I'm Back!

Asalam waliykum sisters,

How are you all? I hope you are all in the best of health and iman. Some of you may wonder what happened to me.... some probably don't care. I thought I would explain as I miss blogging and have missed out on loads of posts and now I am very very behind with it all.

MIA: missing in action

Asalam waliykum sisters,


Firstly i hope you are all well and in the best of health and iman.
Secondly my apologies for the lack of posts. Basically my laptop stopped working a few months ago and i was using Zawjis, but now his has stopped working... due to an accident i had with it.

Until they are fixed there will not be as many posts as its hard to do them with my phone. It is very tedious to type and transfer photos. Sorry guys, inshallah i will be back soon. :(


jazakallah khier

Wasalam -x-

Product Review: El Hajj Skin Care Range

Asalam waliykum sisters,

I do not know if you remember, at the start of August I wrote a post on 'El hajj skin care range'? This is the link if you want to have a look at it again, click Here! This is going to be a review of the tried and tested products, so please read on to find out how I got on with them.

Firstly I would like to start on the pricing, if you have a look on the websites full range prices are all listed. I think that it is worth it, for this bag I paid £24. Some may think that is a lot, I did think the same at first. However, after much use of the products I changed my mind. I managed to use most of the products on a daily basis and still had some left over at the end of the 3 weeks. So I was impressed they lasted that long.

Farewell Mekkah and Hello UK!

Asalam waliykum Sisters,

Alhamdulillah I am back in the UK and have had a few days of rest. I hope you are all well, in the best of health and iman inshallah. I would just like to mention that all the sisters who contacted me with Duas, they safely reached Mecca and Medina, may Allah accept them from me and may they be answered, ameen.

Here I come Mecca!!

Asalam waliykum sister,

Firstly, So sorry I have not been very successful in getting up the posts I had planned. Preparation for Umrah and Ramadan have really taken over, and I have had little time to do much else such as cooking, painting, and forget the cards. I did not make anything this Ramadan. I promised so many, that I would be sending out cards, so sorry to disappoint you all, I will make it up to you!!

I will be away for over 3 weeks and will be back towards the end of August inshallah. I ask you all to  make dua for my safe journey. Inshallah khier, I am super uber excited to go tomorrow. I have decided to fast tomorrow even though I will be travelling for 16+ hours , the flight from Turkey; where we are stopping over, will offer iftar so Inshallah khier, we will be able to continue fasting.

Please remember me in your duas and inshallah I will keep all my readers from across the world in my duas. Jazakallah khier for your support.

Wasalam -x-

No alcohol and No perfume!!

Asalam waliykum sisters,

As you are all aware of by now, I am off on Umrah. One thing we Muslims know is that while in the state of Ihram/purity that are many do's and Don'ts which I have addressed briefly in a previous post Here!!

One thing that is not permissible while in ihram is to wear perfume, that goes for both men and women. Some may think I only mean perfume that you spray on. Actually I mean any product that contains perfume and scents. Yes, you read correctly no perfume at all.

So from when I do the ritual bath/ghusul I should not use scented products, on my journey also I should not use scented products until I complete all the rights of Umrah. Even after this, women should not use perfume while going to the Masjid Harram the same as visiting any mosque or going outside. However, you can resume to use your normal products such as shampoo, hand wash, etc etc.

That is super tricky for me and for others too, because all the products I use have natural scents. In my old posts I talked about my love of Lush, Well all their products are full of natural scents and guess what I can not use them while in the state of Ihram. That includes my moisturisers, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, cleanser and even deodorant! Now, I am not saying that while in Ihram you have to be stinky and unclean, not at all! But you need to use products which are completely scent free, nada, no scents even artificial perfumes.

Perhaps 10-20 years ago this could of caused a lot of difficulties as brands did not cater to people who required products scent free. So I can imagine many people only able to wash with water. If you are lucky you may of had access to products from Arab countries that are scent free. However, if not that may of meant only washing with water and being unable to control body odour, with no fault of your own.

