Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim – In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakaatuhu – Peace be upon you, and the Mercy of Allah and His Blessings I was not aware that today is International Women’s Day. I usually don’t follow such news as I think reducing the concerns of women, or any group, to a single day is not really useful. We should strive to do good and recognize goodness every day of the... Read more

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Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Every morning, our family of three adults and five children has a pretty much set routine.  If my husband went to pray fajr in the masjid, he’s out super early.  Then I’m up next, then I rouse the children when it is time for school. Part of my job as majordomo is to make sure everyone gets a chance to use the bathroom without waiting a long time.  I mean, c’mon, three boys... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah I was scrolling through my FB status updates and came across a posting regarding gossip.  It reminded me that I’ve been meaning to mention something for a long time.  Now is as good a time as any: For my dear brothers and sisters who are married, gossip is gossip even if it is between husband and wife.  It is gossip if you are talking about others in your family, it is gossip of... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah This is a “mature” topic so don’t let the middle schoolers read over your shoulder.  Or perhaps you should, because this is a cautionary tale.  The status of marriage in this world is troubled, to say the least. Here in the U.S., fifty percent of all first marriages end in divorce.  Muslims here are running as fast as they can to strengthen this statistic, sad to say.  There are so many things wrong... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah I was poring over invoices with the baby tugging at my leg when I flipped over to Facebook to see what nuggets of wisdom my friends had posted.  Immediately I saw a flood of status updates, links, and pictures saying that Mubarak was stepping down.  Either he was going to, was thinking about it, was being urged to do it by the army, or was already out of the country.  Peoples’ posts were... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah A religious Muslim, when presented with world events, runs everything through the Muslim filter. This filter often, mostly, okay, pretty much always runs counter to the popular notion of what is good, or is in accord with it somewhat but not completely.  This is the case as well with the situation in Egypt. I’ve been sick and busy recently, but I’m also reluctant to comment on the uprising in Egypt, even though most... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah I know I have been uncharacteristically silent the last couple of weeks.  It’s not like it’s been a quiet time in the world.  There’s revolution in Tunisia and Egypt, the usual players are yapping on cable TV and life is swirling around me with its normal color and chaos.   I got knocked down by the flu, first of all.  Mommies don’t get to take sick days, but I did take a couple... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Okay, so, like the title says, the cats are cute.  They are friendly, fluffy, amusing, and all that,  But, boy, can they be a pain sometimes.   I was awakened at oh-dark-thirty this morning by the sound of the two cats batting an empty water can back and forth along the hardwood floor in the hallway.  There was no ignoring it or sleeping through it; I tossed off my warm blanket and stepped... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah This morning, I decided to do something that single people do.  I decided to take a shower.  You know, a shower.  Oh, I take showers all the time, but usually about a day later than I wanted to because of the constant demands of the house and children,  This morning, everyone was up, so I deposited the baby in his brother’s room, put on cartoons, grabbed my towel, and headed for the bathroom.... Read more