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Broadcast live on 9th May 2019.
]]>Salaam lovely people! I’m Sadaff and I’m based in Manchester where I was born and raised. I have three kids known as Big Miss (age 7), Little Miss (age 4) and the Baby (aged 19 months). In between being ‘Mama’, I like to drink coffee, I love chocolate (may be a bit too much), and I am absolutely crazy about arts, crafts, and design.
Live Love Gift formally started in May 2017 after brewing in my head for a good few years. I worked as a graphic designer full time before motherhood and always wanted to use those skills for something that would benefit my kids and our deen. Until now the focus has been mainly on craft kits to help kids learn about various Islamic topics and concepts. It’s amazing how well they engage with something when there’s crafts involved!
Live Love Gift is a big family effort as my husband looks after all the technical and business side of things, and my kids are my biggest and best critics/product developers/testers/models! I come up with product ideas, source materials and design everything from samples right down to the packaging.
In sha Allah the next big product area I’m developing is greetings cards and gift accessories. I’d love to design and create an Islamic version of Paperchase! For Eid, I saw a gap in the market for mini Eid card sets so I designed and produced 4 ranges which were a massive hit this summer Alhamdulilah. Kids loved giving them to their friends and it created such excitement for Eid. They were sold all over the country, including to Al Manaar MCHC who gave them with gifts to Grenfell Tower survivors – so humbled to have helped out in some small way.
What I find most difficult is putting on a ‘business’ head before I create a product. I get carried away with ideas and before I know it, the product I’m thinking of ends up too complicated, too costly, and impossible to make for market. My husband plays a big part in reeling me back a bit here! I’m slowly learning to think with a different approach so that whatever product I make is easy for me to create and sell, and more importantly for customers to buy and enjoy.
Work for me mostly fits around my kids and family as they come first. So it means I tend to work in the evenings after they’re all asleep, or a little stint in the afternoon while the girls are at school and Baby has his now dwindling nap! I wouldn’t call it a perfect balance by any means, it can be frustrating only having a maximum of a couple of hours at any one time to complete a task. In sha Allah this will change as they grow up and I also get better at being more efficient with my time. It’s all a work in progress.
We make an effort as a couple to have a date night once a week, as well as focussed family time on the weekends. Work comes in peaks and troughs so sometimes I step up the late nights and then sometimes it’s quiet for a few weeks so I focus on family needs more. I see a lot of #selfcaresunday posts nowadays, I need to do more of this for sure. Alhamdulilah, one of the biggest advantages of working for yourself is definitely this flexibility of how you divide your time.
As someone who memorized the entire Quran in my youth, it is a dream of mine, as I’m sure it is for many of you, to have my children be counted amongst the Huffaadh – the memorizers of the Quran.
“The one who recites the Quran and learns it by heart, will be with the noble righteous scribes (in Heaven) and the one who exerts himself to learn the Quran by heart and recites it with great difficulty, will have a double reward.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4653; Muslim, 798)
Allah has given children an amazing ability to process and retain information. They are able to absorb everything, even the slightest information. This is one of the reasons children can learn faster than adults. By starting hifz early we can reap these benefits.
By giving an insight into my journey – which has only just begun – I hope to share with you my experiences so far, along with any tips and ideas that may help us to achieve this goal.
Please note: While these tips should be read as advice, it is important to point out that every child is different, so do not take these points strictly. It is crucial to adapt to each child. As parents, you should know your child best. I am sure that what works well with my son won’t even work well with my daughter! Likewise, as my son gets older, some techniques may no longer be effective and other methods will have to be tried and tested.
I am a father of three children, with their ages ranging from 1 year to 4 years. For this article I will concentrate on my experience with my eldest child, Muhammad-Ameen. Muhammad-Ameen is a typical 4 year old…He can’t sit still, is extremely lively, and loves cars and animals. Getting him to sit down and concentrate is a task in itself.
Based on my experience so far, the below are the 5 tips which I think are most important to parents who share my ambition:
This is the most important tip I can give to any parent, whether they are teaching their children hifz or anything else. I had a routine with my son right from when he was 2 years old. Before bed we will alternate between reading Arabic and English books together and then close the evening off with me reading Quran to him. A typical session would be anything between 30 minutes to an hour.
