In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Especially Merciful

Quran: “Allah commands you to return the trusts to their rightful owners.” (Surah An-Nisa: 58)

Hadith: Abu Hurayrah RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “There are three signs of a hypocrite: when he speaks, he lies; when he makes a promise, he breaks it; when he is placed in a position of trust, he betrays his trust.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Names of Allah:

Al Wadood - The Most Loving

Al Haqq - The Absolute Truth

Al Wakeel - The Trustee

As salamu alaikum, peace be upon you dear reader,

Whatever Allah commands us to is for our own good. Returning trusts to the rightful owners, speaking the truth, keeping promises and fulfilling the rights of positions of trust. Allah loves us, He is Al Wadood and when we love someone, we want what’s good for them. When we look at the opposites of these good qualities, we can think of people who have not fulfilled their trusts, lied, not kept their promises. But can we see how those negative qualities exist within ourselves?

I invite you to think about yourself. Shaytan will make us see the tiniest splinter in someone else’s eye, but what about the big branch in my own?

One of the teachings of The Productive Muslim Company’s Certification training was that we ‘under promise and over deliver’. Mohammed Faris mentioned it quite a few times when training us. Its been ingrained in me. I worry, am I fulfilling the rights of those who signed up to go through the course with me? Am I sharing all the material that cover decades of books, research and other materials to create? Am I showing up in the best way and communicating the material effectively?

I am a Certified Productive Muslim Trainer, which means I have permission from The Productive Muslim Company to deliver their Productive Muslim Programme. I have just completed a ten week cohort with a group of women. Have I fulfilled the trust? Have I delivered what I offered when inviting the participants? The secular model of marketing is about persuading with exaggerations, touching on lies and false claims. Look at adverts. They use psychological techniques to persuade people that don’t need products that this will change their life if they buy it. Whilst not necessarily overtly lying, implying that their product will lead to other things. I remember years ago a friend’s son asked his uncle to buy him sanitary products. He heard the advert saying it will make you more confident and he wanted to be more confident.

The Islamic model, the Productive Muslim model, the barakah model is in inviting and being clear and honest about what is being offered. We have a 30 day money back guarantee, so if within that time, you realise this is not for you, you can cancel and have full money back refunded.

I’d love to say that all organisations have this mindset and all Muslims offering courses and coaches have this mindset, but sadly, as I recently experienced, it is not so! I signed up to a course on the back of certain claims of what they could deliver. A few weeks in, I realised they were not able to deliver what I needed and asked for a refund, to be told it was not possible. I should have realised during the discovery call when they were pushing for an instant answer. I said I would pray istikara and get back to them. I did pray istikara and maybe the positive outcome of going ahead is a reminder of how I want to ensure that all who work with me have a positive experience and to take on board any feedback to ensure that the customers are satisfied. I’m not here to name and shame, just to mention the opposite of the good practice, bearing in mind that not everyone has had the same training as I have had.

I have to think about my own short comings in this situation, did I conduct proper research or did I make assumptions? In Islam trading is ijaab and qabool - offer and acceptance. I had accepted the offer and made payment accordingly. May Allah guide us all in all our dealings to be better, ameen.

Whatever the trust that Allah SWT has given you whether that is work, business, children, spouse, parents, yourself - are you fulfilling their rights? What positive moves forward can you make, to make these relationships and trusts better and more pleasing to Allah SWT? What are good practices you can add? What are not so good practices that can be removed or reduced? Again, this is not about thinking about other people, this is about looking at yourself and taking steps forward. Nor is it about beating yourself up. We all make mistakes and the act of noticing is the first step towards positive changes inshAllah.

What if the changes seem impossible? Take it to Allah, ask His Help. A few years ago I published a Quran and Hadith Journal book. Alhamdullillah I had a daily habit of going through the five prompts: verse/hadith; tafsir/scholarly explanation; application; dua; gratitude. When I look back at what I wrote in the dua section, I feel so full of gratitude for how Allah SWT has answered those duas, especially those that felt impossible at the time.

It doesn’t matter if the trust that Allah SWT has blessed you with is paid, voluntary or compulsory, make the most of the opportunities. How can you do better? How can your interactions be more pleasing to Allah? How can those trusts be fulfilled better? How can we be more like the Prophet Muhammad SAW who was known as the trustworthy?

Yaa Wadood, You love us so much, make us worthy of that love, Yaa Haqq, let us always speak the truth, even if we are in the wrong, Yaa Wakeel, guide us to fulfil the trusts that You have blessed us with in the best way, ameen.

Quran: “Do you command the people to piety and forget yourselves, whereas you are the ones who recite the Book? Have you no understanding?” (Surah Baqarah:44)

Hadith: Usaamah Ibn Zayd Ibn Haarithah RA narrates: I heard the Messenger of Allah SAW saying: “A man will be brought on the day of Qiyaamah and flung into the Hell-fire. His intestines will fall out of his body and he will go around in circles with them just as a donkey goes around a mill. The inmates of the Hell-fire will gather around him and ask: ‘O so-and-so', why are you like this? Were you not the one who used to command good and forbid evil?’ He will reply: ‘Indeed, I used to command good without doing it myself and I used to prohibit evil but engaged in it myself.’” (Bukhari)

Names of Allah:

Ar Rahmaan - The Most Merciful

Ar Raheem - The Especially Merciful

Al Khaaliq - The Creator

Al Jabbar - The Compellor

Al Hakam - The Judge

As Salamu Alaikum dear readers, peace be upon you!

Hell-Fire and Punishment

The Quran and Hadith do not shy away from mentioning punishments and the Hell-Fire, nor should we, even if society and culture try to make it impolite to mention. Paradise is real, the Hell-Fire is real, rewards are real, punishments are real and we are people who want to please Allah, to do deeds pleasing to Him, to be rewarded and to not do those deeds that are displeasing to Him and not want to be punished or do anything that leads to the Hell Fire. We have a balanced religion. It is not all about love, nor is it all about punishment. Allah is The Most Just and The Most Fair, so whatever rules He has given us and consequences are all perfect alhamdullillah. And subhanAllah whatever we have been given in terms of commanding the good and forbidding the evil are for our own good in this life and the next, alhamdullillah. Allah is Al Khaaliq, The Creator, He made us and knows what is best for us.

As believers we should be balanced between hope and fear. Hope in Allah’s Mercy and fear of His anger.

So when advising others, how can we forget ourselves? It doesn’t mean that if we have a weakness we are not allowed to ever advise someone else on the matter. This is a trick of Shaytan to stop us spreading goodness. We still try our best and work on ourselves and advise others. Also, being receptive to the advice of others. Recently I had an issue and I purposely contacted a sister who I knew would give the best advice, which would make me question and improve my own thoughts and actions on the situation. Sometimes we seek advice from those who cheer us on and encourage us down the wrong path.

It’s a journey!

Another abused concept is the phrase ‘it’s a journey’. Some have objected to this term as it has been used as an excuse to justify sin, just as ‘it’s in my heart’ and ‘only God can judge me’ and ‘God knows my intentions’. Just because these terms are abused to justify sin, it doesn’t detract from these statements being true. I love the phrase ‘it’s a journey’, we are travellers in this world and it is a journey. When we recite Surah Faatiha in every unit of prayer in our prayers, we are asking Allah’s help to be guided on the right path. So this concept of life and elements of life are a journey fit well with Surah Faatiha.

The Productive Muslim Programme 2.0

As the current cohort I’ve been working with since June come to an end in our Productive Muslim Programme 2.0 a recuring theme has been ‘it is a journey’. We went through the five life changing modules: the self, barakah in energy, barakah in focus, barakah in time and barakah in consistency. We spent two weeks on each module, one week going through the teaching - decades of research and resources and then the next week going through the facilitation - deep diving into the concepts, using the breakout rooms to have deep meaningful conversations, sharing relevant personal experiences in safe space especially for women. SubhanAllah, last week one of the sisters shared how she found the sessions to be like therapy for her and the other sisters agreed and shared examples. Each element of learning, of recognising and moving forward is a journey.

The previous cohort of Alimahs, women who have studied the Quran and Hadith and teach it to others, had concern about hypocrisy. One of our modules explores the haqq balance, how do we show up in our different roles? They had the same concern that the companions of the Prophet Muhammad SAW that how are they in the masjid and around the Prophet SAW and how are they with their families.

If you are concerned that you are hypocritical, be glad, it is a sign of imaan and if you are not, be worried. If we don’t question ourselves, be critical of ourselves, look for our faults, how will we fix them or get better? We can see the tiniest splinter in someone else’s eye, but miss the massive branch in our own. If we are seeing faults in others and not ourselves, that is a massive problem. Fair enough, some things we can’t help but notice, for example, someone being very angry like a mum in a supermarket shouting at her children. But even when we can’t help but notice someone else, we do need to think, how do I deal with anger? How does that thing we have noticed show up in us? How can we improve ourselves?

For me, one of the biggest benefits of The Productive Muslim Programme has been noticing what can be improved and then moving forward to make improvements and yes, it has been a journey, it is a journey. We go through the barakah in focus module, as with all modules, I am not perfect, I am on my own journey. I share the beneficial knowledge as a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage, as a very flawed person on their own journey.

Invitation

The next cohort starts in September 2026 inshAllah, on Thursday mornings during term time 9.30am until 11.30am for ten weeks. You’re welcome to fill in the no obligation expression of interest form! Express interest

Can’t wait to see what themes show up with the next cohort and hear the transformational journeys!

Dua

Yaa Haady, Yaa Rasheed, guide us to recognise our own shortcomings, whether it is hypocrisy or other issues, to work on them, remove any hypocrisy from our hearts and actions and help us to act upon enjoining the good and forbidding the evil and to share with others and to righteous companionship and for us to be righteous companions and to be closer to you, ameen.

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Especially Merciful

Quran: ‘Adopt forgiveness, command what is good and ignore the ignorant ones.’ (Surah Al A’raf: 199)

Hadith: Abu Sa’id Al Khudri RA narrates: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah SAW saying: “If any of you sees an evil he should change it with his hand. If he is unable then with his tongue. If he is unable then with his heart and this is the weakest form of imaan.” (Muslim)

Names of Allah (I’ve decided to add a new section to this newsletter to include relatable Names of Allah to the verse and hadith mentioned):

Al Ghafoor - The All Forgiving

Al Ghafaar - The Constant Forgiver

At Tawwaab - The Accepter of Repentance

As Salaam - The Source of Peace

Al Raasheed - The Guide to the Right Path

Al Haady - The Guide

Al Barr - The Source of All Goodness.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

This life is a test and we were created to worship Allah SWT.

It doesn’t mean we lock ourselves up in a room and pray all day and all night and ignore the people. It means in all our dealings with The Creator and His creation, we behave in accordance with the good we have been commanded to and by avoiding the evil.

Again, these words in the English language have been distorted and we need to be clear and confident in the language we use and not shy away from using words like ‘good deeds’. This is what the Quran and Hadith invites us to. We are invited to good and away from bad. It is a journey. It doesn’t mean we learn about Islam and we are perfect. We are all on a journey. We get lost, we get distracted, we fall down. Shaytan wants us to stay lost and or fallen. Our job is to get back up and turned back to Allah.

‘Forgive, but don’t forget’

These are the menacing looking words I saw on the fridge magnet the teen had been working on during ‘Teen Talk’ back in 2013. It looked scary on its own with no context, the precursor to revenge. But it was the very words I had said to the teens during our workshop, before the crafting session. With the context, we forgive everyone for everything and sleep with a clean heart. But we don’t forget, meaning ‘A Muslim is not stung in the same hole twice’, we don’t allow people to abuse us again and again. We forgive fully with no revenge or bad feelings, but we protect ourselves from being harmed.

I find myself having bad thoughts of people who have wronged me or upset me. When I catch myself, I make a point of praying for them. Asking Allah to bless them with good in this life and the next. And then I move on. I don’t dwell or over explain or go out of my way for them. I do the best thing I can do for them, which is to make a nice dua for them, maybe they have not had the blessings I’ve had and because of my nice dua for them, it helps them. But a side effect of this practice is that I clean my heart and let go of the negativity. I feel it, I process it, then I leave it to Allah. He is the Most Just, The All Knowing. Islamically we have three options: ignore, forgive, or return like for like. My problem is, if someone slaps me once, I’ll want to slap them twice! How dare they? So for me, opting to forgive and make nice dua and move on is best! Otherwise, I will end up crossing a line and being in the wrong myself!

It’s a journey. I’m not perfect, none of us are. Noticing and then trying to be better, that’s our job. That’s what Allah judges us on. He knows our intentions and He knows our hearts. (BTW - This is not the ‘only Allah can judge me’ as an excuse to sin)

Commanding to what is good

Inviting to what is correct should be done with hikmah, wisdom, again another journey of growth with its ups and downs, or in the analogy of the journey getting lost and getting back on track.

‘And never let them avert you from the verses of Allah after they have been revealed to you. And invite (people) to your Lord. And never be of those who associate others with Allah.’ 28:87

Our job is to invite, not to force. Whether it is our own family members or the wider community, there is no compulsion in Islam, we can only invite. Even our Prophet Muhammad SAW and the Prophets ASAS did not have the power or permission to force anyone into belief, only to invite.

How can we invite? We have the best role model, our Prophet Muhammad SAW and there are many books and resources about his life. Check out Chaptrs, a great resource with audio Islamic books: https://www.getchaptrs.com/ £9.99 a month - well worth it to access so many books. As a non materialistic person who does not value objects, I take the exception with books! Marie Kondo says we should only have 20 books, I disagree!

