A-Z Tag

Salaam alaikum everyone, long time, no write, yes? I bet you're all used to it by now though...

Anyways, I thought I would make another post just because it's been a while. I saw this tag over at sister Yara's blog (go check her out if you haven't already...mash'Allah I love her blog, and her YouTube channel!) and thought I'd give it a go...

Age: 22

Bed Size: Almost a Queen...the mattress sizing here is so weird...

Chore you Hate: It has to be a tie between cleaning the dishes and mopping the floor.

Dogs: I love chows...they look like giant teddy bears :)

Essential start of your day: Something I've been trying to make an essential start of my day would be praying fajr on time. Unfortunately, I'm a bad fajr riser, astighfirallah, but I try :( As of right now, I would have to say kissing my hubby goodbye before he goes off to work.

Favourite Colour: purple

Gold or Silver: I prefer silver

Height: just under 5'5", or 164cm if you want to get exact

Instruments I play: I used to play the cello in elementary school. I gave it up to take more ballet lessons (I was very serious about classical ballet).

Job Title: Muslimah and a house wife...and soon to be...MOMMY insh'Allah :D

Kids: my little boy is due to make his appearance in JULY insh'Allah...I can't wait to meet him!!

Live: Casablanca, Morocco

Mum's name: I don't think she'd appreciate me disclosing her name here, so I'll just say "Mom" or "Mommy"...it depends, I call her both

Nickname: Everyone calls me Ayah here, my husband also has an affectionate name that only he uses with me, but I won't say what it is.

Pet Peeve: when people chew with their mouths open...or when they chomp on their gum obnoxiously...it drives me up the wall!

Quote from a movie: I like movies, but I'm not that into movie quotes.

Right or left handed: Righty

Siblings: one sister, one brother

Time you wake up: it varies...sometimes I'm up at 7:30am for good, and sometimes I just wake up to say goodbye to my husband and continue sleeping until 10 am ish. Most mornings I am up by 11. Yeah...that's all gonna change soon XD

Underwear: umm, I wear it?

Vegetables you dislike: I'm not too fond of steamed zucchini, but I'll still eat it. I'm also not a huge fan of raw tomatoes (even though they're technically a fruit, not a vegetable)...I can't eat them by themselves, they have to be mixed into a salad with some sort of dressing, or on a sandwich. I used to not eat them period.

What makes you run late: if I'm having a bad hijab day...that always makes me run late

X-rays you've had done: my teeth, my chest, my left knee, my right wrist...I've never broken a bone though, alhamdolillah

Yummy food you make: most of what I make is at least edible...but I make really good home-made mashed potatoes from scratch, and I make great spaghetti sauce from scratch too...I'm still getting better at Moroccan cuisine, even though I have tagines down fairly well. If I'm following a recipe, it generally turns out well.

Zoo animal: I like penguins, but you usually find them at aquariums, not zoos. Emus are also pretty cool.

One of My Favorite Lecturers

Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh,

I love lectures by brother Nouman Ali Khan, and this one is no different. Take time to check out some of his other lectures as well.

Makeup and I...Why I Don't Wear It

Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone,

Insh'Allah this post finds you in the best of health and the highest of iman! So, yay, I finally have something semi-interesting to blog about :P

So...makeup...my personal thoughts. Honestly, I've never been a fan of it. I used to be a ballet dancer (I took lessons for 10 years!), and was on stage quite a bit, so I used to have to wear heavy stage makeup on a semi-regular basis. Perhaps this is why I don't like makeup so much...because let's face it, stage makeup feels icky on your face, and is actually REALLY scary when you're not on stage because it's so heavy. However, even when my friends would give me "makeovers" at sleepovers with much more normal makeup, I'd always end up washing my face off after 15 minutes.

Makeup is just not ME. It doesn't make me feel more beautiful or confident. In fact, it makes me feel like I'm hiding behind something. When I look at myself in the mirror when I have makeup on, the face staring back at me isn't my own. I've gotten a lot of remarks over the years about, "oh, if you actually had someone do your makeup correctly for you, or if you just put on a little foundation and lip gloss with some light eyeliner you'd LOVE it" or "you just don't like it because no one's done it for you correctly." I've tried that. I've had my makeup done for me countless times, even a couple times by professionals, and I STILL never like it. I just don't like makeup. Quite frankly, I think I look better without it on (my dad and my husband both agree on this, actually...alhamdolillah I'm very blessed to have men in my life who appreciate the face that Allah gave me).

So yeah, that is why I don't wear makeup...even at home around my husband. It also has to do with modesty, but I think that'll be another post for another day...

What are your personal views on makeup? Why do you like to wear it/not wear it?

My Takchita

Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone...

Yes, I know it's been a really long time since I've posted anything, but I haven't really felt that motivated to write about anything. Not too surprising though, is it? I do tend to be a very inconsistent blogger after all.

Anyways, to make up for the lack of posts I just wanted to share a few pictures of my takchita (a traditional Moroccan dress for women, reserved for parties and special occasions) that I wore for my husband's aunt A's wedding back in November. Mash'Allah she was a beautiful bride, and she actually kept her hijab ON for her wedding (a lot of women here take it off for some reason...) I'll post some pictures of her negaffa once I get a chance to go through them all insh'Allah.

