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Introducing "Amazing Stories with Zaki the Hoopoe!" 🎉
Get ready for a storytelling adventure that’s not just for kids, but for the whole family—including parents! Zaki, the lively and clever hoopoe bird, invites everyone to explore the wonders of ancient tales, where prophets, brave animals, and magical moments come to life. 🌟 Tailored for kids aged 5-8, but with plenty of fun, humor, and fascinating lessons to keep parents entertained, too!
Zaki's adventures take you to deserts, seas, and enchanted forests, where you’ll meet the brave ant that stood up to Prophet Sulaiman 🐜, Prophet Ibrahim standing up against the evil King Nimrod, Prophet Nuh and his legendary Ark, and many more legendary Prophets. With a sprinkle of jokes, interactive questions, and exciting sound effects, each episode is an engaging experience for all ages!
Parents, you’ll love the way Zaki weaves timeless lessons with humor and charm, making this the perfect family bonding time. Whether in the car, during bedtime, or just for fun, Amazing Stories with Zaki is your go-to source for entertaining, educational stories that spark curiosity and values in kids—and even surprise grown-ups!
So, gather around, sit back, and let Zaki take you on a magical journey that everyone will enjoy. Ready? Let’s fly into adventure! ✨
Alright, Nunu. Are you ready to practice your storytelling lines? You get to say the dramatic part, Where the Mountains Tremble.
Noora:Yes. Yes. I've been practicing all day. I even made sound effects. Listen.
Noora:Boom. Crash. Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.
Zaki:That's brilliant, Nunu. Okay. Your cue is right after I say and the sky grew silent. Ready?
Noora:Ready.
Zaki:And the sky grew silent.
Captain Suhaiil:And the mountains did quake like a fish on a frying pan.
Noora:Hey. That was my line.
Zaki:So Hale, that wasn't your
Noora:Uncle Zucky, you promised I could say that part. You said it was mine.
Captain Suhaiil:Oh, I thought we were improvising. By the beaks of Byzantium, I do love a good entrance.
Noora:You said it was mine. This is so unfair. You know what? I'm not doing it anymore. I quit storytelling forever, forever, forever.
Zaki:Was that part of the rehearsal? She's got a mighty squawk for such a small beak. Nora, wait. Oh, dear. I think we've got a bit of a storytelling storm.
Captain Suhaiil:What did I say this time? I thought we were doing the epic of the Echoing Mountains. No? Someone should really tell me when we're not doing ancient seabird theater.
Zaki:The Amazing Stories with Zaki the Hoopoe. Season two, episode 15, The Son Who Held On.
Zaki:Salaam, my amazing friends. It's me, Zaki the Hoopoe, your fluttery feathered friend with tales full of heart, hope, and sometimes hardship. Sometimes a story isn't about flying high or doing something exciting.
Zaki:Sometimes the bravest thing is to stay right where you are and hold on tight to what's right, even when it hurts, even when it's scary.
Captain Suhaiil:Holding on to what's right, Like not eating the last anchovy tart in the bakery, even though it's calling your name.
Zaki:Not exactly, Suhail. Today's story isn't about anchovies or tarts, though that is a test of patience in its own right. It's about real people, ordinary people, like you and me who became heroes, not because they won a battle but because they stood firm when everyone tried to push them down. We're going back to Makkah, to a time when the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, had just begun calling people to Islam openly. A time when being Muslim was dangerous.
Zaki:A time when people had to choose between comfort and truth. Castle. Sohail, today's story is about the kind of danger that doesn't look big but feels enormous. It's about two of the first people who gave their lives because they believed in Allah, they were humble, quiet, but stronger than mountains. Their names were Yasir and Sumayyah, and their son Amar saw everything.
Zaki:Long ago in the dusty valleys of Makkah, the streets were alive with markets and movement. But something new was stirring, something that made the winds feel heavier and the silence louder. The Prophet Muhammad had done something incredibly brave. He had gone public with the message of Islam. No more quiet teachings in secret homes.
Zaki:No more whispers behind curtains. Now the truth of that there is no God but Allah echoed through the city.
