Modern to Modest

From Darkness to Light

Last Updated on Monday, 01 January 2018 20:04

I would like to inform my respected readers about what I was and what I have now become.

I am a born Muslim, alhumdulillah. However, I did not grow up in a Deeni (Islamic) environment.

My parents separated when I was in grade 11. My mum moved out, and a few weeks later, my dad moved out as well. I stayed with my granny (father’s mother) who was non-Muslim. I felt as if my whole world came crashing down. I had to make my own decisions in life. I used to see my mum very seldom after school and things weren’t the same.

I changed a lot. I became aggressive, always pushing away people that cared about me. I lived with my granny for a few months and then moved in with my aunt who is also from my father’s side (my dad was a revert so his entire family was non-Muslim). At the time, I thought that living with my aunt was the best decision, because every teenager wants their freedom to do what they want without having anyone to answer to, right?

My Journey into the Unknown

Last Updated on Monday, 25 December 2017 15:39

All praise is due to Allah Ta‘ala, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Blessings and salutations upon our beloved Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

I was born into a mixed-parentage family. My father was a Buddhist Chinese and my mother is a Hindu. They both practiced different faiths. I grew up worshipping idols and visiting temples, so I never felt odd or weird about the rituals. Because I was born in a Muslim country, Islam was not foreign to me.

I was 17 when I started asking questions about my religion. Prayers and rituals did not make sense anymore. I then started seeking the religion that made the most sense. An invitation came for me to visit a church and attend a sermon. I did attend, but still felt that it wasn’t for me.

Living my Dream

Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 December 2017 13:54

Assalaamu ‘alaikum

In the name of Allah, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful.

My journey into purdah was not an easy one. I left school at the age of 14 and went to madrasah. It was my father’s dream for us, his daughters, to be in purdah and become ‘Aalimahs, so I did it to please him.

After I started wearing it, I hated the idea of it. I used to see other girls with tight jeans and short tops with their hair done up and I used to long for that. Also, besides that, you receive constant ridicule from ignorant people. All of that used to bother me so much that I would cry for days. I just didn't want to do it anymore! I used to think, “Why should I cover myself when I have everything to show?” How naive I was... I had forgotten that women were jewels that needed to be protected.

Modern to Modest Re-launch

Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 December 2017 15:41

The saying “no pain, no gain”, although clichéd (overused), expresses a concept that all people acknowledge and understand – that in order to gain, one must be prepared to sacrifice. However, sacrifice is something for which very few people are prepared, as it takes one out of the ‘comfort zone’ into unfamiliar, trial-filled territory.

When most people contemplate their goals, they view the sacrifices that are necessary to achieve them and lose courage, thinking to themselves, “I can never do this, it’s impossible!”

Hence, one of the most effective ways to gain motivation is to consider other people who are just like us and faced the same challenges as us, yet overcame the seemingly insurmountable odds and achieved their goal.

A Modest Muslimah Inspires to Islam

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 August 2017 15:50

The following is the first hand account of a female American doctor who accepted Islam due to a young Muslimah’s piety:

I am a gynaecologist and have been working in a hospital in America for the past eight years. Last year, a young, Muslim, Arab girl arrived in the hospital in the throes of labour. The labour pain was naturally severe and excruciating, yet I did not witness even a single tear fall from the eyes of this young girl.

Nevertheless, my shift was nearing its end, and so I informed the young girl that I would be going home and that another doctor (who was a male) would be arriving shortly to deliver her child. Whereas this young girl had not shed a single tear or emitted a single moan or complaint until now, on hearing that I was leaving, she suddenly began to cry and moan earnestly while insisting, “No! No! Not a man!”