Kuwaiti mosque attack

Allah yarham those Shia Muslims who were murdered yesterday in the ISIS-backed terrorist attack on a mosque in Kuwait that killed 27 and injured over 200 people. 
Allah (swt) took their souls in the purest of states - fasting, praying and in sujood. And took the soul of the shaytan that murdered them in the most vile of ways - in total ignorance, lower than that of a speck of dirt. 

Rest in peace to those victims of the attacks in France and Tunisa. 

Those who Allah (swt) exalted above all others experienced true difficulties in life and were almost always oppressed. Let us not be deluded into thinking that the majority is always correct - often it is the oppressed minority that is on the path of Allah (swt). Those whose hearts have not been hardened to the suffering of others, those who cry easily and feel the pain of others - they are the ones on the right path. 

Allah (swt) has STRICTLY forbidden fighting and fitnah during then holy months, one of which is Ramadan. 

"They ask you about the sacred month - about fighting therein. Say, "Fighting therein is great [sin], but averting [people] from the way of Allah and disbelief in Him and [preventing access to] al-Masjid al-Haram and the expulsion of its people therefrom are greater [evil] in the sight of Allah . And fitnah is greater than killing."..." 

Quran [2:217]

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This blog was supposed to be about hijab and sisterhood and ummah but I no longer think that there is one. I don't want to write about fashion or hijab anymore. I don't want sit here talking about how to make a hijab look pretty while pretending that the Muslim world hasn't turned into some bloodthirsty, takfiri monstrosity. It saddens and angers me to see any kind of support (including turning a blind eye) from Muslims online for a terrorist organisation that has caused so much pain and suffering, and there's nothing that I can do about it. Even reporting pages that use Islam to incite hatred does not seem to get them taken down.. Therefore, to prevent myself from going mad I am taking an indefinite break from from blogging. I will not be moderating comments. 

Ramadan Mubarek.

Z.

Advice from Imam Ali (as) to his son ^-^

"O my son, learn 4 things and (a further) 4 things from me. Nothing will harm you if you practise them:

- the richest of riches is intelligence; 
- the greatest poverty is foolishness; 
- the wildest wildness is vanity 
- the best achievement is goodness of character.

O my son, you should avoid making friends with:

- a fool because he may intend to benefit you but actually harm you; 
- a miser because he will run away from you when you need him most; 
- a sinful person because he will sell you for nought; 
- a liar because he is like a mirage, making you feel far things near and near things far."

Imam Ali (as) to his son Al-Hasan (as) 
[Arabic to English translation.]

Serena Van Der Woodsen Style

Following on from my previous post about my favourite Blair Waldorf outfits I thought I'd do one about Serena Van Der Woodsen :D Here are a few of the outfits I loved from the show...

This made me really want to go shopping.. Good thing it's a bank holiday tomorrow woop!

My problem with non-hijabis..

.

In my 6 years experience of being a hijabi and blogging about hijab there are certain things that I have learnt, some good, some bad. One of the worst things I've realised is that there seems to be this theme with many non-hijabi girls - their negative attitudes towards Muslim girls who choose to adopt the hijab.

I came across a YouTube comment the other day from a non-hijabi Muslim girl reading 'any girl who wears the hijab in England is a hypocrite and a slut'. Upon questioning her, she said that she thinks that girls should not wear the hijab if they are going to 'have boyfriends and have sex' (which she weirdly seems to have assumed every hijabi girl does..) because they are not good role models and that they only wear headscarves because they are made to at a young age. She claims to know every hijabi in England but she definitely doesn't know me and she doesn't know any hijabi girls that I know. And to add insult to injury she was commenting on a MARRIED hijabi girl's channel. These accusations are extremely haram not to mention generally disrespectful.

But surprisingly enough, this is not the only occasion I have heard this twisted perspective on hijabis. An old non-hijabi friend of mine once told me that she thinks she's better than most hijabi girls out there because she doesn't smoke shisha and doesn't have a boyfriend. I thought this was very funny because the vast majority of hijabis I know including myself do not, nor have they ever had, a boyfriend. And shisha is not haram so why exactly that made her better than a hijabi I'll never know. 

Yet another girl once proudly proclaimed that her father forbade her from wearing a hijab because hijabis are all bad and dress badly. Her smug, 'I am so much better than you' attitude really sickened me. She did not appear to be religious in any way, did not have a single Muslim friend and was overall quite a rude person, but apparently she was better than all of us headscarf-wearing Muslims. 