I had written a sarcastic response to some far right ignorant people and then when I was listening to this it made me change my mind about sharing. Our Prophet SAW had the best manners and Islam teaches us how to behave. He never mocked anyone. So how could I release a mocking sarcastic response. Yes it’s a very English response, sarcasm, but whatever that is in our culture that is contrary to the way of our Prophet SAW should be thrown in the bin. It’s not haram, but the better way, the better path is what our Prophet SAW would have taken. May Allah make us more like him, ameen.

So invite and encourage with good manners. Ayesha RA, the wife of the Prophet SAW described him as: ‘walking, talking Quran’ and family members are the ones who get to experience us in all our dimensions.

Ignore the ignorant ones

When I used to work at The One Nation Charity, I would look at images of children with missing limbs and feel sad. A human being has decided it is ok to harm other people including children. I had to let go and reframe for my own mental health. There are people doing wrong in the earth, harming others and we are all blessed in different ways. My focus had to be how to support those in need, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, prosthetic limbs for those who needed them, and other support to help those in need. If I wasted my time on who and why, I wouldn’t have the time or energy to fundraise or support those in need. Allah knows everything and is The Most Just, so each and every wrong He will deal with in the best way.

Time spent scrolling on negative social media is depressing! And not the best way to spend time. In the book ‘Supercommunicator’ by Charles Duhigg, he spoke about two groups of people being gathered a group of pro gun people and a group of anti-gun people. I’m in the UK, so guns aren’t really a things here, well, not in my circles anyway. But in America it’s a contentious issues with people having very strong views either for or against. In this experiment people were paired with people with opposing views and shared their ‘why’ a woman who’s daughter was caught up in a school shooting spoke about why she was against guns and a man share his story of a loving family life that included family bonding experiences going out hunting. In person, people got on well and were respectful of each other. They even arranged meetings out of the experiment. However, once there was a Facebook group created, the relationships became soured by the negativity. I found this very telling about the negativity that can grow from this online space. Other people’s feelings are ignored in favour of popular likes. People typing could be intoxicated or tired or going through problems causing them to lash out. Instead of getting the support needed, it grows into something bigger and uglier. There are so many ignorant people with platforms online and for me, the best way to deal with this is to ignore. Ignore, unfollow, delete, block. This life is too short to waste it with the ignorant. Just as one becomes fragrant from going in a perfume shop and smells bad going into a blacksmith’s or another place with bad smells, likewise, the company we keep effects us. That includes the negativity in the online space.

Going back to my sarcastic piece about the far right, they are ignorant and the cure for ignorance is education. My prayer for the ignorant is to be educated, ameen.

Dua

May Allah Ar Rasheed, Al Haady, The Guide, guide us to be more forgiving, more inviting and less ignorant and away from the ignorant, and in the company of those that bring us closer to Allah, and to be of those who bring people closer to Allah with good manners and behaviour, ameen.

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Especially Merciful

Quran: “And I advise you.” (The words of the Prophet Nuh (Noah) AS (peace be upon him) in Surah Al A’raf:62)

Hadith: Anas RA (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW (peace be upon him) said: “None of you can be a true believer unless he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

In the UK we are in a heatwave in our buildings built to protect us from the cold. I found a useful trick - have ice packs under your feet to cool yourself down! I don’t understand the logic behind it as I thought heat rises, but if it works, alhamdullillah.

The Prophets (ASAS) and the Books were sent to guide us back to Allah, to the straight path, to the Oneness of God. The Prophet Nuh (AS) gave advice but it was not accepted by all, his own son turned away. But that is not in our control. All we can do is advise and set a good example, we are not responsible for the result.

Alhamdullillah I had sincere people who advised me about Islam. Or I would not even know about Islam.

I remember when I first started practising Islam, I had started praying immediately alhamdullillah, but everything else needed so much work! I remember coming home from University one day and trying to share some gossip with my flatmate which at the time seemed so important to me. I can’t even remember what it was about. But I do remember the advice I was given…that this was backbiting and she didn’t want to know. Well, I did not take that advice well (it had been less than a year of saying my shahada and practicing Islam, I am now on year 30) so I had to phone a friend because I had to get it off my chest, whatever it was that I wanted to share. But looking back at this incident, that’s the good friend, the one who advises against doing bad. As my mother used to say to me, ‘the good friend is not the one that smiles at you’, meaning its not just about smiling and joking around, but telling someone if they do something wrong. I believe that a good friend is one that calls you out when you cross a line and those are the type of friends from my friends that I really appreciate and trust. They are my safe space, I know if I say or do something wrong, they will advise me, alhamdullillah.

Loving for others what we love for ourselves. We all have problems and we should help and advise each other. That advise might not land immediately, it might take some time to process and realise and then take it on board. I remember being told we don’t shake hands with the opposite gender. I remember arguing at the time, but then reflecting later on, we don’t know what’s in their heart, and deciding then and there that I would no longer shake hands with the opposite gender. Whilst studying Sociology at Kingston University, I also had a little part time job at the University reception. We had a new senior staff member, I don’t recall if it was the Vice Chancellor or office manager, but it was someone senior. I was too embarrassed to say I don’t shake hands with men, so when he offered out his hand, I turned away and sat down. I was so mortified at what I had done! Not the best first impression! I went to the careers office and spoke about job interviews and asked how to deal with not shaking hands. I asked if I should laugh, and the English, presumably non-Muslim woman said ‘it’s your religion, take it seriously’. She then went on to explain that in English culture, a hand shake means ‘I’m pleased to meet you’, so physically do the stop sign with your hand and say ‘sorry I do not shake hands with men, but I am pleased to meet you’. This was before the Mufti Menks of our ummah did the famous hand on heart gesture when in this situation. (We are talking the late 90’s, which according to some online posts is now ‘vintage’! - It feels like just a few years ago!)

Alhamdullillah the advice of the Career’s adviser served me well and every job interview where I was invited to shake hands, this is what I did. No one ever expressed having a problem with this, apart from one manager (who had experienced the lack of hand shake in the interview and still went ahead and hired me) he was very easy going with most matters, apart from religion, if I was late, no problem, if I was ill, no problem. But he said I made him feel like a rapist by not wanting to be alone in a room with him or shake his hand! Wow. Knowing what we know now about abuse in the work place, by not wanting to be alone with a member of the opposite sex is actually a protection for all, from unwanted attention and unwanted accusation! Alhamdullillah whatever Islam, The Quran and the Hadith invites us to is for our own good!

When it comes to advice, we have to be open to it. I do regret the arguments I had about most advices given to me. Especially when I advise new Muslims and they say things like ‘thank you for telling me’, I do wish I had that attitude in my early days, I would have learnt alot more!

As someone with Cancer, I have been given ALOT of advice. Have chemo, don’t have chemo, have maintenance, don’t have maintenance, drink this, eat that, don’t eat this, move more, move less and rest more. So much advice and conflicting advice! When it comes to big decisions, I pray salatul istikara, the prayer one makes when making a decision. By making this dua and asking Allah’s help, I find so much contentment when making a decision, alhamdulillah. I know whatever steps I take after that, that that is where the khayr, the goodness is at. If that thing is not good for me, that Allah, Ar Razzaq, The Provider, He will give me something better, alhamdullillah. I have been amazed at the doors that have opened and shut with istikara alhamdullillah. Alhamdullillah whatever the advice and whether I act on it or not, I do appreciate it, I know it comes from a good place of genuine care and concern and feel so loved and valued that people have taken their time to research in their way about my Cancer and advices around it, alhamdullillah.

One of the best advices I had last year, when I was ready to go down a rabbit hole of ‘coulda shoulda woulda’ when I shared that this could have got picked up earlier (the tumor which was 11.5cm by 5.5 cm was diagnosed in January 2025 and then in March, was diagnosed with Follicular Lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgekins blood Cancer, stage 4 and then in April started 6 months of chemotherapy) alhamdullillah my guest, a Doctor, said ‘but Allah didn’t want you to know then’ subhanAllah that was gold! So glad Allah sent her to me that day when I was ready to dive into self pity and complaint mode. Yes, my Allah didn’t want me to know then, He wanted me to know now, after my training with The Productive Muslim Company to teach their Productive Muslim Masterclass, how to live your best life spiritually, physically and socially. SubhanAllah, I had just completed my training when I found out about the tumour! So I entered the test with the best mindset, focused on the akhira, aslong as I go with imaan, alhamdullillah, it doesn’t matter if it is now or later, none of us is promised tomorrow. I was mindful that with hardship comes ease, and I looked for the ease around me. Alhamdullillah I had the tools to deal with this test in the best way. Allah really is the best of planners and His timetable is perfect.

Sometimes we don’t have the best relationship with someone to advise them. We try, but they don’t take it on board or don’t understand. In those situations, advise and leave them to it. And if it’s so bad you can’t even give advice, take it to Allah, ask His help. Make nice dua for them and maybe because of your sincere dua, the problems they have are made better.

Talking of advice…I have some advice for mums with little children who have made their routines based around the school run. I remember one school holidays going to Howard Castle, we were in beautiful rose gardens. It was just before the girls were due to go back to school. In my head, my routine was going to resume when they went back to school. I had attached my good habits and routines to the school run and the kids being at school. We had prayed in those gardens and the school contacted to say there was a delay in the school year starting. I was so upset, I flopped onto the grass in a stroppy seated tantrum. Astaghfullah. May Allah forgive me, He had given me more time to spend with my children and instead of making the most of the opportunity, I complained, was ungrateful and wasted an opportunity. So these holidays, be present, be in the season, make the most of opportunities. The best holidays were those where I didn’t consider myself on holiday, but working as an active mum encouraging fun activities. The holidays where I considered myself on holiday were the ones we didn’t go anywhere or have exciting memories. So my advice, based on my mistakes and realisations is to sit with your kids at the beginning of the holidays and plan - where you are going to go, what you are going to make, do, bake, who you are going to visit, who you are going to invite. As someone wise said ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’. It doesn’t have to be a rigid programme. A list or mind map and then writing those commitments in the calendar and actioning them. It doesn’t have to be expensive, there’s many exciting free options available, alhamdullillah. That reminds me, one holiday, I organised for myself and my kids and my friend and her kids to go to make pottery with a professional. I asked the price on the phone and she said '£20’. I told my friend I wasn’t sure if that was per family or total….well….we all had ago on the pottery wheel, painting our work and some other pieces and chatted as we did so. I went to pay and the woman was adding on the till £20, £20, £20, £20…..it was at that point that I realised the bill was going to be alot higher than expected! Our individual bills were in the hundreds! We had to borrow money to pay! I had to tell the kids that that was our whole holiday budget and the rest of the holidays we would be doing free activities! So do check the price of activities in advance properly!

Sometimes, there’s a book or a course or another resource that the person could benefit from. One of the things I regularly advise women who suffer from issues like imposter syndrome and other limiting beliefs is to read or listen to the book ‘Show Up’ by Na’ima B. Robert. Alhamdullillah when I feel imposter syndrome creeping in, I listen to the audio. I remember in 2024 driving to Oldham for a retreat I had organised, feeling overwhelmed and a bit intimidated by the talented workshop hosts and feeling that I was lacking, so I had the book playing in the car and listened to the author reading the book. There’s something special about listening to a book being read by the author.

This week we started a book club and as one participant said, ‘Today, book club was not what I was expecting. We ‘showed up’. We read. We listened. We spoke. With heart, soul and tears. Alhamdullillah.’ This is what happens in safe spaces for women to express themselves, to discuss important issues and to share and advise each other and discuss how to take on board the advices in the book. If you are a female and would like to join our book club, you’re welcome to try a two week trial, and then £10 a month membership to join the club. Join here

What sincere advice can you give to your loved ones? What sincere advice do we need to take onboard from our loved ones?

Yaa Waali, Close Trusting Friend, Protector, You know what help and advice we need and who around us needs our help and advice, guide us to be sincere advisors for each other who love, advise and help each other for Your sake and come closer to You, ameen.

Quran: ‘By the oath of time, surely man is at a loss; except those who believe, do good deeds, who encourage each other towards the truth and who encourage each other to exercise patience’ (Surah Al Asr: 1-3)

Hadith: Ibn Abbas RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW met a caravan of people at al Rauha. He asked them: ‘Who are you people?’ They replied: ‘We are Muslim.’ They then asked, ‘Who are you?’ He said: ‘I am the Messenger of Allah.’ A woman (from among them) brought a child to him and asked: ‘Can this child perform haj?’ He replied: ‘Yes. And you shall receive the reward.’ (Muslim)

Commentary: The hadith teaches us that on who becomes the means of others obeying Allah, or who guides towards it, receives the reward that they receive.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

As I continue writing articles inspired by the Hadith Collection of Imam An Nawawi RA, ‘Riyaad As Saaliheen’ Gardens of the pious, I am reminded to not shy away from using words like ‘good deeds’, ‘righteousness’ and ‘piety’! It is what Allah, Al Khaaliq, The Creator invites us to and wants for us. So no matter how out of fashion words and phrases may be in society, our guidance comes from The Quran, not the passing whims of people.

According to the verses mentioned above, we are losers unless we believe, do good deeds, encourage each other to truth and to patience.

When it comes to belief, do what increases your belief and connection to Allah. You know yourself which gatherings and experience have a good effect on your imaan (belief) and a negative effect.

