a man with treasure so heavy its keys burdened a band of strong men (28:76), who boasted and was swallowed by the earth with his home (28:81). Better for older children.
• The companions of the elephant: the army that came to destroy the Ka'bah, told in Surah al-Fil (105:1).

Stories from the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

The Qur'an also speaks of events the Prophet ﷺ lived through. The night journey from al-Masjid al-Haram to al-Masjid al-Aqsa opens Surah al-Isra (17:1). The Hijrah is remembered in the moment he ﷺ hid in the cave with Abu Bakr (RA) and said to his companion, "Do not grieve; indeed Allah is with us" (9:40).

Which stories for which age

• Ages 3 to 4: short stories with one clear picture. Nuh's ark, the ant and Sulayman, Yunus and the whale, the cool fire of Ibrahim. One image and one sentence about Allah is enough.
• Ages 5 to 7: stories with a problem and a turn. Baby Musa in the river, Maryam and the palm tree, the People of the Cave, Ayyub's patience. Ask what the person felt and how Allah helped.
• Ages 8 to 10: the longer and harder stories. The whole of Yusuf, Musa and al-Khidr, the two gardens, Qarun, the two sons of Adam (5:27-31). These carry jealousy, pride and regret, and older children are ready to talk about them.

A few things to keep in mind

• The stories are true. "Indeed, this is the true narration" (3:62). If your child asks, here is how to answer "are the Qur'an stories real?"
• Each story is there for a reason. "There was certainly in their stories a lesson for those of understanding" (12:111). We look at the other reasons in why the Qur'an teaches through stories.
• Pieces live in different Surahs. Apart from Yusuf, most prophets' stories are told in parts across the Qur'an, so a children's retelling brings the parts together, with help from the classical tafsir.
• Some stories end in punishment. The peoples of Nuh, Hud and Salih were destroyed after rejecting their prophets. For young children, keep the focus on the prophet's patience and Allah saving the believers.

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, Ibn Kathir and Ma'ariful Qur'an, with read-along text and a sleep timer, for children from about 3 to 10. Start with the free story of Prophet Yusuf (AS), see the Qur'an stories for kids collection, or browse all our Islamic stories for kids. (Qur'an translations are Saheeh International, as shown on Quran.com.)