As my husband so lovingly pointed out to me on Saturday afternoon, there are only 8 weeks left until our wedding. And while for the most part this idea is bringing me a lot of joy, excitement and happiness, I do find myself from time to time panicked and grief stricken with thoughts of, “I only have 8 more weeks in Michigan???”

I know for most of my life I thought life in Northville… forget that, life in Michigan was boring and mundane at best. But now that I have to leave this little town in Southeast Michigan nestled between 5 & 8 Mile, I am sad.

So to commemorate my time… or rather my life in Michigan, I will be periodically posting about all the things that I love about life in Michigan.

—————————————-

Two weeks ago I was in Illinois during my Spring Break running some wedding errands with my husband. This was I think… my fifth time visiting him where he lives since our marriage in November of 2006. I’m adjusting well, (I think–alhumdu’lillah) with his family and the surrounding area. But there is one place where I think I feel the most awkward and isolated. It’s also the worst place to have this feeling: at the masjid.

(more…)

The theme at the last MMYC Spring Conference was:  The Prophetic Legacy–the North Star in Our Troubled Waters.  Throughout the weekend, speakers kept mentioning various hadith relating back to why it was so important to take the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wasalaam) as an example and guide in our lives.  And how now, more than ever, during this troubling time for our ummah, it is vital for us to increase our love for him. 

One of the hadith that I think almost every single speaker mentioned was from Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 13, narrated by Abu Huraira: 

“Allah’s Apostle said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children.”

(more…)

Today was one of those days at school where no one wanted to pay attention.  It was the first day back from Spring break and to make matters worse the sun was shining and the weather was just right; not too warm and not cold at all.

Every period I had with my 4th graders they kept insisting we finish our lesson quickly and have free time to play.  Unfortunately for them the opportunity didn’t present itself until the end of the day during Science.  We finished early and I told them it was okay to go outside and enjoy the weather.

It is so much fun to watch them all playing together on the playground.  My three boys always go on the swings and compete to see who can jump off the furthest.   And all five girls manage to fit themselves on one tire swing and scream at the top of their lungs.

(more…)

As it was the first day of Spring break, the weather was delightful and lent itself to lots of fun.  I woke up and went to catch up with some high school friends, came home, went to an afternoon dawath, came home, took a wonderful nap and then had an amazing evening with family.

It was the later half of the day that was the real fun part; the evening.  The Raufs came over and it felt like the good old days.  The days when Iesa was a toddler calling computers tabunatchi, Ibrahim was brand new and maghrur haseen, and Saira appi and Najam bhai hadn’t moved away to Philadelphia, then to Germany then to Saudi Arabia.  It felt like one of those old Saturday nights when abbu’d fire up the grill, and we’d shoot the breeze on the deck.

(more…)