Do good deeds. If someone needs help and you can help them, help them. SubhanAllah, last year during my health diagnoses - tumour and then Cancer - I was blessed with the most amazing support from my community. My local community and the international community I had met online during my Productive Muslim training. I had duas from all over the world and visitors. I was inundated with offers of help. My fridge and freezer was full of home cooked food and I had to send a message out asking for no more food or flowers (I also had ten bunches, a few of which had to be stored in a blender as we ran out of vases!) Alhamdullillah the support was out of this world. There was the sister who messaged me daily. There was the sister who lived near the hospital and although I had had other offers of lifts, she was the one I remembered (the chemo really effected my memory and clarity of thought). There was the sister who made a WhatsApp group for people to help me. There was so much help, so many good deeds, subhanAllah. May Allah accept everyone’s efforts and make heavy on the scales of good deeds, ameen.

Last week my laptop broke and I did initially feel despair. I am not the same since my health journey and am limited in terms of what I can do. I was determined not to give up and wait to die (I have an incurable Cancer that I will probably die with but not necessarily of). I wanted to continue my dream to provide safe spaces of sisterhood for women to learn, connect to Allah and support each other. I had decided to focus my attention, my energy and focus to online events and to make the online space as engaging as possible (not the forced unpleasant online experience that many had during covid lockdown). So when the laptop broke I thought ‘oh no’. But then I remembered that Allah has always looked after alhamdullillah. The same Allah that has fed me and provided for me will look after me.

As Aliyah Umm Raiyaan mentioned in ‘Living with the Quran’: ‘I will no longer obsess over how my problems are solved. I will focus on who will solve them’.

It doesn’t mean we passively sit back and await miracles to be performed in front of us. It means having tawakkul (trust in Allah) and tying up your camel. You make dua, you ask Allah’s help and you make moves towards that goal.

I reminded my contacts of the LaunchGood appeal for the Sisters of Barakah business and alhamdullillah managed to raise most of the money to buy a new laptop. SubhanAllah, whatever good we do on this laptop, inshAllah those who invested in the business will be getting a share of that reward! As I mentioned last week…the ultimate halal pyramid scheme!

The truth - we should always speak it and our Prophet Muhammad SAW would not lie, even in jest and he is our role model. Even ‘white lies’ - they don’t hurt anyone….don’t they hurt one’s credibility? The Quran is over 1400 years old, not one letter has been changed. It has been preserved orally and in written form. The same cannot be said of other texts. So preserving the truth, the words of The Quran and of our Prophet Muhammad SAW is so important.

Encouraging patience - I don’t know who needs to know this, but crying and talking is not contrary to patience! We are humans, not robots, we have feelings and need to express and release emotions! We used to have a session for women who had lost a child. I was initially worried that we didn’t have a trained counsellor professional onboard, but the safe space for peer support, for women to talk to other women who had had the same experience was so beneficial. Women shared the pain they felt when well meaning people said things like ‘be patient’ as a way to shut them down, to stop talking. This is not patience. Patience is not complaining. Patience is an abused word in our society.

Encouraging each other to truth and patience should be done with hikmah (wisdom). When I first started practising Islam when I was 21 years old, 30 years ago! I was very passionate about the truth but lacked the manners and wisdom to share the truth or encourage others. I was harsh and I cringe when sisters tell me things I said to them in my early days of practising Islam! May Allah make us like the best role model with the best manners, Prophet Muhammad SAW, ameen.

May Allah, Al Aleem, The All Knowing give us opportunities to do make the most of the blessings He has given us to do good deeds, to help each other and to make the most of our freewill to be successful in this life and the next, ameen.

Quran: “Assist each other in good deeds and piety.” (Surah Al Ma'idah: 2)

Hadith: Abu Hurayrah RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “One who invites towards guidance shall receive a similar reward to that of all those who follow him, without any decrease in their rewards; and one who invites towards misguidance shall receive a similar sin to that of all those who follow him, without any decrease in their sins.”

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

Welcome to the ultimate halal pyramid scheme! When we encourage others to do good, when they do good, we get reward, when they invite others to that good, we all get reward, cha ching….on our scales of good deeds, alhamdullillah.

Allah does not look at our appearance, but at our spiritual hearts. But our hearts have influences such as Shaytan, whispering. The whispers of Shaytan to take is away from Allah, take us away from His mercy, to make us lose hope and despair. But Shaytan can only whisper. We are the ones who waste our precious free will to take that whisper and make it grow and fester until it reaches the state of action.

For six years, I worked at the One Nation Charity. My role was fundraising and engagement. Whether paid or voluntary posts or poorly paid posts, I've always given 110%, going above and beyond alhamdullillah. During that time, in Ramadan there would be a food stall. Community members would make food and donate it to the stall and a team of volunteers would sell that food for a particular charity project alhamdullillah. During these times I'd be in my office. And customers would come in with specific donations. There was one sister, Aunty Farida Lorgat. She would go to the food stall and buy bags of food for her family and neighbours and wait for everyone else to leave before discretely donating to other appeals anonymously. Sometimes I'd give her a lift home and she would invite me for a cup of tea. I usually said no, I was too busy and tired and needed to go home. There was one day I said yes and we had a lovely chat. I look back at that time with regret at those times I said no. We really should see every invitation as an opportunity, none of us us guaranteed tomorrow. We should treat each invite like it could be the last and pray each prayer like it could be our last.

Aunty Farida passed away a few years ago and her family set up a Masjid appeal in Malawi for her as a sadaqah jaariya. Today there was a foodstall to raise money for the masjid. I'm still to ill to cook or go shopping, but I ordered a few bags of food for my family and neighbours and got a relative to pick them up alhamdullillah. I gave the bags to my neighbours, the way that Aunty Farida, may Allah be pleased with her, would. InshAllah she's getting a share of that reward too, if visiting and feeding neighbours alhamdullillah.

It's very sad that words like piety, pious and good deeds have been made so negative in our society. Let's bring it back! Let's normalise striving to do good deeds and striving to be pious.

One of Shaytans tricks is to belittle good deeds. But if we look at the words of The Quran and the Hadith and living example of the Prophet Muhammad SAW, we will see the importance of good deeds and being pious.

Another trick is to make people fear they are showing off. We are supposed to give openly AND in secret, not just in secret. Why? It encourages others. Before I worked at the charity, I didnt know as much as I do now about how to help the poor and needy.

Then there are those who can only give or do good when no one knows, when things are better. People talk about becoming millionaires so they can build an orphanage. Don't wait til then, donate now! If someone asks you, give them, don't wait for later.

There is a fear that by inviting others its showing off, this is not correct.

Let's embrace doing good deeds and encouraging others. The next time you are invited to donate, donate and share. Be part of the ultimate halal pyramid scheme!

May Ar Rasheed, The Guide to Piety guide us and use us to guide others so we can all come closer to Him, Al Wadood, The Most Loving, Ar Rahmaan, The Most Merciful, ameen

Quran: “When the believers are summoned to appear before Allah and His Messenger so that he may pass judgement between them, all they say is: ‘We hear and we obey.’ These are the successful ones.” (Surah An Nuur: 51)

Hadith: ‘The wise man is the one who takes account of himself and strives for that which is after death.’ Prophet Muhammad SAW

As Salamu alaikum dear readers,

Are you ready for the next life? For the akhirah? Our forever home? If not now, then when? Later? What if later never comes?

Today I joined an annual reset programme with The Productive Muslim Company. Alhamdullilah I’ve learnt and benefited so much from them! Today’s session included a discussion about the Hijri calendar. Do you know what the Hijri date is today?

Hijri refers to the Islamic calendar date that begins from after the Prophet Muhammad SAW migrated from Makkah (where the early Muslims were being persecuted) to Madinah (the city that welcome the Prophet SAW with open arms).

Practising Muslims tend to be aware of when it is Ramadan, when its Hajj time and perhaps a few other times of the year. However, how much importance do we give the very way of measuring the date that our Prophet Muhammad SAW and his companions used?

If this is something you’d like to be more aware of and bring into your daily life, have a look at this website: Productive Muslim Company Go Hijri Website

I scored 7 today! Which may seem like a low score, but it’s higher than it was, alhamdullillah! When I write in my Quran and Hadith Journal, I write the Gregorian and Hijri date. When I make a poster for a Productive Muslim Course, I include the Hijri date. Today I learnt that I can add the Hijri date to my phone and laptop. There’s so many ways we can bring the Hijri date into our lives alhamdullillah. A few years ago, I was completely oblivious to the Hijri date except in Ramadan.

Islam is a complete way of life. This worldly life, as one person described it is like five minutes and the next life is for ever and ever. Our Prophet Muhammad SAW was sent as a mercy to mankind, as a walking talking Quran, the best role model. Allah wants us to win the race! Whatever rules He has given us are for our own good and what ever He has forbidden us is also for our own good.

By reflecting on the past and taking account of our deeds in this life, we can actually edit our book of deeds with sincere repentance and turning to Allah! Muhaasibah.

May Allah guide us to make the most of our free will to listen and obey, to seek forgiveness for our wrongs, to fix them, and to meet Allah and His Messenger SAW as those who are successful, ameen.

Quran: “Say: ‘If you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will then love you and forgive your sins.’” (Surah Ali Imraan: 31)

Hadith: Abu Hurayrah RA (radiAllahu anhu - may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “All of my ummah (community/nation) shall enter Paradise except those who reject.” he was asked; “O Messenger of Allah! Who are those who reject?” He replied: “Those who obey me shall enter Paradise and those who disobey me reject.” (Bukhari)

As salamu alaikum dear readers (peace be upon you),

Allah is Al Wadood, The Most Loving, He loves us more than our own parents, more than anyone else who loves us and more than we could ever love anyone! How amazing is that! That The One who is in control of the whole world, The Most Powerful, The Creator of everything, He who knows everything about us, He loves us! No matter how far we stray, if we turn back and say sorry, He will accept us!

Do we love Allah? Allah Himself tells us in The Quran, The Book our Creator sent so we could be guided, that if we love Him, then we should follow the Prophet Muhammad SAW. And He will love us and forgive our sins.

Islam is a complete way of life and Allah SWT (subhana wa ta’ala, Glorified is The Most High) sent the Prophet Muhammad SAW as a guide, as a mercy to mankind, as a walking, talking Quran to exemplify how we should live.

There are different Seerahs (life and biography of Prophet Muhammad SAW). One I like to listen to on Audible is ‘Sealed Nectar’. You can find the audio book here: The Sealed Nectar

Being like the Prophet Muhammad SAW is a journey. It is not as simple as saying the Shahada (testimony of faith - the step one takes to become a Muslim, saying in Arabic there is no God but Allah and Muhammad SAW is The Messenger of Allah). When committing to become a Muslim one does not immediately embody the manners, wisdom and knowledge of the Prophet SAW. I remember my early days of practising Islam. I had just been taught how to pray and fast. I was full of passion and zeal to learn, but also terribly judgemental. Even now, people remind me of awful things I said to them. To be fair it came from a place of fear of Jahannum, of Hell. But our Prophet SAW who had the most important mission and saw Jannah (Paradise) and Jahannum, he had the best of manners and treated people well. THAT is our role model.

I remember becoming a stepparent and saying I had no role models. The only time I heard of a step parent was in fairy stories. Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, (I just searched online for fairy tales about stepmothers and there’s a list of 68!). However, I was reading a book and it mentioned a stepson of the Prophet SAW! SubhanAllah I have the best role model!

A series recorded by Yaqeen Institute - Meeting Muhammad SAW - to learn more about his character, his demeaner and his physical description. I just had a little rewatch and have tears, this question was asked: ‘What would you say to the Prophet SAW?’ - What would you say? This took me on a journey to search for that viral clip of a young Ertuğrul actor being asked this question and giving a very heart touching answer. Erturgrul actor answering question. SubhanAllah I met this young man when he was 17 and was struck by his good manners.

Years ago, decades ago I came across a lovely poem about what would we do if Prophet Muhammad SAW came to visit us:

If the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) visited you, how would you act?

If the Prophet Muhammad visited you,
Just for a day or two;
If he came unexpectedly
I wonder what you’d do.

Oh! I know you’d give your nicest room
To such an honored guest;
And all the food you’d serve to him
Would be the very best.

And you would keep assuring him,
You’re glad to have him there;
Your hospitality would be beyond belief
And service beyond compare.

But… when you saw him coming,
Would you meet him at the door
With arms outstretched in welcome
To your honored visitor?

Or… would you have to change your
Clothes before you let him in?
Or hide some magazines and put
The Qur’an where they had been?

Would you still watch movies
On your trusty TV set?
Or would you rush to switch it off
Before he gets upset?

Would you turn off the radio
And hope he hadn’t heard?
And wish you hadn’t uttered
That last loud nasty word?

Would you hide you worldly music
And instead take Islamic books out?
Could you let him walk right in,
Or would you rush about?

And, I wonder… if the Prophet spent
A day or two with you,
Would you go right on doing the things
That you always do?

Would you go right on saying the things
You always used to say?
Would life for you continue
As it does from day to day?

Would your family conversation
Keep its usual pace?
Or would you find it hard each meal
To say a table grace?

Would you keep up each and every
Prayer, forcing back a frown?
And would you always jump up early
For every prayer at dawn?

Would you sing the songs you always do
And read the books you read?
And let him know things on which
Your mind and spirit feed?

Would you take the Prophet with you
Everywhere you normally go?
Or would you , maybe, change your plan
Just for a day or so?

Would you be glad to have him meet
Your very closest friends?
Or would you hope they’d stay away
Until his visit ends?

Would you be glad to have him stay
Forever on and on?
Or would you sigh with great relief
When he at last was gone?

It might be interesting to know
The things you would do
If the Prophet Muhammad, in person,
Came to spend some time with you.

SubhanAllah thought provoking poem that is due an update to add social media and other distractions we have! What positive changes can we make in our lives, even one baby step to be more like our Prophet Muhammad SAW?

