Turning Point

Allah Ta‘ala mentions in the Quraan Majeed, “Whoever honours the distinctive signs of (the deen of) Allah Ta‘ala, then it is from the piety of the hearts.” (Surah Hajj v32)

Respect for the symbols of deen denotes taqwa in a person’s heart. In the past there were those mothers who, when the azaan was called out, would shout out to their children saying: “Quickly switch off the haraam TV, azaan is going”. When it was Friday they would say, “Today is Jumu‘ah, no TV.” and when Ramadhaan arrived, they would announce, “Listen children, Ramadhaan has come so there will be no TV in this house.” As a result, the Shaitaan box used to be covered and put away.

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Personalized Gifts

Imagine awakening one morning and opening the front door, only to be greeted by the sight of a beribboned basket packed with steaming croissants, a flask of hot coffee, a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice and other fresh breakfast delights! You wonder who your generous benefactor could possibly be as the accompanying note merely says, “Hope you enjoy”.

To your absolute delight, this early morning treat continues. Every morning without fail, the basket arrives on your doorstep, containing a different selection of tasty treats. By the time the third or fourth morning dawns, you are extremely eager to identify your well wisher so that you can, at the very least, say “Thank You”.

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No More Magz and News

By and large, the magazines and newspapers of today are filled with the same things. Nearly every edition must have:

· How to lose weight (which gives or reinforces the complex within people that they will never be happy or successful unless they are slim and trim).

· Advertisements of the latest products and trendiest homes (which creates discontentment and greed in the heart as we fell that what Allah has already given us is not good enough).

· Love advice (which teaches you how to indulge in zina in the easiest way possible).

Read more: No More Magz and News

Enjoying Arabic

Little children love writing and colouring. As mothers, we need to take advantage of this interest and use it to benefit the child. Let us start by using this as a medium to introduce them to the language of the Quraan Majeed, the language of Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the language of Jannat - “Arabic”.

Start with the Arabic alphabet and take it one letter at a time. Our child should continuously write out that letter until he is able to write it easily and clearly. If done correctly, this entire exercise will not only be fun and interesting for the child but will also enhance the child’s ability to easily recognize the letters of the Arabic alphabet.

With time we can move onto small, easy words and we will be greatly pleased to see that all of this will create a bond and love in the child’s heart for the Arabic language. This will insha-Allah ultimately embed the love of the Quraan Majeed in the child’s life, aameen!

The Ins and Outs of Change

The average woman of today is constantly on the “change”. Be it in her clothing, her home or her cooking, she appreciates and looks forward to variety and change. Her creative mind is constantly restyling her outfits, rearranging her home or replacing her old recipes.

As such, the day should most definitely dawn upon her where she realises, “I am changing everything on me and around me, thus earning the praises and the admiration of people; is it not now time for me to change from within?”

The instant we begin to change our inside, we will begin to enjoy the long anticipated contact with our Allah Ta‘ala that we had previously lost. Our focus will now be deen, hence those women who come into contact with us will also be inspired to change from within. Our conversations, instead of centring on temptations of the world which are actually only filled with gloom, will rather be abloom with the colourful, unlimited variety of the hereafter.

Let us strive to change from within and enjoy even the outside from within.