Attention: Logo Design Contest With Prize Details!!!

September 29, 2009 · Filed under Contests, Muslim Housewife

The Muslim Housewife is looking for talented designers and artists (hobbyists and/or professionals) to create a logo that will be used as the official face of “The Muslim Housewife.”  Contest details below…

Objective

-To create a logo for “The Muslim Housewife”, which will be used as the official face of this website/blog

General Information

-Contest officially starts September 29, 2009 and closes midnight (EST) November 1, 2009.  Any entries submitted after the closing date will not be considered.

-Logos will be judged for their creativity, originality, aesthetics, and use of space and color

Logo Guidelines 

-Logos should include the phrase “The Muslim Housewife” somewhere in the design.  Read the ‘About’ page for inspiration.  Use colors that will work with the blog’s color scheme.  Beyond that, it’s all you!

-Make sure you have fun designing the logo!

Submissions

-All designs must be submitted by midnight (EST) on November 1, 2009

-Submit in standard image format (something that doesn’t require me to have special software)

-E-mail all entries to:  themuslimhousewife@gmail.com

Rules

-All designs entered for contest become shared property of “The Muslim Housewife” and the designer.

-The final logo will become sole property of “The Muslim Housewife”, credit will be given to the artist.

Most importantly…GRAND PRIZE!

-$50 gift certificate to one of the following stores of your choice: GAP, Target, Barnes & Noble, or Best Buy

-A mentioning of your name, website, and/or company on The Muslim Housewife blog and Facebook fan page

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 Let the competition begin!!

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Has A Child’s Laughter Ever Made You Cry?

August 26, 2009 · Filed under Hope, Muslim Housewife, Share Islam

Ramadan has surprised us once again with its quick and sudden arrival.  The day’s fast is a bit more grueling than before, peaking around 14 hours.  When one’s mouth becomes parched from thirst and one’s stomach twists and turns from hunger it makes you grateful for all that Allah has given you.  We quickly take for granted having food and water readily available to us.  We walk up to the sink and fill our glass with water to quench our thirst at anytime we want.  We have the ability to pick and choose what we want to eat and what we feel like eating.  Unfortunately there are many in the world who haven’t had a bite to eat for countless days, or haven’t had clean water to drink to quench their thirst.  Picking and choosing what to eat and drink is far from their concerns.

There are many things you can do this month and year around to show your gratefulness and help those less fortunate.

1. Before eating and drinking make sure you pause and take a second to be grateful for the food and drink that awaits you.  Make sure you recite the specific duas before and after eating.

2. Make a consistent donation (every month) towards feeding the hungry.

Places to donate:

Africa Food Crisis

Access to Water Project

3. Want a more creative way to help the hunger crisis? Check out the following…

 FreeRice-Really cool website!  Learn and help end world hunger at the same time by providing rice to hungry people for free

The Hunger Site-Click the icon to give free food.  When you click, sponsors pay to distribute food to those in need.

4. Volunteer at a soup kitchen.  This makes one aware that this is not just a global issue but a local one as well.  It’s also a great opportunity to do dawah.

 Click here to find a soup kitchen in your area.

5. Remember the most powerful thing you can do is remember the people in need in your duas, Allah is Most Powerful and inshallah will make things  easy for them.

A few months ago I received a video titled “Chicken a la Carte.” It won an award for being best short film (6 minutes) and tells a true story.  Its what brought tears to my eyes when I saw the children laughing and it is what motivated me to write this post.  Watch below.

View this movie at cultureunplugged.com

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Mommy, Mommy It Hurts!

May 26, 2009 · Filed under Muslim Housewife, Reflections, Share Islam

We’ve all had a child fall and get hurt, sometimes it ends up being a big boo boo and sometimes a small one.  Whatever the case, Moms and Dads usually do anything to soothe the child and make them stop crying.  We may try different distraction techniques like give them a candy or show them their toys, or maybe even tell them we’ll take them outside.

