Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Mornings are always hectic.  I wake up, start the water for coffee and tea, make breakfast for my father-in-law, wake the kids, help find the inevitable lost shoe or missing homework paper, feed the cats, and try not to look too closely at the reminders of yesterday’s undone tasks.   There’s something new in the mix – my husband is now working from home.  This means that, instead of seeing him hastily out... Read more

Yesterday at 1:59pm EST I posted a CNN update to my Facebook profile.  “Several Shot at Tucson Grocery”.  As the day wore on more facts became known and the numbers of dead and wounded grew.  Bad enough that a US congresswoman was targeted; bad enough that a federal judge was killed; bad enough that a beautiful nine-year-old girl lost her life.  The final tally of six dead and fourteen wounded was a knife in the heart of all Americans of... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Okay, let’s deal with this whole “72 virgins” thing.  Non-Muslims, most often those hostile to Islam, always bring this up as an accusation against Muslims claiming that Muslim men are lustful beasts and even our concept of heaven proves that.  Of course, some of the people who believe this are upright moral Christians like Newt Gingrich, who had an affair and then went to his wife to discuss a divorce while she was... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah SubhanAllah!  You never know when something will strike you differently.  I know surat al Kawthar and recite it fairly often.  As a mom with young kids running about I am often forced to resort to very short surahs in my prayers, and it doesn’t get much shorter than this one: 1. Verily, We have granted you (O Muhammad ()) Al-Kauthar (a river in Paradise); 2. Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice (to Him only).... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmtullah. I was taking care of some simple household task, thinking of nothing in particular, when I remembered an incident that happened towards the end of the life of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.  He was ill, what turned out to be his final illness, and he was in the house of his wife Maymoonah, may Allah be pleased with her.  He asked her to call all... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Hello, world! I’ve been wrapped up in my life the last few days and haven’t really had the time to write or even think about my writing.  It’s amazing; I go through a few very productive days and then I have a brain fart and can barely put two sentences together.  Well, I can blame it on my husband and my kids.  Honest!  My husband is now working from home again so we... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah.  Well, I seem to be in a bit of a writer’s block, that and the baby won’t let me alone for more than five seconds, which kind of short-circuits my ability to write coherently.  He’s busy torturing his siblings at the moment, so I’ll do something easy and write down the recipe for what I’m making for dinner: 1 pound of white beans, soaked and drained1 onion, choppedbunch of spices, to be named... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Ah, finally a moment to relax.  The hubby  is home, getting ready to take a shower, which is why I am here and not chilling with him.  The kids are playing quietly and the baby is taking a nap.  For once, chaos does not reign. I was considering today how much having the kids sick has cut into my writing time.  Amazing how much time the extra laundry, medicating, potty trips, diapering, head-holding-while-barfing,... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani RahimSalaam Alaikum wa RahmatullahI hesitated before posting this.  I don’t want anyone to take this the wrong way.  So let me preface my little tale by saying that I am a religious Muslim and I’m proud of my faith.  I also believe that suicide bombings are wrong, attacking innocent civilians is wrong, and that the people who get sucked into conspiracies hatched by law enforcement are so dumb they probably deserve what they get.  What is dumber is... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah. Sometimes I wonder to myself if I am a person who writes, or if I am a writer.  Then I have a story that forms itself completely in my head, and there’s nothing I can to relieve the tension but write it down.  This is one of those stories that convinces me that I am a writer because I MUST write.  I had been reading some status updates that were kind of down... Read more