When I realised the restriction of scents, I to had a moment of horror thinking about not being able to moisturise, smell fresh and wash my hair etc. Alhamdulillah I came across, by total accident, a company that cater to Muslims going on Hajj/umrah. I also tried Google to find other products but usually only one or two items I could find.

El-hajj is the first of its kind, to cater to Muslims making this spiritual journey. You can check out their site Here. Alhamdulillah they have an online store to provide for Muslims all around the world. They are based in Malaysia, Mashallah they have everything there!

Inshallah I hope to do a full review once I have used all the products, so you should expect to see that start of September, Inshallah. They sell everything you need, for a man, I can assure you zawji would get by with shampoo and shower gel and be quiet happy. Me on the other hand is a different story, so Alhamdulillah El-Hajj provide lots of products.

Food, Glorious Food!

Asalam waliykum sisters

Subhanallah already day 15, which means we only have 15 days left. The last 10 days are fast approaching, which are the most blessed in this month of Ramadan.

What is Ramadan for you? Is it the month of Fasting, or the month of Feasting?

Alhamdulillah, we all love food, and we all love to eat. I can say on behalf of most women we all love sweet treats like chocolate. But really is this the right attitude to have? Specifically, is this the right attitude to have in this month, Ramadan? Yes, food is a blessing from Allah and it tastes wonderfully and there is so much variety, but Allah makes it clear in the Quran he dislikes those who are excessive, and that goes for us being excessive with food consumption. This makes me remember the man, from USA years back who won the lottery... with his winnings he bought the comfortable life he always dreamed of. So he sat at home eating, eating and eating and he died of obesity... he was excessive and Allah hates this, it does not benefit you or anyone else.

Umrah

Asalam waliykum my dear sisters,

Sorry that the good news is rather late, I was meant to inform everyone last week. Anyway, as you can tell by the title, I am off on Umrah soon!! we just got our visas so I did not want to say anything until we got the go ahead.

Ramadan Do's and Don'ts

Asalam waliykum Sisters,

Another post related to Ramadan on the "Do's and Don'ts" Inshallah you will find it beneficial and a source of encouragement. Firstly I would like to say that we are all at different stages with our deen, some very practicing  some not so much. Inshallah we are all on the path to Allah but each of our paths are different due to the tests Allah bestows upon us. Some people have a straight path to Allah others find their paths to be a series of winding roads that branch off, filled with obstacles and that does not make them any less of a Muslim or a bad Muslim.

Hijab storage

Asalam waaliykum sisters,

Alhamdulillah Day 5 of Ramadan. Hope you are all doing well, inshallah.

I thought I would share how I store my hijabs with you guys. I was asked by a couple of sisters I know who are struggling due to limitation in space; what is the best way to store hijabs.
If you are looking for a new way to store your hijabs i have one idea. I have tried everything, I used to roll them and store them in my chest of draws, but that took up so much space and by the next day they were a total mess. Plus chest of draws are for my normal clothes.

Tried the hijab hangers, worked well for a while until they broke and snapped. I have a lot of hijabs 3 huge bags worth. So they weighed a lot,  when I hung them the hangers that are made for hijabs could not cope with the weight. I tried using skirt/trouser hangers and clip on a 2-3 per hanger again that took up my whole wardrobe. Not practical especially as I share my wardrobe with zawji.

I know this works well if you have less then 10 hijabs. I must have around 50-60 now so the hangers was no longer practical.

When I was at university 3 years ago now!! subhanllah. The landlord left two wardrobes in my room. So as you can imagine I used one for clothes and the other for hijabs. I just hung the hijab straight onto the poll and this was the tidiest way to store them.

Blessed Ramadan

Asalam waliykum sisters,

I hope you are having a wonderful and fulfilling Ramadan. It is already day 4 subhanallah the month will fly by as usual. I just wanted to take the time to share my love of Ramadan with everyone and inshallah you can tell me how your Ramadan is going too!!