In reality there is no better way of soothing a child than with the words of Allah.  Since coming to Egypt (Subhanallah its almost been 6 months, quite unbelievable!) Ahmed and I started something new with our daughter Isra.  We started reciting Surah Al-Fatiha upon the spot she would  get hurt.  Subhanallah the moment we would start reciting the surah she would immediately calm down.  This is anywhere from a small fall on the ground to really big boo boos.  About a month ago we went to Chilli’s for dinner.  There was a play area in the back where they had a moonwalk and a swing set.  Of course Isra wanted to sit on the swing so Ahmed took her to play for a little bit.  The swings were not really toddler proof so Ahmed had to stay with her and literally hold her on the swing, it was still quite enjoyable to her lol.  Anyways, Ahmed turned around for a split second and she ended up flipping onto the floor.  Her lip busted and her nose started bleeding profusely!  As you can imagine she was screaming on the top of her lungs not only from the pain but from the sight of the blood as well (my poor lil baby!)  As we tried to stop the bleeding I  put my finger on where she got hurt and started reciting Surah Al-Fatiha.  And within minutes Isra immediately calmed down and stopped crying-Subhanallah!

I think this is a great habit we can implement with ourselves and our families, after all Allah is the one who heals.  It’s really amazing how easily one can make things into habits with children.  As I said I started this about 6 months ago, about a month before Isra turned one, now whenever she gets hurt she waits for me to recite Surah Al-Fatiha or she say “Momma, Momma Allah o Akbar” meaning Momma recite!  Sometimes I’ve even caught her reciting upon herself when she gets hurt (she can’t recite the surah yet but her equivalent is to say “Allah o Akbar”)  and lastly when she sees Ahmed or I get hurt she quickly runs to us, puts her hand on our boo boo, says Allah o Akbar, blows on it, and gives it a kiss…May Allah protect her!

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         Surah Al-Fatiha

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Living With the Laws.

October 16, 2008 · Filed under Muslim Housewife

As many of  you know I have officially moved to Michigan.  Alhumdulilah it’s nice being home.  In the beginning there were times when I went out to run errands kind of forgetting I was in Michigan, and when I would run into people I knew it was a pleasant surprise.  I have been staying with my in laws and make trips to visit my family every few weeks, I forgot what a great blessing it was to be able to go see my parents whenever I want, Alhumdulilah.

Living with my in laws has been a nice experience Alhumdulilah.  When you live with someone you build a relationship with them that cannot be built over the phone.  It’s a nice time to understand your in laws and get to know their likes and dislikes.  I feel you build a true relationship with your in laws when you live with them for a period of time.  In this day and age many daughter in laws become hesitant to stay with there in laws even if it is for a temporary time.

Now a days there are some women who put a wall up between their in laws and themselves.  This is the start of a bad beginning.  One must understand that although differences may occur your in laws are your husband’s family and they deserve to be respected.  Often you hear of the stereotypical mother in law who is overruling and always involved in your relationship with your husband.  I am not denying that there are some mother in laws who fit in this category, and these type of mother in laws need to realize that these sort of relationships are not about a power trip, instead they should be relationships of comfort and love.

People also need to realize there will be times of disagreement and misunderstanding, but then again things like this happen when you are human and it doesn’t mean its the end of a relationship or end of the world for that matter.  As Muslims we need to deal with situations with the best manner.  And even if your mother in law is wrong and you’re right it doesn’t mean you need to go the extra mile in a disagreement to prove your point.  The following hadith opened my eyes:

Abu Umamah narrated: Allah’s Messenger Messenger (pbuh) said. “I guarantee an abode within the boundary of Paradise for one who gives up arguing, even if he is right; and I guarantee a home in the middle of Paradise for one who abandons lying even for the sake of fun, and I guarantee the sublime portion of Paradise for one whose conduct is good.” (Abu Dawood)

I think this is a good enough reason to hold your tongue in matters of disagreement!

