When the going gets tough, it means you are on the right path…
﷽There is a hadith that always brings a smile to my lips. Why this is so, I will attempt to explain below in a moment, inshaÁllah. But first, I want to point out when and how I heard it in the first place. I first heard it during a Quran tafsir class in which the concept of … Continue reading A Hadith About Divorce You Might Never Hear From the Pulpit
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 Earlier this month, by the grace of Allah, I self-published my fourth book on Muslim marriage, and it is called, Making it Work. After my first book, Traversing the Highs & Lows of Muslim Marriage, which was published by IIPH, I self-published The Single Muslim, and The Muslim Newlywed myself, on Createspace. … Continue reading Announcing My Eleventh Book, “Making it Work”
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 An edited/abridged version of this post was first published in SISTERS Magazine. Over the hill. Has-been. Past her prime. Off the shelf. Used goods. And the worst: “hag!”. How many subtle and direct titles and tags does modern media and journalistic chick-lit use nowadays to remind a woman who is approaching, … Continue reading The “Larger Than Life” Wife
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Escapism is officially defined as: Es·cap·ism (-skpzm) n. The tendency to escape from daily reality or routine by indulging in daydreaming, fantasy, or entertainment. [Reference: The Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia] *** He arrives home at 8:30 p.m, exhausted from the day's work. As he shuts the front door gently, … Continue reading You Were a Spouse Before You Became a Parent
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ I often come across rather polarized views regarding women and wealth. On one end are the slightly misogynistic myths that purport that if a woman is allowed to earn her own money and become financially independent, she becomes too headstrong and rebellious, and loses interest in living a simple life that … Continue reading Women at the Time of the Prophet (ﷺ): Empowered But Humble
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Continued from: The Real Housewives of Ancient Egypt In the first part of this post, we discussed an incident from Surah Yusuf in the Quran, involving a dinner banquet with an agenda that was convened and attended by the urban, socialite housewives of ancient Egypt. We noted similarities between the ethos and … Continue reading The Real Housewives of Ancient Arabia
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Ever attended a ladies' social get-together or party? Of course you have, if you are female! Ladies of all ages love to dress up, get together, and have a heart-to-heart conversation over sumptuous food. For a woman, getting together with her girlfriends is actually one of the few things in life … Continue reading The Real Housewives of Ancient Egypt
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Her frilly frock flaps in the wind as she goes running to her parents as soon as she feels the prick of a thorn; the pinch of gravel; the sting of an insect. They drop what they are doing to pick her up in their arms, lavish her with attention, and console … Continue reading Pamper Your Daughter, Clip Her Wings
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم All statements and examples quoted in the post below are factual. Nothing is based on fiction. I once read a quote in Reader’s Digest, back in my childhood, which went something like this: Negative thinking is akin to a step-mother. If her step-child doesn’t wash his hands, he is dirty. If … Continue reading The Joint Family System in Islam: Challenges and Solutions
