When the going gets tough, it means you are on the right path…
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 I was relatively new to the parenting world until, well, my children started growing up. In particular, when my oldest started acting mature and ladylike almost overnight. The awaited and cherished transition of your child from a baby to someone who can actually have a proper conversation with you, happens so … Continue reading 5 Leadership Mistakes that Parents Should Try to Avoid
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 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 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 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 "How do you remember names, places and events that took place decades ago, complete with all the little side details?" "Having a good memory is not always good, you know. It means that you remember the pain of the hurtful aspects of your past. And it also means, that the regret … Continue reading Life Lessons at the Threshold of 35
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ As someone who had no younger sibling; who never in her life babysat any little children for even an hour; who has more than the average penchant for personal privacy, solitude and demarcated boundaries of living space, I often find myself at the receiving end of the following question: How can … Continue reading The Apprentice
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ I flip the pages of my Quran mus-haf forward, checking with some concern how many total marked portions of each remaining juz are left before I reach my target. Why, you might wonder? It was back in April this year that excessive vomiting, dehydration and fatigue made me, for the most part, … Continue reading Imparting the Blessings of Quran to a Baby – From Before Birth!
