When the going gets tough, it means you are on the right path…
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـانِ الرَّحِيمِ Last year, I blogged about being on a bridge between two places: crossing over from one side to the other. Well, I mentioned how I am taking my sweet time crossing this bridge, and hoping to enjoy the ride, insha'Allah. We should try to appreciate every good thing about the phase … Continue reading Before You Roll Out the Red Carpet: Be on Red Alert for these “Rishta” Red Herrings & Red Flags
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Perhaps you have been wondering where/how I am? And, maybe why/to where I seem to have disappeared? Why you are seeing less of me? Yes, I will admit, things in my life are different now. However, this change did not happen overnight. Life has a way of throwing surprises at you. … Continue reading Standing on a Bridge, Aspiring to New Vistas
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ One of the most beneficial legacies that a Muslim parent can leave behind for their child, is to facilitate their connection with the Qur'an from early childhood in such a way, that it leads to them having a heart that is steadfastly attached to the Qur'an, a tongue that recites it … Continue reading How to Teach Children the Qur’an
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ What does being a niqabi, an unschooling parent, living in culturally-rigid Pakistan, not being able to people-please and sweet-talk my way into and out of superficial, culturally-enforced social conversations, and being a work-from-home, freelancing housewife make a woman? Answer: a Majorly Misunderstood Misfit. But, in order to answer this question in … Continue reading The Fruits of Unschooling: Better a Misunderstood Misfit, Than a Cultural Conformist
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيمِ Success: a lot is said, written, and taught today about how to achieve it in life. For most if not all human beings, becoming successful in life is a top priority. But before I begin talking about it too, first I would like to wonder out loud what exactly success means … Continue reading 4 Childhood Indicators of Future Success
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Ah, the stupidity naiveté of youth! Most of us are told many things, as sincere advice or emphatic matter-of-fact hearsay, by peers and older people when we are young. I don't know about others, but when I was a teenager, up to being twenty-something, I tended to follow the advice of most … Continue reading Marriage Myths that I Saw Go Up in Smoke
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Who doesn't want an easy, happy, smooth life devoid of tragedies, calamities, grief and trials? Which one of us would refuse to receive more blessings and provision? I doubt if anyone would. However, there are few among us who truly understand the subtleties and nuances of the realities of the life … Continue reading The Keys of Provision
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ The home is where the heart is. So you miss home. And you might feel very homesick when you are away from home. What is it that makes a house a "home" for a person? The aura in it? The people? The number, personalities, habits, faith, natures and lifestyle of it's occupants? … Continue reading Going “Home”
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Misunderstood. Put on the spot. Challenged. Quizzed in public. That is how I find myself feeling more and more often as an homeschooling unschooling parent, now that my children are older and meeting more people in social settings. People are usually all praise for their demeanor and behavior, until the bomb … Continue reading Parents, Can We Stop Judging Each Other?
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Every year, when Ramadan is about to start, a mother’s mind starts having some apprehensive thoughts: will I be able to fast easily? Will I feel very hungry or thirsty? How tiring will it be with the children at home all day? How will I plan meals? Will I awaken in … Continue reading Family Togetherness Through Worship in Ramadan
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ A group of young women makes its way inside a bustling cafe. They choose a table and make themselves comfortable on the cushioned chairs around it, chattering. When the time for placing their order comes, one of the young women orders a grilled chicken sandwich with a garden salad on the … Continue reading Homeschooling Children: Accepting Their Individuality, Letting Them Grow
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Every human being is unique. What a precious gift of Allah this uniqueness is! It enables each one of us to use our exclusive set of talents and abilities, to acquire our own little pool of knowledge, through our own distinct style of learning, and to weave our own "one-of-a-kind yarn" … Continue reading Define the “Qur’an Vision” For Your Family
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ To continue from where I left off last month at the end of Part 1 of this post, I want to point out how and why letting your children learn mostly via play and not through structured lessons and classes for the first 10-12 years of their lives is not "crazy". … Continue reading “Unschooling” Update and Frequently Asked Questions – Part 2
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ It has been very long since I blogged about and provided an update on our homeschooling journey. The third addition to our family was a huge blessing in disguise, because the lull it introduced into our till-then, by-and-large structured, curriculum-based, and parent-driven model of homeschooling, paved the way for a smooth … Continue reading “Unschooling” Update and Frequently Asked Questions – Part 1
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَلَوْلَا أَن يَكُونَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً لَجَعَلْنَا لِمَن يَكْفُرُ بِالرَّحْمَنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ سُقُفًا مِّن فَضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيْهَا يَظْهَرُونَ وَلِبُيُوتِهِمْ أَبْوَابًا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيْهَا يَتَّكِؤُونَ وَزُخْرُفًا وَإِن كُلُّ ذَلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ "And were it not that all people would become one community, We might indeed have provided for … Continue reading A Person’s Worth Lies Not in Square Feet or Area Code
