Im in one of those reflective moods again, i seem to be in them very often. Alhumdulillah, reflection is great as it makes you realise your purpose, blessings and helps one to regain focus.

Why are we here? What is our purpose? Are we really fulfilling our purpose? It's important to step back and think about this. Living in London, you get so caught up in London life, it is fast paced, it is busy, you always feel tired. All of this can really distract you from what matters, what really matters. Too often we become so consumed in our worlds and our little life that we just don't see anything else. This is a trap, we must see everything else going on around us, we must step back. If we dont we most certainly will not be fulfilling any purpose, we won't reach those goals and most importantly we will not feel content. I speak to so many people who have their own issues, worries and upset, i am blessed enough to have a big network consisting of people from all walks of life. Guess what stands out to me? So many people have some sort of a void, something missing, something that needs fulfilling. As humans we are always wanting more. Few realise that this void cannot be filled by being engrossed in the dunya (worldy life) but can only be filled by having faith. You could have everything in the world but without Allah you will always feel something is missing! 

 Perfection

 It isn't in this world, perfect your deen, and look foward to the rewards from Allah in jannah. Often we seek perfection in people, our jobs, careers, life and we always forget that this is not the final destination. We need to perfect our deen. So please let's not fall into this trap where we become so consumed seeking perfection in this world that we forget our purpose.

To have a feeling of ease and contentment, before even strengthening relationships with our loved ones we need to strengthen it with THE ONE, the Almighty. This is when we will find peace, tranquility and feel content no matter what hardships we face. And remember Allah never burdens a soul with more than it can bare.  Just remember Allah has your back, so always have a strong relationship with the one who will have your back no matter happens.

Allah says walk to me and i will run towards you. This is just how merciful and great our LORD is, we just need to take a small step and Allah will help us do the rest. 

Anyway, this is something i felt would be beneficial to share. Make everything about Allah, and no matter what, you will feel safe and at ease. We all have difficulties, it's how you perceive them and what stance you take that makes the difference. Knowing and believing Allah will always do what is best for you will make you feel content. So if you feel something is missing, you feel empty or feel a void in life- turn to Allah. 

1) Al-Bukhaari (5971) and Muslim (2548) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, who is most deserving of my good company?” He said: “Your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “Your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “Your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “Then your father.” 

3) The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of you is the one who is best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wives.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3895; Ibn Maajah, 1977; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 

4) Islam honours women as daughters, and encourages us to raise them well and educate them. Islam states that raising daughters will bring a great reward. For example, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever takes care of two girls until they reach adulthood, he and I will come like this on the Day of Resurrection,” and he held his fingers together. Narrated by Muslim, 2631. 

http://www.karmanirvana.org.uk/helpline/

- this is a helpline which is aimed at victims of honour violence and domestic violence

- aimed at all age groups

 http://www.solacewomensaid.org 

- this is a womens charity but also for children who are victims of abuse

http://tellmamauk.org

- a charity set up to help victims of islamophobia  

To any sisters reading this who need help and do not know where to turn, feel free to contact me and i will be happy to provide support and signpost you to any relevant sources of help.

My duas (prayers) are always with women who are being oppressed. 

 

Zahra Rosea has 13k+ followers on instagram so one could definitely say she is in a very good position to inspire those who would like to start their journey to covering. As muslimahs we are constantly trying to improve ourselves and it can be so very hard for those who want to cover, and the 101 thoughts that enter your mind when making the decision to begin covering.  A lot of thoughts may enter your mind about wearing hijab e.g 'i won't look nice', 'i can't be fashionable with a hijab', 'people won't accept me', 'it isn't the norm in my environment or society to wear hijab', 'people at work will think i am weird', 'my wardrobe isn't modest enough to start wearing a hijab'. Well ladies, please stop thinking like this because hijab is a journey and it is done for the sake of Allah, so if you would like to start by wearing a hijab and slowly making your wardrobe more modest as you go along, what is wrong with that.

There are many inspirational ladies out there who you can take style ideas from on how to dress modestly. Of course, the overall aim is to please Allah, but a little helping hand can never be a bad thing! Zahra Rosea is one of the many hijabis who are here to show you that you can wear hijab and still be trendy at the same time. As long as you are fully covered there is nothing wrong with adding a bit of style to your look to ease you into to dressing modestly and from there things can only get better.

