As a Muslim, our greatest belief is in Allah, His Angels, His Messengers (peace upon them all), and how He is the Creator of all things. That alone is beyond the realm of the physical, limited scope of human reality.

And I find the only way to have and mention characters (in a fictional sense without specifying real world-events or people) that are outside this limited scope, especially in this modern age is, to write in the genres of speculative fiction. 

Contemporary fiction is also a possibility; however, I find it limiting to modern times, which is one of the reasons why I choose to write in the speculative genres. 

I don’t write in historical fiction genre because I don’t want to mistakenly add any inaccuracies in my stories—and this includes historical characters. As Muslims, we avoid having historical figures say and do things they haven’t in real life (especially if it’s not verbatim), to avoid spreading misinformation and attributing falsities to them.

One of the beliefs as Muslims is the belief in the jinn, a being made by Allah, who were also created with a purpose and free will like humans. But unlike humans, they aren’t made of a special type of earth but of a special kind of fire. And because of their metaphysical nature, they cannot be seen by humans, yet they exist alongside us.

As Muslims, we believe they aren’t mythological creatures or folklore—they are as real as humans and to deny their existence means to deny being a Muslim. In my stories, I include jinn, not to scare people or propagate stereotypical Western caricatures about them, but to make them as normal as we are. We’ve no reason to fear any creation except our Creator.

Here’s an in-depth post I did on the jinn for more information about them: Read it here.

Now, why do I write fiction?  

It’s because I don’t want to use real-world people and events. I don’t have the permission of every person I’ve ever met in my life to do so, which is why I have exaggerations for the characters in my stories based off of their personalities at the time I knew them. I also don’t use real-world events, past or present, but allude to them, to convey the truth of humanity, to raise awareness of the goodness and evils in this world, and the lessons were learn from our experiences. And more importantly, to have proper representation of Muslims and Islam in literature. Here’s a link to the post of why I write in the first place: read it here.

My stories may be fiction, but it’s the speculative aspects that draw me to write them, when other forms just don’t seem to work, or reach my intended audiences. I also find it easier for me to write science fiction and fantasy. So using the skills Allah has given me, I want to continue writing with the hopes of spreading the positive view of Islam and Muslims.

In essence, I want more people to believe in the unseen and the Unseen, and to believe in the One Above All, because as a Muslim, we want what’s best for humanity, and for that is to follow the Path of Islam, show our immense gratitude for our Beloved Creator, and to ultimately be in eternal peace in the afterlife with Him.

In sha Allah.