One of the biggest challenges in my life has been my lack of patience.  It is something I have worked hard to improve in myself over the last decade so that I can become a kinder and gentler wife and mother and to please Allah (SWT) who says: “And be patient. Surely, Allah is with […]

London was adorned for the celebration of the Queens Diamond Jubilee yesterday. The highlight was the flotilla pageant of 1000 boats and ships sailing down the Thames with the Queen at its head. Generally the rush meant people were discouraged from trying to drive into the city or commute in as the tubes were too […]

Last year I was watching a call-in programme on the Islam Channel, where you could call in and ask a scholar a question. A woman called in to ask for advice regarding her children who would disturb her during prayer. The scholar indicated that she has brought them up poorly and there must be something […]

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 […]

Had another one of those light-bulb moments today in the middle of one of the most frantic work days I’ve had this year. Half way through answering non-stop phones, visitors turning up, running down to the local high street where our team was running a recycling awareness event to drop off tables, stationary, goody bags […]

Today I am done. It’s not even 10am and I have argued, cried and pushed myself as far as I can go. I woke and was so tired to the bone that I could barely move, it took about half an hour to stop feeling like I was going to drop. I had to go […]

The better half was away this weekend with the brother-in-law so I decided to have someme-time and do some things I enjoy (i.e. no cooking, no making chappati’s and no housework). So I let the kids stay up, we watched Robin Hood Prince of Theives (the very bad but very enjoyable Kevin Costner version), ate […]

I was invited to interview yesterday and found the same day that I did not get the job. The interview was for a position in Children’s Services and I was excited about the prospect. I felt like I had a good interview, but that afternoon I got the call saying I didn’t get the job. […]

Nursing my little one means I have to sit still, something I am not good at and so I thought that this would be a good time to get reading again. Normal Calm by Hend Hegazi piqued my interest after a saw a review on Muslimah Media Watch, particularly as it broached themes that I hadn’t seen […]

I watched the baby throw a tantrum not long ago and it made me smile. Tantrums don’t make most people smile, so let me explain. He drops onto the floor, starts pummelling the carpet with his hands and feet and cries loudly while I sit there and watch. He then stops and looks at me […]

Little Lady and Little Man’s current favourite game is continuous complaining. “Muuuuum She’s troubling me”, “MUM!! He’s making trouble to me” When you get to the root of what this “trouble” is it’s usually “he keeps following me”, “she called me dumb”, “she’s not playing with me”, “he keeps waving his hand near my book” […]

This is very much a traditional Pakistani recipe, one which makes an appearance at parties, on Eid and during Ramadan (especially in my Lahori in-law’s house). It also abounds in bazaars and people snack on it as they shop. It’s simple and fairly quick and the chickpeas (garbanzo bean or channa in Urdu/Hindi) and potato […]

The first few days of Ramadan are always challenging when fasting falls during the summer months with the change in sleeping and eating habits. Usually by the third day or so, you start to fall into a routine, the coffee cravings have gone and you get on with your day-to-day activity. Having got through day […]

After missing a lot of lessons and then returning to the sporadically, this week has been about getting down to business again with teaching Little Lady to read Quran.This was something I always ran away from as a child, seeing it as a chore and very boring. Although my dad taught me at home and […]