Snow White and the Seven Dwarf Sisters-in-Faith (Islamic version)

[Ruhi_Rose]

By Fawzia Gilani 

Most illustrations (though not all) are by Shireen Adams from this hardcover picture book.  Few are from other sources.

In the backdrop of the mesmerizing snow-clad and summer green woodlands of medieval Ottoman Anatolia (Turkey).   Nicely adapted by the author for compatibility with our Islamic culture.  A cute and ideal read for kiddos like you guys 😊 

Paraphrased content with moral of the story as well as the original on video.





Paraphrase:

'Once upon a time' there lived a humble, wealthy merchant and his charming wife.  They had everything they wished, except a child.
One snowy day the wife fell asleep at the window reading the Noble Qur'an.  She dreamed of a little girl.  When she awoke she made du'a to have a child like the little girl she dreamed of, "a child with the patience of Job, peace of dawn and heart as pure as snow."  Within a year she gave birth to a daughter.  She remembered her dream and her prayer to Allah on the snowy day.  She was filled with gratitude towards Allah.   The little girl was named Snow White.



The family was very pious and happy.  They taught Snow White everything about Islam.  Her mother gave her a copy of the Noble Qur'an.  When the little girl was 10-years-old, her mother became ill and passed away.  Both father and daughter sought help in the Qur'an and their strong Faith in Allah.



Snow White's father felt his daughter would be happier with the love of a mother.  With that in mind, he decided to re-marry.  His new wife was beautiful and vain, always adorning herself before the mirror.  Initially she was kind to Snow White.  But after a few months she became neglectful, rude and inconsiderate towards the little girl.   When Snow White's father observed his wife's mistreatment of his daughter, he complained to her telling her to stop.  Soon after, he mysteriously became ill and died of some strange illness.  The stepmother now felt  triumphant and independent. Her mistreatment of Snow White got worse and she also began getting jealous of her stepdaughter.



She practiced magic by talking to a jinn.  She regularly asked the jinn "who is the fairest of all." The jinn always answered that she was the fairest, until one day it said that Snow White was more beautiful than her.  At this, the stepmother's jealousy reached its peak.  She called for a huntsman to kill Snow White and bring back her heart and liver.



The huntsman told Snow White what her stepmother ordered him to do.  Poor Snow White begged him not to kill her.  At that moment, a wild boar passed by.  The huntsman killed the boar instead, and took its heart and liver to the stepmother.  Snow White was very traumatized.  She ran into the forest without stopping, until she came to a small cottage.  She knocked at the door but no one answered.  She was exhausted.  She collapsed at the doorstep and fell asleep.

 

At sunset the residents of the cottage returned home.  They were seven dwarf women, sisters-in-Faith.  When they found Snow White sleeping, they brought her inside the cottage. As soon as Snow White awoke, she had no idea where she was and she felt frightened.  



The dwarf sisters told her not to be afraid.  They were very kind and introduced themselves.  Each had a special quality to their character .. wisdom, forgiveness, love for justice, generosity, patience and so on.  Soon, Snow White felt confident and trusted them.  She told them her story, truthfully and honestly.   The dwarf sisters were very sympathetic.  They told her that she must stay with them, and that they would protect her, provide her with food and teach her useful skills.  Snow White stayed safely in the cottage while the dwarf sisters went to the woods to work.  After returning home, they would teach Snow White  special skills that each one of them had.  Within a few years, Snow White mastered these skills.







One day in the month of Ramadan, the stepmother asked the jinn again "who is the fairest?"  and the jinn answered again "Snow White."   The stepmother was furious.  She asked the jinn where Snow White was and she discovered that her stepdaughter was in a cottage with the dwarf sisters-in-Faith.  Being the month of Ramadan, the stepmother got some dates.  She laced the dates with poison.   Disguised as an old woman, she went to the cottage with the poisoned dates at Iftar time.   She offered the dates to her stepdaughter from the window.  Snow White was totally unsuspecting, and she did not want to refuse an offer of dates for Iftar as that would not seem polite.  Soon after Snow White ate a few of those dates to break her fast, she fell on the floor unconscious.  At this point, the dwarf sisters returned home and found Snow White unconscious.  They also caught a glimpse of the disguised stepmother and guessed what had happened.  One of the dwarfs, the bravest of them, ran after the stepmother but the latter had disappeared in the woods undercover of darkness.

 

The dwarfs collectively cared for the sleeping Snow White.   In the evenings they would often carry her outside in a couch for some fresh air.  One day a prince was riding through the forest on his horse, passing the little cottage. He saw one of the dwarfs outside, nursing the unconscious girl.  He stopped to speak to the dwarf sister, and after learning of Snow White's story the prince very moved and recited the Fatiha.  He then said he would send his mother, the Queen, to visit Snow White. The Queen wasted no time coming to the cottage with a trusted doctor.  He prescribed a pleasant tasting medicine which was given to Snow White daily.  She gradually began to move and her health improved by the day.  Eventually, one day she opened her eyes. 

 

The dwarfs were brimming with joy to see Snow White awake again.  They informed the Queen about the good news.  The Queen was overjoyed too.   Few days later, she came with a proposal.  She requested the dwarfs to allow Snow White to marry her son, the prince.  The dwarf sisters happily agreed. 



The King and Queen invited plenty of guests to the wedding including the stepmother who got an invitation as a resident of the kingdom like many others.  The King and Queen did not know that she was the woman who had poisoned Snow White.  On the day of the wedding the stepmother spoke to the jinn again and discovered that the bride-to-be was Snow White.  She could not resist making another plan to hurt her stepdaughter.  She prepared a poisonous comb.  When she arrived disguised as a maid servant, the bravest one among the dwarfs recognized her and tried to fight with her to boot her out.  But the stepmother pushed the dwarf away and locked her inside a room.  She then went to find Snow White.  On seeing girl, the stepmother lied claiming the Queen had sent her to make the bride's hair.  At that moment, the arrogant stepmother saw in the mirror a strand of her own hair falling out of place.  She instinctively combed her own hair and she fell on the floor.   A doctor was called to attend to her on the day of the wedding.