Last Thursday when they announced that Ramadan would begin on Friday the first thing I did was get the Bukhour out! This is something mama always did at home to mark the start of Ramadan and again on the last night of Ramadan. I can not imagine not doing it, just feels the house with a lovely Arabian fragrance and gets me in the Ramadan spirit.

We have this bukhour burner also called a Mabkhara/Majmor, from Saudi Arabia and with it a box of Yemeni Bukhour. Have had this for 3 years and never once used it. I bought some charcoal disks and have been using it for a couple of months. You can get all types of bukhour, resin, wood chippings powdered. I prefer the Yemeni  which is resin formed into small cubes, find they last the longest and the smell is more pleasant when burning.

Naima B Roberts, book review

Asalam waliykum sisters,

I was meant to do this review last week but due to preparation for Ramadan I had no time. Alhamdulillah it is the perfect time now, and the books I will review are in keeping with this month!

A little bit about the author, Naima B roberts a sister, who reverted to Islam in her early 20's. She is an author of many books, runs Sisters Magazine, and has her own blog. I read all about her in one of her first books, From my sisters lips. This book is sort of like an autobiography with other reverts journeys to Islam. I recommend it to every sister, not just those new to the deen.

I think I have read all her books now. You can find out more about her online, just google her name, she has a FB page and her books sell on most online stores like ebay, amazon etc.

The two books I am reviewing are her first books aimed at small children, 3-9. I am an adult, 25 and i loved the book! so use that age range as a rough guide :D

She collaborated with others on these books, as with most children books you can expect lots of colours and pictures to keep your eyes busy, and keep kids engaged.

I originally bought these books for my younger cousins, after reading the content myself (could not help myself). I realised that perhaps they are little too old and would not enjoy it as the reading level is also for younger children. My two cousins are 10 and 13. Therefore, I have decided to keep the books for myself, well not really, but keep them until I can find a good home for them and in that time I will enjoy them!!

Ramadan Kareem 1433

Asalam waliykum sisters!!!

Just a quick post to welcome in the new blessed month. May we all make use of these 30 days. May we all increase our good deeds, our actions so we can reap the rewards. Please make plenty of dua for those who are less fortunate then us, those who have no food, shelter, not free to practise their deen, oppressed and who may not make it through this month. May Allah help those in need.

We should be thankful we have peace, and we are free to fast and pray and that we have the ability to help others. So this month we need to really help those suffering, inshallah. Do the best we can to help others as well as our own families and our self.

Inshallah I will post more on this blessed month in the coming weeks.

Food I make and eat! Mafrouk, Moroccan flat bread

Asalam waliykum sisters,

Alhamdulillah many of you enjoyed the last "Food i make and eat" Chicken and Mushroom pie!

And some of you sisters been interested in how to make authentic mafrouk, flat Moroccan bread. So Alhamdulillah i have been able to make it a few times last week and while at home visiting the famo (Family).

I really wanted to make a post on this as i have seen a few people online and on youtube make this the wrong way and use completely different ingrediants. So i wanted to put up the authentic way.

Really easy to make, not time consuming and quick to cook too enjoy!

This is what mafrouk looks like, its savoury flat bread. With the recipe and quantities I have used you will make 7 medium sized mafrouks. you can make them bigger or smaller, upto you guys :D

Food I make and eat. Chicken & Mushroom pie

Asalam waliykum sisters :D

Inshallah you are all having a wonderful day, I am in a good mood Alhamdulillah have some very big news to announce to the world as of next week. But, you have to wait one more week.

In such a good mood, that yesterday I treated zawji to a new dish, my chicken and mushroom pie with rich creamy sauce. First time i made it for him. Mama used to make this for me lots when i was younger, this and steak and onion pie with a short crust pastry. :D

Inshallah going to share the recipe and lots and lots of photos too!