I have heard many a time non-hijabi girls try and justify the fact that they don't wear the hijab by proclaiming that hijabis do all these terrible things which they don't do therefore it doesn't matter that they do not follow that particular ruling in Islam. For me it is EXACTLY like saying, well look at all these Muslims that consistently pray but also lie, at least I don't lie so it's not as bad that I don't pray everyday. There is nothing logical about that statement. All it is is someone comparing themselves to someone else to try and make themselves feel and look better. Let us not forget the first person that compared. 

When I was a non-hijabi I must admit that at times I had similar thoughts but when I really reflected I realised that I was simply trying to justify not doing something that Allah (SWT) has told me to do. If non-hijabis truly care about how religious they are I think they would come to this realisation. 

As a final thought, I think that one action does not negate another because Allah (SWT) is All Merciful and accepts all of our deeds done with good intentions. If a hijabi does sin that does not mean her hijab is pointless, it simply means that she is a human being and sins like everyone else, but she is also trying to be a good Muslim by following one of the commands of Allah (SWT). Contrary to what the YouTube commenter claimed, if the hijabi is in a Western country she is constantly struggling even more given the current view of Islam. This makes her better than the non-hijabi any day of the week. 

xoxo

INSANE makeup transformations by Sadaf Wassan

I recently came across Sadaf Wassan, a YouTube makeup artist and was so impressed by her transformations. She is incredibly talented and deserves a LOT more views and subscribers than she has, especially when compared to some of the more popular makeup artists on YouTube. Here are a couple of looks she has on her channel, the transformations are really outstanding.

:O

She also has a website - www.sadafhairandbeauty.co.uk if you're in Manchester and want to check her out. It has some awesome before and afters on there too.

 

It's insane what a good makeup artist can do to a face!

February favourites!

Wow, that went by quickly.. 

My most favourite thing this month has got to be my new LV Speedy 30 in the monogram print, which I've named Mimi. Totally in love :D May do a review on in at some point. But the general gist is I bloody love it and if you want one, get it before the prices are hiked. Also, I recently discovered a Louis Vuitton DUTY FREE in Heathrow Terminal 5 - the only one in the world. If you're going out of the EU you get 17% off. Seriously, what more could you ask for in a duty free..? 

Not really much else this month to be honest. I'm currently in Dubai so I guess that's also a favourite! For photos of that you can check out my Instagram.

Hope you're all well xo xo 

Rest in Peace Moaz Al-Kasasbeh

May the people responsible, and the people who support the actions of Da'ish ("ISIS"), both openly or secretly, the people who were in a position to prevent what happened but didn't, the people who supply this organisation with weapons and money, the people who filmed, the people who sent in tweets suggesting ways to murder this Arab pilot, the people who do not condemn the actions of these twisted, scumbag bastards, be punished without mercy in the most disgusting, painful and degrading way conceivable to man.

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There are no words I can use to describe the sorrow caused by the brutal murder of this heroic man, who was brave until the very end.

Allah (swt) rest the soul of Moaz Al-Kasasbeh and bring down Your wrath on the barbarians who murdered him. Amen. 

January Favourites!

I have been loving the monthly favourite videos that are currently popular on YouTube so I thought it'd be fun to do a monthly favourites blog post at the end of each month. They're going to include beauty things but also general favourites for the month as I'm not massively into beauty and makeup stuff. Let me know what things you've been loving this month!

#1 Benefit They're Real Mascara and Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner pen. Both stay on for the entire day without smudging or coming off but they can be removed quite easily with olive oil. The pen is so easy to put on, great if you hate liquid liners - I never thought I'd love an liquid eyeliner pen so much! 

#2 Original Bare Minerals Foundation. This is one of the few foundations that doesn't break me out. I recently recently rediscovered it at the bottom of my makeup drawer and am loving it. It doesn't last all day but it'll stay put for a good few hours, depending on your skin type. 

#3 Witch Naturally Clear Blemish Pen. Speaking of breakouts, my skin has been a nightmare recently and this blemish pen is one of the best spot products I've used. If you put it on at night your spots will be visibly reduced in the morning. Amazingly I got it from the 99p shop but you can find it sold cheaply online.

#4 Kindle Paperwhite! I've had this for a few months and in that time I have read more books than I have in the past couple of years. It's totally gotten me back into reading and now I always have a book on the go. I highly recommend the Kindle to anyone who loves reading, it's light, the battery lasts for literally weeks from full charge and the Paperwhite has really useful a back light. In addition, Amazon is full of many free Kindle books and thousands that cost next to nothing to purchase. Currently I'm reading Princess More Tears to Cry by Jean Sasson (the 4th book of the Princess series).

