The bags are packed.  The Garmin is out.  The cooler is set.  Our path is marked.  Tennessee, here we come!

Saqib and I are first hitting up Newport, TN and staying in the above photographed, lovely inn called Christopher Place.  Next stop is Gatlinburg, TN, a town nestled in the heart of the Smoky Mountains.  It’s only 2 miles wide and filled with neat little touristy things to do.  On our agenda is horseback riding and a sky lift right over the town and mountains.

If you know Saqib and I, the first thing we planned out was what we’re going to eat for the next five days.  You can look forward to a reflection post for our meals.  And of course, pictures will be included!

Until then, sit tight and wait patiently for a lot of pictures and a lot reviews.

I’ve been asked recently, quite a few times, about my whereabouts and happenings.  What has happened to Ayesha Siddique over the past few weeks?

Not too much, I guess

Two Saturdays back, as was mentioned in the previous post, I had my ruksati wedding party with my one and only SaqibSaab.  Sunday we made a few rounds with different relatives, and Monday his parents left back to Illinois.  We didn’t leave Michigan until Tuesday.

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Nikaḥ kitāba, otherwise known as “celibate marriage,” has become an increasingly common and preferred way of marriage for many young Muslim couples. A young man and woman may find themselves wanting to marry one another, but at the time are unable to live together. So instead of being engaged for long periods of time and making things difficult for the two, they choose to wed by nikaḥ kitāba.

This practice is actually a tradition of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who married Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her, and delayed consummation until she was older.

After over 18 months of being married by nikaḥ kitāba, today marks the day my husband and I will be having our “ruksathi” wedding party after which will begin to live our lives together forever, inshaAllah. After a wonderful year and a half of a beautiful relationship Allah blessed us with, we came up with what we feel is an essential survival guide for couples undergoing the same journey we just completed. If you are married by nikāḥ kitāba or will be in the future, then this list is for you.

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I’m another week closer to my wedding, and I just finished up having my first pre-wedding party.  On Saturday my mom invited her closest friends over to the house to listen to a short talk (dars) on the etiquettes of dealing with in-laws and other new relationships post-marriage.  It was a lot of fun to have everyone come over and get into the wedding mood.  If I wasn’t sure I was getting married in just a few weeks before the party, I definitely know it now after the party.

This is primarily because everyone and their mother kept referring to me as the dulhan (bride).  They kept asking me if the dulhan was excited, or if the dulhan was nervous, or if the dulhan was prepared for leaving, or if the dulhan was happy, etc.  After a while it became kind of… annoying.  First of all, it’s weird to ask me questions in the third person.  Second of all, I don’t like being called the dulhan!

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