In December 2018 January 2019 I got to go for umrah. It was my first time at the Rawdah, the blessed area inside Masjid an-Nabawi in Madinah that lies between the Prophet SAW’s grave and his original pulpit (minbar). My friend came to meet us at our hotel to take us. We queued, we waited and when we got there, there were many women from around the world pushing and shoving. Women who were not educated in the etiquettes, women who looked thin and frail, yet were super strong, capable of flinging others away. Finally the firm ‘ukhruj’ (go, exit) comments from the female security made sense, as they shoed us away, they had been dealing with this type of behaviour. I’m from the UK, we queue, we wait, do don’t push and shove. But not every culture is like that. I remember reading a Pakistani Mufti mentioning the polite culture of the British being more akin to the way of our Prophet Muhammad SAW than cultures that have abandoned such good manners. A lesson for all, Islam is perfect, but people are not and any culture that is contrary to the way of our Prophet Muhammad SAW should be thrown in the bin!

The second time I went to the Rawdah, I braced myself. I knew it was our last day in Madinah and my last opportunity. The Indonesian sister sat next to me said she would join me if she wasn’t fasting, knowingly, that she had experienced the chaos before and one needed to be properly energised! A group of sisters approached me, took me under their wing, I asked where they were from, they said Yemen. We reached the carpet to signify we were in the Rawdah and they formed a circle around me so I could pray peacefully. They were like angels, sent to help me. I got to pray without being pushed around or fearing a stampede. Then on my way out I found a library and went inside and sat and read from the English translation of Ibn Kathir’s Surah Baqarah. Did you know I love books?

I had another miraculous experience in Madinah. I was going to the masjid and was feeling hungry. When I arrived, I was invited to sit down to eat. I realised it was a Monday or Thursday and said I’m not fasting, they insisted and I sat and cried. Allah knew I was hungry and fed me in Masjid Nabawi. It was a simple meal of a bread roll, yoghurt and dates, but it was so special.

Recently in the UK we’ve had racist Islamaphobic groups mock Muslims and march against us. I wrote what I thought was a clever sarcastic sketch. The next day I was listening to Chaptrs about the manners of Prophet Muhammad SAW, ‘A Handbook of Prophetic Characteristics’ by Ibn Daud, and was reminded that he did not mock others. SubhanAllah the reminder I needed before I shared the mocking. We don’t stoop to their level, we move forward and towards Allah. We behave like our Prophet Muhammad SAW who was mocked and still invited to the truth and to goodness with kindness and good manners.

Alhamdullillah for the reminders.

May Allah Al Wadood make us those He loves and surrounds and with those He loves, guide us to have the best manners and actions, like Prophet Muhammad SAW and make us meet him in the best way, that he recognises us and is proud to have us as part of his Ummah, ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

In The Name of Allah The Most Merciful, The Especially Merciful

Quran: Has the time not come for those who believe that their hearts submit to the remembrance of Allah and to the truth that has been revealed? Do not be like those who were given the Book before, after which a long period of time elapsed and their hearts hardened” (Surah Al Hadeed: 16

Hadith: Abdullah Ibn Amr Iba Al Aas RA narrates: “The Messenger of Allah SAW said to me: ‘O Abdullah! Do not be like so and so person who used to worship at night and then stopped doing so.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

Allah wants us to win the race. He sends reminders through Prophets ASAS and Books to guide us back to Him. Alhamdullillah.

We just need to make the most of our free will to please Allah, to worship Him, to submit fully by obeying the rules and having a good character, like our Prophet Muhammad SAW, who his own wife described as ‘Walking, talking Quran’.

Allah invites us to the truth, to goodness, to the straight path, to Paradise, whilst Shaytan threatens us with scarcity, with poverty, with fear, with negativity - he is our open enemy, he hates us.

Allah is Al Wadood, He loves us.

As a budding entrepreneur (I was asked if I have a business or a hobby, I answered hobby, but actually, I have a high- maintained extra child that needs looking after!) in the business marketing spaces online there’s comments like ‘rich customers are better’ , ‘stay away from poor clients’. Then I see other comments like ‘once they make it, they don’t want to know us any more’, ‘look at these greedy rich people’. So I see a lot of negative comments online and hear them in person too. Wealth is a blessing, just like beauty, intellect and so many other blessings. It’s not the blessing that matters but what we do with it. Are we obeying Allah or disobeying Allah? You could have someone wealthy doing good with their wealth and you could have someone who is poor yearning to have wealth to do haram. May Allah guide us all to make the most of our blessings, ameen.

The negativity reminded me of when my children were very little and the house was in a state. I had very little sleep, time to shower, time to myself, I’d try to tidy one room and the kids would trash another, I’d fall asleep exhausted and wake up and start all over again. I remember the laundry, Mount Wash-more and the struggle to find a matching pair of socks. I was so overwhelmed. I was told about ‘Flylady’ and I looked it up, I bought the book, in that book she described two types of people: born organised and side tracked executives. That was a big aha moment for me. This society is so judgemental. If you enjoy cleaning, you’re said to have OCD (said in a negative judgemental way, not in a way of support and sharing tools to make life easier) and if you don’t you’re labelled ‘lazy’. Islamically, we are all blessed in different ways. And its a case of making the most of the blessings. Alhamdullillah the baby steps in the Fly Lady book ‘Sink Reflections’ helped me to look after the house better. I’ve also dabbled in Marie Kondo’s ‘Spark Joy’ - her method for clothes was great, but the advice to only have 20 books did not land well with me or my library! I also found that listening to books whilst cleaning helped me to get through it. That’s what worked for me and you have to do what works for you. Another thing that helped was doing it to please Allah, not people, saying bismillah before doing it. When I did it for people I was resentful for the lack of appreciation. But doing it for Allah, His thanks is better than what any people can give.

Over the years (30 years since I started practising Islam), I had access to learning about Islam internally and externally. Internally, I learnt about taskiyah and tasawwuf - about cleaning the heart. I learnt not to look down at anyone, to have a good opinion of people, not to make assumptions. I wear niqab (a face covering), a decision I made when I was 25 years old. Sometimes people assume the more covered you are the more judgemental you are of people who wear less. As I learnt in a training course decades ago ‘when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME…assume.’ If you ever see me staring at anyone, it would be either I’m daydreaming or thinking what a pretty outfit.

In Islam we know that Shaytan can whisper negative thoughts to us, but we are not supposed to take the whisper and let it grow, we are suppose to push the negativity away. Audhu billahi menash Shaytanir rajeem, I seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the rejected one.

There’s something about the online space that encourages negativity. In ‘Supercommunicators’ by Charles Duhigg, he mentioned how two groups of people were brought together pro gun and anti gun in America. They shared personal stories and their ‘why’. A woman shared about how her daughter was at a school where there was a shooter, how scary that experience was. Another shared how hunting with their family brought them together. The experiment of bringing these different people together to share their stories and connect was going so well in person that people were even going out to eat together. However, once they were online, the name calling and negativity started.

When it comes to good deeds, in the UK words like ‘good-doer’ have negative connotations and I can remember when ‘bad’ and ‘wicked’ were used as positive adjectives. What does the Quran say? Allah loves those who do good.

The hadith mentioned earlier speaks about not stopping good habits. During chemotherapy treatment I was too weak to move and left my Quran reading habits, after a while I realised I could play what I usually said on YouTube so at least my ears and heart could benefit.

What good habits have you fallen out of? Write them as an intention to tick off each day for 40 days and get them back as a habit.

May Allah, Al Wadood, The Most Loving guide us towards good habits and help us to abandon bad habits and to be successful in everyway in this life and the next, ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

In The Name of Allah The Most Merciful, The Especially Merciful

Quran: Taahaa. We have not revealed to you The Quran to cause you difficulty. (Surah Taahaa: 1-2)

Hadith: Aisha RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW came to her when there was a woman with her. He asked: “Who is this?” She replied: “This is so and so woman who is saying how much of salah (prayers) she offers. The Messenger of Allah SAW said: “Abstain! You should only do what you are capable of doing. By Allah, Allah does not become exhausted (of rewarding), as you become exhausted. The deen (religion) He loves most is that wherein there is consistency.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Commentary: Imam Nawawi RA (Author of Riyaadh As Saaliheen, Gardens of The Righteous) said that continuity upon little is superior to a lot performed inconsistently because consistency is accompanied by sincerity, genuine obedience, recognition and remembrance of Allah.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

Allah is so merciful, He wants us to win the race - as the author of ‘Reflecting on the Names of Allah’, Dr Jinan Yousef mentioned on the course I joined last year.

SubhanAllah Allah created us to worship Him, yet people started worshipping idols. He could have just destroyed us, but instead, He sent Prophets and Books to guide us back to the straight path. He could have stopped our food, stopped our provisions, but He didn’t, He gave us opportunity after opportunity after opportunity and everyone, even the most evilest, meanest person has an opportunity to turn back, say sorry, and He will forgive them! Until the death rattle. That gurgling sound that leaves the body at the end.

One of my kids made food and gave an instruction to a sibling, when the sibling said no, the kid refused to let them eat the food they made. One instruction and one meal! How many meals Allah feeds us and how many instructions, given for our own good, have we not followed? SubhanAllah.

One of Shaytan’s tricks is to use our religion against us. Make us go beyond the limits, thinking we are being religious and doing something good by doing more, but actually, we are causing ourselves harm. Allah loves what we do small and regularly than we do lots and get overwhelmed and give up completely.

The Quran was sent as a guide, to guide us to what’s right, to warn us, to advise us. Whatever is in the Quran was sent as an ease for us, not a difficulty, we are the ones who make things difficult for ourselves.

Make an effort with The Quran, small and regular:

• Learn tafsir, to recite it the way it was recited to The Prophet Muhammad SAW and how he recited it to those around him. Alhamdullillah I have a Quran teacher who listens to me every week. I am not where I should be, but I am taking steps forward alhamdullillah.

• Memorise The Quran. How amazing is it that every country where there is someone who has memorised the entire book of The Quran has memorised the exact same words and letters! One of the miracles of The Quran is how it has been preserved in paper and by heart.

• Act upon The Quran - if we never read it in our own language, how will we obey the commands and heed the warnings?

• Study The Quran - we learn so much, things that don’t necessarily help us in this life or the next (hours of scrolling, numbing our brains). Imagine studying The Quran with trustworthy teachers and benefiting in this life and the next?

• Reflect on The Quran - how can I act upon this verse? What do I have to be grateful in this verse? What duas can I make, asking Allah’s help with regards to the issues in the verse?

• Listen to talks by trustworthy teachers on The Quran. I’ve repeated the need for trustworthy teachers as not everyone who has something to say about The Quran is trustworthy. Know where they studied, what they studied. This advice was given to me years ago and alhamdullillah I’ve been blessed with access to amazing inspiring teachers who not only taught The Quran, but practically implemented into their lives. Alhamdullillah.

• Bear in mind that there are four types of verses in The Quran:

  • Those that only Allah knows, like Taa Haa for example, the letters that appear at the beginning of some of the Surahs, Chapters in The Quran.

  • Those that the scholars who have studied The Quran and Hadith and understand the background stories and context of the verses, the Islamic rulings and the technical information.

  • Those that Arabic speakers will understand.

  • Those that we can all understand. We want to go to Jannah, we do not want to go to Jahannum. We want to be those that Allah loves, we do not want to be those who Allah does not love. These type of verses, we can reflect on them and bring them into our lives.

  For those who say how do I know what type of verse am I reading? If you’re unsure, ask someone or move on to the next verse. It’s very important we don’t try to interpret and give erroneous meanings to The Quran. Or we can fall into being like the people of the past who changed the meanings of The Books. Or spread falsehood.

• Be consistent with The Quran. Don’t just recite it in Ramadan. Don’t let it get dusty.

Consistency of habits is one of the last modules in the Productive Muslim Programme which nicely wraps up all the beneficial content into lasting habits to realistically bring into one’s life.

There is so much we can do, but by taking baby steps, we make it manageable, practical and longer lasting.

Send an email to feride@sistersofbarakah.com if you would like to join the next cohort or sign up for one to one sessions with me going through the Productive Muslim Programme that helped me during my tumour and Cancer diagnoses during 2025 by giving me the tools to deal with the test in the best way spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially and mentally. That mindset, by the Grace of Allah helped through this challenging time. We all have tests and challenges in life. Having the right tools and a safe space to explore them is life changing!

May Al Wadood, The Most Loving guide us to make the most of our opportunities to be consistent with The Quran, with The Creator and with His creation, ameen.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

I am looking for ten women to go through the life changing modules that helped me through my health test.

You don't need more time. You need barakah in your time.

A 10-week live Islamic productivity transformation for Muslim women who are exhausted by doing everything — and still feeling behind.

“I make du’a for more time. I write lists. I try harder. But by Friday I feel like I’ve failed my deen, my family, and myself — again.”

If you recognise that feeling, this was written for you.

You are not lazy. You are running on the wrong system.

Most productivity tools were built for corporate men. They were never designed for a Muslim woman’s life, multiple roles and expectations — work, family, spirituality. No wonder they don’t work.

The endless guilt loop

You feel behind on your ibadah when you’re being productive. You feel behind on your goals when you’re focusing on your deen. The two never feel aligned.

The Sunday evening dread

You feel behind on your ibadah when you’re being productive. You feel behind on your goals when you’re focusing on your deen. The two never feel aligned.

The overwhelm that never ends

You are managing roles no one fully sees. Wife, mother, daughter, employee, volunteer, community member — and somewhere underneath all of it, yourself.

