I usually spend some time at the end of the year undertaking some kind of planning process. Some years this has been about setting a few clear goals, other years this has involved a detailed process of planning goals and actions for thee coming year. This year I decided to take it slowly and allocate […]

One of my favourite things in Ramadan, being a bit of a greedy guts, is the lovely platters and dishes that friends and neighbours send each other. Although I cook mostly every day, having a big family, I do sometimes get tired of the taste of my own cooking and crave something else.  I like […]

Dana Salim is an author and co-founder, with her husband, of DS Publishing, LLC.  Dana’s childhood was split between Amman, Jordan and Vancouver, Canada. She finished Industrial Engineering at the University of Jordan before moving to Ohio, and then Texas.  On her about page she describes herself as loving “singing silly songs, standing in the […]

The latest edition of Aaila, the Muslim Family Magazine is out now. Mash’Allah as always brothers and sisters have submitted some brilliant articles and columns; Our cover story is Sex and Relationships education (SRE): Do you know what your child is being taught in school? by Safura Houghton – something that is definitely an issue […]

My husband is away for dawah work again this month. For those who are regular readers of the blog, you will know that my husband goes out to preach through his masjid every year for forty days (through a group called Tablighi Jamaat).  It is something we believe in and value and has been a part […]

I came home from the hospital yesterday morning to recieve a lovely surprise. As part of a swap we have been engaging in, Umm Nassim has sent me these lovely gifts. The abaya is just right for summer and I love the Moroccan style. I have seen someone wearing something very similar during hajj and […]

Alhamdulillah, every time I read the Prophet’s (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) sermon on Ramadan I find something new and moving in it.  It never fails to inspire me, remind me how blessed Ramadan really is for us and take me back to why we fast and what we should be doing during this special month: Baihaqi […]

I created the Muslimah Life Planner 2019  by taking the best of the techniques, tools and planners and journals I have used over the years to try and manage my life better. I have built on previous versions to make this the biggest and best version yet insha’Allah. This year  The Muslimah Life Planner 2019 is 451 pages […]

I have picked up this book once or twice before, started it and for some reason not gotten very far. After reading A Mercy by the same author recently and being very moved by it, I decided to try reading this book again.In contrast to A Mercy which is set in the very early years […]

I recently came across Malak’s excellent blog Hejab-Rehab where she recounts the difficulty her family has had with accepting her conversion to Islam. It brought to mind all of the convert/revert brothers and sisters I have met over the last few years and the issues each has faced. Islam has often been called the fastest-growing […]

Now and again you have those really difficult, challenging or plain unproductive days.  But rarer still are those days when everything is just good.  Today was one of those days (or yesterday now as it is just past midnight). My favourite time of the day at the moment each day is 9am.  Every morning I […]

This week I have been preparing to sell some of the things I make at a small charity bazaar on Sunday where stalls were available for sellers.  It is a ladies only event and I am looking forward to learning a bit more about what kinds of things people like and what kind of prices […]

We have been home for about four weeks now and fallen into an easy going school routine. Right in the beginning my youngest two and I sat down together and agreed what a school day should look like. I let them take the lead and they ended up with the following simple routine: Sports/PE English […]

A while back I was talking with my best friend about improving my iman (faith) and mash’Allah she gave me a really good suggestion. She told me about a question and answer session she had watched on the Islam Channel with a scholar called Abu Hanifah. The caller-in asked about what she could do to […]