Assalam-alaikam all. I hope this Ramadan has been truly blessed for you and that you have grown in faith and that your store of good deeds has grown exponentially insh’Allah: “When it is the last night [of Ramadan], they are forgiven, all of them.” So a man from the people said, “Is it the Night […]

I have always found the kid’s bedtime challenging, partly it is the work involved: bath time, nappy changes, milk bottles and dragging people into the bathroom to brush their teeth,  Partly it is the fun of little people who decide they are not sleepy and try to escape. Or boys who are old enough to […]

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 […]

During quiet moments in the past few days (before this last busy week) I have been enjoying working on some cards to use in the coming year. As WHSmith’s were clearing out sheets of sticky ribbon for 99p, I bought some to experiment with and quite liked the results. I also thought I would try […]

John Wyndham is one of my favourite writers (his Chrysalids is definitely one of my favourite books) so I fancied re-reading this book when I saw it in the library.It’s odd how you remember one story and on re-reading a book you find something completely different. I originally remembered the book touching on its end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it […]

Subhan’Allah this Ramadan has been a very different one for me. No Ramadan gift baskets, no iftars (the meal to break the fast) for guests (just one for my parents). No Ramadan cards or Eid cards and not much planning ahead. The long hot days of fasting have meant that I have less energy than […]

I received an e-mail recently from a sister who I have a lot of time for. She wanted to share a piece of advice that had helped her. It really helped me to think about how consciously I do things and I wanted to share her advice (with her permission)as it benefitted me so much: […]

Zak has been warned by his parents not to tell lies.  Any more fibs and he won’t be allowed to go to the park.  When faced with difficult situations, what will he do.  The book follows throughout his day as he finds himself at various junctions faced with a choice – tell the truth about […]

I remember feeling car sick as a child, but of course my kids managed to outdo me.  All five get car sick and one or two usually end up throwing up.  The Easter break saw us taking a long journey and of course everyone was turning green and being handed little plastic bags. Baby just […]

I remember being a teen and sometimes getting unwanted attention, probably at a younger age than was appropriate.  I remember being a teen and being aware of my many perceived flaws alongside a cocky arrogance about my youth and how skinny I was.  Despite these things, I would rather have been a teen then than […]

Most of us have been ill the last week, Little Lady with a nasty ear infection and cold and the boys and I with colds that have left us with nausea, sore backs, temperatures and headaches.  It helped this morning when the boys let the girls sleep in and cleared up downstairs and made themselves […]

My soul food, comfort food and favourite tastes all rolled into one is basically anything cooked by my mum.  Everyone says good things about their mum’s food, but mine really, really can cook.  So when I was invited for iftar (breaking the fast) at hers, I didn’t need to be asked twice. As it was […]

We usually throw one Eid party a year for ladies and children but in the last year or two I had found these getting rowdy and moving away from my aim of providing a halal environment for my Muslimah friends to meet, enjoy and in some small way remember Allah (SWT): Abu Hurairah and Abu […]

In the West days run from dawn to the following dawn, so for example we wake up to Eid morning and celebrate until the evening. However for a Muslim the day runs from the previous evening to the current sunset. So Eid begins not on the morning of the first day of Shawwal, but as […]