Momina

Since being back, I’ve been stuck in a rut of wishing I lived in a place where I can openly practice my faith, without a sense of paranoia. In doing so, unknowingly, I’ve been ungrateful for my blessings. It took some time in nature to get out of this funk … The skies that know no limits, the vastness of the sea, the echos of our chatter - we are constantly surrounded by Him and our gratitude should not be conditional. “And indeed, your Lord is full of bounty for the people, but most of them do not show gratitude.” Quran (Surah An-Namal, 73)” I pray we never take these moments for granted. And I pray we find our ways to connect spiritually irrespective of where we are and who we are surrounded by. Our P@lestinian brothers and sisters are one of the best example of this as they remember Allah in every breath of theirs 🤲 And as we keep our tongue moist with His remembrance, may we not forget our hurting Ummah in every action of ours. Oh Allah, grant them ease, alleviate their suffering and elevate their status. Ameen. #gratitutde #muslimah #hajjreflections

I lied. At the age of 18, at my first job in Canada, whenever I had to pray in the office, I lied. I would make an excuse to go to the supply room and secretly pray there hoping no one would walk in on me. I had so many assumptions which feel so foolish now but seemed quite valid back then. I was worried I would be judged for wanting to practice my own religion. And so I never asked. I never asked if I could get time off to pray every day. I never asked if there was a space I could use to pray. I never asked, because I didn’t know any better. And I continued my sped up, “undercover” prayers in the supply room for as long as I had that job. And when it wasn’t possible, I would make up the missed prayer at home. You know how they say, with age comes wisdom… well it wasn’t till a few years later when I returned to the workforce after my maternity leave, I decided I needed to ask for time and space for prayers at work. If only I knew how easy the conversation would be, I would have brought it up at the naive age of 18. I’ve only been met with respectful conversations around the requirements of my prayers. Questions stemming from curiosity in an attempt to learn more about Islam. And never any judgement or discrimination. I’m not saying everyone will have the same experience, but you won’t know, till you don’t ask. I remember asking my current employer if I could use some unused space to pray every day. To my surprise, she said they have a dedicated prayer space and it made my heart so happy. All credit goes to some folks who probably came together and realized they need a dedicated area for prayers and it must not have been easy but they did it. And here I am reaping the benefits. Swipe to see the prayer room at my current workplace. AlhumduliAllah 🥹 #muslimproblems #prayerspace #salah #prayers

SubhanAllah just over 3 weeks ago, I was bawling my eyes out at the thought of leaving my kids behind for Hajj. It wasn’t the thought of being away from them … because I’ve done that before. It was more so the thought of what if I don’t return to them. Going on a pilgrimage with hundreds of thousands of people, during peak heat wave conditions, knowing you could experience stampede type conditions … I mean the possibilities are endless. And many recommend having a will in place before going on Hajj so you bet I was breaking down while drafting the children’s guardianship section in the will. Fast forward to now, AlhumduliAllah, I’m back from Hajj and may Allah accept it, Ameen. The Momina from 3 weeks ago would have been relieved to be back to her kids. And AlhumduliAllah I’m back in good health. However, the current me feels like my heart is being pulled in different directions. I have my home, family, work here in Canada. But there’s this void. As if the usual routine of Hajj, namely, eat-pray-sleep (and yes a lot of walking 🤭) is all I’ve been used to, and suddenly, that’s all I want to do. Ok…. Maybe not the average of 12-15K steps a day! I’m questioning everything I’m doing in this alternate reality. At first, I mistook it as being ungrateful. But now I realize, it’s a blessing to question my everyday actions. Why should I be doing xyz? Is it helping me in the grand scheme of things? Is it helping me be a better Muslim? Nope? Ok, next! And I think that’s the start of trying to incorporate the eat-pray-sleep routine in your every day routine. So much easier said than done because there are many distractions when your schedule is filled with all the mundane stuff … but for now, baby steps it is! Kinda like when Ramadan ends and you want to continue some of the good habits … until the next Ramadan, when you can build on them even more. So may this be the beginning of building some transformational habits … until Hajj 2.0? InshAllah 🤲 #hajj #hajj2024 #muslimah #islamicreflections

