Ramadan Reflections: Day 24

Bismillah... In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Assalamu alaikum my dear readers,
Alhamdulillah I am so glad to tell you that the 13th issue of Aaila is uploaded now. As its Ramadan, I was struggling with getting our precious writers to write. I didn't want to force them as I know we all are kind of tired and exhausted. I was tempted to change the deadline but Alhamdulillah Aaila new issue is out now.

I have been making dua that Allah Subhanahu Wa ta'ala makes it easy for me. Now looking at the end product I am quite glad, alhamdulillah. There  may be still some mistakes. Give me a shout if you find any and forgive this shattered soul :-( !

I feel really blessed to work for this magazine. I really love my work. I get to read all the articles before it goes online :-) I am always 'hunting' for good writers which means I am always browsing, reading and contacting amazing people around the world. Without our excellent writers and contributors, Aaila could have been just a dream! May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward every single writer and the readers for their great support, mashAllah. Love you all feesabilillah.

Some of the writers are now very close friends of mine, alhamdulillah. I am really inspired by them. Through my work as an editor, I get to meet some great Muslim ladies, alhamdulillah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept our deeds and make Aaila a household name, Ameeen! Please keep Aaila in your duas!

All the articles of this issue is wonderful but some are very close to my heart. Do have a read and let me know your comments. I am always looking forward to hear from you inshAllah. Also please share the link with your family and friends. A better upbringing, A better life! www.aaila.org

Below I have shared some of the articles which are really inspiring mashAllah: 

My wonderful, super-Muslimah sister Cordelia's articles are very informative as always, mashAllah. They are always a great joy to read, mashAllah. 'What Exercise means to your life' 'Nutritional comparison of Ramadan food selections' 'Speak softly' 

InshAllah I will be joining a Pilates session very soon , inspired by my beloved sis Cordelia :-) May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward her for motivating us to live a healthy life, ameen!

I am always very fascinated by the Amish community so Humble Mom's article was an excellent read, alhamdulillah. MashAllah her blog is a great source of good resources for home educators.

Also , my beautiful friend Aisha's poetry , 'Ramadan Reflections' and the article 'When I am gone' just touched my heart. She is one of the biggest blessing in my life, alhamdulillah. We are friends from university, alhamdulillah.

Another very close sister from university is Zakia who wrote the article 'Remind for the reminder benefits the believers' & her beautiful poem 'A man not a player'. She is a very brave lady who left the UK for Somalia as she wants to help her beloved country to develop, mashAllah. May Allah make her successful!

My very beloved sister 'Happy Muslim Mama' Umm Salihah (deputy editor) has written some beautiful articles as always, mashAllah. I am a very avid reader of her blog. I have been following her blog sine 2005, wow! just realized, it's been 8 years! She has been a big inspiration for me to start my own blogging journey alhamdulillah. 

 Her Ramadan journals are a joy to read! As always, she wrote quite a lot of articles for Aaila.

'Ramadan journal 2013: Day 10  Grateful for...'  'Ramadan journal 2013:Day 20 Grateful for..'

'Ramadan journal 2013: Perspective..'  and some more...

There are so many writers mashAllah to talk about. InshAllah I hope to do another post dedicated to them inshAllah. May Allah subhananhu wa ta'ala reward them all, ameen! 

I am really tired now and desperately  in need of some sleep. Today is another odd night , so may be the night of power. So I really need to get some rest inshallah. Please keep me in your precious duas. 

Aaila 2nd anniversary alhamdulillah :-)

Bismillah... In the name of Allah the Most Merciful

I am so glad to tell you that the 12th issue of Aaila is online now, alhamdulillah. This is our 2nd anniversary issue, alhamdulillah. We couldn't have created this beautiful Ramadan issue without the help of our amazing writers. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala reward them for their efforts, ameen!

I remember when Aaila was just a dream I cherished. In 2007, Allah subhana wa ta'ala blessed us with our first child, Imran. I felt so blessed to be his mum, alhamdulillah. But at the same time, I was overwhelmed with this great responsibility Allah subhana wa ta'ala has entrusted me with. During my pregnancy I used to read any pregnancy magazine I can get hold of and loved reading the articles with lots of practical tips for expecting as well as new mums. I remember the free magazines I used to get from the antenatal clinic as well as the baby shows. Only one thing was missing and that was the spiritual side of being a mum. For me as a Muslim woman, spirituality is the core of being a human being. I loved ( and still love) reading SISTERS magazine since my university time (2003/2005) MashAllah sister Na'ima is doing a great job and she has indeed inspired me with her amazing work mashallah. But I wanted something more as a mum. I wanted a magazine for women like me who is eager to learn more about being a good mum, good wife, good family member and most importantly a good , devout Muslim woman who strives to raise good and devout Muslim children so that we can again create a strong and glorious Ummah we can be proud of, bi'idnillah.

When we first started in April 2010, there wasn't that many writers available. We didn't even have a clue how to create a website. I remember opening a weebly account, lol! It didn't look professional at all but it was the start alhamdulillah! And that's what is very crucial with any dream we have. We need to start somewhere and keep working and rely on Allah subhana wa ta'ala. The journey is very long and very bumpy but keep on trying. Never give up bi'idnillah. Only Allah knows what we can achieve. I met some amazing people along the way, alhamdulillah. Without their help and encouragement, Aaila would have been just a dream. I am truly blessed to have these amazing people around me, alhamdulillah. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala reward them, ameen! ameen! ameen! 

I have a big dream. InshAllah I hope Aaila as a Muslim family magazine will reach every Muslim household and help significantly in creating a good, balanced global Muslim community, bi'idnillah. Our motto is A better upbringing, A better life! May Allah subhana wa ta'ala accept our efforts and make it a successful magazine, ameen!

I hope our readers will benefit from this issue and prepare properly for the great month of Ramadan, bi'idnillah. 

May Allah subhana wa ta'ala bless us in this month of Sha'baan and let us reach the sacred month of Ramadan, ameen! Please do share the Aaila link with family and friends. If you would like to write for us and contribute in any way, you can contact us at aailamagazine@gmail.com. We are always eager to hear from you, inshAllah. Please do keep us in your precious duas. Happy reading!