Having our session just before bed works best for us. Not only does he see it as an excuse to stay up, but thankfully his energy levels are down and he is usually calmer as a result. You should choose a time which suits you and your child’s schedule best.
Muhammad-Ameen cherishes this time because it is one of the rare moments in the day where he gets my full attention rather than having to share it with my two other children. And this wouldn’t have been possible if my wife wasn’t kind enough to look after the other two kids. My wife also covers this session during the days of the week when I have other commitments, so she’ll put the kids to bed and she’ll read to Muhammad-Ameen. This should be a joint effort and so agree an approach among you before-hand.
I can’t stress enough that however small your routine may be, be consistent with it! Not only will your kids learn discipline through this but this will create an expectation in your child which will help avoid catching your child off-guard. At the start it was very tough and it felt like a chore, but with time it became more natural. After that initial struggle, it’s my son now who reminds me about our reading time.
But please remember, children at that age will find it very hard to concentrate for long periods (even anything more than 10 minutes), so don’t worry if they aren’t listening 100%. Children pick up a great deal even through passive listening.
With Quran recitation, initially I started off reciting to him Surah Al-Fatiha and Surah Al-Baqara. Whilst this worked well, we found better success by switching to Juz Amma instead. The shorter verses made it easier for him to follow thereby aiding memorisation.
Whether on a journey, shopping, or just doing chores around the house, recite Quran to your child. Make sure they see you put time aside for the Quran, even if this is for a short time only. I found our 5-10 minute walk to nursery a great time to recite to him. I would recite and encourage him to recite with me.
Another practice I initiated through people’s practice is to have the Quran playing in the background while the kids are playing. As mentioned earlier, kids absorb absolutely everything, whether this is through active or passive listening. Hence, although they might be playing while the Quran is playing, you can be rest assured that they’re picking up the Quran.
We also leave a Quran recitation playing in their bedrooms overnight. Academic studies have suggested a link between the mind and what is played during sleep.
But there are 2 things to note here:
A useful practice which is often overlooked by parents is reciting salaah aloud in the presence of children. When you look at the hadith collections, in particular the ahaadith relating to the supplications in Salaah, you find 2 main methods the Companions learnt these. The first was through the companions asking questions or through explanations from the Prophet (SAW). And the second was through observation of the Prophet (SAW). The evidence for this is the hadith starts with “we heard the Prophet (SAW) say” such and such supplication. And this indicates that the Prophet (SAW) said it loud enough to be heard which you could assume was done as a purpose of teaching otherwise he would have prayed silently.
As such, we can practice the above with our children too. With 5 prayers in the day, of which 3 are recited aloud, there is little reason why children will not pick up Surah Fatiha by themselves as a minimum and any supplications. Add to this the sunan and nawaafil and this will provide ample opportunity for them to learn.
This is the least burdensome way of teaching your children the Quran. Whether praying alone, or as husband and wife, reciting aloud in prayer can benefit your child’s memorisation a great deal. My wife and I have witnessed the benefits of this practice with my son, and now even my daughter who both regularly recite along with us during salaah.
There is no doubt that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the best of teachers. He knew each of his companions and their levels, and despite having no teaching qualification he led them step by step gradually to become the best generation. And he would joke with his companions despite his lofty position such that the questions would ask ‘are you laughing and joking with us’.
And this is proof that you don’t need a teaching qualification or a teaching background to be the best teacher for your child. All you need to do is humble yourself to his level and understand him, and then build that connection with him just like the Prophet did with each and every companion. The Prophet was such that each companion thought he was the Prophet’s favourite. Once you have this then teach him with love and mercy. Remember that this is a means for your salvation as well as your child’s. The Prophet never raised his hand on anyone, not even his slave so be merciful on your child if he misbehaves or if he makes mistakes.
And then make learning enjoyable for the child like the Prophet did for the companions. The companions would take it in turns to go to work just so they could learn from the Prophet (SAW). The Prophet (SAW) employed various methods of teaching to reach out to the companions and you should do the same with your child. I would encourage using resources like the Juzz Amma sticker chart and the Juzz Amma sticker bookmark to reward the child for each surah memorised. This is sure to build some excitement into the process, and drive the child to completing their goal.
