The back cover says, "These concise stories about prophets mentioned in the Qur'an point out lessons to be learned from the experience of former generations. They have been carefully researched to avoid unverified information and will be enjoyed by all groups."
The foreward says that "the Qur'an does not relate these stories to entertain, nor is it a history book. Rather, the stories are related to teach, to warn about the repetition of past mistakes, and to illustrate examples of pious behaviour which lead to the pleasure of Allah." The stories also "represent the history of da'wah (invitation to the way of Allah) generation after generation. The essence of Allah's message related through all the prophets was: "O people, worship Allah. you have no other deity but Him. Except He Who created you, there is nothing worthy of worship; not stone idols, fire, heavenly bodies such as sun or moon, angels or other men - even prophets, for all of these are His creations."
They also "represent examples of strong faith of those chosen by Allah - examples to be followed by believers. When the Qur'an omits certain details, it is only because they add nothing to the intended lesson and therefore are of no importance. As Muslims, we do not rely on tales from the Jewish traditions (Israeeliyyaat) as their authenticity is questionable. Therefore all documentation in this book is based on Qur'an and hadeeth.
The purposes for relating these stories are several: firstly, to clarify the Islamic version (what is taken only from the Qur'an and the sunnah); secondly to understand the moral behind them, ... and the repercussioin of disbelief and tyranny, and finally to take examples of faith and righteous behaviour to apply to our own lives.