Noora:Uncle Zucky, what do we call that when someone says that?
Zaki:Welcome back, Nunu. I'm glad you came back, and that's a great question. What do we call it when someone says When someone says that, they are saying the kalma. When the Muslims were saying that, not everyone liked it. Especially not the powerful tribe of Quraysh.
Zaki:Men like Abu Lahab, the prophet's own uncle, and Abu Jahal, a man full of arrogance and anger, they hated the message. Because if the people followed Islam, they wouldn't worship the idols anymore. And if they stopped worshiping idols, well, the Quraysh would lose their power, their money, their pride.
Captain Suhaiil:The old power and pride problem, like the time I tried to lead a seagull choir but wouldn't share the solos, ended in a feather flinging disaster, that one.
Zaki:This was far worse than a musical mishap, so Hale. This became deadly. One of the early Muslims was a young man named Amar. He wasn't rich. He wasn't powerful.
Zaki:But his heart was full of light. He listened to the words of the prophet, peace be upon him, and he knew they were true. And Amar didn't keep that light to himself. He went home and he shared it with the two people he loved most, his mother Sumayyah and his father Yasir. His parents were idol worshippers like many others in Makkah.
Zaki:They've been raised with statues and carvings, reciting chants to gods made of stone. But when Amar spoke to them about Allah, about one God, who created everything and asked only for goodness and truth, they believed. Sumayyah and Yasser became Muslim, quietly, faithfully, without a single doubt in their hearts. But the trouble was believing was no longer just a risk, it was a danger.
Noora:Uncle Zucky? Nunu? I thought about what you said, about the people in today's story and how they didn't quit even when it hurt. So I'm sorry I quit over a line in a story.
Zaki:I'm glad you came back, sweetheart. Stories are just words, but patience, That's real strength. The people of Quraish, they didn't just argue with the Muslims, They didn't just raise their voices. They raised whips. They raised rocks and they raised fear.
Zaki:One day Abu Jahl, the fiercest enemy of Islam, stormed through the streets of Makkah with cruel eyes and a twisted smirk. He dragged behind him three prisoners, Yasir, Sumayyah, and their son Amar. Coward,
Captain Suhaiil:picking on gentle folk who never lifted a feather in anger.
Zaki:He tied them up out in the middle of the desert where the sun feels like fire and the sand hisses beneath your feet. There they sat day after day, their skin burned, their backs bent, their bodies bruised, and still they whispered, Allah is one.
Noora:Uncle Zucky, why didn't they just pretend? Just say they didn't believe to make it stop?
Zaki:Because, Nora, my dear, their hearts were filled with truth, and truth doesn't hide even when it hurts. And Abu Jal was really mean to them. He would say, where is your Allah now? Has he saved you? Yasir didn't answer him, he just looked toward the sky, quiet, calm, like he could already see something no one else could.
Zaki:And Sumayya, brave beautiful Sumayya. She looked Abu Jahal in the eye and with cracked lips she said, There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. Abu Jahal flew into a rage. He didn't want her words, he wanted her silence. And that day, he became the first man to take a life, the life of Sumayyah for believing in Allah.
Zaki:She became the first Shahid of Islam. Shortly after, her husband Yasser, tired and tortured, joined her and Jannah.
Captain Suhaiil:By the stars. They didn't fight back. They didn't even raise their hands.
Zaki:But they won something greater than any battle. They showed the world that faith doesn't break, not even when you do.
Noora:And what about Amar? What happened to him?
Zaki:That's the hardest part, Nunu, because Amar was still alive. As the sun dipped low behind the hills, casting long shadows across the sand, Makkah seemed quiet, too quiet. But in one corner of that silence, something unshakable remained. Faith. It didn't roar like the Quraysh.
Zaki:It didn't strike like Abu Jahal. It just stood. Amar stood at the very place his parents had been. The ground was still warm, the air still heavy, his heart still aching. But even in that moment, when everything seemed broken, he did not fall.
Zaki:Because deep in his chest, Amar carried something no enemy could touch. The strength his parents had left him, the light they'd passed on,
Noora:their last gift. They gave him their faith?