The productivity tricks that fail you

You’ve tried the planners. The apps. The early mornings. They worked for a week. Because information isn’t the problem — transformation is what’s missing.

Imagine a life where your deen and your days flow together.

This is not a fantasy. It is a framework. Built on over 10 years of Islamic productivity research and lived transformation by The Productive Muslim Company.

• You have energy for the things that matter most — your ibadah, your family, your purpose

• Salah is a pause you look forward to, not a disruption you squeeze in

• You have energy for the things that matter most — your ibadah, your family, your purpose

• You work less frantically — but achieve more, because your time carries barakah

• You feel part of a sisterhood who truly understand your life and your deen

• You have a framework you can return to for the rest of your life — not just for this season

• You stop waiting to feel “ready” — and start living with intention, right now

Introducing PROM 2

The Productive Muslim Online Masterclass is not a course you watch alone and forget. It is a live, 10-week guided transformation — built on over 10 years of research by The Productive Muslim Company, one of the world’s leading Islamic personal development organisations. It combines authentic Islamic principles with practical productivity in a way that was built for real Muslim life.

PROM 2

The Productive Muslim Online Masterclass

Delivered by Feride McNeilly — a Certified Productive Muslim Trainer & founder of Sisters of Barakah Limited. Certified by The Productive Muslim Company, creators of over a decade of Islamic productivity research and training.

Feride didn’t discover PROM in a classroom. She lived it — during one of the hardest seasons of her life. When she was navigating a cancer diagnosis, PROM gave her the framework to manage her time, her energy, and her heart with intention — not as productivity hacks, but a deep rooted mindset of contentment and gratitude. What she found changed everything. And now she delivers it — because every Muslim woman deserves access to this.

Here is what you actually receive for your investment.

• Every element has been chosen to make sure no sister is left without what she needs to truly transform.

• 10 Live Weekly Sessions with Feride

• Not pre-recorded. Not passive. You are live, in the room, with Feride and your sisters. This is where the real transformation happens — in the questions, the conversations, the moments of recognition. Recordings available if you miss a session.

• The Islamic Productivity Masterclass — live and in community

• A Cohort of Maximum 10 Sisters - This is not a webinar with hundreds of attendees. You are one of 10. Feride knows your name, your situation, your goals. This is the level of attention that actually creates change — not a faceless online course.

• High-touch, personalised transformation in a truly intimate space

• A Sisterhood for Life

• Over 10 sessions you will cover: the Islamic worldview of time and barakah, niyyah and purpose-setting, sleep and energy management from a Sunnah perspective, focus and deep work, managing your roles without losing yourself, goal-setting aligned with your akhirah, and building systems that last beyond the programme.

• Genuine sisterhood and spiritual accountability

• Direct Access to Feride (one to one meeting before the programme to assess needs and suitability for the programme and one after the ten weeks to confirm progress made in line with needs and discuss next steps)

• You are not left to figure it out alone between sessions. Feride is available to her PROM sisters — for questions, support, and the kind of encouragement that makes the difference between information and transformation.

• Personal guidance from a certified trainer who genuinely cares about your growth

• After the 10 weeks of the Productive Muslim Programme, we will keep our connection open for a year of support with book clubs and focus sessions inshAllah.

Bonus: Payment Plan & Scholarship

Payment plans are available so that cash flow is never what stops you. Additionally, there is one fully paid scholarship place available per cohort. The scholarship is not means-tested — it is assessed by suitability for the programme. If you feel called to apply, please mention this when you submit your interest form.

Because barakah should never be out of reach

This is not theoretical. It is lived.

"When I was going through my cancer diagnosis, I could have fallen apart completely. The fear, the uncertainty, the loss of control — it was overwhelming. But PROM gave me something I cannot describe in a few words: it gave me a framework to live with intention even inside the hardest season. I learned how to protect my energy, honour my ibadah, manage my time — not as productivity hacks, but a deep rooted mindset of contentment and gratitude.

That experience is why I am inviting you to join this course! Love for others what you love for yourself, I know — from the inside — that this framework changes the way you experience your entire life. And I want every Muslim woman to have access to it."

Feride McNeilly — Founder, Sisters of Barakah · Certified Productive Muslim Trainer

Delivered by Feride McNeilly — a Certified Productive Muslim Trainer & founder of Sisters of Barakah Limited. Certified by The Productive Muslim Company, creators of over a decade of Islamic productivity research and training.

Real women. Real transformation.

In their own words — unedited.

“The key lessons that continue to stay with me are balance, focus, and time. I now consciously create balance in my days and make purposeful use of my time. Through the course, I gained a clearer understanding of the best version of myself.” Abeedah

“I dropped a few tasks to make room for presence in what is important.” Sister — PROM cohort

“Now I take my time and focus on one task at a time. My daily routine is a work in progress but I am happy where I am now. I always remember the Gardener mindset and have advised my girls to adopt that mindset.” Sister — PROM cohort

Our Commitment to You

"We under promise and over deliver." - A principle at the heart of The Productive Muslim Company’s certification training. That was Feride’s own experience with The Productive Muslim Company — and it is the standard she is committed to honouring with every sister she works with.

30 day money back guarantee - I have joined courses and realised it was not for me and have been refused a refund! If within the 30 days you are not happy and want to leave, you are free to do so with a full refund. During one of the cohorts I delivered, a sister had a personal situation and asked to leave. We stopped the instalments AND refunded what she had already paid. Part of sisterhood is supporting each other and making life easier, not harder. If you have a personal situation or you do not feel that this programme is right for you, contact Feride directly and receive a full refund — no questions, no pressure.

This is your invitation. Not to a course. To a new way of living.

There are a maximum of 10 sisters in this cohort. Once those places are filled, the door closes — and the next cohort is not yet scheduled.

If you have been feeling the pull toward this — that is not coincidence. That is Allah putting the right thing in front of you at the right time.

“The key lessons that continue to stay with me are balance, focus, and time. I now consciously create balance in my days and make purposeful use of my time. Through the course, I gained a clearer understanding of the best version of myself.” Abeedah

£780 - Full investment · Payment plans available · Scholarship available · 30 day money-back guarantee

10 weeks of The Productive Muslim Programme and one year of support, community, focus sessions and bookclub.

Get in touch!

Expression of interest - let us know if you are interested to join us and then we can have a chat to confirm this is for you.

Scholarship link - non means tested fully paid place on the course worth over £1,000!

Not sure yet? Message Feride directly on WhatsApp (+447494742235) or Instagram @sistersofbarakah — a real conversation, no pressure, no script.

Check out what people have said

"Since I've started the modules I am feeling the barakah and recognising what productivity is." @asmamalik

"Assalaamualaikum, jazakallahu khair for an amazing masterclass! Feride Apa's presentation style was great, with lots of opportunities to ask questions and talk about real life examples. There was lots of support and help to adapt things to our own life. This has more than met my expectations. May Allah bless Sister Feride with barakah & success in this world and the aakhirah." @aisha.m.kola

"This is my review. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone who is looking to enhance their productivity at the same time maintaining their faith. I gained valuable insights into how to become productive and mindful muslimah. I am grateful to be part of barakah sisters." Anonymous

"ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ since I've started modules I am feeling the barakah and recognising what productivity is. It's like a double edge sword whilst you prepare for the day you prepare for your Akirah. The tasks are simple yet effective I would recommend this to everyone as we all need to make the best of our precious life and time with Allah talas permission." @asmamalik

I look forward to the next cohorts and the aha moments we will have together as we travel through the life changing modules. Full disclosure - I have had my own personal upgrades with each cohort I have delivered. This is years of materials we go through together at our own pace and from where we are at. To go from version 1.0 to 1.1 as longer lasting positive change, not jumping to version 100 and falling down to zero.

May Allah, Al Wadood, The Most Loving, bring the sisters who need this to move forward in all areas of their lives and to be closer to Allah, ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Quran: “And Allah is well aware of the good you do.” (Surah Al Baqarah, 215)

Hadith: Abu Dharr RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “Every morning, charity is due on behalf of every joint of your body. Every tashbih (subhanAllah - glorification of Allah) is charity; every tahmeed (alhamdullillah - praise of Allah ) is charity; every tahleel (laa ilaaha illAllah - proclamation of the oneness of Allah) is charity; every takbeer (Allahu akbar - expression of the greatness of Allah) is charity; commanding good is charity; and forbidding evil is charity. However, two rakahs of salah at mid morning (Salaat ad duha) suffices for all of this.” (Muslim)

Commentary: The bounty and blessing of every joint in the human body is immense. One can well understand their value when one considers those who are incapacitated. Hence, when one awakes every morning safe from sickness and difficulty, one needs to be grateful to Allah. Charity has been suggested for this purpose as it repels calamities and difficulties. By giving in charity, it is hoped that the joints of the body will remain sound and healthy.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

Apologies for the two weeks of absence, despite my intention to write here every Friday. I got super busy with the retreat, before, during and after!

No one really understands what it is like to organise a retreat until they do so! Certainly not the Macmillan staff member who said with my Cancer I could do one once a year. And certainly not those who complained about the pricing saying it was too expensive.

The costs of a luxury venue and properly paying skilled professionals to run their workshops and one to one support sessions are a price I personally would be willing to pay and you get what you pay for. I’ve had some great experiences with cheaper and free events, but those came at a cost and not something I would be able to do now with my health, alhamdullillah. The amount of time and energy that goes behind organising is exhausting! The marketing, the advertising, the organising, the admin, the finance, the extra expenses, the fear of not providing value for every guest and adding more, the messages and phonecalls and conversations that ended with the other person ghosting. It’s ok to say no. It’s better to say no than leave the other person hanging in limbo, this person is interested, should I hang on for them? Should I reach out? Should I give space?

Then was the day of rejections one after another, after another, after another…I had a day of falling into ‘poor me’ and took it very personally. Then I realised, I’d fallen into hustle culture and worried about the outcome, not the intentions and making the most of my free will. My haqq balance (being balanced in all roles i.e. family, community, work etc) had gone out the window, I had become obsessed with this event wanting it to be perfect and not let anyone down. But this is not the place of perfection, this is the dunya, the worldly life, everything is temporary and you can never please all the people all the time. When your goal is to please Allah, alhamdullillah, everything is easy.

You don’t expect someone who has trained in barakah culture and teaches it to others to succumb to it! But I did! And that’s the thing about the Productive Muslim Programme and about all aspects of spiritual and personal development….it’s a journey. We will take detours and come off the path. We will slip and fall. But alhamdullillah we have the tools to get back up again and get back on the path. Bismillah.

I had prayed istikara and made dua to Allah asking Him to bring those sisters who needed this and alhamdullillah the weekend itself was amazing! By Allah’s permission, alhamdullillah.

The sisterhood and good company really shone through from the staff, the volunteers and the staff.

Alhamdullillah for the opportunities and astaghfullah for any shortcomings. I’m grateful I got to be involved with the retreat, it won’t be yearly, this was the last one, but I am grateful I got to fulfil my dream to organise a retreat at the beautiful Lakehouse in Huddersfield and have sisterhood and inspiring workshops, including the Productive Muslim ones and the Quran and Hadith one, aswell as pilates and breathwork, alhamdulillah.

So back to the subject above, good deeds and different avenues. Good deeds are not limited to the apparent. Good deeds are how we show up, mindful of Allah, pleasing Allah in all we do, in all our roles.

I have set a start date for the next cohort of The Productive Muslim Programme 2 with Feride begins 6th June 2026 — the 20th of Dhul Hijjah, in sha Allah.

Join me to go through the life changing course that helped me through my health journey last year. Whatever test you are going through especially around overwhelm, this course has the tools we all need! Alhamdullillah.

Here is the link to express interest to join: Express interest to join PROM2 with Feride

With each cohort, I offer a fully paid scholarship. It is not means tested. The selection process is ensuring suitability for the course and then random selection. You can apply here: Scholarship Application

May Al Hady The Guide guide us all to do the best deeds with our free will that are good and pleasing to Him and bring us closer to Him, Ameen

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Quran: “Did We not grant you a sufficient age in your life so that lessons could have been learnt by those who wished to take lesson? (Surah Faatir, 37)

Hadith: Jabir RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “Every person will be resurrected in the state in which he passed away.” (Muslim)

Commentary: Based on this hadith, scholars explain that a person who passes away in Hajj will be resurrected reciting the talbiyah (the words recited during Hajj ‘Labayk Allah humma labayk…’) In addition, one who dies with a musical instrument in his hand, in a state of intoxication or while committing adultery will be resurrected in the very same condition.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so whether we die now, next week, next year or in ten years or later, the time of that is not important, but how we spent the time we have been given.

What are the lessons we are learning as we go through life? Each season of life has its own, tests, challenges and lessons:

• As children, learning from those around us.

• As teens, turning into adults, thinking we know it all. Teen-splaining.

• As young adults, looking for marriage. The lesson from that season (with hindsight of course) is don’t waste time fretting over looking for a spouse. Your happiness and imaan is not the responsibility or dependant on a spouse! Don’t waste your free time pining over a man when you can be enjoying your life, learning, growing! No man is going to give you happiness or an imaan boost that you need to find for yourself.

• After marriage, learning to navigate the challenges of a new relationship, living with someone, the roles of marriage. (‘The five love languages’ by Gary Chapman is a great book for understanding marriage and relationships, how we express love and how we feel loved).

• Then the pining for a child. The lessons around that. The challenges. Then the lessons of having a child - pregnancy, labour, new born baby, sleep deprivation, terrible two’s until the teen years - many challenges. Many lessons - patience, gratitude, being present.

• The empty nest syndrome, when little ones grow up and move away.

• Getting older and slower. Not being able to do as much physically.