So without further ado here is my interview with Zahra who recently featured on Gap and was selected as the first winner to feature. That in itself is a great privilege, for a hijabi to be recognised as the first winner to feature on gap is something to be proud of. It highlights that the world is opening up more and more to the notion of hijab and this will only make it easier for those who want to cover but don't have the courage to take the plunge. Anything to help someone feel more comfortable wearing a hijab is something to celebrate. Zahra explains why she put herself out there and what her future goals are. Read below;

What made you submit your picture to Gap? 

I decided a very long time ago that as Muslim women and as a consumer of fashion we are very poorly represented in the fashion world, media and industry. I thought it would be a step in the right direction to have a Muslim within a media campaign, I think it's also a significant step for the industry to readily identify that we too are part of their consumer base and deserve to be included.

When did u start wearing hijab? 

I began wearing hijab when I was around fourteen years old. In all honesty it wasn't a step I really thought about since we were raised in a very un-multicultural part of the U.K where my family and I were the only permanent Muslim family in town.

What made you wear it? 

We had just spent that whole summer in Dubai and wore the hijab when we were out there and back to the airport in the UK. When we landed, my younger sister Asma was actually the first one to make the decision to continue wearing it. I decided I wasn't going to allow her to struggle alone and so I too began wearing it.I knew it would be difficult being the only teenager in the whole of our town wearing it, but with both our support to each other we decided it would be something attainable.

What would you describe your style as? 

I would decide be my style as muted power dressing. I love structured silhouettes, pointed pumps, clean crisp lines and shirts

What are your future goals? 

In terms of goals for hijabis as a whole I would love for us all to be included and recognised as a consumer market by fashion brands. 

As for myself, I am establishing and developing my own modest clothing brand, I would love for that to become global inshallah.

What or who is your style inspiration? 

I love Victoria Beckham, Celine & Coco Chanel. A mixture of all of the above!

I would like to thank Zahra for taking time out of her busy schedule to do this interview, and i hope this can help those of you who want to cover to come one step closer to making that decision and putting on the hijab. Hijab is beautiful, and anything that is done solely to please your creator will only bring you good things. Start your journey and remember true beauty comes from within and will shine out. Don't say to your self 'one day i will wear it' because that one day may never come, be spontaneous and just go for it. Zahra did, and has no regrets. We are all on a journey and continuously trying to improve- may we all be the best we can for our Creator.

Zahra Rosea can be found on Instagram ; http://instagram.com/zahrarosea 

We will not stand for it!

As everyone knows it was International Women's day yesterday! So i thought let me jump on the bandwagon and write a post to celebrate women. I just want to make one thing clear before i start, im not really into these 'days' where there is just one day dedicated to a group of people. I think everyday is your day, therefore for me everyday is womens day, and why not? We are pretty amazing, multi talented, determined beings aren't we?! 

My religion, Islam, recognised the importance and value of women thousands of years ago! It took the rest of the world a while to catch up didnt it? And yes in Islam a woman is important and special every single day. The Prophet (sallahu alayhi wasalam- peace be upon him) expressed this importance on many occasions, particularly in his final sermon, which is meaningful and beloved to us all. He said ' i urge you to treat women well'. This man was the finest of gentleman, thousands of years ago, when all over the world (including the 'western world') women were seen as second class citizens, he treated women with the upmost respect. I could write all day about how my heart melts thinking about our Prophet (saw) but i will leave it here. I could never do justice to this amazing man in any piece i write as there are some things which are too beautiful to put into words, no words can do justice.

I recently wrote an article about how we are not traditionally submissive as women and quite the opposite and cited some role models in islamic history that us ladies look upto. Well today i am going to highlight 5 modern day Muslim women who make me proud to be a woman. They have achieved so much, and they deserve a special mention in light of international womens day.

1.  My mother- yes really, my mother does make me proud to be a woman. Not only has she raised a family but she has done this along with working full time. She is one of those women who are NOT ONLY housewives but are working women as well, they run their house as a woman should and they also go out to work and bring money home. She is a hard worker, she never shudders any responsibility and is always there on hand to support the family, immediate and extended. She is a star, hardworking, and dedicated. She has to deal with me and my brother after all, which isn't always easy, so i commend my mother- a modern day muslim woman who i am so very proud of and aspire to be like.

