We are now well into the third lockdown in London and the second stint of home-schooling. I remember how relieved I was when the children went back to school, thinking to myself: “I am never doing this again”, only to find myself there again less than six months later: Home schooling five children Navigating GCSE’s, […]

Up until now I have used mostly ready-made motifs and lettering in my cards, banners and projects.  I’ve found this expensive and have been trying to create simple ones of my own on MS Word and via free graphics on the internet with mixed success.  So I have been looking for something a little more professional to […]

I first came across the idea of the Mastermind Group as a teenager in Tony Buzan’s book Buzan’s Book of Genius – And How to Unleash Your Own, amongst twenty traits he lists as characteristics of genius are mastermind groups internal and external. The idea actually dates back to Napoleon Hills books on success and wealth […]

I have had some hard and very heartfelt conversations with my husband in recent times, about trying to do the right thing, trying to raise your children in what seems to be the right way and still seeming to get it wrong. Like the following: We have never had a TV, for reasons explained here. […]

We are now coming to four months on from the start of lockdown, and although restrictions have eased, I am still working from home with no likelihood of returning to the office until at least September. This means I have productive days, unproductive days, frustrating days I like that I can exercise in the morning […]

What sights are you thankful for? Alhamdulillah so many, I am a very visual person and enjoy beauty, coupled with the fact I have very poor eyesight since childhood, I am thankful for so many of the sights I have been blessed with, the ones that stick out are: My children’s beautiful faces Pretty clothes […]

I usually plan trips with my children to places I think they will learn something from as well as enjoy: museums, the zoo, castles, somewhere that has beautiful scenery. In recent timers, my older children have mutinied and decided they would rather stay at home than see one more old house or castle. This half […]

When we share out experience of motherhood we talk about the challenges such as exhaustion and losing ourselves and the exhilaration of love and satisfaction that being a mum can bring.  But it’s not so often we talk about loneliness.  Occasionally, the conversation is about how hard it can be to be the mother of […]

I needed something easy to write about while I was feeling a little brain dead and stuck and this felt like an easy list to make. Forty of my favourite books by the age of forty. 1.     The Sealed Nectar by Sheikh Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri – an important and easy to read biography of the beloved […]

I got a call from my mum yesterday afternoon, she sounded upset.  She had called me to tell me that there had been a massive bomb blast in Lahore, in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park and she was worried about my in-laws.  Having no TV this was the first I had heard.  I tried to get hold […]

I attended Sheikh Alaa Elsayed’s seminar on marriage at the Twins of Faith conference and it gave me lots of food for thought. The seminar was engaging and very funny and I came away with some clear information. The seminar listed things that men and women should look for in a spouse and what things […]

I was curious to review this item because it was a bit different from anything I have reviewed before.  I also last my house keys earlier this year which I had managed to keep hold of before that for had for 10 years. Beets Blu sent me an Amazon voucher for the item and I […]

Earlier this month, I managed to make time to open my bead boxes and create something for myself.  I wanted some nice pieces to wear which co-ordinated with my abayah’s and scarves.  The shops seem full of expensive, tacky jewellery which just didn’t appeal at all and some of my older bracelets were lost or damaged. I […]

The latest edition of Mum and Muslim magazine is now out including my column, feature on travelling with children, book review, recipe and entry for the creative corner. As always I have enjoyed reading what other sisters have contributed. Please do visit and comment.The editor, Sister Umm Imran has a message for readers: Assalamu alaikum!Inshallah […]