You should encourage your child to ask questions like the Prophet did because if you don’t give them the opportunity then they’ll ask others who may not have their best interests in heart.
A point to note here is that the Prophet only forbade too many questions because he feared revelation would come down in response and thus make it harder for his ummah but this fear does not exist anymore.
Ultimately the aim should be for your child to build an attachment to the Quran, whether this is through memorisation or otherwise. Keep your intentions pure and sincere. Lead your children by example. How can we expect them to succeed if we ourselves are not passionate about connecting with the Quran!
One point I cannot stress enough is to persevere! Many times we will feel demotivated because it is not a small task. This journey is more about how much effort we put in rather than our child. Even if you feel progress is slow, do not give up. This is a long-term exercise, and we should not expect results immediately.
To conclude, I just want to remind the reader that children develop differently and no child is the same. As a parent you will soon learn what works well with your children and what doesn’t. Put in the effort, make dua, and realise that success is from Allah alone.
Please note that Hifz is not for everyone. So many scholars amongst the great, despite having memorized tonnes of ahaadith, could not memorise the Quran. But have confidence that Allah will reward you for your struggles. And in the end, you should know enough about your child to realise if he is capable of this mighty task or not.
Above are just some tips from mines and my son’s journey so far. It’s only begun but I hope you have found some benefit. InshaAllah in the near future we plan to extend our Quran reading sessions in the mornings also. Depending on how this goes, there may be a need to bring in an external teacher to build on this but this is more for the long term.
]]>A warm salaam to all your readers! My name is Zanib Mian. I live in London, where I was born and raised. I have two boys mashaAllah; one of whom, much to everyone’s surprise has far exceeded me in height and started shaving!
I have two companies, Alhamdulillah. They are both publishing companies. Sweet Apple publishes mainstream diverse children’s books and Muslim Children’s Books Ltd publishes books more specifically for a Muslim audience.
I published the first book (not so greatly) in 2009, which was then published as a 2nd edition in 2011. I got into publishing because I felt that there simply weren’t enough fun, non-issue books on the market that represented people of minority backgrounds. I felt that every child deserved to read books with people like them as the protagonists. I was still teaching Science at a secondary school at the time, so didn’t work on Sweet Apple full time until 2014.
I then founded Muslim Children’s Books in 2016 because there was a huge demand for some free resources I had created on Facebook, in book form. I realised that people were looking for fun, quirky, vibrantly illustrated Islamic books, that could effectively engage children of today. That’s what we do at Muslim Children’s Books.
The biggest challenge with Sweet Apple was competing against huge publishers like Penguin Random House. As a very small independent publisher, it was hard to get noticed and to get the stores to stock the books.
But alhamdulillah, we had great positive moments, such as being listed in the Guardian’s best books of 2014 for My Dad’s Beard. Later Oddsockosaurus featured on Cbeebies Bedtime Stories, who have now signed contracts to feature more of our books. We were also applauded in an article in the Guardian for our effective contribution to diverse children’s books – where the author of the article felt that the bigger publishing houses weren’t getting it quite right!
When you are doing something like this, challenges are going to be part and parcel of it. You have to become thick-skinned and persevere through the tough moments.
Alhamdulillah, now that my children are older, it’s a lot easier to manage. Having said that, they still need me a lot – just in a different way. I therefore try not to work too much once the kids are home from school. I also get lots done during term time, so I can take it easy during the school holidays and take them out or go away with them. I think any working mum has to be a bit of a road runner and squeeze lots into one day – it’s the same for me.
Never dive into anything in a hurry. Take a lot of time to research, learn, build skills and make contacts. Also, trust in Allah with all your heart – it is only He, at the end of the day, that has control over where your business will go.
]]>Asalaamu aleykum,
My name is Ayan Ali. I am a first time mum to a brilliant toddler. I am a new entrepreneur based in Birmingham, UK. I have a background in psychology and a passion for creativity and diy projects.