You know kids are all about the visuals - so install the Jannah Tree vinyl decal and watch your tree grow with reusable deed stickers every day this Ramadan! #ramadan #ramadandecor #eid #newtraditions #muslim

My favorite IKEA finds for my kids room which are nothing out of the ordinary, but come together so well. What is your favorite part of your kids room? For me it’s how clean it is … obviously, that’s only the case when I’m taking pictures or have guests over 🫢 #kidsroom #kidsroomdecor #ikeafinds #ikeakidsroom #ikeahack #ikeadiy

We recently travelled with our @monostravel check-in luggage which was extremely durable and especially easy to maneuver on the cobbled streets of Turkey. This video does not capture all the additional outfits I packed, so safe to say I overpacked! Are you like me or do you travel light? You can get your @monostravel luggage with a discount using promo code: MOMINAZEE #MonosTravelCompanion #monostravel

How are the ones suffering giving us strength? How are they still smiling through their suffering? How are they saying AlhumduliAllah after everything they have lost? 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸 They are passing the trial with flying colors inshAllah. And it is time for us to get closer to Allah and our Deen. May we all pass this trial and become closer to Allah. For if not now, then when? Pray Use your voice/platform Donate Audio by @muftimenkofficial #freepalestine #islamicreminders

Episode 1 of Project Makeover We can’t keep our grass alive and are planning on making our lives easier with some interlocking tiles. So help me decide and share your personal experiences for the following options: 1- Cover the entire backyard with interlocking tiles 2- Do a combination and keep some green space … mostly for the kids 3- Keep it all green 🫣 #diyprojects #backyardmakeover

When you wouldn’t miss your bestie’s big day! #desiwedding #pakistaniwedding #indianwedding

Save the following if you want a smooth paint finish when flipping a furniture piece (and don’t own a paint sprayer): 1- Use high quality brushes and a microfiber roller. I use the roller for large surface areas. And a brush for the borders. 2- I cannot stress the importance of using a high quality bonding primer. This helps the paint adhere to all sorts of surfaces (yes even IKEA type laminate furniture) and prevents wear and tear. 3- Sand lightly in between coats with 220-400. I prefer using a sanding block than an orbital sander for this step. #refinishedfurniture #furnitureflip #womenwhodiy #homeonabudget #smoothfinish

#ad – I have owned this dresser for 10 years and while it’s still serving its purpose, I have definitely outgrown its style. I decided to transform it in a way that speaks to my classic and eclectic style! By painting it with BEHR Premium Plus Paint in Aged Beige PPU7-09 and spray painting the hardware with BEHR PREMIUM Spray Paint in a matte black finish, I was able to add so much character to this dresser. I knew I had to make it fun by adding peel and stick wallpaper to the drawer sides, which often get ignored, but can make such a statement. Let me know what you think of this transformation and try your own by picking up some BEHR paint exclusively at The Home Depot Canada. Visit behr.ca to learn more! #BEHRPaint #HomeDepotCanada

Eid Mubarak everyone! 🕌 Every Ramadan, I go in feeling very worried. Worried I won’t be able to fast physically - or be mentally present in a spiritual way. Yet, every Ramadan, AlhumduliAllah, I feel I come out stronger in some aspect 💪😅 May we be able to sustain some of the positive habits we started, improved or continued in Ramadan 🤲 Ameen. On a side note, every Eid since I’ve had my daughter, it’s hard to not dress her in typical desi outfits, henna, jewelry, even dressy shoes (because all of those don’t suit her eczema and can cause severe flare ups). I mean dressing up is half the fun when you’re a girl mom 🙃 This year, however, we were able to pull off an Eid outfit for her. No jewelry, or henna, but this is huge for her. And while this stuff may seem superficial, some times not being able to do the “regular” stuff, makes you realize what a blessing routine things are. So if your Eid was different for any reason, I pray the next one is better inshAllah for “Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear” (Surah Baqarah). #eidmubarak #eid #muslimah