#5 Gucci phonecase for iPhone 5/5s. I had my eye on this for a while and just had to buy it when it went on sale. It's made of a durable rubber material and just looks so cute :)

#6 eBay! I have a feeling eBay will be making a continuous appearance in these posts.. My absolute favourite find this month is this Ralph Lauren shirt dress for a fraction of what it would have costed new. In love!

#7 I rediscovered my Nintendo DS recently and am loving the brain training. Unfortunately I tried getting into a new Pokemon game but I just didn't find it as fun as I used to.. hate it when that happens! 

And last but certainly not least, I have been really enjoying the Royle Family series on Netflix this month.. nothing major ever seems to happen in the shows but I find them very funny to watch. I'd highly recommend, especially if you're British and you're stuck for something to watch on Netflix.  

:D

"No pain or sickness affects a believer, no tiredness, grief nor any worry except that Allah (swt) removes from that person a sin because of it." - Prophet Muhammed (s)

:'(

Smart work hijab outfit

A smart, hijab appropriate outfit idea for work.

Office look by stylishmuslimah

7 trends that should really have stayed in 2014.

The androgynous look, why was this ever a thing..?

Huge fake eyelashes. Like NM they're scary and kind of a bit cheap looking :( 

Duck face anything (expect Pringles, obvs).

Leggings as trousers. 

Big buns.. I mean bums. Also, that insane fake contouring everyone is doing.. Sorry KK. 

Turbans. Just don't get the craze.

Last and least, those ugly shoes that don't have heels. They make me sad.

Which fashion trends would you abolish?

Review: The Letter by Kathryn Hughes

Overview: The book is based on two young women, Chrissie and Tina, who live decades apart (the former in World War 2 and the other in the 1970s). Although both troubled in their own ways, their lives appear to be completely unconnected until Tina finds a letter in the pocket of an old suit jacket. This letter is the key piece in a complex puzzle that eventually intertwines the lives of the two women forever. The underpinning themes are illegitimate pregnancy, domestic abuse and the 'butterfly effect'. 

My thoughts: The story is fast paced - the writer generally spares the readers any unnecessary details and has a habit of jumping days, weeks or even months ahead in time from one paragraph to the next. I liked the plot, the twists and turns of the story but the ending was fairly predictable around halfway though the book, a satisfying ending but predictable nonetheless. 

Most of the characters in the book were pretty well developed, to the point where I hated some of them (ahem, Tina) and felt sorry for others. For me, it is a sign of a good author if he or she can write about a fictional person in such a way that it evokes any sort of strong emotional response from the reader towards that character. 

There were a few grammatical errors - a real pet peeve of mine when I see them in a published book. Apart from that the author's writing style was quite simple and enjoyable to read. 

Rating: 3.5/5 - Interesting plot, it'd make a great film!

A sickening example of the disregard to fathers rights in America

I recently came across the following secretly filmed footage on YouTube of two social workers interrogating a father about his treatment of his 7-year old daughter. The title of the video is 'CPS (Child Protective Services) interrogation and inquisition for normal parenting discretions'.

Just to summarise, the video starts with the reading out of some anonymous allegations that have been made against the divorced father of one, these are mainly based around the fact that on a day he was allowed access to his daughter he looked up the side effects of a drug he suspected his daughter was taking and read out the effects to the girl. This apparently then led the girl to become convinced that her mother was trying to kill her. The father tries to begin explaining that the mother has not told him what medication the girl is on, or that she is even taking anything at all. He says that on the day in question he became concerned when his daughter began to experience chest pain and told her father that her mother gives her pills to 'make her cooperate'. The rest of the video is excruciatingly frustrating to watch.

There are several points that I want to make about this footage and the incompetent social workers ('Blue' and 'Purple'), and put forward some of my thoughts, from the point of view of a pharmacist. 

1. Blue reads out the allegations, tripping up on pronunciation, getting words like 'psychosis' and 'psychiatric' mixed up, indicating from the outset that she is unprepared and uneducated on the case of the child in question.

2. Purple is defensive in body language and speech, right from the beginning you can tell that she is biased, she does not and will not give the father a fair chance to explain his reasoning. This may be mistaken early on as perhaps her siding with the child but if you watch the whole video you'll find that she is in fact sided with the mother. I do not believe that she has the best interests of the child at heart, actually quite the opposite.

