Our Afghanistan

People loosing their families, Women suffering the most amid those Men, often loosing their respect and dignity, Children overnight turned into orphans, seeking refuge in ill privileged orphanages, where many of them are fully exploited in the worst way possible….... How many such difficulties and tortures are they been imposed upon. We sit in our comfortable homes or snuggle in our cozy beds and read books about them, see a documentary on them, and at the end we gladly think We understand what they went through. But the truth is we dont .. How can we, We haven’t seen our loved ones die as closely as they have, We haven’t been robbed of our own land, We don’t seen the cruel face of mankind as they did ....

The cv or the nursery

But in this world of ours, somehow, for the majority of the population, the creation of a pleasant home has become a womanly endeavor. A dirty or untidy home reflects on a woman (the “housewife”) and not on the husband, no matter who may have contributed to its appearance. So tidying homes, cooking tasty dishes, organizing homes, replacing furniture, planning spaces, and throwing parties is for women.

Moon, Clouds or Rooftop?

I was at my usual girls-day-out with one of my tightest groups of girlfriends. That was when one of my girls announced the best news of the year that she is getting married! Yey! Alhamdulillaah…

To help cut down her wedding expenses, she happily pointed ‘guns’ to our hijabi heads, and declared that we are all assigned to the ‘best designation’ for any wedding ceremony- the wedding planner. And we nervously yet joyfully accepted with a fine-print-lettered disclaimer that says the decision made is irreversible and she should never regret making it.

With that understanding, we ‘spit on our palms and shake hands’, figuratively speaking of course!

As the official but unpaid wedding planners, our first task was to help her pick out the wedding date. Within seconds, out came diaries, planners and calendars making their way all around our table. Armed with red, blue, black and purple colored pens, we eagerly jotted down the dates we think are best.

Finding Allah on Christmas Day

As Christmas day approaches following Eid al Adha, my heart fills with renewed overflowing love for Allah, His religions, His prophets, His books.

I see you Lord; I hear you God; I can read your message, Ya Rab! Please grant the blind the eyes to see you everywhere; please gift them the ears so they can hear you from every direction; please enter into their hearts so they love you continually. Please bless your servants, Allah. 

Ameen or amen, what’s the difference?!

Sacrifies

In light of all this, do we have the right to say that our situation is so drastically different that we can’t make the same sacrifices?  How can some of us not even attempt to fast when others fasted under horrific conditions?  How can we completely kill off the prayer when those who came before us prayed with the knowledge that they could be killed or whipped? 

Daddy, Don’t Leave Me

Gasping for air in the middle of the night, Hoda’s screams shook the house. Hoda’s parents rushed to her room in frenzy. With red puffy eyes, Hoda whimpered and looked up at her terrified father and threw herself in his arms. “Promise, daddy, that you will never leave me?”

But he did anyway, didn’t he?