I started my business 'Dina Creations' on 5th December 2016. I'm the founder and creative brain behind the brand. Dina creations is a event management company catering for weddings and social events. Our speciality is in engagement parties and dessert tables at small functions. The reason I called my business Dina Creations is because I wanted the brand to represent creativity and be personal to me. My daughter's name is Maryam Dina, so I felt that this name would be most fitting - she is after all, the motivation behind the business.
I decided to start my own business because I always found myself wanting to plan and organise family gatherings/parties/dinners. My friends always teased me for ''having too much time on my hands'', but for me it was about making people feel special and celebrate their life achievements no matter how big or small. I also studied creative subjects in college and always had a passion for diy projects.
Personally, I found the biggest business challenge was throwing myself into the unknown and figuring out the ins and outs of business. I found out quite quickly that this business is all about connecting with people and networking. I found that social media was instrumental in allowing me to achieve this in a short space of time. I now feel that the more people I connect with the more motivated and inspired I become.
Yes it's challenging but when you do what you love the most - it really doesn't feel like work.
Some days can be tough in terms of work life balance and mummy guilt of course, but that's why it's important to always put yourself out there and network as much as possible and just plan your time wisely. That is definitely one thing I've learned along the way and I'm still working on every day.
I feel that having a weekly schedule helps a lot with making sure I have enough time to spend with my husband and daughter as well as getting my alone time to recharge. I feel that this has really helped with balancing the different roles in my life.
I would say to anyone who is a aspiring mumpreneur to keep the following points close to your heart:
1. Take action and connect
2. Be consistant and network
3. Dont be afraid of asking for help
Always believe in yourself and dont give up on your dreams.
]]>Assalamu 'alaykum. My name is Sumaiya Akram; I am based in Goodmayes and have 2 children, aged 2 and 4 years old.
I am the Managing Director of Al-Salam Institute, a Centre for Arabic & Islamic studies which is aimed at meeting the Islamic educational needs of Muslim adults. Alhamdulillah, we have been running for 10 years and the endeavour began with our wish to meet the growing needs of Muslim students in Oxford. We are very proud to have produced 16 fully-qualified 'Alim's and 'Alimah's as Al-Salam graduates.
The biggest challenge we have faced is with regards to the the growing levels of competition. During the early phases of establishing the institute competition levels were not so high, but with the growing number of Islamic education institutes, a very positive thing for our community, we have had to work hard to ensure the institute doesn't remain static. This was especially difficult when Al-Salam moved from Oxford to London, which initiated a whole new phase of establishment and growth. With hard work, dedication and thinking ahead we have faced these challenges, alhamdulillah, and we have high hopes for the future.
Striking a balance between running a business and maintaining family life is undoubtedly tough. My approach has benefited from learning to prioritise my responsibilities at each given moment, focusing on whichever area of my life needs more care and attention. Employing capable additional staff members and effectively delegating tasks in order to spend more focused time with my family and other responsibilities has also greatly helped.
The best advice I can give is to truly believe in the project you are investing yourself, and your family. It is only with conviction that you will be able to naturally put that extra bit of effort in to carry you through difficult times. Additionally, place confidence and trust in the team around you and strike a balance between doing the work you need to do and delegating tasks to others. It is important to remember that you can always ask for help and that, when most needed, people will always be there.
]]>My name is Sabah Nazir. I am the founder and creative director of Islamic Moments - UK's first Islamic Greeting Card and stationery company, which I founded in 2004.
I am married and blessed with four children and live in Leicester. As well as running the business full time, I am a student of advanced Quranic Arabic at the Markfield Institute in Leicestershire.
Some time after the birth of our third child, I started researching into various business ideas as I knew that working for somebody else wasn’t for me. More importantly, like alot of Muslim women, I wanted to be in control of my working hours so I could be there for my husband and children.
I started analysing the market and talking to my contemporaries. I discovered there was a real lack of celebratory cards, gifts and decorative products for Muslims festivities available in UK. I also noticed that the young professional Muslim was demanding innovative Islamic products and services to meet their lifestyle.