2. Yasmin Mogahed

Yasmin Mogahed is an internationally published journalist who gives lectures on islam all over the world. She is known worldwide for her writing, lectures and radio shows. One of her most famous books is called 'reclaim your heart' - this book is an amazing uplifter, imaan booster and something that helps you deal with heartache and difficult situations.

Yasmin has a way of captivating her audience and help them see things through a more islamic perspective.

Yasmin is Al Maghrib Insitutes first female instructor. Her name is a name known WORLDWIDE, and anyone who has read her writing or attended her lectures will feel spiritually uplifted. I know i did.

This woman has the ability to relate all situations in life and used these to strengthen ones relationship with their creator.  A woman who turns all hardships into strength through seeking solace with her creator.

A modern day muslim woman who is determined, successful and able to have a positive effect on so many.

3. Dalia Mogahed

Dalia is an American scholar of Egyptian origin. This woman has so many achievements on her list that it would take a long time to write them all out. She is a strong, successful and a modern day muslim woman. Dalia is the Director of Research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in Washington, she is also the CEO of Mogahed Consulting. Dalia was selected as an advisor by U.S president Barack Obama on the Whitehouse Office of Faith-based and Neighbourhood partnerships.

Dalia is also a board member and leader for several organisations, including World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on the Arab world.

Dalia was NAMED one of the top 500 most INFLUENTIAL muslims in 2009 and 2010.

This is a successful woman who we should all be proud of, she has achieved so much in her life and is still continuing.

4. Nawal El Moutawakel

Nawal made history in 1984 when she became not only the first African woman to WIN a gold medal in the Olympics but also the first Muslim woman to win. She won the 400m hurdles race.

When people think of muslim women, they tend to think they are oppressed and unable to pursue their dreams, this is due to the medias portrayal of muslim women. Well Nawal is here to prove to you that that is all nonsense, she had a dream and she pursued and she won that gold medal. It was rare for muslim women to enter the olympics, let alone win a gold medal. Nawal did both and became the first African and Muslim female to do this.

A modern day muslim woman who did not give into stereotypes and remained determine to pursue her goal and aspirations.

5. Ibtihaj Muhammad

Would you ever have imagined a muslim woman to take her turn in fencing? Well Ibtihaj Muhammed has made this a reality! She is the first female Muslim American fencer in the WORLD. Not only is she the first female muslim fencer in the world, she has also been name one of the BEST female fencers in the world.

Ibtihaj also won an award as one of the TOP 10 Muslim women of 2015.

Ibtihaj pursued her goals, even though muslim female fencing was unseen of- she did it! And not only that but she succeeded and has become renowned worldwide for her talent and determination. Hats off to her! An inspiration, she went against conventions and norms.


There are probably so many more amazing muslim women out there who we are proud of, the women who pursued their goals and became successful.  These are some of our role models and i felt they should be commended, celebrated and highlighted for their amazing achievements. I hope this can show those who stereotype female muslims that we are not what you think we are, we are so much better, powerful and strong. We have dreams and we achieve them and do not let stereotypes deter us. Women are multi taskers and the above proves it :)

Here's to celebrating women all day everyday, we do not need one day in a year to tell us how great we are. You know why? Because we know we are great and we celebrate our success every single day.

I'll end this post with a request for all you fellow ladies out there, there are many amazing women out there who are struggling and going through some hardship or another - lets raise our hands a say a prayer for all these women. Whererever you are, whoever you are and whatever your hardship is, you are in my duas (prayers). May Allah (God) remove all your hardships and provide for you ease. Ameen ❤️

If you have faith, health, family, a roof over your head and food to eat then you are more blessed then you realise. In the last few months i have seen so much for example the i have seen the loss of innocent civilians during war, i have seen people struggling through hardships and come through fighting and i have seen some who are at a crossroad in their life not knowing where to turn. One thing i learnt through all this is, never judge a book by its cover. Some seem outwardly content however we just do not know what is going on inside, what their hearts are agonising over. We think people are fine and happy but little do we know about their struggles. This is why it is so important to embrace whatever you have going on in your life and see the positive in it. Allah may have taken away something from you to protect you, Allah may have blessed you with an awful situation, yes awful, just to bring you closer to him. We think we know what is best for us, but we don't, Allah does, hence why we must always seek guidance and be thankful for whatever obstacles or blessings come in our path.

