In dedication to a woman of paradise- Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her)

A history of great female role models
Perfect examples, the best of characters
And exceptional morals
A legacy for us all to follow

One such great lady was Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her)
Dearly beloved by her Blessed father (Peace be upon him)
A wonderful daughter, wife and mother

A woman of such high calibre

She has taught us about true beauty
And has shed light on reality
The epitome of modesty
In paradise will she receive her bounty

She willingly gave up worldly pleasures
So that she could have eternal treasures
A model of simplicity and utmost patience
No other woman can reach such high stations

No servants did she have to wait on her
To do her own housework she’d prefer
She put others needs above her own
Unselfishly giving and caring, with limits unknown

Oh Fatima, how could we dare to forget your example
You are a light in all of the darkness
What other way is better than the one you’ve shown
Why is it that your life is not better known?

Studying your life will bring us peace
It will help us to solve things with ease
Knowing your beauty will give us strength
Our love for you should have no length!

May Allah shower his blessings and peace on our beloved Fatima (May Allah be pleased with her)

In Dedication to Our Great Mother- Khadija (May Allah Be Please with her)

The first person to embrace Islam, When the message came she was level-headed and calm,
She was a comfort and a guide,
As she stood firmly by the Prophet’s (PBUH) side.

A businesswoman of the highest calibre,
Her example shows us women can be clever,
She handled affairs with wisdom and ease,
This amazing mother of the believers was a model of strength, a perfect breeze.

Her strength was known to all,
In times of hardship she stood tall,
Her wisdom was so clear,
To the prophet (PBUH) she was very dear.

She recognized his good character,
And soon sent representatives to sort out the matter,
Their marriage was a perfect example for us all,
Their love and support made them stronger than a brick wall.

Oh Khadija! Our blessed and beloved mother,
You surely had a different kind of power,
It was not used to dominate,
Only love and warmth did it generate.

There’s so much that we need to learn from you,
Our model of beauty and all that is true,
You had no need to change the roles,
A power struggle there was none of, even though you were so bold.

Your life will always be an example for us,
A true depiction, with no worry or fuss,
The perfect Muslim woman,
Striving and pleasing for the sake of Allah!

In these times when females fight to get ahead,
When the battle of power is so evident,
Your story shines through and teaches so much,
And we understand what true female strength is all about.

Your example is our shining light,
There’s no need for us to emulate,
All the fake role models they want us to follow,
Who we know will only bring us sorrow!

With the help of our Creator,
We will use your life as our shelter,
The lessons we learn from you will protect us,
Our beloved, our mother, we remember you fondly!
May Allah unite us in Paradise!

Image from: ericyang.wordpress.com/.../22/finding-the-light/

In Dedication to Our Great Mother- Ayesha (May Allah Be Please with her)

She surpassed them all in knowledge,
What she learnt was not from any College.
She had the Best of Teachers,
The one favoured by Allah above all creatures.

Her knowledge was not restricted,
Religion, medicine, poetry, were some of her areas of expertise,

She had patience when afflicted,

When people slandered her she was given divine ease.


She was so ready to defend,
The religion of truth to the very end;
She could not be deterred,
Once her mind was made up, her conviction could not be stirred!


The epitome of bravery,
Very, very far from oppression and slavery;
She stood for honour and truth,

Always ready to cite what she knew of hadeeth.

She relayed what she had heard from the Prophet (SAW),
In plain and simple terms, without any effort;
Her memory was excellent,
And in faith and courage did she never wilt.

This headstrong lady is our legacy,

A true Mother of the Faithful Believers,
Her life goes down in history,
An excellent role model, one of the Best Achievers!


Her piety and fear of Allah was so strong,
Even though she hardly committed any wrong,
At times she wished that she was like a tree,
In Paradise she wanted to be!


She was afraid to account for her deeds,
Because she feared what would await her,
To Allah she was so near,
And yet she cried and worried about what her fate would be.


People spread many lies about her,
But we Muslims hold her very dear,
She was very beloved by the Prophet (SAW),

And all that they say is just truth distorted!

The truth of the matter is simple and clear,

Oh! If we could even come near,

If we were only a little bit like her,

We’d be filled with true beauty and honour!


Oh, Ayesha, May Allah be pleased with her,
Our beloved and dear mother,

Oh, faithful and honoured believer,

We will always remember your fervour!

Your example we will try hard to emulate,

We’ll teach it to our sisters and daughters,

We’ll completely ignore those who speculate,

And we will use your life story to enlighten ours!

May Allah (SWT) guide us all on our journey of life and make it easy for us to practise the example of this beautiful lady, Insha’Allah Ameen!

