The horrors an joys of being a birth partner! :)

Asalam alaikum,

I have had four children subhanallah but never once have seen a baby being born. During the natural births of all my children the birthing moment has been filled with joyous hopes, immense expectations, paralysing fears, screamed out duas and intense pain. I thought that was difficult and emotionally overwhelming enough. 

Until now.

Witnessing my neice's birth set me off on an emotional rollercoaster - a bigger, faster and wilder one than to my own labours. 

If you've never been a birth support and wonder why your own mother, husband or sisters looked so washed out after your birth, let me tell you its a strickening experience that drains the life out of you. 

It is almost as if seeing your daughter, wife or sister die and be resurrected again. That moment between the transition and crowning is so petrifying. You see your relative in unbearable pain and you can't do a thing about it except allow your hand to be squeezed like a lemon (and control yourself from saying things just as sour to the midwife or doctor). You are told that the baby is coming but it is no where in sight. You have heard all the stories of things going wrong and all of them at the same time start replaying in your head. You start reciting the dhirk, quran and duas you read with your relative throughout the labour and hold your breath.   

The whole thing is akin to a sci-fi move. The bright lights, the smell of alcohol, the buzzing, the beeping machines, the cold steel tools, the monged eyed, tight lipped, scared of being sued hospital staff, the fake cheers in medical monotone and finally this blue gurgling spluterring alien that someone tells you is your niece. 

Tabarakallah. I burst into tears out of joy when I found out it was a girl. She was so beautiful mashallah. Her tiny face, arms and legs were just so perfectly created. A little girl that will take be there for my sister thoughout her life inshallah. A little girl whose tiny footsteps I pray will follow in that blessed path the females of our glorious past have tread. The path of the great women mentioned in the Quran and loved by Allah subhana hua ta'ala. 

Subhanallah I'm glad for the experience but next time I need to do that again this is what I'll be looking like:

May Allah protect her. Ameen 

Umm Musk :)

Contact Film and Leather Activity

Engaging with our children in fun Halal activities is a great way to strengthen our bond with them. Inshallah :)

Asalamalaikum,

I love colours, feathers and a good activity the children can do by themselves. This one is perfect for all these categories. Inshallah this helps sisters looking for ways to squeeze in some extra chores or ibadah.  

Getting children to create amazing art with colourful dyed feathers by sticking them onto contact paper proved out to be very fun and very pretty.

I've found it especially hard to get my 2 year old doing activities that require minimal supervision. Everything arty seems to need alot of attention and equate to cleaning up a big mess at the end. Whoever has stepped away from a toddler art table for even 2 seconds knows what I mean. (My previous house had white carpets, they were not as white when we moved out),

I love the fact that I don't have to help little BabyGirl2 with glue, tape or peeling sticker backing. There were just feathers to sweep up when they finished making this my favorite activity.  

All that is required is a sheet of contact paper, non-sticky side stuck against the wall or fridge with tape and off they go sticking away.

I used a yellow contact film (I couldn't seem to find it anywhere except at Big W and except in yellow) and the feathers were from the art section from an asian dollar store.

You can substitute feathers with pom poms, pipe cleaners, felt, streamers, cut out shapes and so much more.



Asalam alaikum :)

Umm Musk

Niqab and University Degrees

Asalamalaikum,

Niqabi with a University Degree? Where there is a niqabi will - there is a niqabi way :D. Allah will always show us awesome ways to overcome every hurdle in our path inshallah.

I have two sisters mashallah one a full time niqabi, single mum and another a part-time niqabi and alhamdulilah both are enrolled at uni. They are achieving brilliant results and have had no issues studying at campus. The universities have a very high respect policy and security and exam arrangements are carried professionally with a female invigilator inspecting the face before start-time.

I fell pregnant at 20 so I'm lagging behind a little. What with 4 children over the past 6 years I'm still in my second year of uni and all my studies are on hold for the time being. 

Being a mum of 4, full-time wife, and full-time housecleaner/chef/laundromat/chocolate-off-wall scrubber it is hard for me to attend uni physically so I study online with Macquarie University.