So I created a platform with the intention of becoming an aspirational Muslim lifestyle brand - I had two goals in mind:
No 1: To design and produce high quality, products that would fit in accordance to our Muslim faith.
No 2: To ensure that these products were easily and widely available in the mainstream market place.
We initially started with a small portfolio of Eid cards, however, within a short space of time, our portfolio has vastly grown to over 400 Islamic design led products from greeting cards to notebooks, eid party supplies to art prints and we have recently launched our homeware collection of mugs and scented candles. From a one man band back in 2004, (we’ve been going for nearly 13 years Alhamdulillah) we now are a team of two full time and 3 part time staff and supply to over 300 stockists in 26 countries around the world.
When I set up the business, I started at grass root levels. I had no idea about pro formas, international shipping, conversion rates and the dreaded tax man! My husband who runs his own business was a real rock and mentor. As the orders became larger, he took over the shipping and logistic side of things.
My biggest challenge back then was lack of space, as we gradually grew our product lines, housing all the stock became a real issue in our house, so we had to look for business premises not only to accommodate the stock but more importantly for stock control. This was the best business decision we made as it really did ease the burden of running a business from home. Things became a lot more swifter and professional I believe from then on.
I speak on behalf of all women entrepreneurs when I say this is no doubt the most challenging aspect of running your own business. The constant guilt and balancing work/ family life is non stop and is all part and parcel of being your own boss. Although I love every minute of it and wouldn’t change it for anything. Ive learnt to be super organised although I have days when I will procrastinate absolutely everything and then the work load just piles up!
I have learnt to take time out on weekends to catch up with my family and I am lucky enough to work from home so I don’t have to worry about child care when the children are off school.
1- Firstly, be organised - Im a huge advocate of micro management. Setting up and running a business requires a lot of running around and if you can organise your workload to some extent, it really will make your life that little bit easier.
2- I know its an obvious one, but it really is a must have! a business plan - It will help you stay motivated, focused and make you work towards your goals. It’s all too easy to procrastinate when you are working for your self.
3- It is also very important to keep an eye on your expenses - its very easy to go overboard when your starting off.
4- You have to be passionate about what you do, stay innovative and keep improving your product/services. The one thing that I have stuck with right from the beginning is constantly review my designs and products.
To me it is absolutely paramount to bring new and innovative designs into the market place each season so as to keep our ranges fresh.
1- Don’t get disheartened on the first few hurdles, it takes a lot of time, hard graft and patience building a business from the ground up
2- By all means, listen to others advice, but don’t get too swayed, it can be overwhelming, stay true to your instinct.
3- Lastly, if your are thinking on embarking on your entrepreneurial journey, there will no doubt be highs and lows, you will be putting in a lot of extra hours, you’ll become quite unsociable at times, you'll get tested physically, mentally and emotionally. Try not to lose yourself in all of this. When things are not going quite your way, take a step back, always have faith in the All Mighty and remember Allah is with those who are patient.
]]>Assalaamu ‘alaykum! My name’s Aasiyah and I’m a mother of two young children under the age of 4, based in the UK. As well as being an author (pen name RS Khan), I’m also the co-founder of Education Enriched, a small Islamic publishers.
A few years ago, I was reading a beautifully crafted rhyming book by Julia Donaldson to my 1 year old, and I pondered over why there were no Islamic books of similar quality in terms of the content, whose illustrations also confirmed to Islamic values. Being a keen writer, I decided to take the task on myself, and along with my husband, we launched Education Enriched in 2014.
I wanted our focus to be upon the amazing role models of the past, like ‘Umar and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both). How amazing would it be to inspire our little Muslims to become like these heroes of Islam, I thought. And so I wrote my first book, “The Young Man’s Plan”, a rhyming story book which tells the great tale of ‘Umar’s journey to Islam, in an engaging way that children love, yet based purely upon narrations.
Yet we wanted more than to just narrate these amazing stories to our children. We wanted to delve into the beautiful lessons that we could learn from them – how the Qur’an had such a profound effect upon ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), how to emulate the great honesty of Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him), and many many more. With that in mind, we decided to produce resources alongside the storybooks – colouring activity books for younger children and engaging Islamic workbooks for older children - resources that children would really enjoy using. We also decided to make them cross-curricular, so through the story of ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), children could also learn about the desert, the rhyme, the Qur’an and many other subjects along the way.
