Teaching the Qur'an & Hadith via Comics

All praise is due to Allah (Most High), whose essence is unlike the essence of created beings and whose Qualities are far removed from the qualities of creatures born in time, & may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon he who is both the chosen one and the prince of the prophets; Muhammad (saw). Peace be to you all.

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND PROPHECY COMICS

I was raised by a single parent, my mother, from a very young age. While she had very little time, due to the difficulties that naturally arise in a single parent household, she spent much of the limited time available to ensure my siblings and I were well grounded in faith, focusing on moral and ethical principles. One other thing my mother introduced into my life was comic books, buying a few issues whenever she could afford to do so. While my passion to learn more about my faith grew stronger as a result of early guidance, I was also highly into my copies of the Marvel and DC comics. During my Islamic studies degree in 2006 the thought occurred, quite spontaneously, that I should combine these two passions and try to present the narrative of the prophets’ lives using the Qur’an, the hadith, and various other scholarly works as a reference in the form of comic books.

The idea was to tap into a younger generation utilizing this medium that would not necessarily be interested in religion. The vision was to allow the reader, Muslim and non-Muslim, to at least read words in the religious comic book series that reminded one of God, the hereafter, moral obligations, and ethical necessities. In particular, I wanted to illustrate the exceptional character possessed by all prophets and the unimaginable sacrifice they went through for the betterment of creation as instructed by the Merciful, Loving God. The heroes therefore would not be imaginary characters as depicted in mainstream comics but Messengers of God who were real life historical figures sent as a Mercy to humanity.

A SOCIETAL NECESSITY:
While we desperately cling to traditional methodologies of teaching the way of life prescribed by our Merciful Creator, our youth are losing an interest in discovering our actual traditions as a result of traditional teaching methods. We live in an age that illicit much distractions by way of presenting both wonders and illusory constructs making it difficult for preachers & imams to be heard from a pulpit. As a result, I started producing Islamic comic books over 10 years ago with my own personal budget and time. Throughout the years, I have realized that success cannot come from a mediocre attempt and that competitiveness relies on quality and creativity. Realizing this, I have committed myself to redo all four issues prior to launching the product globally. I pray that you can all trust me to produce exceptional work, at the standard of Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse, with your support considering the work I have already accomplished personally with next to no support.

PROVEN TRACK RECORD:

Please do see the website that is offering the current issues I have produced and have available which is, alas, occupying my garage at present (www.prophecycomics.com.au). We currently have 4 issues that deals with the Creation of the universe, the Angels, the Jinn, and Humankind based on our tradition, a project that cost well over $150K at the moment due to much trial and error. Hence the title, Dawn of mankind. The first series (issue 4) ends with a dispute between Cain and Abel after the exile faced by Adam (as), Eve and Iblis from the higher realm. While these issues are available for purchase, they have not been advertised/launched (outside of small conventions localised to Australia) for two reason, 1. Lack of funds due to production and printing costs, 2. The decision to remake all four issues at a standard that is appealing to current comic fans with expectations of quality like unto mainstream producers. Compare the cover page of issue 1 on the website with the remake above. The sample page below illustrates that many of the narratives are actually taken from translations/commentaries of the Qur'an but we also draw from hadith and scholarly extrapolations.

DAWN OF IDOLATRY - COMING SOON:

I have already story boarded the second series (3 books in total) and started on some of the pages. The new series is entitled the dawn of idolatry which is introduced in the last page of Issue 4 (series 1 entitled 'Dawn of Mankind') posted below as a sample. Series 2 (Dawn of Idolatry) will deal with the narratives that illustrates the devil's long term strategy of introducing idol worship into the hearts of humanity and end with the narratives surrounding Ibrahim (as). The intention is to write a comic book series of all the prophets which will also teach taqwa, adab, akhlaq, ikhlas etc along the way as is portrayed to us by the Qurán, the sunnah and the teaching of scholars over the centuries.

** The vision of the Comics is to interest the reader in Allah (swt) & the Chosen One (Muhammad saw). This, i pray, will lead to more formal studies to be sought, via traditional teaching methods inshaAllah **

A DIFFERENTIATION STRATEGY:

I would like to reiterate the difference between these comics and any other attempted in the Muslim community that we know of. The reader is being exposed to both the primary and secondary source of Islamic knowledge with scholarly commentary added to the narrative. As can be seen in the second image, the text has been taken directly from translated passages of the Qur'an. In essence, the reader is learning about Islamic theology and looking forward to more of it. At the conventions we attended, hundreds of non Muslims obtained a copy and commented on their love for the narratives (please see our FB page for confirmation). WE DO NOT DEPICT ANY CLEAR IMAGES OF ANY PROPHET EVEN THOUGH THESE COMICS ARE CLEARLY ABSTRACT.