If attending uni and wearing niqab is hard for you, don't give up. Study Online. Tackle Modernity head on.

Open Universities Australia:
http://www.open.edu.au/

Islamic Online University:
http://www.islamiconlineuniversity.com/

Alhamdulilah I gave up my previous degree because of its incompatibility with niqab. Alhamduliah that same year Open University Australia ads bloomed out from nowhere.These are the beautiful moments I live for moments where you do something for Allah and think that there is no way some solution comes about and bang. It's almost as if to say "Gotcha! You thought Allah wouldn't find a way for you but here I am". A miracle hits you. Allah will always help us if we sacrifice in this deen. 




Umm Musk :)

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan - NAK Sydney Tour

Asalam alaikum sisters :D


Alhamdulilah Story Night with Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan took place last Friday in Sydney. Muslims turned up in record numbers and it was said to be the largest ticketed Islamic event held in Sydney.


The amount of sincerity with which Ustadh exercises his effort in order to illuminate the world to the miracles of the Quran was demonstrated last weekend. He took time out to visit Rooty Hill masjid, Lakemba masjid for Jumuah, Sydney Olympic Park on Friday night and met with community leaders on Saturday morning.


His work brought many different people of the community together last weekend. Muslims from different cultures, ethic backgrounds and associations turned up as one.


I was grateful for meeting many of the sisters at the event too. One sister during our ritual hijab fixing bathroom session gushed over how "amazing Ustadh is", her reply was promptly met with a response by a very young sister with a smile- "he's not amazing. It is the Quran that is amazing". The commenters face lit up as if to a new revelation. So did the rest of ours as we continued to wrap, fasten and pin. We affixed this point in our own minds.


I first took ustadh seriously through my husband who watched his eulogy for Dr. Israr Ahmed on Youtube. Dr. Israr had passed away and we were awash with sadness and had an empty slot for a guide in our hearts. Ustadh Nouman filled that void. He truly picked us up and out of depression.


Because we are from an Indian/Pakistani background like Ustadh, we are deeply appreciative of his advice on how to deal with difficult family members and other members of the community. Some of our people can be very defiant and hateful of rulings in Islam to point of hating Allah and his Messenger and doubting their validity.


What Ustadh has presented is genius. Proving the miracles in the Quran brings forward immediate physical evidence of the truth. Once the Quran is proved as a real miracle, everything in it follows suit. Bringing people to the Arabic language means they can understand the miracle and follow the beautiful hidaya that comes with it.


It was a simple idea but it changed the world. It definitely changed ours. From our relationship as husband and wife, as parents and as children to our role in the community as madrassa teachers - Ustadh has influenced everything. In the most beautiful of ways. If everyone could implement his teachings the ummah would be brought so forward.


If you would like to learn from ustadh sign up to Bayyinah TV here: www.bayyinah.tv


I have video footage of three events that i'll edit and post here soon inshallah :)


May Allah reward Ustadh for visiting us. It was a pleasure and a humbling experience to be able to host him.


Ps: His wife wears niqab and has 6 six children and she still sent him here from America. What an inspirational lady - even more than her husband! :)


Umm Musk :)

5 reasons - Why I wear Niqab

Asalam alaikum sisters :D


I love niqab :) I love to discuss it with sisters who are curious about it. I believe it is a beautiful solution to so many issues the secular modern world suffers from. Here are 5 very simple reasons as to why I wear niqab. 

Please note that these are worldly reasons for my wearing niqab. I do not like to go into the fiqh explanation because once the rulings become clear to a sister (and yes the rulings surprisingly are very clear from Quran and Sunnah) then it may put the sister into stress and trouble. Inshallah if you are really interested in wearing niqab I would suggest you discuss the matter with a qualified and trustworthy sheikh - one is who is not afraid of the feminist backlash would be your best bet lol :) 

1.  I  enjoy expressing my love and obedience for Allah azza wa jal and for the Prophet peace be upon him. I love the way the niqab is the modern solution to the advice of Allah to the sahaba and sahabiyat in Surah Ahzab. Verse 33:53 (translation)

