A Mango for a BrideByNancy Umm Abdel Hamid My father’s house was in a greater state of uproar than usual, and since there were six of us children – well, we’re all grown now, but when we’re home, we’re no longer truly adults – six of us and our families spending a great amount of time in the house, the level of noise and chaos was pretty amazing My infant son Adam was the youngest of the horde, and with... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah I got some feedback from a previous entry I wrote, the one titled “Lonely? Get a Cat”. Two friends of mine, both of whom I respect, offered differing views. One was “right on” and the other was “you were harsh”. Both points of view have merit. It is not my intention to be harsh to my sisters in Islam. I want all my sisters to fulfill their roles as strong believing Muslim women.... Read more

My husband usually stands tall. But like a mighty oak felled by the axeman’s blade, he was brought low by a cold. Just as you would stand in the forest, watching in awe as a majestic tree slowly sways, then leans, then crashes to the ground with a bone-rattling thump, I watched my husband succumb to the aches and pains, the sniffles and snorts, the feverish shivering of a winter cold. My strong husband lay supine on the couch, weakly... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahamtullah A friend of mine was mentioning sleep-training her baby, and another sister was asking me for advice when I mentioned I did sleep training with my youngest baby, so I thought I’d share with everyone what I did. First of all, let me say I have four children, alhamdulillah, and the only one I really did sleep training with was the youngest, Mervat. I guess I was so worn out and desperate by... Read more

I was reading a message on one of my groups earlier. A woman was asking for advice on a situation with her husband. Some ladies offered their advice on how to deal with a man who was behaving rather like a pig. It got me to thinking.I am finding that some Muslim women are getting married to men who are, well, rather like pigs. Not only are they marrying men who are not suitable, they are taking on a burden... Read more

Well, I should be folding laundry. There’s one pile on the chair – the chair nicknamed “the thinking chair” after the one in Blue’s Clues – one pile on the far end of the sofa, and a final stack in the laundry basket at the base of the sofa. In theory, I like to get the laundry folded before it has a chance to compress and set-in the wrinkles. In reality, that probably won’t happen today. It’s not too big... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani RahimSalaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah I’m an old married lady now, having been married ten years, and I’m always interested in the dynamics between husband and wife, especially in a cross-cultural marriage. These types of marriages are very common nowadays with immigrant and convert Muslims making up so much of the marriage pool here in the States.My husband and I have found our level of comfort and familiarity. We know each others’ likes and dislikes. We know what we... Read more

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah Well, something compelled me to set up this blog. I was drinking my morning coffee and checking out facebook while trying to block the baby and keep her from rolling off the couch. I clicked on a link to a blog entry here about Islamic divorce. The sister is mashAllah a good writer and I really do agree with what she wrote, but I found the comments after the entry disturbing. Most of... Read more