Ever since I converted, I have had Muslim men reach out to me about how they want to marry a white convert. As soon as I tell them I am taken, they ask if I have any friends who are single. Brother, that’s not how it works. Just because you cannot have me, I’m not going to offer my friends, or someone like myself, to you. Today a brother posted on my Instagram, where I posted a picture of tea with the... Read more
Several years ago, I started going through a change in my life. I found myself loving God as I never had before, and wanting to live my life for Him. A few months into this change, I decided to start wearing the hijab/headscarf. It was a tough decision, because I knew that it was not just an obligation, but a commitment. And it was something that, in the past, I had never thought that I’d do. Apparently, this commitment to cover my body... Read more
Written by Nadiah Mohajir, MPH | Co-Founder & Executive Director of HEART Women & Girls TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual abuse & assault. | The following incidents are true stories. All names have been changed to protect confidentiality. Sarah’s stepfather began molesting her when she was a mere girl of 14. When she turned 19, she couldn’t take it anymore and confronted him by saying that she would report him. He responded by threatening her, saying that he would expose her “sins” to everyone, including her... Read more
Teenagers are going through some of the toughest years of their lives. They’re caught between childhood and adulthood— they wish to be treated like adults, but also don’t want to deal with any negative consequences if they make poor decisions. Part of this is because they know that legally, they still have a few years left of being considered a kid by society. Islam says otherwise: Once a child hits puberty, they are officially an “adult”— not legally, if the... Read more
As all of us know, there isn’t just one type of student. Some people work hard and succeed. Some work hard and fail, but keep trying their best. Others try just hard enough to pass. And then there are those who don’t study much, thinking that they’ll just get lucky on exam day, so they fail. I have never met someone who works hard to study but realizes that they will not get 100% on every exam that they take, and then gives... Read more
“You always want what you can’t have.” We’ve all heard that expression, and have experienced it at some point in our lives as well. This feeling of wanting what we don’t or can’t have is a big reason why we envy those who do have that thing. A poor person may envy a rich person. Someone with average looks might envy someone who is considered to be very beautiful. If someone is single, they might envy people who are married. Those... Read more
Forgiving someone who has hurt or wronged us can be one of the most difficult things we do in life. There are definitely benefits to forgiving others, though, and many of these are internal. As Muslims, we believe the “internal” refers not only to our mental health, but our spiritual state as well. Here are four ways in which forgiveness can be good for a person’s soul: 1. It Puts You at Ease The struggle to forgive someone else is something that we have to go through... Read more
According to Merriam-Webster, being politically correct means “conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities should be eliminated.” Hate speech, on the other hand, is “speech expressing hatred of a particular group of people.” These phrases are not antonyms, though they are often treated as such. It’s possible to “offend political sensibilities” without having expressed hatred towards anyone, or even saying that you dislike them. For example, a person might politely say they disagree with someone’s... Read more
Written by Samra Safdar I took out my phone and started to play games. It was the only thing I could do to ignore the sneers and rude remarks of Chloe and her gang. I swear, they think that they can get away with anything just because they’re the popular kids. Every time they come towards me they burst out into laughter, cover their heads, and do the hand-explosion thing. It’s so annoying. I haven’t really told anyone, since nothing physical... Read more
When I think of Jannah (Paradise), lots of beautiful things come to mind based on the descriptions in the Qur’an as well as my own imagination and desires. But everything that I visualize is basically just a perfect version of what can be found on this earth, even though I know better than that: “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘Allah has said: I have prepared for My righteous servants what no eye has seen,... Read more
Mostly Muslim
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In