Each of these seasons has its own tests and challenges and something I have realised at 51 years old, is be grateful. Whatever season you are in, look for what there is to be grateful for. I think for me that has been the biggest lesson.

Make the most of your life before your death. During the different seasons, make the most of opportunities to please Allah, The Creator, The One who made us to worship Him.

We will be resurrected in the state we passed away. Over a decade ago, I was in a car crash where a car hit me from the side. She was at fault, there was a strong smell of alcohol coming from her, but of course a passer by know it all with a dash of Islamophobia shouted at me and pointed at me saying something like ‘your face is covered, that’s why you couldn’t see’. Well, I'm no expert at biology, but pretty sure we see with our eyes, not the whole face.

Since that car crash, when a car starts creeping out from the side, I panic, my heart races, as I have flashbacks of the car crash and fear that this car will hit mine, I make noises ‘aaahhhh’ ‘eeee’ I do worry about dying in this state and being raised up saying funny noises. So I try to train myself to say ‘bismillah’ when a car looks like its going to crash into me.

What are the sounds we are going to hear before we die? It could be a clock ticking. It could be the sounds in an ambulance or a hospital. Last year when I was diagnosed with a tumour and knew I might die soon, I thought about this and tried to train myself to say Allah in time to the clock ticks, to do dhikr in time to the machine beeps. Even in the CT scan machines, I closed my eyes and imagined I was on a plane going for Hajj, ‘laa bayk Allahumma labayk’ I would say in my head and when the machine whirred, I imagined the plane lifting off the ground.

There was a video of a father and daughter in Gaza that went viral, he trained her to laugh at the sounds of bombs. What a lovely way of dealing with such a horrible situation. There are people hearing noises like sirens, bombs being intercepted in the sky which are quite traumatic scary noises. If we can say the shahada when we hear these noises, it will give us comfort at the time and if it is our time, we will be raised saying the best words. Alhamdullillah.

What will be our last words and actions before we die?

Yaa Hayyu, Yaa Yumeet, Giver of Life, Giver of Death, guide us to live the best life pleasing to You and to die a death in the best of imaan, ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Quran: “And worship your Sustainer until the certainty (death) comes to you.” (Surah Al-Hijr, verse 99)

Hadith: Ibn Abbas RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “Many people are deceived by two bounties: health and free time.” (Bukhari

)

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

I pray you are all in good imaan, health and happiness, ameen.

We were created to worship Allah. That doesn’t mean locking ourselves in a room and praying all night and all day. We have to fulfil the rights of The Creator and His creation. That means showing up in all our family and community roles in the best way possible, as representatives of our beautiful religion, Islam. Fun fact, when I first said my shahada, I didn’t wear hijab for over a year. I read that when you dress as a practising Muslim, you’re a representative of Islam and I didn’t want to put anyone off Islam! That was a trick of Shaytan and it’s that deception of perfectionism. We will never be perfect. Only Allah and Islam are perfect, people, we are not. We are flawed and we are weak. We make mistakes and we trip and fall. One of the flaws is to wait for the perfect time. That may never come! What thing are you delaying until later that you could be doing now? Say Bismillah (in The Name of Allah) and start!

This week was the last module of the Productive Muslim Programme 2.0 with Alimahs (women who have studied The Quran and Hadith). SubhanAllah, the deep insights they shared over the five weeks of teaching and facilitation (five modules before Ramadan and the school holidays and one this week). We discussed what changes they’ve noticed in themselves since starting this journey together, and it is a journey, an ongoing journey. Here’s the deep rooted changes that they have implemented and the impact on themselves and those around them:

• Quality over quantity - one of the biggest aha moment for many who take the Productive Muslim course is that being productive is NOT adding more to an already over full to do list, but removing what does not need to be there and to value quality of time and experiences over quantity. As one of the Alimahs said:

  ‘My list might be getting smaller, but I’m concentrating on quality. And that’s throughout all the aspects that we’ve covered, whether it’s my sleep, eating, everything. I feel like I’m now working towards quality, rather than the quantity, rather than being super active.’ Also ‘I prioritise quality over everything now’

• Letting go of perfectionism - recognising that it’s ok if things don’t go according to plan, there are seasons of life when our detailed routines need to be on pause while we deal with life events, whether that is a relative being ill or one’s own health issues. Fulfilling the haqq, the rights of His creation is crucial to making the most of one’s free will, with good intentions to please Allah, free of resentment. A trick of Shaytan is to let us do the good things, but do them complaining, ungrateful for the opportunities to serve our loved ones. As one of the Alimahs said:

  ‘Not running after perfectionism, so if you can’t go outside to do your walking, as in you can’t find somebody to go for a walk, then you can still do your walking inside. Before, I would look for this ideal situation for any task to happen, or the task has to be a certain level. Now, it’s being kind to yourself, and knowing that for now, right now, I can do it like this, and alhamdulillah, I can do it.’

  Another said ‘I think I just need to plan bravely, but then apply everything I’ve learned to it, when it’s not as expected’

• Appreciate the season, ‘mine or others’ - each season has it’s own issues which are not in our control. Just like the gardener who plants a seed, he does not know what the outcome will be, he makes intentions, does his best, and is content with the results, alhamdullillah.

• Being more present, slower, experiencing the experiences, not rushing through them.

• Realising that they had hustle culture in their lives- the first stage to improvement is to first recognise and acknowledge what the issues are, to move towards barakah culture.

• Acceptance - those things not in our control, being more accepting and grateful of them and less stressed to things not going the way we planned.

• Realising that not everyone is on the same point in their journey and that’s ok - accepting of what’s not in our control, with other people’s lives.

• Working from version 1.0 to 1.1 not to 10 or 100 - baby steps, small and regular, that’s what gets us moving forward, not massive jumps forward and big falls down.

My experience working with these Alimahs even upgraded where I am at in my journey! That’s the thing with the Productive Muslim Course, moving forward, from where you are, not anyone else. Comparison is the thief of joy. For me, my upgrade during this cohort was in seeing the concerns these sisters had, of how they are showing up at madressah, where they teach, compared to how they show up for their family. That’s the impact of being mindful of haqq balance, fulfiling the rights of His creation, which is an ongoing process.

The recordings of me teaching the teaching modules and the pdfs of the powerpoints of the facilitation modules (the Alimahs were not recorded). If you would like to have access to this, I have parked this on The With Me Platform and you can buy the course to interact with in your own time: Buy here - The Recordings of The Productive Muslim Programme 2.0 delivered by Feride.

If you want to be part of my next cohort - this time I’m calling women who feel overwhelmed! If the above words have resonated with you, join me! This time we will work through this same material (The Productive Muslim Company material, as a Certified Trainer, the latest version) over ten weeks alternating teaching sessions and facilitation sessions where we deep dive the topics and apply them into our lives. How many times have we read or see something inspiring and it has fizzled out? With this course, we are applying the principles into lasting habits inshAllah! If you are interested, register here: Register interest here We are due to start in May inshAllah Saturdays 10am - 12pm UK time and places are limited. If you want to work one to one with me, you’re welcome to get in touch: feride@sistersofbarakah.com

Allah, Al Wadood, The Most Loving who loves us more than our mothers wants us to strive in His way, on His path, the path of goodness, the path of peace, the path of tranquility, the path of thorny bushes…yes that’s right, this is not Paradise, that is at the end of the path, inshAllah. That’s why we need taqwa, to be mindful of Allah, to be mindful of the thorns along the way and not get distracted.

Muslims all over the world, five times a day recite Surah Fatiha multiple times a day, asking Allah to guide us on the straight path, the path of those He has favoured, not those who have made Him angry or gone astray.

The only certainty we have is death. We don’t know when or how, so we need to make good intentions and make the most of our free will to please Allah SWT.

We need to make the most of the blessings of our health and our free time. One of the projects I set up and was working on before my health issues, was Active Coffee Mornings. The intention was to get women of all ages and abilities to access opportunities of movement. It was funded by Huddersfield Town Foundation and many women benefited both directly and indirectly. Some people see exercise as something for other people. But for Muslims, we should see it as an important part of worship, to fulfil the rights of the creation, ourselves, fulfil the rights of our body. It’s not about becoming an elite sportswoman, but about being able to pray standing and not sitting down; being able to walk around the Kaba, not being pushed in a wheelchair; being able to play with one’s grandchildren, instead of being too ill to be active with them.

I have a medical condition that means I am not currently able to be as physically active as I was before. Whether you have a medical condition or not, make the most of the abilities you have. Be grateful for what Ar Razzaq has given you.

On the subject of free time, if you have an opportunity, make the most of it. This May, on the back of Kim from MacMillan Cancer organisation saying I could do one retreat a year, I have seen that as an opportunity to organise a retreat especially for women, for connection to Allah, sisterhood and nature. Poster is here: View here

This morning, a dear friend of mine took me to a local reservoir for a short walk. I could have been sad at how before I was able to walk around the whole circular reservoir. Instead I made the most of the opportunity, I was grateful for the good company, the sound of the birds, the excitement of seeing different birds, the trees, the buds on the trees, the water, the fresh air, the ‘good morning’ greetings exchanged with passed, bumping into an old friend who gifted me an electronic dhikr counter and the chat with Shirley, the sweet woman we met and discussed birds. I thought I’d be the first to tell her about the Merlin app which captures the sounds of birds and identifies them, but no, she already knew, so of course, we had to exchange bird information. I think that makes me an official bird watcher! Just one final step to clinch the deal…a pair of binoculars!

May Ar Razzaq The Provider, Al Hakeem The Most Wise guide us to make the most of our health and free time to be the best representatives of our beautiful religion, to have trust in Him like the birds, may Al Wadood make us those who love each other for His Sake, ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Quran: “So hasten towards good deeds.” (2:148)

Hadith: Abu Hurayrah RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “Hasten with good deeds before a time of trial and tribulations which will follow one after the other like a dark night. A person will be a believer in the morning and will become a disbeliever in the evening, or he will be a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever in the morning. He will sell his religion for worldly belongings.” (Muslim)

Commentary (Riyaad As Saaliheen, Muslims at work publications edition ): ‘A believer becoming a disbeliever’ could either refer to a person rejecting a bounty of Allah SWT, or it could refer to actual disbelief, namely the negation of imaan.

A person ‘selling his religion,’ means that one will abandon his religion for the sake of procuring something of this world, by usurping the wealth of his brother, regarding interest to be permissible, deceiving people, etc.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

This life is a test. We will all have them in our lives. Different seasons, different tests and like a test, there is a result, our book of deeds. They will either be in our favour or against us.

We are not in control of everything. There’s our thoughts, words and actions. But other factors and other peoples thoughts, words and actions, is not in our control.

We have a limited amount of free will, by which we are being judged, by The Most Just Judge. Alhamdullillah. So, if we have an opportunity to do good, we should do it! As Mel Robins says ‘5 second rule’. That is how long you have to do an action. So if you see someone wear something nice, you have five seconds to say it and then the moment is gone. Interestingly, 5 seconds is about how long it takes to say ‘Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem’. So if there is an opportunity to do something good, jump in with a conscious Bismillah. And if you’re not sure if it is a good thing, salatul istikara (the prayer of seeking guidance).

This week I made my second attempt to go to a supermarket since chemotherapy last year…The first attempt, I went with my daughter and felt dizzy in the first aisle, so had to go back to the car. This week, I went to Mullaco with my other daughter and used the trolly as a walking aid. I am too proud to use a walking aid. I’ve been using a hiking stick sometimes when I walk, to style it out, I say things like ‘it is quite hilly here in Yorkshire! I’m not using a walking stick, I’m out here hiking!’

Anyway, I’m in the supermarket and needed to sit down, twice. At the end, when I sat down, a member of staff brought me a water bottle and said her name was on it…I thanked her and said ‘Allah wrote my name on it!’ SubhanAllah each morsel we eat, each sip we drink, He wrote that for us! How kind of her and that is an example of a good deed on the spot. We left soon after, so if she hadn’t given me the water when she did, she would have missed her opportunity.

Another good deed I experienced recently is a very nice cup of coffee from my daughter who has mastered our coffee machine better than me! She’s probably regretting making me that nice coffee now. Though a great reframe would be to make intentions to please Allah, to serve her mother, to serve a sick person, to be kind, to use the skills Allah has blessed you with for good….so many good intentions from that one small action.

Last year, (the year of my health tests tumour diagnosis, then Follicular Lymphoma blood Cancer, then stage 4 diagnosis, then 6 rounds of chemotherapy with a break to have Covid at round 5) may have been my most challenging year health wise, but in terms of the barakah I experienced during this time, I had so many visitors. So many good deeds from the visitors and those who reached out and those who did not reach out. Those good deeds of visiting the sick, helping them and praying for them really helped me so much during that time.

One day, I was ready to go down a rabbit hole, ‘this could have been got picked up sooner.’ That’s what I told my visitor, a good friend of mine who is a Doctor. She, alhamdullillah, said the best words I needed to hear in that moment ‘Allah didn’t want you to know then’. SubhanAllah! She was so right! Allah’s Timetable is PERFECT. The initial diagnosis of the tumour happened straight after my training with The Productive Muslim Company. That training to be certified to deliver the Productive Muslim Programme, to live your best life spiritually, socially and physically, which I was going to support other sisters with, actually helped me!

I remember the time of the tumour diagnosis. It meant that I might die soon, or be ill or be well. Those were the very real possibilities I was looking at at that time. As long as Allah is happy with me and when I die, I die with imaan alhamdullillah. That is how I felt and what I said to those around me at that time.

