Author Archive: Sheima

An amazing way to promote your happiness is to develop the skill of “empathy.” Empathy is defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” One reason that empathy is so important is that the act of…
Read more

Most Muslims are aware that every surah (chapter) of the Holy Quran begins with the verse, “In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate (or Most Gracious), Most Merciful.” Well, I’ve been thinking of the various translations of Ar-Rahmaan (Compassionate vs….
Read more

Bismillahirahmaniraheem (In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful) Most health experts agree that diet affects your health, both physical and emotional. Studies have shown that eating more raw fruits and vegetables actually improves your mood. Recently I’ve adopted…
Read more

Alhamdulillah, I am back from the Turkish village, and it was truly a gorgeous, clean, serene place. But I am glad to be back on the Internet! During my stay in the village, I had 2 powerful epiphanies. These were…
Read more

I am currently en route to a Turkish village to visit my husband’s relatives. We will be there for about 3 weeks, and I will not have internet access. Although I feel a bit bummed that I will be fasting…
Read more

My 5 year-old daughter Fatima and I were discussing her questions about Islam, and she asked a question that really got my reflection juices flowing. We were talking about Shaytan (Satan) and how he is bad and wants us to…
Read more

Alhamdulillah, in 2012 I published my first book, “The Basic Values of Islam,” in which I compiled Quranic verses and hadiths that correspond with basic values such as honesty, kindness, etc. In this post I would like to comment on…
Read more

A few years ago I had a negative experience in which my great uncle took my son to get a haircut and found chewing gum in my son’s hair. Rather than telling me about it, he called my mother (and…
Read more

Alhamdulillah, my mother is a psychiatrist and, since I am visiting her now, I have access to a plethora of fascinating books. One of those books is “Emotional Intelligence” by Dr. Daniel Goleman. Dr. Goleman contends that emotional intelligence is…
Read more

I am the mom of two children and an auntie of eight, alhamdulillah. I am visiting my family this summer, and it is wonderful to be together. However, it is also very challenging! One thing that happens a lot is…
Read more