What i have learnt is life is not easy, but if you let your situation control you then you are already losing and on a downward spiral. You need to take control of what you can and do your very best, once you have done that then you leave it to Allah. The following hadith comes to mind as i type this;

One day the Messenger of Allah (saws) noticed a bedouin (desert Arab) leaving his camel without tying it and he asked the bedouin: "Why don't you tie down your camel?"  The bedouin answered, "I put my trust in Allah." The Prophet (saws) then said, "Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah"  (Tirmidhi).

This is one of my favourite Hadith as it quite perfectly states; that we must always do what we possibly can to better a situation and then we leave it to Allah. Whatever is better for us will happen, when you put your trust in Allah know that only good things can come of this. You may not see it in this life, maybe you will see it in the Akhirah (hereafter). Sometimes we become overwhelmed and that causes us to retract and let the problem or issue we have consume us. 

Everyone has a struggle in some shape or form in their lives, if this life was so perfect what would be the point? This life is not meant to be perfect,  Jannah is where you will find perfection. So if you are sad, please do remember that this is not the final destination. Stop trying to create a Utopia here, have patience and work towards Jannah! We are all travellers in this world, stop thinking it is permanent. Whatever struggle you are facing, remember that this is also temporary and this time will pass. Imagine Jannah and how amazing it will be, you will be with who you love and have all you ever wanted and the best thing is- it'll be forever. 

A recent seminar I attended by an amazing sister Yasmin Mogahed really helped me to regain some much needed focus. I had just come back from hajj, and those of you who have been blessed with this once in a lifetime opportunity can probably relate to what i was feeling. I felt i had hit an anti climax, i just just lived a dream, i had been granted one of my greatest wishes and then i was back to the reality of this world. Hardships, tests, life. It was a really difficult adjustment to make especially as i had just started a new job. However this seminar helped me put things back into perspective, i was reminded that this life is temporary and will pass. I needed to work on my akhirah. The one analogy Sister Yasmin Mogahed made which really aided me is; We should treat our life and this world like a hotel room when travelling. Yes a hotel room. When we go on holidays do we stock up on furniture, food, cutlery for our hotel room? No we do not! Why? Because we do not expect to stay there long. We stay at the hotel, not giving it much significance, maybe admiring its beauty but when it is time to leave, we are fine to leave. This is because we have not become attached to this hotel room, we saw it as a temporary place to live and when it's time to go home we happily pack up and go. This is how we must treat this world. We aren't here forever so why get so attached to worldly things when this will all pass. Why not focus on Jannah where you can have whatever you desire and more (things we aren't even capable of imagining). If we have this mindset, we will not become so consumed by our hardships. Take each day as it comes, let go of the past, stop worrying about the future, tie your camel (do all you can) and put your trust in Allah.

Now having said all this, i myself can put my hand up and say this is not easy. We are so easily immersed into the world that we lose focus. But we have to take control and ensure we do not let our woes consume us. This can be done through stepping back every now and again and trying to observe your situation as an outsider. Observe it, make notes, think if it was a friend what would you advise and then act on that. We are often great at advising others but cant take this advice on ourselves. Make an active effort to repair what you can, always remember Allah, focus, pray, pour your heart out to the Almighty and then just let it be. We are not the final deciders of anything, only Allah decides the outcome. Once you have done all you can and have faith be content that the results are for your betterment.

Look around you, I guarantee you there are others struggling. Be thankful for what you have, if you need help seek it from your friends, family and knowledgable people and don't try and struggle through it alone. Be active rather then passive and make the changes you can. 

If things are going great, remember to always thank the Almighty and remain faithful as sometimes a blessing can be your test. 

I'll leave a parting note (a verse from the Quran) for you all to ponder on. This is one of my personal favourites....

“And if you could count the favours of Allah, never would you be able to count them. Truly, Allah is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”[16:18]❤️