I have been seeing and hearing a lot of divorce occuring in our Ummah.  And in a few personal cases that I know of, most of the time the couples have a good relationship, but it was the interfering of in laws that drove the once happy couple apart.  Are petty differences worth a divorce?  The Quran states a beautiful ayah,

“And not equal are the good deed and the bad.  Repel evil by that deed which is better; and thereupon, the one whom between you and him is enmity will become as though he was a devoted friend (41:34).

What a wonderful advice from Allah SWT Himself!  Subhanallah!  I believe many relationships can be saved if this beautiful advice is followed.

I leave you with a piece of advice my dear father gave me when I got married 6 years ago.  “Beta (my dear daughter), remember if you want a blissful marriage make your husband’s family as if it is your own.”  Alhumdulilah I followed his advice, and by the grace of All Mighty Allah, Allah has blessed me with a good marriage.

May Allah protect my husband’s family, May He give them all the good in this life and even better in the hereafter!


                                                        

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A Start of a New Chapter.

August 27, 2008 · Filed under Muslim Housewife

As the boxes pile high, and the apartment gets emptier day by day I have come to realize the move to Michigan is around the corner. This move is quite a big deal because it is one step closer to the bigger move in life, the move to Egypt to study abroad.

I am originally from Michigan, so I guess you can say I am returning to my hometown. I have been in Chicago for a few years and have met the most amazing people. People that I can call true friends, friends for the sake of Allah. Chicago is a special place for me, its a place I came a few months after I graduated, a place I had my first child, and a place where I had many happy moments in life, Alhumdulilah. It makes me very sad that I have to leave, because truly Chicago is a place I like to call home. This reminds me of the other day when my dear friend Liv and I were having breakfast together at Maxfield’s. I had told her that Chicago has been a very happy place for me, and she said something that really touched my heart, she said inshallah Farah you will have many more happy moments wherever you are in life. When she said that I had to try very hard to hold my tears back.

On a happier note, it is nice to know that I will be returning to my family and friends in Michigan. It will be nice for us to spend some time with everyone before we leave. I know it is going to be very hard for our parents and siblings to see us leave and I know that deep down inside they are hoping for a change in plans. Ultimately Allah is the Planner and he decrees what is to happen, all we can do is hope and pray that the move goes smoothly.

When I pack my last few things away I know its not just for some days but for a few years. The thought gives me butterflies of the excitement to come. This has been something my husband and I have been wanting to do for some time. And we have decided that this would be a great time to take such a venture. There are days where I have mixed feelings about leaving, thinking of my family, friends and belongings that I will be leaving behind, but it is a great opportunity to study abroad, an experience of a lifetime. I know we will look back and be happy we made the decision we made.

I’d like to give a big shout out to all of the people I have met while living in Chicago, especially Qabeelah Wasat, my fellow Al Maghribers. You all are great people mashallah. Please do keep my family and I in your duas as I will keep you in mine inshallah!

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Many Look, Some Ask.

July 31, 2008 · Filed under Share Islam

The other day I went to TJ Maxx to look for a purse (kinda getting tired of the diaper bag now!) and to look for some ramekins for my sister-in-law. I went through the purses pretty quickly since every one I touched seemed to be no less than $150! Then I headed over to the household items. As I was walking through the aisle I noticed that Isra had stopped and wasn’t following me. Instead her glance was stuck on a woman who was in the same aisle as us. She was eating sunflower seeds and of course Isra was drooling :) . As I went to pick her up she started pointing at her signaling that she really wanted some seeds. The woman came close to us and said “Oh no, you’re going to choke on them.” The only way I could divert Isra’s attention was with some Veggie chips I had in the diaper bag!

The lady was about to leave the aisle and all of a sudden she turns and asks with a grin, “Where are you from?” And I replied “My parents are from India.” She said “Oh, ok” in a slightly unsettling manner. As she was about to leave I asked her where she was from since she seemed like she was from a different country. She told me she was from Mexico. Then the doors of conversation opened.  Subhanallah the way Allah plans things!

She told me she wanted to know where I was from because of the way I was dressed (hejab and abaya). I told her the way I am dressed is because of my religion and not where I’m from. Then I told her I was Muslim and follow the religion of Islam!