The poison was so strong that after the stepmother got a dose of her own medicine, she remained unconscious for a few days. When she awoke, another shock awaited her.  She saw Snow White as a princess wearing a tiara.  

The wicked woman was forgiven and ignored. 

Snow White, the prince, the dwarfs and the King and Queen lived happily ever after.  The story ends with the 113th Chapter of the Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Falaq:




Moral of the story:  Beware of the evil designs of the evil.  Just stay away from them.  Never lose hope, be steadfast and hold fast to Allah; He will take you through the challenges of life, InshAllah.  Along with Surah Al-Falaq, also remember Surah Al-Inshirah  "But indeed!  with hardship goes ease," (94:5)


The original story by Fawzia Gilani on 'read aloud' Youtube:





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-  Islamic tale of Rapunzel
-  Al Naschar's fortune
-  Lion, rats, deep pit and honey-drops
-  The Believer and the atheist
-  Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger - Wind in the Willows

[Zainab_M]

Very entertaining.  What I liked best was that unlike the Western version, instead of becoming a housekeeper at the cottage where the dwarfs welcomed her only after she offered to clean and cook for them, in the Islamic version the dwarf sisters-in-Faith allow the girl to stay in their cottage as part of a family, protecting her, teaching her skills and providing her with food, and demanding nothing in return. The Western version portrays the typical give-and-take approach.  Although many Muslims nowadays also have the same approach, helping the helpless only if they can gain something from it.  The Noble Quran however emphasizes greatly on helping the needy only with the thought of Allah, and without the thought of worldly gain or loss.

[N. Truth Seeker]

Yes, very nice one.  Will send this to the youngest of my nieces and nephews.  Refreshing to read the dwarf sisters weren't the usual silent apologists.  They were aware of the advantage of lashing out at bad folks and tried to give the stepmom a hard time.  I'm glad for that portrayal.  Sister Zeynab also perceived a good point .. kindness without expecting worldly or material gain.  It's a very significant Quranic principle.  Unfortunately it's become a very rare commodity nowadays, and lots of Muslims also need to learn that.

[Zainab_M]

That's right .....

[Ruhi_Rose]

Thanks for the feedback dear sister and brother  😀  Those were good points you folks mentioned. Insh'Allah, do please send it to your nieces and nephews brother ts.

[N. Truth Seeker]

Welcome sister.   Insh'Allah yes, I'll send it to them today.

[N. Truth Seeker]

They all loved this page and the read, except one question my 8-year-old niece asked me I couldn't answer and told her I'll let her know later.   She asked if Snow White was in "coma" for so many days, how did she eat and drink water to remain alive and how did she go to the washroom ?   

😅 That one stumped me ..

[Heba E. Husseyn]

heeheh heeh heh 😁   I suppose nowadays even the kiddiest of kids are too grown up for fairy tales. 

Well, I'll tell you what.   In fairy tale language or description, to mention someone as 'unconscious' doesn't literally mean that.  At least not in our Islamic versions.  It's a literary etiquette to highlight the seriousness of an event or incident.   The common description about someone dropping 'unconscious' implies to be taken very ill, listless, sluggish, feeling of constant drowsiness and perhaps sleeping a lot more than normal .. only sitting up in bed with help from others for a bit of food and staggering unsteadily with help once a day or so to the washroom.  This is what it actually implies.

Read it and I too found this piece cozily entertaining for very young kiddos.  Good job of the way you put it up Sister Ruhi.

Maybe Insh'Allah, you can also put up the Islamic version of 'Sleeping beauty.'  That will benefit many kids who read it because the original Western tale with at least two versions are lewd and grisly, certainly not meant for children to read nor any one for that matter.
The Islamic version of this children's tale will leave a clean impression on young minds, erasing the dirty Western version.

[N. Truth Seeker]

....

Well, I'll tell you what.   In fairy tale language or description, to mention someone as 'unconscious' doesn't literally mean that.  At least not in our Islamic versions.  It's a literary etiquette to highlight the seriousness of an event or incident.   The common description about someone dropping 'unconscious' implies to be taken very ill, listless, sluggish, feeling of constant drowsiness and perhaps sleeping a lot more than normal .. only sitting up in bed with help from others for a bit of food and staggering unsteadily with help once a day or so to the washroom.  This is what it actually implies. 

Thank you Sister.  That makes sense. 

..... because the original Western tale with at least two versions are lewd and grisly, certainly not meant for children to read nor any one for that matter.
The Islamic version of this children's tale will leave a clean impression on young minds, erasing the dirty Western version.

Really ??   I've never read the Western versions, just heard of the title, and I never knew there were more than one Western version.  Lewd and macabre theme for kids' stories !?  That really sounds awful.

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Really ??   I've never read the Western versions, just heard of the title, and I never knew there were more than one Western version.  Lewd and macabre theme for kids' stories !?  That really sounds awful.

Exactly brother.  It's terrible.  The first version by Italian fairy tale author, Basile, of the 1500s is the bawdiest.  One can call it an x-rated tale.  Then a French author, Perrault, of 1600s tried to make it a bit more suitable as children's story.  Yet not suitable enough at all.  Disney and Grimm Brothers versions are not too different from Perrault's.  I won't give the links here for I don't want kids to read it.  But you can check out this info on your own.

[N. Truth Seeker]

I have no doubt you are right Sister.