2. I dislike being "checked out" by "guys" - it happens unfortunately - even after marriage. Alhamdulilah for my niqab :) 

3. I dislike to upset my friends/sisters/wives of sheikhs during islamic discussions I have with their husbands. My niqab assures them that their marriage is not threatened in any way. It is comforting knowing they can feel at ease. It makes the conversation comfortable for everyone knowing there is no issue of lustful feelings in the way. From a sociological perspective, the niqab is brilliant in facilitating smooth relations between men and women so that we have a safe, clean, healthy environment in which to discuss pressing issues about Islam. If every masjid adopted this practice - even if just during discussion time or during lessons, as an ummah we really could progress extensively inshallah. 

4. Fabric and bodies have always been used together in art to convey expression and feelings. I use my face and my veil to deliver the message of Islam as well as projecting the emotions I feel about my modesty. My niqab is creative, symbolic expression of who I am.

5. The niqab reminds me that I am a muslim woman. Which then reminds me of my duties as a slave of God and servant of humanity. Every time I look in the mirror and see my religious outfit, it inspires me to do good deeds. 


Inshallah I will write these points up one in more detail in future. Talking about niqab is not quite high priority at the moment. I guess it is one of those things where either Allah guides you to it or he doesn't give you guidance of it. And only he knows whether the knowledge of the rulings of niqab are good for your personal situation. 


Umm Musk :)

Junk Mail Crafts - Healthy Eating Collage

Some of the most fun arts and crafts can be created with things that are lying around right under our noses. We made use of junk mail this morning but cutting it up and creating pages of health posters. 

Junk mail is fun to look at but a chore to dispose of. There's nothing that I see more messy in my house than a pile of scrumpled, overly colourful, glossy pages of ads. So it was great to cut it up into tiny pieces and make good use of it. It was great because I didn't have to print anything out or sift through my arts and crafts boxes to find suitable materials. It was less stressful art time since I did not to have to plan anything out in advance. 

I've been trying to get healthier with my children so we made health posters about what junk food is and what healthy food is. Both Baby Boy 1 now 3 years old and Baby Girl 2, now 2 years old found it exciting to recognise and lable household items whilst going through the grocery ads. They identified junk and health quite well which surprised me since I didn't think 2 years could tell coke has absolutely no nutritional value. Subhanallah. 

We made a page of junk food and a page of healthy food. We practiced learning the names of things in both english and in arabic too since that's the language we're trying to learn right now. We found tamar and burtuqaali and that's about how far my fruit vocab goes for now - dates and oranges! 

Woolworths has a Jamie's Garden promotion going on right now which I found very useful sincethe pictures of fruit were so cute. We've been collecting a few of those garden stickers too.

Lessons learnt: Labelling, language skills, knowledge of health issues, fine motor skills through using scissors.


Umm Musk :)

Bop Along Buddies Review

Asalamalaikum :)

Alhamdulilah Hubby ordered a surprise Bop Along Buddy for us :)

It was great timing as I have been trying to set up activities that will help my children adopt a healthier and more active lifestyle, however a tiny paved backyard hasn't allowed for that mission to be too successful. Going to the local park everyday for sporting activities in this chilly winter doesn't seem as appealing as it did in summer.

Alhamdulilah for the Bop Along Buddy, the kids have been bopping around all over the house. The ball bouncer had been lying around the house for a while and had lost it's initial novelty (as toys do...). It seems we've found an excellent alternative for it!

My children are aged between 5 and 2 and this seems to be the perfect age bracket for it. It is best loved by my 2 year old, suited for her height and weight. Kids up to 7 years should be fine using it, kids under 2 will need supervision as the children do fall off it. Its bopping design means that it isn't as stable so the child must support it with their own weight and hands.

Hubby bought Darcy the Dragon. It is a cute and fun bouncing invention made of durable PVC, easy to clean and okay for storing. I just have to make sure to keep it out of the praying area since it is an animal shape with a face.

The box included a pump and inflating it was pretty easy. Care needs to be taken to ensure it isn't over or under inflated.

My children love their Bop Along Buddy and I love it too as it has sorted out our winter exercise regime :)




Umm Musk :)