My mum is one of those cooks whose technique has been hones through forty years of cooking and complaints from a fussy husband and picky kids. All of us siblings and out spouses savour her cooking, and especially on Eid when we all gather to have lunch together and she makes her lamb pilau. This […]

I hope I don’t sound like a complete git trying to give anyone party tips, but I thought I would pass on some of the ideas I have used and some of the things that have helped me money.The basket of bangles is basically full of bangles that I and my sisters don’t use. I […]

I recently attended a talk at the local Islamic Centre given my Hakim Archuletta of the US. I had never heard of him before, and went along expecting advice from the Quran and hadith, mainly about food. In actual fact he explained that he wanted to talk about something much deeper and more central relating […]

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 […]

No matter how bad things get in Pakistan or what people have to contend with, come the 14th August, everyone is in great spirits and celebrating with enthusiasm. Where I live in East London, my neighbourhood goes crazy and all of the Pakistani’s come out.  It’s 1am here and the drummers and the sports cars […]

This weekend we were invited to Fashionista’s house in Luton, about an hours drive outside of London.  Having sampled her mum-in-laws cooking previously, I wasn’t about to decline the invite. Alhamdulillah, they put on a fantastic spread – lamb pilau, lamb curry, chicken curry, shami kebabs, tandoori chicken, various salads and sauces and nan bread. […]

Alhamdulillah my brothers wedding last weekend was wonderful (pics and proper write-up in due course insh’Allah). There was one thing though that stopped me in my tracks though.The imam presiding did a great job and made a lovely speech. What caught my attention though were his daughters; four little girls ranging from about six to […]

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, […]

Mohammed M. Mahdi, Mohammed A. Mahdi, and Anthony Duncan are the Soapy Soap Guys, the entrepreneurs behind the artisanal soap business: the Soapy Soap Company. Their brand came about through a desire to create a more natural, functional bar of soap.  They have recently launched their new website: DesignMySoap.com, the world’s first online soap-making studio […]

I am now on maternity leave from work and what a relief!  I have had so much on my mind that I was struggling to focus on work.  I finished my secondment with the 2012 Games team a week before my leave started (the team thought my project management skills were brilliant extending as they […]

Posted by Happy Muslim Mama at 01:22 Labels: Eid, Journal, Ramadan

I think our young people are often unfairly stereotyped and maligned. The papers often seem intent on creating an image of young people as lazy, spoiled and shallow, I have seen them described as “snowflakes” for being too sensitive amongst other things. I don’t agree with this and I think that youngsters today are more […]

Good things to do this lovely sunny Jummah Day: – Read the Quran, my grandmother always reads Surat Qaaf, Surah Mohammad and Surah Jummah on Fridays and makes us do so too. – Wear your best clothes or any new clothes you have bought (where else are you going to wear your nice Eid togs […]

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 […]