My cook book and my favourite oven glove :D

Hijab Obsessions- Review

Asalam waliykum sisters,

I have been wanting to do this review, along with a few others for weeks now! Alhamdulillah finally got round to doing it!

As you can see from the title, the hijabs I will be reviewing are from Hijab Obsessions. I came across the site back in march while looking for pretty sparkly hijabs and jersey hijabs.

Islam-Ticket to Jannah presents!!

Asalam waliykum sisters,

One of my dear friends and another sister have opened a fan page on Facebook, called Islam-Ticket to Jannah, not too long ago. It has been a huge success Alhamdulillah and due to so many fans they wanted to thank those who are frequent followers/readers and sharers of the page so for every 1000 likes they do a random give away.

A little bit about the group, "Islam - a ticket to Jannah is solely for dawah to Muslims and non-Muslims to Islam, the religion of Truth". It provides daily reminders on various topics and with very eye catching photographs with powerful messages added to them. I was not aware it was set up by a sister I know, until recently. Mashallah such great work and a lot of effort and time have gone into this group. More recent posts from the sisters cover topics related to the fast approaching month of Ramadan and even a FREE Ramadan productivity calender/checklist. Please do check it out by clicking HERE .

Here are some photos I have taken of all the goodies I won! I have never won anything before in my life... and now I can say I have once, Alhamdulillah. I will no longer whine about not winning anything again!! Plus I FINALLY got a bobble scarf, and I love them, woohoo. The sisters are uber sweet and always given and dedicating countless hours in the cause of Dawah and Islam. Look at all the goodies they got me, are they not deliciously cute?!

On with the photos!!!....

Overhead Abaya!

Asalam waliykum sisters,

Just wanted to do a post about the abaya. In particular a new style that i have become fond of over the last few months, its not new but it is new to me! Its the Overhead Abaya, I first came across this style while out and about in London. I saw many Somali sisters wear the black over head abaya, which has a long v neck, and sits on the head or ties behind the head. All the sisters i have seen wearing this wore black, and the material was very heavy crepe/polyester/nylony... looked nice and cosy for winter. One thing I disliked was how it dragged on the floor behind them. This is a thing that we should avoid as muslimahs and one thing which will ruin your abaya. Not to mention the obvious  hadith regarding dragging ones garment, it being a sign of arrogance, plus getting it dirty, tripping over it etc etc.

It is a very modest outfit and it complies with the verse in the Quran when Allah commands women to wear an outer garment when going out.

In the Quran, Surah al-Ahzab ayah 59 (33:59) says:

"Ya ayyuha an-Nabiyy qul li azwajika wa banatika wa nisa al-mu'minin yudnina alayhinna min jalabib hinna; dhalika adna an yu'rafna fa laa yu'dhayn. Wa kana Allahu Ghafur Rahim"

"O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their JALABIB close around them; that is better that they will be recognised and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle."

Hijabi hair care

Asalam waliykum sisters,

Bad hair days, yes we all experience them. It doesn't matter what type of hair you have at some point while wearing hijab your hair will start to show some signs of wear and tear.

Some sisters complain of Hijab hair, which i can say sort of resembles bed head. It is true, and to make matters worse sisters start to neglect their hair, as they are not showing it as often then they don't need to look after it as much or so they think. This is totally wrong, and something i went through myself. But i soon realised i should look after my hair for myself and for those who are deserving of seeing it.

Macaron or macaroon?

Asalam waliykum all, Hope you are well inshallah :D

The first time I ever had a macaron was when my brother visited Paris and returned with boxes of these delightful, cute coloured sweet treats. They looked like something out of peter pan (the one with robin Williams in)... any who, they tasted amazing, light, fluffy, sweet and almondy! From that time I have been hooked. So when i had the chance to visit Paris this year, the only thing I wanted to purchase on my trip were Macarons!! They are very expensive, and are cheaper to purchase in the UK. Saying that you get what you pay for. The quality is not like that of their French counterparts.

Macarons from Georges Masion Larnicol, in Paris