The past six Ramadans, I rise before the sun does. It’s not to eat suhoor, nor do I prepare it for my husband. I trudge by him as he groggily slurps down a bowl of O’s, we exchange a look of mutual exhaustion. It’s a call that summons me awake, reminding me that there’s something greater than sleep. Motherhood.
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It’s Mother’s Day, and everyone on my social media feed is posting mushy things about their moms. As I scroll through Facebook I’m reminded that “paradise is found below your mother’s feet” and “God can’t be everywhere so He made mothers,” and that moms are saints and/or angels. I see…
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I am thirty-seven, single and childless. The latter two of these three descriptives are taboo within the Muslim community. Whether you live in America, Pakistan or Egypt, if you are not attached to a husband and with a brood of children in tow, you are an outsider. Extended family and…
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For months, perhaps even for years, I had been composing in my mind the letter I was going to write to my daughter before she left for college. I wanted to fill it with wonderful memories and maternal wisdom, with practical advice and big doses of encouragement. I wanted to…
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Today Salma responds to a worried wife and a misunderstood child.
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