Have you ever tasted 1,000 tahlils? What about 5,000 istighfars? What about several hundred salawats on the Nabi (saws)? What about the taste of a surat you never thought you’d read in Arabic? Because it was too big? Too long? Too overpowering? This year, I tasted these things for the first time. I tasted…
Exactly one day after the retreat ended, on Tuesday, August 20th, 2013, I received this message from Anse Tamara Gray in a private group chat that I wanted to share with you: “The word joy is one of my favorite words. We can use it to say things like, “She cried tears of joy.” Or…
Always, Beginning in the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful This post is dedicated to my dear husband, Hassan, who missed virtually every class of the retreat in order to give others the gift of knowledge, including myself and other volunteers. Without his vision for the retreat and undying khidma, there would…
“Whittni”, she said. A voice was coming from within my room, but everyone was asleep. It’s Thursday morning in the wee hours of fajr. My body ceased. I felt squeezed. I didn’t know what to do. I just looked. Hesitated. Waited. Didn’t move. Just looked in the direction of the sound. There was no one…
On Friday, a lesson hit home for me in secrets, but on Wednesday, the teaching began. The secrets kept being repeated by the shuyukh in different classes, even when they weren’t in contact with one another. But my first teacher was my husband…my knight in shining armor that rescued me on Wednesday. But let’s allow…
This Sunday marked two weeks since I left my residence in Oxon Hill, Maryland to travel to a place I only visited once in order to work in complete servitude to 250+ guests. Hesitantly. And this Monday marked exactly one week since I left that week-long residence. Bittersweet and relieved, yet longing. I imagine that inshAllah…
“Verily, each one of you is formed in his mother’s womb forty days as a drop, then he is something suspended for a similar period, then he is a piece of flesh like a chewed piece of meat for another period of forty days, then the angel is sent to insert the soul. This angel…
Dhul Hijjah Mubarak!!! How are you upping your game these blessed ten days? Well, I’ve actually entered a “game” to up my anty. I don’t even know what the prize is. Well, I do, actually. An increase in ibadah and inshAllah, with the proper intentions, reward from Allah. Yeah, I’m serious about competing this Dhul…
Every year around this time I get a little nostalgic. What can I say? I’m a visual person and sometimes I wish the Muslims of America would take Eid decorations to the streets a little more like the Christians of America. Every Ramadan, I talk myself out of putting lights on our tree outside and…
“We were with Allah’s Apostle when the sun eclipsed. Allah’s Apostle stood up dragging his cloak till he entered the Mosque. He led us in a two-Rakat prayer till the sun (eclipse) had cleared. Then the Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, ‘The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone’s death. So whenever you see…
Salaam dear readers. I interrupt this blogiday to tell you that yours truly has a featured article on Muslimah Media Watch. Check it out– Now…back to the blogiday. 🙂
On St. Patrick’s Day this year when Irish Catholics around the world wore green in celebration of a man who explained the trinity through the metaphor of a shamrock, I was also thinking green, but not for the same reasons. You see, green is a very endearing color to Muslims. It was the favorite color…
Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a day globally designated for recognizing the accomplishments of women, past and present. Women have been devalued in so many ways across so many cultures throughout time that this day is a great way to bring some of the forgotten stories of noble women upfront and…
Hmmm…I remember when I heard the title of the movie, Mooz-lum. It made me cringe, just like when I hear its alternative, Moslem, mispronounced by non-Muslims to the point of putting a muzzle on it. I thought to myself, what original negative portrayal of Islam does this movie offer? But then I found out that…
I have a bucket list, and I think everyone else in the world should, too. Many times we live as if we will never die. But we will die. It is inevitable. Ever since we were born, we are on a path towards an ever-approaching and certain death. And most of us would like to…
THE SANDAL 