Amala, the young woman I was talking to, probably in her mid to late twenties started asking me all kinds of questions about the way Muslim women are dressed. She asked if we are forced to wear it, if we wear it because our husbands are jealous, why we have to wear it, etc. And Subhanallah, I was able to answer all of her questions in a nice manner without hesitation, Alhumdulilah it was all by the grace of Allah! She was so interested in everything I had to say and was listening intently. We must have been talking for 15-20 minutes. At the end of the conversation she said that she saw things in a different light! At that time I gave her my personal business card and told her if she had any other questions or misconceptions she wanted me to clarify I would be more than happy in doing so. I left the store smiling!

Dawah has become a particular area of interest of mine since I made dawah to my neighbor Joe (http://themuslimhousewife.com/2008/03/28/a-few-kind-words/). I make dua to Allah SWT to enable me to convey His message in a correct and eloquent manner. It is our duty as Muslims to convey the message of Islam, Allah is the one who guides!  I pray that Allah gives guidance to Amala and my neighbor Joe, and to allow them to see the truth of Islam!

Ladies, remember as Muslimahs who where hejab and/or abaya we are walking sources of dawah. Many people look at us and have a thought or wonder why we do what we do. And then those who have enough curiosity approach us and ask us. This is a great way to open the doors to converse about our religion and clear up misconceptions people may have!

Many look, some ask, few ponder!

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Wife of a Consultant.

July 23, 2008 · Filed under Muslim Housewife

Yes that’s me, I am a wife of a business intelligence consultant. What is a consultant you ask? A consultant works in partnership with clients, advising them how to use information technology in order to meet their business objectives or overcome problems. Consultants work to improve the structure and efficiency and of an organsiation’s IT systems.

I have been married for over 5 years now Alhumdulilah, out of the 5 years my husband has been a consultant for a little over 2 years. So what’s the big deal? You might be thinking it sounds like a regular 9am-5pm job, and I have the house clean and dinner ready by the time he comes home in the evening, think again. As a consultant my husband flies out on Sunday nights and comes back home on Thursday nights.

This may be a hard relationship for most people. It’s not for everybody. You have to be prepared to be away from your husband 4 days out of the week, take care of everything at home on your own, and be ready to share him with other events and things on the weekends. In the beginning it took a little time to get use to, I would miss him dearly as I laid down in bed and would count the days till Thursday night would arrive. But after sometime it just became a way of life.

Being the eldest amongst my siblings I had always been quite independent, I think this quality really helps me with this lifestyle. You have to know how to keep yourself busy (Isra does a great job in this department!) and most importantly keep up with yourself even though your husband is not around. I remember in the beginning I use to be in my PJs most of the day since it was just me and Isra, but I soon realized this really affected the way I felt. So I started getting ready and took care of myself, I felt a big difference. Isra apparently saw a difference too because when I walked out of the bedroom she said “Oh wow”!

There are definitely pros and cons of being a wife of a consultant.

Some pros include…

-Traveling to different places with my husband a few weeks here and there. So far we have been blessed to have seen California, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Whenever he has a new project Isra and I try to go visit him for a few weeks to check out the area!

-You start to appreciate one another a lot more since you see a lot less of each other.

-Being alone at home taking care of a child and household chores makes you stronger as a woman.

Some cons include…

-You’re not together as a family as often as you would like

-The weekends together go by way to fast

-Cooking for one person is hard, you just don’t feel like cooking when you have to just feed yourself!

-Not seeing your husband on a daily basis.

All in all, the profession of a consultant can easily break a marriage if one chooses career over their relationship. It cannot work with all people, it is very important to discuss this career option with your spouse or soon to be spouse before getting married because it can be a big test for a relationship. Alhumdulilah my husband and I agreed that we were both the type of people that could handle this lifestyle!

And guess what day tomorrow is? THURSDAY! The day my husband comes home inshallah :)

South Carolina to Illinois

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Southern Hospitality.

