I really enjoyed making Eid decorations this year with my youngest two. The older ones have lost interest a little as they become teens, or so I thought until last Ramadan, when I decided to keep things simple and not to bother and my oldest asked hopefully if I would be putting Ramadan decorations up […]

I often receive very warm or interesting e-mails from sisters who have read my blog. Yesterday I received this: Asalam ulaikum sister, I am a huge fan of your blog, happy muslim mama. Please write a article on your amazing daughter. You could write about all the times she washed the dishes for you, hauls […]

MuslimBox Co. is a Muslim brand which describes itself as being founded on the Prophetic principles of generosity, sharing and gift giving.  They recently contacted me to ask if I would like to review their Sunnah Box, a hand-packaged set of grooming items drawn from the legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam‎). I […]

Sometimes it all piles up – children, school, housework, in-laws, work, blogging, your social life.  There are times when you can handle it and you keep going until it feels manageable again.  Then there are the times when you lose the motivation and will to try and get to grips with it.  During the last […]

Finally got my dad-in-law to do some of his packing, as he is returning to Pakistan in a week’s time. It’s not that I’m in any hurry to get rid of him, its just that the last time he visited, he and my husband remembered to do his packing the night before he was due […]

I have posted this before, but the last sermon of our beloved Prophet (Sallahu Alaihi Wassalam), delivered on the 9th day of Hajj at the plain of Arafat, never fails to move me to tears. Every time I read it, I find something new in it and every time I read it, I marvel at the […]

I haven’t made Eid cards for some time, partly because I haven’t had the time to get all my material out and mull over them, then pack them away again, partly because it has started to feel a little irrelevant.  But with lockdown and facing an Eid where I can’t see my friends and family, […]

I’ve started writing half a dozen posts today and not gotten very far, starting, stopping, starting and then deleting most of it. I can’t seem to hold a sensible thought and then follow it to its conclusion.  I think the pace of modern life and scrolling through scraps on the internet have broken my brain […]

I have been getting a bit more involved in my community recently, something I have wanted for a long time.  There are two big reasons for this: Firstly, when my family moved into this neighbourhood 33 years ago, it was considered a nice area, somewhere we could be proud to call home. Over the years […]

We have such a set pattern for our Eids: I cook in the morning, we get ready, we go to my mums for lunch, the whole family gather. We eat mum’s beautiful food, we joke and laugh, we exchange gifts and spent the afternoon taking photos, mostly of the gaggle of cheeky little girls we […]

I have been following what has happened in the masjid in Christchurch very quietly, unable to speak about it or find words to make sense of it. I haven’t been able to discuss what has happened with my children or family, just to watch as events unfold. My office organised a vigil with our community […]

You know those moments when you are excited?  So excited that you feel like jumping up and down and can’t sleep?  Well its 12.30am and I am having one of those moments. Since the last few years I have really wanted to learn Arabic and understand the Quran better.  Not only did I not know […]

Our Ramadan Giving series highlights the amazing work charities are doing and showcases their special Ramadan campaigns, giving us all the opportunity to support, donate and do a little good insh’Allah Ramadan Giving Day 30: Edhi Foundation Edhi Foundation is the largest and most organised social welfare system in Pakistan. The Foundation works round the […]

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 […]