Redefining Beauty for Muslim Girls - All The Ways To Be Pretty - Beauty In Islam

From the moment they are little, girls are told they are “pretty.” While it’s lovely to celebrate their sweetness and charm, beauty is often framed in such narrow terms that it risks overshadowing all the other remarkable qualities that make them who they are.

That’s what inspired me to write All the Ways to Be Pretty, a children’s book created especially for Muslim girls. The book takes the familiar language of “pretty” and gently expands on it, showing that being pretty isn’t just about appearances. It’s also about being pretty wise, pretty brave, pretty kind, and pretty pious.

Drawing from women in the Islamic tradition, women whose stories demonstrate courage, intelligence, faith, and compassion, the book invites young readers to see beauty in qualities that truly last.

When girls learn to value wisdom, strength, and sincerity as forms of “prettiness,” they begin to define themselves beyond what they look like, and towards what they contribute to this world and their communities.

For parents and educators, my book is both a celebration of faith and a gentle challenge to the culture of modern superficial beauty standards.

It gently affirms that our children, can aspire to something far greater than appearance alone, that their inner qualities, rooted in values and character, are the truest form of beauty.

Because in the end, there are so many ways to be pretty!

All the Ways to Be Pretty - Shamaila Khan

What do you do when your daughter just wants to be pretty like the girls she sees on screens and magazines?

All the Ways to be Pretty aims to provide parents with a starting point for conversations about beauty from an Islamic perspective. 

All humans are beautiful in their own unique ways, and this book is not about diminishing that gift. It is a gentle reminder that beauty is also what lies on the inside; our character and our actions beautify us, so why be 'just pretty' when you could be ‘pretty wise’ like Khadijah RA, ‘pretty smart’ like Aisha RA, or ‘pretty brave’ like Sumayya RA!

9780860379584 - Hardback with mirrors at the back