In Arabic, the word for ungrateful and disbelief is kufr. They are linked and the opposites are being grateful and having imaan, belief. So what ever the test, whatever the season of life, look for things to be grateful for and thank Allah alhamdullillah (all praise belongs to Allah).

We are human and we slip and fall, but when we realise, say sorry and move forward.

Good deeds and being firm in imaan can be challenging in this distractive worldly life. This life is just five minutes, but the Hereafter is for ever and ever. So even in our worldly pursuits we can still perform good deeds and be firm in our belief. It’s ironic that the word ‘good doer’ has such negative connotations in the UK in modern society. That is, I believe, a trick of Shaytan to stop us getting closer to Allah SWT. We have to reject this negativity toward goodness and embrace the call to good action!

Good company helps with good deeds, so we encourage and remind each other to do good and to be grateful.

My ‘why’ and reason for setting up ‘Sisters of Barakah’ at the end of 2024 (just before my tumour diagnosis):

‘To passionately engage with the community providing safe spaces and connection so that sisterhood can flourish’

The plan was to have events and opportunities for women at retreats, workshops and other events to have sisterhood.

After my health issues, I was keen to start it up again and have been doing do, albeit online, sitting on my rocking chair in the living room on my laptop. Alhamdullilah. Like I said earlier, we have this free will and limits, but lets make the most of our limits and opportunities and be grateful for them.

This weekend we will be launching a retreat, inshAllah. An opportunity for sisterhood, good company and lots of opportunities for gratitude. Alhamdullillah.

Shaytan wants our imaan and our happiness, he hates us, he is our open enemy, he is not even pretending to like us! Don’t let him have either! Audhubillahi menash shaytaanir raheem - I seek refuge in Allah from the rejected Shaytan.

In the hadith it mentioned selling our religion, the explanation alluded to acts like riba interest, usury (Allah wages war against those who deal in interest). Talking of war…something that has really helped me to get my head around the confusing events on the world stage is learning about the Names of Allah. He is The Most Just, He is the All Knowing and there is the Day of Judgement and there have been Firawns (Pharoahs) before and He dealt with them. As mentioned earlier, this life is just five mins and the afterlife is forever, how will you spend those five minutes?

May Ar Razzaq give us what we need to do good deeds, to be grateful and to be successful in this life and the next, ameen.

Subscribe now

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Quran: Surely in the creation of the heavens of the earth and in the alternation of night and day are signs for those who have intelligence. They remember Allah standing, sitting and lying down and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth. They say: ‘O our Sustainer! You have not created this in vain. We proclaim Your purity from all defects.’” (Surah Ali Imraan: 190-191)

Hadith: Shaddad Ibn Aus RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SWT said: “An intelligent person is one who takes stock of himself and does (good) deeds for what is to follow after death (i.e. for the Hereafter). A foolish person is one who follows his desires and then hopes (for forgiveness) from Allah.” (Tirmidhi)

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

The worldly life is very distracting. We can be so busy in our lives, in hustle culture and spend so much time doing so much, but not remembering our Creator, Allah.

We were not created without a purpose. Allah SWT created us to worship Him. The creation around us was not created without purpose, we should be looking and reflecting.

Today I was having a conversation with a sister who mentioned the absurdity of those who worship ‘the universe’. How it is still expanding, still growing, how illogical it is to take the universe as being capable of creation. It is Allah, The First and The Last, The One who is pure from all defects, who created the universe and all that is in it.

How beautiful the skies look, how beautiful the hills look, how beautiful is the natural creation of Allah on this earth! SubhanAllah! I live in Yorkshire, but I grew up in London, which is quite flat. So when I see hills, I still gasp and say subhanAllah!

How beautiful are the birds, the different types with different sounds and different ways of flying, subhanAllah.

One of the blessings of my health test (Follicular Lymphoma blood Cancer which causes fatigue and immunity issues) is slowing down, is noticing things that I was too busy to see. The colours in the sky, the different behaviours of the trees shedding leaves, buds coming, that tree that only blooms for a few days in March. SubhanAllah.

Hustle Culture

I used to think hustle culture was a yuppie (remember those? With the massive brick phone in hand) rushing around, busy working. But when I went through The Productive Muslim Masterclass, I realised that that hustle culture is everywhere! I had it! As mums, as wives, as daughters, as employees, as business owners, it’s in every sphere of life. This dunya, this worldly life has many distractions which we get busy with.

Barakah Culture

The alternative to hustle culture is barakah culture. It doesn’t mean locking yourself in a room and praying all day and all night and fasting all the time. It means being focused on the akhira, so that in all these roles mums, wives, daughters, employees, business owners, there is barakah through being focused on pleasing The Creator.

Mums of little children

Lets look at mums. Mums with little children that have a lot of needs. In hustle culture, an overwhelmed mum is rushing around, stressed, milestones, nappies, feeding, walking, talking, school, school runs, madressah runs, cooking, cleaning, bathing, teeth brushing, story time. A never ending checklist and we didn’t even mention laundry and odd socks!

What if we reframe this from hustle culture to barakah culture? These tasks still need doing. But what if we took a step back and infused it all with barakah? (Barakah gets translated as blessing, but it is so much more than that. I like to explain it as a time machine, where Allah SWT stretches time so more is done, where Allah SWT stretches money so more can be achieved with it.)

As mums, let’s look at these little children, who gave us these children? Allah SWT. They are His. They are a trust from Allah that we get to look after. That Allah SWT chose us to look after them! The tasks are still there, but now they are different. We aren’t doing them to get them over and done with. We are doing them as the custodians entrusted with these special gifts. We start our tasks with a conscious bismillah, in The Name of Allah. We thank Allah for the milestones. We are mindful of Allah SWT in all our dealings.

I remember doing the school run when my children were very little. I used to give salams to all the mums as I walked from the car to the school and most did not reply. But I carried on and eventually they replied and would even ask how I was. There was one mum though who was not replying to my waves and salams. I was starting to think it was time to leave her alone, maybe I was annoying her. She approached me one day and said how my wave and smile made her day! SubhanAllah! That was a barakah moment. Even now it makes me cry.

I share this to remind that how we show up in all parts of our lives is important for our own book of deeds and also to our children who are watching and learning. I’ve been going through the Productive Muslim Masterclass version 2.0 with a group of Alimahs (sisters who studied the Quran and Hadith and teach at Madressah). One of the conversations we have been having is how do we show up at Madressah (the place of learning and teaching The Quran) and how do we show up for our families? Very deep conversation and one that even the companions of The Prophet Muhammad SAW had concern about.

Women at work

Women at work drowning in hustle culture have deadlines, are stressed, are rushing around, emails, meetings, targets, appraisals, clients, invoices, skipped lunches. She may seem productive, efficient and capable, but she is exhausted. She may be juggling work with responsibilities at home.

In barakah culture, starting each task with a conscious bismillah and setting lots of good intentions around pleasing Allah, halal income and good deeds. The responsibilities at home are no longer a burden, but an opportunity.

The same tasks, but infused with barakah. I can remember decades ago working and having a number of tasks that I wanted to complete before praying zohr salah (Zohr prayer is the 2nd of the 5 daily prayers). I wanted to pray with concentration and not think about those tasks. But I ended up praying at the end of zohr, with the tasks not completed. The next day, I prayed zohr at the beginning time, with a similar number of tasks, but they all got done by asr time (the 3rd of the 5 prayers). That to me is what barakah is. Getting more done in less time.

Business owners

In hustle culture, it’s all about output, getting as much done with as maximum results as possible. It’s about the grind, the scaling up, to be visible everywhere, to post daily, to optimise, to funnel, to convert. Worth can be measured by revenue, likes and follows.

In barakah culture, the business still needs building and the tasks are again the same, but infused with barakah, being mindful of Allah, being focused on the akhirah and being grateful for the opportunities. The customers are now an amaanah, a trust from Allah. We start each task with a conscious bismillah. Each project is started after praying istikara (a special two units of prayer to ask Allah’s guidance about a matter) and consulting with trustworthy people.

Hustle to Barakah

Whatever role or season you are in, be mindful of Allah, think about how to please Allah in the tasks you are doing, how to maximise the rewards by setting good intentions.

Productive Muslim Masterclass 2.0 invitation

If this post resonated with you and you’d like to explore how to move from hustle culture to barakah culture and make marked improvements in your own life with your spirituality, energy, movement, sleep, nutrition, focus and consistency, I am inviting ten women to work with me over ten weeks to go through the Productive Muslim Masterclass 2.0. Not as a check list, but as a way of life. Every other week will be a teaching session and every other week will be a facilitation session where we deep dive into the topics to apply them into our lives. Apply here

It starts 25 April 2026 — ten weekly Saturday sessions, 10am–12pm

May Al Khaaliq, The Creator accept our deeds and guide us to be in barakah culture and not hustle culture. May Ar Razzaq put barakah in our wealth, our time, our youth, our old age, our health and our life before our death, and take us when He is pleased with us, ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Quran: Surely those who said: ‘Our sustainer is Allah’ and then remain steadfast, angels descend upon them, saying: ‘Do not fear and do not grieve; and rejoice with the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised. We are your friends in this world as well as in the Hereafter. There you shall have whatever your heart desires and you shall have whatever you ask for. This is hospitality from the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.’” (Surah Fussilat, 30-32)

Hadith: Sufyan Ibn Abdullah RA narrates: I said: “O Messenger of Allah! Tell me something about Islam regarding which I will not have to ask anyone besides you,” He said: “Say: ‘I believe in Allah’ and then remain steadfast.” (Muslim)

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

As our blessed guest Ramadan has left us and the chained up Shayateen are released, we see a huge shift in our environment.

Ramadan showed us what we are capable in terms of fasting, abstaining from food; reading the Quran; praying in the night.

Now we have to be steadfast, despite the influences that effect us. Whether that is the people around us, the situations we are in, the whispers of Shaytan, and other environmental factors.

What is one habit from Ramadan that we can hold onto? Maybe we can’t read as much Quran, but can we have a habit of starting the day with half an hour of reading Quran? What can we do to improve our relationship with The Quran?

As a revert who started practising Islam at the age of 21, I’m often told by born Muslims that I’m so amazing because I accepted Islam, but actually, we are all on a journey whether new Muslim or born Muslim. We all have free will by which our choices are being judged and we are accountable for. We all have influences on our hearts, mind and soul that we need to navigate. We all have a responsibility for our imaan and all have moments of high and low imaan. Yes, the moment of saying shahada is a moment of high imaan for all present and an opportunity for all to renew their commitment to Allah. But it is not an exclusive right of passage for new Muslims alone.

How generous is Al Kareem, The Most Generous. No matter how far we stray from Him, we can always turn back and say sorry. Astaghfullah. And He will forgive.

I recall years ago seeing a story online. A man complained to a Shaykh about his best friend of 20 years who had let him down. How he would never trust anyone again. They used to do everything together and tell each other everything. The Shaykh asked what if there was a friend who would never let you down and would always be there for you, even if you had wronged him. That is Allah. The One True Friend who is always there.

Being steadfast adhering firmly to the upright path and system of Islam may sound harsh or boring to those who do not believe. But the reality is that Al Khaaliq, The Creator, The One who created us and knows what’s best for us has given us some dos and don’ts that are for our own good. He does not need us to obey Him, We need to obey Him!

Al Wadood loves us so much that He has sent us Books and Messengers to remind us of the straight path when we have strayed. And He has sent us the final Prophet Muhammad SAW and The Final Book, The Quran, to remind us how to be steadfast, how to please Allah by following the advices and warnings given.

اللهم إني عبدُك وابنُ عبدِك وابنُ أَمَتِك، ناصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ، سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَداً مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ: أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي، وَجَلَاءَ حُزْنِي، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي

Allahumma inni `abduka wabnu `abdika wabnu amatik nasiyati bi-yadik madin fiyya hukmuk `adlun fiyya qada’uk as’aluka bi-kulli ismin huwa lak sammayta bihi nafsak aw `allamtahu ahadan min khalqak aw anzaltahu fi kitabik awista’tharta bihi fi `ilmi al-ghaybi `indak an taj`ala al-Qur’ana al-karima rabi`a qalbi wa-nura sadri wa-jala’a huzni wa-dhahaba hammi.

O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your male servant, and son of Your female servant. My forelock is in Your Hand. Your command for me prevails. Your judgement concerning me is just. I beseech You through every name You have, by which You have called Yourself, or which You have sent down in Your Book, or which You have taught to any one of Your creations, or which You have preferred to keep to Yourself among Your guarded secrets, to

make the Great Qur’an the springtime of my heart, the light of my chest, the remover of my sadness, and the pacifier of my worries. (Ahmad)

This lovely dua above, is mentioned in ‘Way to The Quran’ by Khurram Murad. A short book with beautiful reminders to connect to The Quran.

To be steadfast requires consistency and good habits. There are many books around on habits such as ‘Atomic Habits’ and ‘The Power of Habit’ as well as ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. Though my biggest aha moments in my personal journey with habits, whilst enjoying and benefiting from these books was with The Productive Muslim Masterclass. The final module of the course, bringing together all the elements of the course with improvements: spiritually, physically, with focus, and with time.

The course brings over a decade of research and improvements with the latest research and books. It would take years to read all the books and research that have gone into this course.

I look forward to working with ten women once a week on a Saturday morning 10am til 12pm for ten weeks, alternating teaching with facilitation sessions. Exclusively for women. Get in touch if interested: Register interest here

Yaa Hady, Oh Guide, guide us to make the most of our time and free will to be steadfast in every month of the year and to return to You with the best state of imaan, ameen.

