Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah It’s Tuesday morning and I’ve got most of a cup of coffee in me. Kids are fed, except Abdel Hamid. He can do the honors himself; today is a cereal day. The baby is at my feet. In her usual fashion, the moment I start typing she starts fussing, as if I haven’t been holding her half the morning already. Yusef and Yasin are squabbling over cartoons. Yasin is sick. His fever has... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Okay, so today I worked. I usually go to the office on Sundays and do eBay, leaving the children in the care of Daddy. So far it has worked out okay. I come home to the same number of children that were there when I left and they all call me “Mommy”. Usually I’m home around four or so, in time to make dinner. When they are with Daddy, they eat a lot... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah “How Many Children Will You Have” “You Will Have Three Girls”“What Will Your Future Husband Look Like?” “Cute”“Will Your Next Baby Be a Girl or a Boy?” “Congratulations… It’s a Girl!” Are these “harmless” Facebook quizzes, or statements of disbelief? I see these quizzes from people on my friends’ list at least several times a day. It always makes me stop and think. You are taking a quiz that purports to tell you... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Okay, when I got married I was not a coffee drinker. I would have the occasional – no, NOT Starbucks – the occasional 7-11 coffee if I was taking a road trip, but other than that I would drink water or a soda. Marriage and children tend to sap your energy, and eventually I got a coffee maker. I corrupted my husband, too. He went from being a traditional Egyptian tea-drinker to a “I can’t leave the... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Yes, as the title says, I should be in bed. A friend of the family came to visit my father-in-law and see how he’s doing, and, well, he brought cheesecake. So of course we all had to have some, even though it was eight o’clock. So I’m high on sugar and not ready to sleep yet. Plus, I have to remove two little boys from the bed before I fit in it, not... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah I’ve been kind of following a news story on CNN about a woman who was allegedly caught with about two kilos of heroin on her in Laos. She is in jail there now, and possibly became pregnant as a result of rape while in jail. She is awaiting trial right now. I have mixed emotions about this. First of all, rape is a horrendous crime and no woman should ever have to submit... Read more

The latest “scandal” to hit the Roman Catholic Church is the tale of a priest, Father Alberto Cutie, who apparently had a two-year affair with a woman. This, of course, violated his vows of celibacy. Now, I’m a Muslim, so the whole “you can’t serve God unless you give up sex” thing is a nonstarter for me. But I thought I’d offer a tongue-in-cheek commentary on it all. Since worldly pursuits such as eating, drinking, and having sex all distract... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah I was reading some postings about hijab. Now, usually I find the topic uplifting, because my sisters post verses from the Holy Qur’an and hadiths about the ruling on women covering. It is inspiring to see women who rush to obey Allah and cover themselves. May Allah help us to obey Allah in all areas of our lives, such as praying, fasting, being good wives to our husbands, strong mothers for our children,... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim These are some more thoughts from the Saturday sisters’ halaqah at Ummah of Noor in Second Life: In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All thanks is to Allah, whom we seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from whatever evil our hearts conceal and from the consequences of our evil deeds. Whoever Allah grants guidance will never be led astray. Whoever He leads astray will never find guidance. I attest that... Read more

This article arose out of a talk I gave yesterday, Saturday, at the Ummah of Noor SIM in Second Life. If you don’t know what that is, just ask me! In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful All thanks is to Allah, whom we seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from whatever evil our hearts conceal and from the consequences of our evil deeds. Whoever Allah grants guidance will never be led astray. Whoever... Read more