July 9, 2008 · Filed under Reflections, Share Islam

I’ve been in South Carolina for the past two weeks.  I do have to admit on my flight to the south I was getting nervous about getting dirty looks towards my appearance as a Muslimah (hijab & abaya).  I think the last time I felt like that was when I started wearing hijab to High School where there were no Muslims.  It’s a kind of feeling where your stomach turns and you feel a butterfly sensation.

To my suprise since the day I landed here I have not received one dirty look, Alhumdulilah!  Instead I have received many smiles and nods of respect.  People here actually go out of their way to be nice, opening doors for you and  sincerely asking how you are doing.  There doesn’t seem to be many Muslims here, I bumped into one Muslimah at the mall.  She came up to me and introduced herself and told me that my face seemed new to her since she knew bascially all the Muslims in town!  There also isn’t any zabiha places to eat around here, which was a little hard to adjust to in the beginning.

Reflecting upon all of this makes me grateful for all the things I do have back home in Chicago.  The great Muslim community, the abundant Masajid and an assortment of zabiha restaurants you can choose from.  Alhumdulilah, it truly is a blessing.

On another note, I have been able to do some dawah while I have been here.  Every morning there is a breakfast reception in the hotel I am staying at.  Isra and I make our way down and get some breakfast every morning.  The employee who works there, Barbara, is a very friendly African American woman.  After a few days of seeing one another we started talking.  At first it was basic conversation about our backgrounds.  Just yesterday I thought it would be a good time to bring up religion.  The topic came about so smoothly, it wasn’t wierd or akward at all.  Alhumdulilah it was a very good conversation and I hope that Allah SWT will guide her to the truth.  She listened very intently and didn’t refute at all!

As Muslims we have to remember that it is part of our duty to spread the deen of Islam.  This has been a particularly new interest of mine and I have been trying to make the best of every oppotunity I get to do dawah.  Many of us think we are not capable of spreading our deen because we are not knowledgable enough.  The truth is we all know the basic beliefs of our religion and that is essentially what you need to convey.  You don’t have to be fancy with your words, you just need to speak from the heart and tell others what the religion of Islam is truly about.  There is a great CD set out there by Sh. Muhammad Alshareef called ”Fiqh Ad-Dawah: Guiding to Allah by the Book” definitely worth checking out.  Inshallah Allah will make this duty easy upon all of us.

All in all I would have to say the south has truly lived up to its “Southern Hospitality.”  Back to Chicago on Friday inshallah!

                                      

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Stepping out of your bubble.

July 1, 2008 · Filed under Reflections

In the past month or so I have been traveling a lot.  I was in Michigan for a few weeks here and there for family events, currently I am in South Carolina, and then later this month I will be in California for about a week (a shout out to all of my Michigan, S.Carolina and California readers, jazakallah khair for the support!).  I love traveling and seeing new places and new things, but with traveling comes a lot of adjusting.  One  must adapt to new places quickly when always on the go.

As I got a moment to sit down and relax (while Isra was sleeping of course!)  I began to think, as much as I love traveling there is no place like home.  After a few weeks anywhere I start to miss my daily routine.  I feel like when I am at home I am a lot more disciplined with myself  when it comes to doing extra good deeds or eating healthy and exercising.  The things I do at home such as read Quran before I go to bed, exercise, and eat healthy  are things I want to be a part of me…a habit.  While traveling I realized that these things I do at home are not true habits because it seems when I leave my “bubble” in Wheaton, Illinois I leave these so called habits behind as well.

It is important for a person to make the good things they do into a habit, something that a person does automatically without giving much thought.  Of course if you travel a lot it may not be possible to have the exact same daily routine you have at home, this is normal.  But I believe you can selectively pick and choose the good things you do on a daily basis and apply to your day even when you are on the go.  This will make you feel good both physically, spiritually and will keep the homesick feeling at bay.

One problem many people have is a take it or leave it attitude.  If a person cannot have their complete routine they will leave it totally.  To get past this we need to realize that when traveling or visiting family the truth is we most likely will not be able to have our typical daily routine, but to do a few things that are easy to do is better than nothing.

