‘They are a clothing for you and you are a clothing for them.’ — Qur’an 2:187 The first I ever heard of this verse was an explanation that has stuck with me since. The speaker reminded us that clothes are the closest thing to our skin, there are no secrets…

The blessings and burden of daybreak. Moisten your lips with God’s remembrance in the morning: We have reached the morning, and at this very moment, all dominion belongs to Allah… From bedroom to bathroom, kitchen to out the door. Cleaner, fresher, more awake by the minute. The day begins. What…

Notes from a group reading of the timeless book by Ibn Al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya. Introduction — My MSA’s Ramadan Reading Book Club Alhamdulillah, this year, I am about to wrap up my second term serving as the chairperson of my university’s Muslim Students Association. At the beginning of the latest semester, I threw out some ideas to my committee…

Translated loosely from the Spanish folk song. Here come the bakers Through the streets of San Juan Cheating the little children Telling them that the bread is worth four dimes Tell me, dear baker How is business going? …

Paths to fortune and safety in this life and the next. I thank and praise God And send blessings and peace on His messenger Because If pain were equal to remorse My whip would fall from my mind And from my gaze in the mirror And into my hands My back would be…

Me. Where did it go? You seek forgiveness With a racing mind And quickened heart Recalling one by one The slides on the slideshow Of promises you have made And should have kept To lead and serve To be diligent and on time To be a good sister, daughter, friend To be patient…

Reflections on a broken sandal in Nigeria. It was the summer of the Great Reawakening; that is, my first real open-eye experience visiting Nigeria, and somewhat a rite of passage for kids of the diaspora. This trip to the motherland always feels like it should be labelled a ‘return’, even…

Beautiful women deny their beauty. she denies that the sky is blue — she denies the warmth of her presence she thinks that it might not be true that we will all die someday — she thinks that it is a lie when you compliment her smile she is surprised…

Once a year? I was shocked and amused when I heard that it is common in Western funerals to hear attendees saying ‘I wish I had known [the deceased] better’. But I was not surprised. I took my birthday off Facebook this year. This meant that none of my friends…