Issue #120 June 2026

New books, forthcoming works, and a small beginning

Lantern Publications is now live — new books, forthcoming works, journal pieces, and projects you can help bring into the world.

Lantern Publications

The Monthly Letter

Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm

A first letter from Lantern

A quiet note on new books, forthcoming projects, and ideas we are sitting with.

Visit the new website

As-salāmu ʿalaykum,

عَظَّمَ اللهُ أُجُورَنَا وَأُجُورَكُمْ بِمُصَابِنَا بِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللهِ الْحُسَيْنِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، وَجَعَلَنَا اللهُ وَإِيَّاكُمْ مِنَ الطَّالِبِينَ بِثَأْرِهِ مَعَ وَلِيِّهِ الْإِمَامِ الْمَهْدِيِّ مِنْ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَجَّلَ اللهُ فَرَجَهُ الشَّرِيفَ.

ʿAẓẓama Allāhu ujūranā wa ujūrakum bi-muṣābinā bi-Abī ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥusayn ʿalayhi al-salām, wa jaʿalanā Allāhu wa iyyākum mina al-ṭālibīna bi-thaʾrihi maʿa waliyyihi al-Imām al-Mahdī min Āli Muḥammad, ʿajjalallāhu farajahu al-sharīf.

May Allah magnify our reward and your reward for our grief over Abā ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥusayn, peace be upon him, and may Allah make us and you among those who seek justice for him alongside his representative, Imam al-Mahdī from the family of Muhammad — may Allah hasten his noble reappearance.

This is our first monthly letter from Lantern Publications, and I am grateful that you are here at the beginning of it.

Lantern Publications now has a new online home: www.lanternpublications.com.

The website brings together our books, authors, translators, forthcoming projects, and journal pieces in one place. More than that, it marks a new stage in the work itself. Lantern was founded with a simple conviction: that meaningful books shape meaningful lives.

We want to publish works that are intellectually serious, spiritually grounded, and beautifully produced; books that serve readers, families, students, teachers, scholars, and communities seeking to stay close to the legacy of the Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa).


New and forthcoming releases

Releasing for Eid al-Mubāhalah

Beacon of Guidance on the Heights of Eloquence, Volume 2

The second volume of Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi’s commentary on Nahj al-Balāghah, translated by Morteza Bassirian, covering sermons 2–15 of Imam ʿAlī (ʿa). It opens timeless lessons on Tawḥīd, justice, leadership, the Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa), and the struggle between truth and falsehood.

View the book →

Launching on the 1st of Muḥarram

An Honourable Betrayal

A political thriller rooted in the moral vision of Shia Islam, where faith, power, conscience, and silence collide. As Muḥarram begins, the novel asks a question that belongs to every age: when justice is abandoned, what does loyalty really mean?

View the book →

Forthcoming

Footsteps of Light

A forthcoming work that continues Lantern’s commitment to books that nurture the soul while speaking to the reader with warmth, beauty, and purpose. More details will be shared soon, in shāʾ Allāh.

New from Lantern Kids

Muhammad Jawad and the Sword of Ilya

A thrilling Islamic fantasy adventure where courage, faith, temptation, and the unseen world collide. It is written for young readers who love mystery, danger, heroic quests, and stories where the greatest battles are also fought within the heart.

View the book →

New from Lantern Kids

Granny’s Arbaeen Apples

Granny’s Arbaeen Apples is a tender picture book about love, patience, and the joy of serving the zuwwār of Imam Husayn (ʿa). When Sama and Saed pick Granny’s apples too early, they discover that even mistakes can become sweet when made right with sincere hearts.


Forthcoming books

  • Volume 4 of Islamic Governance by Sayyid Ali Khamenei
    The concluding volume in this important series on Islamic governance, leadership, authority, justice, and religious responsibility.

  • Moon Tent by Somayeh Zomorodi
    A forthcoming Lantern Kids picture book, adding to our growing catalogue for younger readers.

  • To Prepare for the Imam (ʿa) by Fatima Mahdi
    A forthcoming Lantern Kids picture book helping children gently reflect on love, readiness, and hope for the Imam (ʿa).


Forthcoming projects you can support

We have also opened a dedicated Forthcoming Projects page, where readers can help bring major works into publication. Every contribution helps with translation, editing, proofreading, design, and printing.

Maʿālim al-Madrasatayn — The Signs of the Two Schools

A major work by Sayyid Murtadha ʿAskari, translated by Blake Archer Williams, examines the theological and historical differences between the School of the Caliphs and the School of the Ahl al-Bayt (ʿa).

Al-Amālī by Shaykh al-Ṭūsī

A two-volume classical work of ḥadīth, theology, ethics, devotion, and spiritual instruction, translated by Sayyid Athar Husain Rizvi.

Support a forthcoming work


From the journal

We have also begun publishing reflections on the Lantern journal.

A Lantern for Our Time — Welcome to Lantern Publications

A short introduction to why Lantern exists, what gap it is trying to address, and why serious, beautiful Shia publishing matters today.

When Fiction Guards Truth: Voices of the Veiled Age and a New Path in Shia Historical Literature

A reflection on using historical fiction to carry truths that dates alone cannot carry, and why this form may open a powerful new path in Shia literature.


Other news

We have also launched a new Lantern Publications LinkedIn page, where we will share updates for readers, distributors, libraries, educators, and others interested in the publishing side of our work.

Lantern Kids and Lantern Publications are also running giveaway competitions across our Facebook and Instagram pages. Follow the pages, share them with others, and keep an eye out for the competition posts.

LinkedIn

Lantern Publications Instagram

Lantern Publications Facebook


Stay close

If you know someone who would value this work, please forward this letter to them.

Lantern is still small, but the work ahead is large: careful translations, children’s books, theological works, historical fiction, classical texts, and literature that helps our community think, remember, and grow.

Thank you for being here at the beginning.

With warm regards,
Abidali Mohamedali
Lantern Publications · Lantern Kids

Lantern Publications
Beautifully crafted books that preserve, articulate, and inspire engagement with the rich intellectual and moral tradition of Shia Islam.

lanternpublications.com · lanternkids.com.au · info@lanternpublications.com

You are receiving this because you subscribed to receive updates from Lantern Publications or connected Lantern projects.
Unsubscribe ·


To unsubscribe, use the link in your newsletter email. That link is personal to your subscription.

Receive the next letter

One letter a month. No promotions. Easy to leave whenever you wish.

Receive the monthly letter