This not only applies to adults but children as well.  I know for those who are mothers (myself included) may get frustrated at times when our children’s routine goes haywire.  Their sleeping, eating, playing, you name it gets all jumbled around when you’re on the road.  This is just a fact of life.  But we can still do things such as bath before bedtime, and reading a book before bedtime, and going for daily walks to make things feel a little more like home.

So all in all one thing I learned from my reflections on traveling so much is that a habit is not a true habit unless you do those things where ever you are in any circumstance.  Since I will be traveling quite a bit this month my goal is to pick 4 good things I do daily at home and apply it and make it into a REAL, TRUE habit!

Are you a traveler?  Read the following quick tips, called Triple P, to keep your Mind, Body, and Soul nourished!

1. Pick 4- good things you do when you are at home and make them into REAL habits. Make sure you try to pick one for each mind, body, and soul! (i.e. Mind=Reading a good book, Body=Exercising/Eating healthy, Soul=Reading and reflecting upon the Qura)

2. Pay a visit- to the local Masjid.  When you settle in at your hotel make sure you look up the closest masjid, its always nice to find a Muslim Community!

3. Purge the urge- to always eat out, try to stay in a hotel that has a basic kitchen.  Go to the local market and buy fruits, veggies, eggs, bread. etc. and make your own quick meals.  A lot better for your heart and pocket!

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A Blissful Thought.

June 4, 2008 · Filed under Hope

 


“Those will have gardens of perpetual residence; beneath them rivers will flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade, reclining therein on adorned couches. Excellent is the reward, and good is the resting place.” [18:31]

There are times we all lose focus. Shaytaan gets the best of us and we forget what we are really working for. We forget our ultimate goal. Anytime I start feeling like this I immediately think of this ayah from Surah Al-Kahf. After I read it I regain focus and get a quick eman boost!

Just like homes in this life aren’t free neither is a home in Jannah. We must all work hard to get that home made of gold and jewels. To receive all that has been mentioned in the ayah above we need to do as many righteous deeds we can with sincerity and according to the sunnah. From picking up something off the floor to giving charity we should never pass an opportunity to do good.

There will never be ultimate comfort in this life, even when we feel like we have reached comfort our minds still carry worries and concerns of this life. The true comfort is saved for the hereafter. We put so much effort to attain things in this life that are all temporary. One day we will die and leave all that we worked for in this life behind. What have we done to ensure that we will have a blissful hereafter? The Shaytaan forgets we have to work hard for the hereafter. We have to look beyond this life and look forward to the eternal life.

As wives we need to join our husband and help one another to do as much good as possible. When there is such support it is easier to do such things. We should encourage our husbands to do Islamic activities. Encourage him to join in on a weekly halaqa, or take weekend seminars with institutes like Al Maghrib. Often when we try to plan a husband/wife activity we try to come up with something “fun” to do. This usually involves dining out and maybe even a bit of shopping. We should also take out time to do Islamic activities together. I personally enjoy doing Salah together. If you don’t do this already give it a try! There are other things you could do as well such as going to an Islamic lecture, reading a book, or reflecting upon a ayah from the Quran or hadith. When the husband and wife are strong in their faith inshallah the children will also follow.

Generally the youth get more attracted to the adornments of this life. That is why there is a hadith that states one of the seven types of people to receive Allah’s shade on the day of judgment is a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah [paraphrased from Sahih Bukhari]. Don’t you want your children to be amongst these youth? As mothers we need to teach our children the great reward of obeying Allah and worshiping Him alone. We need to teach them that there is more to life than Barbie, Cinderella, Basketball, and Legos. There is the need to attain Jannah, our ultimate goal!

The good things in this world should remind us about Allah and then remind us of our final destination. Allah has sent us here for a test and those who pass will have their great reward in the eternal life inshallah!

 *Activity* Print out this ayah [18:31] and put it somewhere you can see, it is a great reminder of what we will attain in the hereafter if we are believers who are most obedient to Allah SWT and work in His way.

 

 

 

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