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 الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Ramadan came and went like a whirlwind. A beautiful whirlwind of blessings and worship; swoons and sighs; soul-stirring Qur'an recitation; parched throats and lovely cold water that slid down those throats at sundown; lovely community taraweeh spirit; and calculations and disbursements of charity. It is gone. And like this time every … Continue reading Changes in My Life, and a New Book: “How to Benefit From the Qur’an”
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Many, if not most of us, try to 'get it right' in life. We want the right mix of blessings, experiences, relationships, and possessions, which will grant us a happy life in this world and the next. Yet, the delusive nature of the life of this world sometimes make us live … Continue reading Getting it “Just Right”: The Components of Wisdom
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيمِ Ever since I discovered the hadith below, I have prayed to Allah to always bless me with the 'upper hand' - الْيَدَ الْعُلْيَا - in the life of this world: لأَنْ يَغْدُوَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَيَحْتَطِبَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ فَيَتَصَدَّقَ مِنْهُ فَيَسْتَغْنِيَ بِهِ عَنِ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَسْأَلَ رَجُلاً أَعْطَاهُ أَوْ مَنَعَهُ … Continue reading Become a Giver: Have the “Upper Hand”
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيمِ Pain: all of us dread it. It would probably not be too far-fetched a claim to say that no one in their right mind would ever want to experience any kind of pain, at least willingly, in life. We all dream of living a life sans pain of any kind. We … Continue reading The Positives of Pain
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيمِ It is very interesting, how time brings about change and growth. I find it almost incredible to believe that there was a time - less than a decade ago - when I used to hope and pray that certain magazines and newspapers (both local and international) would accept my articles for … Continue reading Now Available: My Past Articles as Books on Amazon
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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
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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
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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
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Have you ever come across a situation in life, when you encountered a seemingly insurmountable problem or obstacle to your goals, which eventually got miraculously solved? And at that moment, you knew, in your heart of hearts, that it was only Allah Who did it, so your faith in Him got … Continue reading Appreciating Life’s “Invisible Walls”
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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
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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”
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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?
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ
I was recently interviewed at WordMothers.com, a blog that showcases female authors, word artists, and book industry professionals.
Interview by Nicole Melanson ~
Sadaf Farooqi is a freelance writer of Islamic non-fiction and a homeschooling mother of 3, based in Karachi, Pakistan. She has a postgraduate Masters degree in Computer Science and a diploma in Islamic education.
Sadaf runs a personal blog called Sadaf’s Space, and currently writes professionally for OnIslam.net. In the past, she has written for Hiba Magazine, SISTERS Magazine, Saudi Gazette and MuslimMatters.org. Some of Sadaf’s articles on marriage have been published as a book titled Traversing the Highs and Lows of Muslim Marriage.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED AS A WRITER?
In 2006, I found myself staying at home with my first baby. Often, I’d Google solutions to first-time-mommy-related challenges and problems, only to land on and read personal blogs penned by experienced mothers. So I ended up reading many articles and blogs in my spare…
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بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ Reciting the Qur'an is an act of worship. Thinking deeply about the ayaat of the Qur'an whilst reciting them in Arabic (especially when/if Allah has blessed the reciter with enough knowledge to understand the Arabic of the Qur'an directly) can have many beautiful effects on the reciter, not the least of … Continue reading Timeless Pearls of Wisdom from the Qur’an