So...what’s it really like to be a Muslim woman?

The media seems to know, all types of books from novels, to academic books claim to know...in fact, now that I think of it, it seems everyone these days knows what’s it like to be a Muslim woman!


We’ve heard it all, all the opinions, the theories, discussions and discourses, the comments about Muslim women. What we don’t hear often enough though is what a Muslim woman thinks it’s like to be a Muslim woman. Ironic, isn’t it?


It can become extremely frustrating listening to these people. I can’t help thinking, ‘Oh gosh! Not another person who doesn’t have a clue what it’s like to be a Muslim woman, talking about Muslim woman’. I mean, seriously, could you imagine what it would be like if I went around talking about, I don’t know, say, what it’s like to be a European male, when I have absolutely no idea what it’s like at all. It would be ridiculous right? People would question what makes me an expert in the field and they would undoubtedly argue that I cannot possibly know what it’s like to be a European male.


So why the double standard when it comes to talking about Muslim women?


Yes, sure it can be argued that research has been done on the issue and thus people are given leeway to talk. I have to agree that there is some research that is accurate, but surely every person talking about Muslim woman today has not taken the time to make an intense inquiry and rigorous examination into this topic before talking about it. It would be impossible for every person to do this given the fact that it’s extremely time consuming, costs quite a bit of money and requires the proper expertise.


So, does the saleslady in the shop who had to mention to my sister how sorry she feels for Muslim women wearing the headscarf, all the while abusing the word “shame”, qualify to make statements about us? Or, do the group of men who had to comment on my friends complete Islamic attire as we walked passed them in the shopping centre qualify to make statements about us? Have these people dedicated time to learning about the lives of Muslim women by spending time with us, or have they even just bothered to ask us our opinion? I think not!


So, what’s it really like to be a Muslim woman? Well, for starters, it’s really frustrating that we have to hear everyone and anyone talking about us like they’re experts in the field. What’s more frustrating is that they’ve got it all wrong! And it’s irritating that they hardly ever come to us to ask us what we think or how we feel, instead they’ve just taken it upon themselves to “liberate” us, when we don’t even want the “liberation” they’re offering. And, while we have come to love the way we dress because this makes us feel closer to our Creator, they’ve decided to take up issue with it, expecting it to be natural for us to want to shed the clothing that we’ve come to love. And what’s worse is that even when we try to speak to them, when we try to show them that we are educated and intelligent and perfectly capable of engaging in conversation with them, they turn their backs on us, and hear only what they want to!


So, I think it’s time we speak for ourselves, and so I’m saying with absolute conviction (and I promise you, no male oppressor is holding a gun to my head forcing me to say positive things about being Muslim), - so on my own accord I’m stating that I absolutely love being a Muslim woman! I love the clothes I have chosen to wear and when I go out in the street it makes me feel good to know that I don’t have to bother about males staring at me in the wrong way. I love the headscarf covering my hair, and I enjoy choosing which colour I’m going to wear with which outfit. I love that my religion, Islam, has afforded me enough respect and honour to insist that I be treated as a human being, and not an object of male desire. I love that people address me with respect, Muslims as their sister and non-Muslims as a virtuous woman. I love that I don’t have to go out and work because the males in my family know that it’s their duty to provide for me; at the same time, I love that I can go out and work because as a Muslim woman I am respectful of myself and others and I will thus behave in a fitting manner. I love that as a Muslim I am encouraged to gain knowledge in all areas as far as I possibly can. There are many things that I love about being a Muslim woman, but the thing I love the most is that owning up to my identity as a Muslim woman has brought me closer to my Creator, and in that way I am beginning to learn what true love is all about.

www.hickerphoto.comAdmitting that I am a Muslim woman, a Muslim woman in this time when all eyes are on us, makes me feel happy because being a Muslim woman is really not about dressing in a certain manner, or staying indoors, or whatever else people have reduced it to. Being a Muslim woman is about being a whole person, a person who can find harmony between her spiritual and physical self, a person who knows that her intellect is as important as her outside beauty. I have not chosen to be a Muslim woman, I was fortunate enough to be born a Muslimah, but I have chosen to assert my identity as a Muslim woman, and if I was to choose again, I’d make the same choice, over and over and over again, because being a Muslim woman is simply marvellous and anyone who disagrees with me has either not understood Islam properly, or have been unfortunate enough to be around people who have not understood Islam properly.

So, there it is- a simple answer to what has seemingly become a very complicated question. What’s it really like to be a Muslim woman? ... In one word- It’s Great! (Alhamdulila- Thanks to Allah)

If you really want to see how it’s possible for me to say this, then keep reading this blog, I pray that eventually you begin to understand!