We are at the tail end of yet another year and I am moved to pick up my pen to write and reflect on the lessons the year has taught me. I guess you could call it a personal yearly tradition. At any point I find myself feeling a sort of overwhelm and helplessness amidst … Continue reading To Live in the Fullness of Every Day
Your Love is On Reserve: How to Find Love in a Bookshop
It's a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman past her twenties and in possession of a stable career, good degree, decent looks and fine manners must be in want of no man... who doesn't deserve her, obviously. See, I'm tired of the 'smart girls stay single', or 'girls like you intimidate men', 'we don't … Continue reading Your Love is On Reserve: How to Find Love in a Bookshop
An Ode to My Favourite Bookshop
I can't recall the first time I was acquainted with your space. Was it with a friend? Or alone? Either way, you feel like home. The paperbacks, hardcovers, pocket books and tomes are enough to accompany my languid afternoons flaneuring down Bussorah Street. All my friends know I can't leave the precinct without paying you … Continue reading An Ode to My Favourite Bookshop
Hindsight’s 2020
The hour will not begin until time passes quickly, so a year will be like a month will be like a week, and a week will be like a day, and a day will be like an hour, and an hour will be like the burning of a braid of palm leaves. Prophet Muhammad PBUH … Continue reading Hindsight’s 2020
Brown
brown is the colour of earth. clay. of godsent soil. the unapologetic shade of my ancestor's toil; my grandfather on his boat, his leathered skin, bahasa jawa, melanin. but they've been telling me that you look better in these colours because some colours just don't suit your skin tone because, you know, it doesn't show … Continue reading Brown
Footsteps
my father’s cracked feet shuffle across the kitchen floor. after fajr prayers, he retreats into his room. he recites a surah until the skies grew lighter. it’s been almost two months. his bicycle in the balcony has been collecting dust. some days he lies on his bed, restless. “bapak rindu tak, dah lama tak pergi … Continue reading Footsteps
Apart, yet still A Part
I look back and half of Ramadan is over in the blink of an eye. Before I know it, I'll be saying that about my entire life. - Nouman Ali Khan I can't find a better string of words to sum up how I feel about the remnants of Ramadan. Weren't we just preparing ourselves … Continue reading Apart, yet still A Part
The Morning After
sheets of rain cascade from the inked skies till daybreak. the trees drink in the tranquil. speculations on the special night. a big perhaps. even if it has yet to reveal its light, the heart is feeling in torrents. a deluge of emotions that a size of a fist cannot contain. it bursts with desperation - between palms upturned in prayers … Continue reading The Morning After
Emotional Intelligence
Two days ago, I attended a live class on 'The Emotional and Moral Intelligence of the Prophet ﷺ, conducted by Mikaeel Ahmed Smith who is the author of the book 'With the Heart in Mind', a deeply insightful read. The topic of emotional intelligence is relatively nascent within the field of our religion (and as … Continue reading Emotional Intelligence
Please Write About the Hard Things
write about the hard things. about the war that's waging within mothers and mother lands. about tears that were shed in refugee camps. about living on the cusp of constant death. about learning. unlearning. about moments that came once and then gone too soon. hoping. yearning. flowers that don't bloom. dreams that don't make it past sleep. plans that … Continue reading Please Write About the Hard Things
The Book Jacket 