In the meantime, enjoy the ones of yours truly haha :P


Sorry if it looks a bit strange...I had to crop the hubbster out of the photo XD


If you're a lady you can't go to a wedding without getting henna done, now can you?

Interesting Article: Women and Turkish Mosques

Salaam alaikum everyone, insh'Allah you're all doing well and are in a great state of health and iman.

One of my friends on Facebook shared an interesting article about some changes that are going to be made to Turkish mosques. Read it HERE

Personally, I'm very happy that something like this is going to be done. Mosques are not only for men...but for men AND women! Unfortunately, this is something that a lot of people seem to have forgotten in our ummah, which is so sad. Not having a separate wash room for women to make wudu is just absolutely ridiculous. It's also unacceptable for men to be offered a wide, open, clean, and beautifully ornamented space in which to worship Allah(swt), yet all women get is a cramped, dirty little corner. A lot of people seem to use the excuse that it's "better for a woman to pray at home anyways" not to offer nice women's areas in mosques. However, these same people also seem to forget that the Prophet Muhammed(saws) said “Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from the Mosques of Allah.” [Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 0886] However, this is exactly what these people are doing by not providing an acceptable prayer space for women within the mosque!

As for taking down the barriers...personally, I like having a barrier. I know that some sisters do not, and feel that it is sexist, but I find that it helps me to concentrate, and I like the added privacy. I'm also aware that in the time of the Prophet(saws), men and women didn't have any barriers between them in the masjid. However, I have been to masjids both with and without barriers...and I always felt weird at the ones that didn't have at least a curtain separating the brothers from the sisters...mostly because certain brothers can't seem to be able to keep their eyes to themselves, may Allah(swt) guide them -_-' All the mosques that I've been to in Morocco have a barrier, but you can still hear the imam nice and clear. Usually, the women's areas in Moroccan masjids are on a balcony above the men, and have a decorative wall in front of them so that brothers below cannot see in. They have also all have had separate toilet and wudu areas, separate entrances, and they have all been clean and spacious (with the exception of a few which were a bit crowded...but it might have just been because it was Ramadan, and the mosques are always crowded during Ramadan...heck, I had to pray Eid al Adha prayer this year on the SIDEWALK outside the masjid because there were so many people attending, subhan'Allah!) Anyways, Morocco gets a thumbs up in my book for their women's areas in their mosques. Heck, a lot of them are 100 times better than some of the women's areas I've been to in AMERICAN mosques.

In short, I'm so glad Turkey has decided to make its mosques more women friendly, the way mosques should be.

Salaam!

Salaam alaikum everyone! Insh'Allah you're all doing well and are in the best of health and iman. First off, I want to say thank you to all of my new readers! Insh'Allah you won't all be bored to death of my blog...seeing as I don't really post anything of much substance on here lol :P I keep saying I'm going to change that, but it doesn't really happen.

Anyways, I did have a semi-interesting post planned, seeing as I was at a wedding last week, and I was going to share some nice pictures with y'all...however, I've discovered that my USB cable to transfer pictures from my camera to my laptop got destroyed a while ago by little kitten teeth (fyi: I had to give my kitties away to another family after Ramadan because of allergy issues my husband and myself were having...I still miss them so much...but I'm happy that my hubby and I are no longer suffering), so alas no photos until I can get another USB cable, which might be a while...so, boo.

As for me...I've had a serious lack of energy as of late...so just trying to keep the house clean and organized requires a nap afterwards. LOL that sounds so pathetic!

So, I'll try to post some interesting/thoughtful things, but alas I can't really promise all that much.

P.S. Does anybody have any suggestions for good Islamic lectures to watch? I feel like I have been seriously slacking astighfirallah (partially due to my low energy level and feeling crummy for most of the day...but enough with the excuses), and I'd really like to make an effort to get back on track.

EID MUBARAK SA'EED!

Salaam alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barakatuh everyone,

HAPPY EID to all of my brothers and sisters around the world! For those of you who completed hajj, may Allah accept your hajj and cleanse you of your sins, ameen! Insh'Allah one day my husband and I will be able to say that we completed that amazing journey. Please keep us in your du'ahs that one day we will be able to go. Insh'Allah I hope that you all are able to experience hajj one day, if you have not already. I can only dream of how utterly amazing it would be.

EID AL-ADHA is officially tomorrow for those of us in the maghreb (as I've mentioned before, for whatever weird reason we are always one day behind Saudi...maybe the moon just doesn't like us as much, lol). I'm really looking forward to making the most of it insh'Allah.

I'm hoping that I won't cry when we sacrifice our sheep this year...mash'Allah he's so handsome ^_^ He's been hanging out on the terrace for the past few days, along with my father-in-law's sheep. It's been really rainy and cold, and I hope that Allah(swt) will give us some sun for tomorrow.

Anyways, enjoy your Eid everyone, and insh'Allah I will be back here soon with another post!