Islam, Autism, Mom-ism.
So, I can’t remember exactly which colleague at which office recommended this to my husband, but I do remember which husband it was. It was you HF, don’t worry. (lol) Whether you’re in a meeting, or meeting other Muslims, or debating whether to say salaam…
If I threw a brick through your window could I tell you it was an amanah? Could I tape a little note to it that says “This brick is a sacred trust and by accepting this brick into your window you are now accountable, in…
A few minutes before Jummah today, my son came and sat down next to me in a grumpy huff. “Momma, I just don’t understand…” He furrowed his lil brow angrily and said, “What’s the point of Jummah!” I told him I had the answer. But…
You might know the *what* of Surah Lahab/Masad, but do you know the *why*? Who was Abu Lahab, and why did he of all people get a Surah? And what’s up with his wife? Learn this in the most non-scholarly of all explanations, the first…
If they asked you what you wanted for Christmas and you said “OMG A LOGICAL FALLACY!” then this video is for you! In which I explain why I love the False Dilemma and how people – and shaitaan too- attempt to trick you with it.…
Ya Wali, as we move to a new country with new people, where we will find both new friends new enemies, please be the Protecting Friend of my children. If my children face bullies, please protect their little hearts and bodies. If my children face loneliness…
It was a sad day in Ninevah. The Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, was leaving. Angry, frustrated, and unable to continue what felt like a hopeless endeavor, he boarded the first ship out of town, leaving his homeland behind. He had tried and tried…
Forget the naked lollipop schtick and the oversimplification of covered = protected and protected = virtuous.
Hijab is about setting the market value for yourself in an economy driven by sex and how much it’s currently going for.
I invited myself over to a friend’s house yesterday. Normally I invite people over to my house instead, but since we’ve been without a housekeeper for the past three weeks, I don’t think any of my friends would appreciate an afternoon in the sty with…
Will ye laugh and yet not weep for the years you’ve lived asleep?
Asleep to numb your fears,
And numb to soothe your cares?
One of the ways that Shaitaan tries to bring me down is to get me to use the internet for wandering into distraction versus addressing any cause of my stress, or Shaitaan-Forbid- actually making dua or something. So I use his own trick against him…
Darkness lies around him
and watches with dark eyes
whispering suggestions
suggesting lovely lies…
I have a special relationship with the Philippines- even though I doubt the islands know. When my son was diagnosed with autism and my husband and I were struggling to meet his monthly therapy needs and begging Allah for help, He gave us a special…
“Asalaamualaikum please don’t think dat i am belittling your problems but i want to kill myself but i cant as it is prohibited i feel i am accumulating sins day by day isn’t it better for me to die i am not satisfied with my…
Autism has its pros and cons- and boy does it ever have its cons- but SubhanAllah, it really has its pros. Khalid doesn’t just like dinosaurs, he likes reading about them, and he doesn’t just read stories, he reads encyclopedias. And he’s not just reading…
I am small, my wings are broken.
My words shake like my hands.
But I will lift my voice to the One who understands.
I just finished six hours of class- possibly the best class I’ve ever taken- called The Unfolding Dream with Shaykh Sajid Umar. It would not be correct to say it is the Tafseer of Surah Yusuf- because Tafseer only scratches the surface. Six hours… and we’ve…
If you hate Barney (you know you do) and you wish there were intelligent, adorable, totally halal, and well-written cartoons for children that also happened to be ISLAMIC!!! (talk about unrealistic expectations, hunh?) then I have bad news for you: There are only five days…
A heart so torn will bleed, and bleeding so congeals- That a darkened outer covering will block the touch that heals…
So HF was in a fender-bender today. He was stopped at a signal and someone ran into the back of his car hard enough to crash his into the next stopped car. Alhamdulillah, he’s alright and as he cheerfully mentioned: the car needed new bumpers…
Alhamdulillah!!! I’m going to be publishing my first book!
Given the last ten or so years of my blogging history, you’ll be surprised to hear it isn’t actually full of mortal wounds, kids stories, and personal reflections. It’s actually a children’s book, and I’m very excited.
So the funny thing about having unspecified myopathy is that no one says I’m dying, but no one says I’m not either. Yes, the muscles in my body are atrophying, and yes you need muscles to do things like pump blood and breathe, but because…
In case I haven’t mentioned this before, I love ABA. Seriously. I’m not referring to table-top flashcard activities, I’m referring to the analysis of behaviour hence- Applied Behavior Analysis. As part of behaviour analysis, behaviours are broken down into chains of A,B,C- Antecedent, Behaviour, and Consequence. Basically, the antecedent is what…
Sometimes, when my arms feel especially weak and the bread for dinner seems especially chewy, I feel kind of deflated and end up googling for things like “myopathy experts,” and “where to find help for myopathy.” Due to things like location and financial constraints, nothing…
The Prophet ﷺ was asked, “O Messenger of Allāh, which of the people are the most sorely tested?” He said: “The Prophets, then those similar, then those similar. A man will be tested in accordance with his level of faith. If his faith is strong, he…
A few days ago, Iman was sitting at the dining table next to me coloring when she put down her crayons and pouted. “Momma, which crayon is my skin? It’s not this one,” she said, holding up the Caucasian “skin-tone” crayon. “And it’s not this one,” she…
Allah gave me stones and built me a foundation, I thought I was a tower so I started building high…
My father very proudly says that we are direct descendent of Genghis Khan. I believe him, and require no other proof than the eyebrows I inherited from my ferocious genealogy. Regardless of whether I have Genghis Khan’s eyebrows, I definitely have my father’s eyebrows, and…
Click here for three minutes of brutally important honesty.
Oh Allah, thank you for aaaaaaallll the gifts. Oh Allah, thank you for paradise. Oh Allah, thank you for aaaaaaallll the children in this life. Oh Allah, thank you for the nice clothes. Oh Allah, thank you for aaaaaaallll the buildings Oh Allah, thank you for aaaaaaallllthe…
Last week over breakfast, Khalid sneezed and then said: “Alhamdulillah. Momma, now you say- Yarhamakullah, and then I say yahdeekumAllahu wa yuslihu balakum.” You can stare blankly for a moment. That’s what I did, and then I realized- he’s been reading through every page of…
Suhaib Webb published an short list of authentic but little-heard hadith here, and three of them really caught my attention. “The believer is friendly and likeable*1 and there is no good in the one who is not friendly nor likeable, and the best of them are…
So it’s been a little over two month’s since I’ve updated, which may be the longest I’ve ever gone in the history of this blog. Ever. I have an excuse. Well, I have a whole bunch of excuses, so let’s throw some at the wall…
One of the most difficult things for me, in running AutismUAE, is trying to escape from being thanked or praised by the parents of children we help via our therapists. I don’t mind being cried on, but once people start telling me how great/awesome/cosmic I…
There are so many things about this talk that I like that I’m not even sure where to begin. SubhanAllah.
I thought I would post a quick dua request here. It is an odd night, and the 27th too. So more people making dua is good, right? So what do I ask for? What if I miss something? How can I make a quick request…
HF left for Umrah this evening. We loaded up the minivan with all three kids to drop him off at the airport, even though it was three hours past their bedtime by the time we got home again, because we wanted to give him a…
Alhamdulillah, I’m fasting. I didn’t think I would be able to, and while Day 2 of Ramadan may be a little early to announce success, I’m optimistic that I’ll be able to continue for the entire month, InshaAllah. The heat isn’t bothering me, Alhamdulillah, and…