Zaki:They did, Nunu, not wrapped in gold or tied with ribbon, but in every word they whispered. In every moment they stayed strong
Captain Suhaiil:and he kept it safe.
Zaki:He did. He didn't shout it. He didn't wave it like a flag. He just held it quietly, fiercely. Because sometimes patience doesn't mean waiting for the storm to pass.
Zaki:It means standing in the middle of it and refusing to let go of what you know is true.
Noora:But wasn't he scared?
Zaki:Oh, I'm sure he was. I think he missed his parents every single moment. I think he wanted to scream and cry and fall down in the sand. But he didn't. Because sabar, or patience, doesn't mean pretending you're not scared.
Zaki:It means holding on, even when you are scared. Like clinging to the mast in a thunderstorm. Your feathers soaked, your wings shaken, but you don't let go. Yes, that's what Amar did. What so many of the early Muslims did.
Zaki:They didn't fight back with fists. They didn't have armies or weapons. They had truth in their hearts. And they refused to let it be taken. That's the part people forget sometimes.
Zaki:That real courage isn't always loud, real strength isn't always big. Sometimes, the strongest person in the world is the one who's hurting the most and still says, I believe.
Noora:He was just one person.
Zaki:One person who carried a mountain of faith.
Captain Suhaiil:Aye. And now we remember his name like a treasure, Amar and his mother, Sumayyah, and his father, Yasir.
Zaki:Their names are written in history not just because they suffered, but because they held on. And in holding on, they helped lift the entire Muslim people. My dear friends, what we heard today wasn't just a story from the past. It was a lesson about patience. You see, patience, or sabr, isn't just sitting quietly or waiting your turn.
Zaki:It's being steady even when the world feels shaky. It's staying true to what's right, even when it's hard or scary or lonely, Yasser and Sumayya didn't lift a sword or shout at the sky. They just believed gently, bravely, and they didn't stop because their hearts belonged to Allah.
Noora:And Ammar carried it on, even with a broken heart.
Zaki:Yes, Nunu. That's the part that always touches me. He didn't let pain turn him away, he let it make him stronger. And that's what we can all learn. When something feels unfair, or when someone says something unkind, or when we feel like giving up, remember the strength of quiet faith, the kind that holds on even when it hurts.
Zaki:By the winds of Yemen, I once waited three days on a drifting date crate with nothing but seawater and a soggy pretzel. But this, this is the kind of patience that echoes through time. Not just stomach growling patience, but soul deep patience. Not quite the same, Sohail, but I admire the effort.
Captain Suhaiil:I'm learning, lad, slowly, like a seagull trying to read.
Zaki:And that, my fine feathered friends, is the story of the first martyrs of Islam.
Noora:I think next time I feel like giving up, I'll try to be a little more like them.
Zaki:That's the spirit, Nunu. You don't have to be loud. You just have to be true.
Captain Suhaiil:Or in my case, loud and true. Like a seagull proclaiming truth from the highest mast, I believe. And also, I'm hungry.
Zaki:Oh, so hail. Now, before we flap off for the day, I've got something exciting to tell you. Because while today's story was about patience through pain, next time, we'll meet someone whose voice became a call heard around the world. A man who was once a slave, chained, hurt, and dragged through the streets of Makkah, but he never let go of one word.
Noora:Was it a hot?
Zaki:You'll just have to listen and find out, Nunu. Next episode, we'll hear the incredible story of Bilal.
Captain Suhaiil:Aye. Now that's a voice that could shiver the sails.
Zaki:Until then, my wonderful listeners, stay kind, stay brave, and remember, even the quietest heart can carry the strongest light.
Captain Suhaiil:And for the record, I never stole Nunu's line. I simply previewed it like a true performer. The mountains did quake.
Zaki:This story was produced by Meraj Digital. Voices provided by Wayne Holland as Zaki and Curtis Fletcher as Captain Sohail. Episode written, directed, and edited by Syed Kashef and Atif Hussein. For more content by Meraj Digital, please visit our site at www.meraj.digital.
Copyright:Content copyright and production copyright 2025 by Meraj Digital.