3. Purple states that the judge has determined that the father is not entitled to have information about the girls medication, to which the father says 'the judge never said that'. She does not contest this suggesting that she is uninformed and making things up as she goes along, perhaps just saying things for effect. 

4. This part really angers me - at about 7 minutes in the father asks 'do you think it was the mothers responsibility to at least let me know (what our child is on)' to which she defiantly responds 'no'. He goes on to say 'my daughter is with me from an extended period of time on sundays', he correctly says 'the drug might have side effects, it might have contraindications..' all the while Purple is shaking her head, saying 'no'. She then shockingly says 'then you would take her to the hospital and the hospital would call the mother..'!! She repeatedly says that it is not irresponsible of the mother to not inform the father of the drugs the girl is taking because she doesn't legally have to. 

It is at this point that I start to wonder why on earth a doctor, nurse or pharmacist is not present at this meeting. This woman clearly knows nothing of the potential dangers of medications, particularly psychiatric drugs in children. I think it is massively irresponsible for the mother to not inform anyone who the child will be staying with for a prolonged period of time of the medications that the child is on - be it a school teacher, baby-sitter or (shock horror) father. In the event of an emergency it is important to ensure optimum healthcare that current conditions and medications are known by doctors and other healthcare professionals, particularly with paediatric patients. 

5. Purple claims it is normal for children to experience chest pain after dancing around because of raised heart rate. Maybe, maybe not. What she fails to consider is that many psychiatric drugs can have serious cardiac side effects, if a child on an antipsychotic or similar medication experienced chest pain, that would be a cause for concern. Of course, if the caregiver looking after the child doesn't know what side effects to look out for, this could put the child at risk of delayed treatment. But according to Purple, the mother was not being irresponsible. 

6. Purple rants at him for giving the girl a treat of zero calorie, zero caffeine fizzy drink on some of the visits. She goes from saying that the sugar substitute in the drink has the same effect on the body as sugar, then says it's empty calories, then says it empty chemicals and finishes saying 'it's just not a good idea'. She then later refers to them as 'energy drinks'. Purple hasn't got a clue what she's talking about. 

7. Purple reprimanded the father about weighing his child, apparently he should not be concerned about the fact that the girl is becoming obese. She claims that the father is perpetuating her obesity by giving her (zero calorie) sodas during the 8 hours a week that he sees his daughter. She 'highly recommends' that the father stops weighing the child and stops discussing weight with the child. I agree that weight shouldn't be made a huge issue at this point but I really don't feel that Purple is an appropriate person to be giving this advice. If she were acting with the best interests of the child at heart she would say that the issue of weight and the girls diet needs to be discussed with the mother. But she isn't, she just wants the father to be wrong.

8. Father asks if it is possible that the medication the mother is giving the child could be causing weight gain. Purple disregards this concern and says that the girl is going to have a growth spurt. If the girl is in fact on an antipsychotic (which to me looks probable), weight gain is a common side effect. So the father is 100% correct in having this concern and yet again Purple demonstrates her painful incompetence. 

9. The other diet advice that Purple gives is pretty good. The attitude in which she gives it, however, is almost patronising, seemingly disregarding the fact that she is talking to a father who knows his daughter better than she ever will.

10. Purple says that the girl is still on the medication when the father asks. She says 'these sorts of medications aren't things you can suddenly stop'. A few minutes later she contradicts herself and says something to the effect of 'you are not legally entitled to know if she is taking anything, we cannot even hint that we know'. She goes on to say 'it could be vitamins, it could be Valium, it could be birth control', when the father asks about this she justifies her statement by saying that she's making it clear that she can't indicate what the child is on even though she mentioned previously that the medication can't be stopped suddenly - this does indicate what the child is on. All of this, especially the comment about a 7-year old on birth control, indicates one thing: this social worker is a useless waste of space that clearly enjoys the discomfort and aguish that the legal situation is causing the father by leaving him in the dark. 

11. Blue now starts questioning the father, she is barely a minute in when Purple interjects with her defensive, catty attitude talking mostly a lot of rubbish. She is an unprofessional, rude and ill-informed hypocrite of a woman who clearly enjoys authority more than doing a good job protecting children.

I sincerely hope that this is not a reflection of what child protection services are like in America, or anywhere else. If it is, God help us all. 

Apologies for the wordy post, I really wanted to bring to light some of the suffering that fathers endure in today's society when a couple with children breaks up. Sadly, I feel that if it were mothers that experienced this sort of treatment, a lot more people would know about it and a lot more people would care.