Quran: Whoever fears Allah (has taqwa), He makes a way out for him and provides for him from sources he would never have imagined. (Surah Talaq: 2-3)

Hadith: Ibn Masud RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW used to say: “O Allah! I ask You for guidance, Allah-consciousness (taqwa), chastity (high moral standards, decency and integrity) and independence.” (Muslim)

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

Whilst Ramadan, the month of taqwa, the month of fasting, the month of The Quran has sadly left us, we can still be mindful of Allah and interact with The Quran!

Yes the Shayateen are unchained and things are harder out here, but we’ve just had a month of training for our nafs, our inner self, to abstain from food and starve our nafs into submission. That nafs, that if we give it too much becomes a spoilt brat, in full control of our hearts and minds, over eating, over indulging in what is not healthy to over-indulge in, whether that is physical, spiritual, mental, social or any other way.

One of the practices I’ve maintained, alhamdullillah, since my very first Ramadan 30 years ago is to not put the TV on for the full month. That’s been a great habit to maintain in Ramadan to make the most of the blessed month. However, the last few years, there’s been social media, that’s been another challenge. This Ramadan I was frustrated with myself for succumbing to it’s call. Extreme news headlines that I felt drawn to, puzzled and confused at how crazy the world was getting. Towards the end of the month, I realised I could set up a focus setting under ‘digital wellbeing’. So I set up a Ramadan focus setting where apps like Instagram were not allowed. Apparently there’s over 40 apps I need! Whether that’s banking, using the calculator or apps that have become vital. This exclusion of the more distracting apps was great for being sent a WhatsApp and not clicking on a link and then being distracted for a few hours by the highly addictive ap. Alhamdullillah this was great and as discussed with a few friends, we would be renaming this focus setting to ‘time with Allah’. To maintain the benefits of this habit and not loose that connection, inshAllah.

The day after Eid, I caught a documentary on Netflix. What a contrast to the peace of Ramadan. The way women were objectified by the ‘manosphere’ was quite disappointing. Women were regarded as dumb objects to be mocked by uneducated men and used as either wife, cleaner, cooker material or to be used to make money from on podcasts, being made fun of for their lack of knowledge and monetised on pornographic platforms or judged for monetising these platforms themselves. One man in Miami made a ridiculous claim that women haven’t invented anything. A simple google search can help answer this. Sadly, young men were impressed with the lifestyle, the cars, the money, the superficial lifestyles being presented. It’s so worrying to see the future through the lens of our youth.

I was reminded of the film ‘The Message’, about how Islam came about. The pagan Arabs, from before Islam said things like ‘women - we buy them, we sell them’. This mistreatment of women was dealt with by Islam. The pagan Arabs who viewed women as property and buried female girls due to the shame was eradicated by Islam over 1400 years ago.

Yet here we are in 2026, seeing grown men talking about women and treating them in the most shameful way, being venerated by young men in our society.

I remember how I used to feel sorry for Muslim women who wore a scarf, thinking poor oppressed women. But one day I went home with one, a sister from my university. I asked her if her father had made her wear ‘that’. Actually, her family were not happy for her to wear Islamic clothes!

Islam is perfect, Allah is perfect. Each and every command, suggestion and behaviour role modelled by the Prophet Muhammad SAW and those around him are what will give us taqwa and closeness to Allah as well as our own peace and contentment. Allah does not need us to obey Him, we need to obey Him. He created us and we have a purpose.

I was 21 years old, studying Sociology at University. We had a module called ‘Morality’, because if people do not believe in God, how do they know what is right and what is wrong? Who decides? There were many questions and many unsatisfactory stupid man-made answers to the questions. And the biggest existential question of them all was ‘what is the meaning of life?’ This perplexed me. I could do what I wanted when I wanted, but I was bored. What was the meaning of life?

I went to a few Islamic talks and the answer to that big question was there. What is the meaning of life? ‘And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.’ (Surah Adh Dhariyat: 56) Alhamdullillah we have a purpose! We were not created for nothing. Also, any supernatural stuff, that can all be attributed to the realm of the ‘jinn’ a creation we don’t know much about.

Over the decades, by the Grace of Allah, I’ve been blessed to attend many classes and courses on Islam and on how to be a better Muslim. It’s an ongoing process and knowledge is from the cradle to the grave. Islam is a complete way of life, how we think, what we say, what we do, how we behave.

One of the most recent courses I undertook was the Productive Muslim Certification, at the end of 2024 and I also joined the most recent online cohort in 2026, to keep up with the latest changes, to ensure that as a Certified Productive Muslim Trainer, I give the latest information. SubhanAllah, there are so many books and resources that go in to the course that to read them all would take a number of years!

I look forward to working with my next cohort, in a safe space for women online to learn how to live your best life spiritually, physically, socially and intellectually. If the manosphere documentary has given me anything, it would be an appreciation for education and being around intelligent spiritual people who value education, books and learning. Ignorance is out there, but there is a cure…the cure is education.

If you are a woman who wants to join my next cohort, express interest here: CLICK HERE for a life changing course with your ‘why’, why you are interested in joining the next cohort. This course helped me, through Allah’s permission, to get through the test of being diagnosed with a tumour, then Cancer and then chemotherapy. We all have tests in life and I’m happy to share the tools that helped me. The course will be ten weeks, once a week, alternating teaching and facilitation to ensure we deep dive the topics. There will also be access to the recordings for a year and access to community support.

‘Through this programme, Allah guided me towards balance and clarity. Being part of it was pure baraka. By His will, my understanding of time, productivity, and purpose shifted, and I now feel more at peace, confident in saying no, and trusting that what is meant for me will come with baraka from Allah.’ Testimonial from Abeedah who participated in the Feride and Nafeesah cohort 2025.

There are many books, courses, videos and audios out there where we can learn elements of this course, but for the maximum benefit and impact in one’s own life, I cannot recommend this course enough. If you have any questions, email me on feride@sistersofbarakah.com

May Allah, Al Khaliq, The Creator, guide us to fulfil the rights of Allah, to worship Him in the best way, to give in charity from His wealth, to fulfil the rights of His creation including all people, the youth, the animals, the environment and all blessings. To make the most of our free will to please Him, to accept all our efforts, ameen.

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Quran: ‘O you who believe! Fear Allah (have taqwa) and be with the truthful.’ (Surah Taubah, 119)

‘…the truthful men and the truthful women…for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.’ (Surah Al Ahzaab, 35)

‘Had they been truthful to Allah, it would have been much better for them.’ (Surah Muhammad, 21)

Hadith: Ibn Masud RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said: “Truthfulness leads to righteousness and righteousness leads to Paradise. A person habitually speaks the truth until he is recorded as a very truthful person in the sight of Allah. Falsehood leads to evil and evil leads to the Hell Fire. A person habitually speaks lies until he is recorded as a grave liar in the sight of Allah.” (Bukhari, Muslim)

Commentary in Riyad As Salihin, (Muslims at work Publications, 2014): “Truthfulness lead to righteousness,” means that truthfulness guides a person to perform good and sincere actions.

“Falsehood leads to evil,” means that lies and dishonesty lead a person to indulge in sinful speech and actions.

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

In these last ten days and nights, we have an opportunity to be closer to Allah. One of my favourite books, collection of hadith, is Riyadh As Saliheen, Gardens of The Righteous, a collection of heart touching hadith by Imam Nawawi RA, mostly taken from Bukhari and Muslim. I use this book as inspiration for this newsletter. Today I saw the topic of truthfulness and the verse linking it with taqwa, and as we are in the month of taqwa, here we are!

There are times when people lie against us, either on a personal level, or generally, like in our times, the lies being told about Muslims to incite Islamaphobia are so ridiculous! Especially if you have met a Muslim, or are a Muslim. But you know what? When people lie…the truth always comes out! And those who have been lied about become the honoured and the liars the debased. How can anyone meet a kind well mannered, well intentioned Muslim and not see through the lies?

I remember a dear friend of mine going through a challenging trial, it was an ex husband who was trying to make her look bad to the local imams and to the courts. He tried to make her look irreligious to the religious and too religious to the non religious. Well, when you tell lies, it’s you who will end up looking bad! I remember telling her, don’t worry, the truth always comes out. And within a year, those same imams who had believed the lies and the courts who had believed the lies came to realise the truth.

It’s not the test we are in but what we do and why we do what we do. With truthfulness, always tell the truth, even if it is seemingly to your detriment. Not lying in jest. Being known for telling the truth. These are qualities of our best role model, that Allah sent us to guide us to the truth, Prophet Muhammad SAW. And the test of being lied about, it’s about being patient and forgiving for the Sake of Allah.

On the world stage, we see known liars in power causing mayhem in the world. They claim they are the ‘peace makers’, but the lies and dishonesty show through. These illegal wars to make money for the arms dealers and eugenic population control need lies. Make people hate each other. Demonise other people. Make false claims about people. Send the poor people from the communities to fight in these wars, lower the population, survival of the fitness.

In a world of fake news and negative media, be like Muhammad Ali who said, “my conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor hungry people in the mud for big powerful America,” he said. “And shoot them for what? They never called me [the N word], they never lynched me, they didn’t put no dogs on me, they didn’t rob me of my nationality, rape and kill my mother and father…. Shoot them for what? How can I shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail.” (https://www.openculture.com/2021/05/muhammad-ali-explains-why-he-refused-to-fight-in-vietnam.html). He refused to go to fight in Vietnam. And he did not shy from the truth. Initially it was a financial loss and scandal, but he held on to his principles and Allah is the One who gives respect and honour and Muhammad Ali is widely respected and honoured.

One of the biggest supporters of the dawah effort has ironically been the media, telling such ridiculous narratives about Muslims, that when people meet Muslims, they fall in love! I know I did!

Whatever is happening, always tell the truth, be like our Prophet Muhammad SAW. This is a means of taqwa.

May Allah Al Haqq, The Truth, guide us to be the best role models of our ummah who uphold the truth and speak up for truth and justice, ameen

Quran: So hasten towards good deeds. (Surah Baqarah: 148)

Hadith: Abu Hurairah RA narrates that the Messenger of Allah SAW said; ‘Hasten with good deeds before a time of trials and tribulations which will follow one after the other like a dark night. A person will be a believer in the morning and will become a disbeliever in the evening, or he will be a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever in the morning. He will sell his religion for worldly belongings.' (Muslim)

As salamu alaikum dear readers,

We may be in the time of trials and tribulations and dark nights, but it’s not the test we are in that matters, but what we do and why we do what we do. We may be on the brink of World War 3, Allah knows best, and He knows everything and He is in control of everything and everyone is given an opportunity to turn to him, before the death rattle. Even if we have reached the end and we are holding a plant sapling, we should still plant it. Likewise, when we are offered to donate to a charity, we should donate and not have a scarcity mindset that Shaytan encourages and makes us fear poverty. In fact, when we give, for the sake of Allah, He is the One who puts barakah in our wealth, so when we give, it is never a financial loss, alhamdullillah.

Charity is not just about the compulsory zakat amount we have to give. It’s about making the most of opportunities to give. Our Prophet Muhammad SAW when he was asked, he would give, even if he had very little. He is our role model, the best role model alhamdullillah.

Here’s the appeals I’m supporting this Ramadan, and the links to donate (you can click on the links and donate directly), I love to share the khayr....the ultimate halal pyramid scheme where we donate and share so others don’t miss out. I don’t shy from sharing these opportunities as I love for others what I love for myself. Alhamdullillah.

1. Solace who support revert sisters:

Solace

2. North America masjid Imam appeal:

Imam

3. One Nation Iftar appeal £1=one meal!

Iftar

4. Madni School appeal:

Madni School

5. Embrace support for people struggling in the UK

Embrace

6. Sisters of Barakah running costs to make it accessible for more women (see below for more details of this campaign)

Sisters of Barakah

Half of Ramadan has gone already subhanAllah, may Allah accept all our efforts and make heavy on the scales of good deeds ameen.

Before I was diagnosed with a tumor in January 2025 and then Cancer and then stage 4

and then chemotherapy, I started an organisation called Sisters of Barakah. The intention was to have events such as retreats, workshops and other events especially for women to move forward spiritually, physically, socially, emotionally, intellectually and every ‘ally’ way possible.

After chemotherapy and with this type of cancer I have, I am not the same and have to be realistic about what I can and can’t do (Usually overdoing things, getting exhausted and needing to rest and realising afterwards....ongoing progress. Bismillah).

So I’ve decided to focus the business to be mainly online with the same opportunities for sisterhood, learning and growth inshAllah.

As a Productive Muslim Certified Trainer, I could focus on the high-end courses, but I really want to give back to the amazing community who supported me last year during my time of sickness. Selfless sisters who went above and beyond to support me in the best way alhamdullillah.

So, I want to have a team of sisters running courses and events online in groups and one to one and a range of free and low cost options to access the benefits.

I’ve launched a fundraiser for this purpose, to cover the running costs and it will be an opportunity for women to have flexible part time work opportunities in a halal environment, with training opportunities.

In 2019, when I had to go to the job centre, it was divorcees and widows that had to suddenly get work. Now, as soon as a child turns one, the mother is expected to work! We have Sisters being bullied by the job centre with little children, being expected to go out to work.

So bismillah:

Need work?

So if you are looking for work paid and or voluntary, or know a sister who is, please send your CV and covering letter to feride@sistersofbarakah.com

Roles

• Teachers

• Alimahs

• Presenters

• Specialists

• Admin support

• Website management

• Manager

• Counsellors

• Personal Trainers

• Artists

May Ar Razzaq, The Provider, put lots of barakah in all our provisions, to make the most of our blessings to please Him, and accept all our efforts and make them heavy on the scales of good deeds, ameen