So far, the feedback has been amazing, alhamdulillah, and we hope to produce and publish many more resources to benefit little Muslims worldwide, by the will and mercy of Allah.
The main challenge has been getting the books and resources known. With myself being a stay at home mother and my husband working full-time, we have struggled with the aspect of marketing. Yet despite this challenge, I have to keep reminding myself that even if Education Enriched is not known to hundreds of thousands of Muslims, even one child who is inspired by our books means that our work is worth it.
Juggling motherhood and business is a continual challenge. It is easy to get your priorities muddled up and focus on the business, but I have to always try to remind myself that my priority is my children, and business comes second. So I do what I can in my free time– yes it requires a great amount of patience and self-discipline – but I try not to let it affect my other responsibilities and let it take over. I see many women losing sight of their original goals, and I myself do too, but I just have to try and focus on my primary role as a mother and wife and treat the business as my hobby, not my work. Otherwise I tend to become impatient with my children and husband and do not give them the right that they truly deserve.
This advice is primarily for myself, and then to others. Intention, du’aa, patience and perseverance. Don’t lose sight of your goals. Don’t give up when you face difficulties. And ultimately, don’t let the business cause you to become lax in your Islamic values – if it does, then it is not worth it, because provision is ultimately from Allah.
You can check out our site: www.education-enriched.co.uk – I’m actually currently developing a free resources library (but being a mother, it’s slow progress!) so please do subscribe to get updates.
]]>Asalamualaikum, my name is Farhat Amin and I am so happy to have a business that helps Muslim children understand their amazing deen! When I started The Muslim Sticker Company 8 years ago I wanted to create colourful stickers that would get kids excited when they were learning about Islam and help parents make teaching Islam fun. I have 3 kids: 2 boys and a girl. Like so many other Muslim mumpreneurs it was a lack of creative Islamic resources that drove me to start my own Muslim business.
I decided to make stickers for Muslim children when my eldest son started madrassah and I began homeschooling my daughter, I was eager to find out how the Prophet (saw) raised his children and how he taught them about Islam. Every hadith I read described how loving, considerate and kind the prophet (saw) was towards his own children and he (saw) instructed Muslim parents and teachers to be patient and compassionate when teaching children.
Unfortunately, I found there was an anomaly between the sunnah of the prophet (saw) and the reality of how some Muslim teachers taught Islam to their students. I could be accused of generalising here however; many mums would agree that they do not have fond memories of the heavy-handed discipline meted out in Quran classes and madrassahs. Hence, I wanted to help Muslim parents and teachers educate and discipline their children in a positive way, rather than focusing on the negatives.
I had worked in a state school and was impressed by the positive behaviour strategies that teachers used i.e. reward stickers and badges, class reward charts, praise certificates. Very often, the students were motivated to work and responded to positive feedback rather than being told off and reprimanded. At home I was making my own Islamic behaviour chart and certificates, initially I looked for Islamic stickers that I could use but was unable to find any. Later, when I worked in an Islamic school I found that teachers faced the same problem and spent a ludicrous amount of time producing their own material. So, I was using stickers at home and school but I wanted stickers with an Islamic focus, I suddenly realized that what I should do then was follow my instincts and design some myself! I used these products every day. I understood them. So, therefore I was in the position of the consumer, and didn’t need to do tons of research; I was the target audience!
There are 4 main parts to the business:
1. Stickers: Can be used by parents and teachers to motivate kids to pray salah, complete their work, reward good behaviour. I have recently designed Arabic stickers as I know that’s a language that many Muslim parents want their kids to learn.
2. Sticker activity books: Parents had asked me for sticker books so I thought I would design a few and see if they would be useful. Alhumdulillah, we now have 4 sticker activity books, inshallah each one makes learning about Islam fun.
3. Teaching resources: Every teacher/home schooler needs time-saving resources to help encourage their students/kids to learn and mark work quickly. So our pre-inked stamps, certificates and medals are very popular.
4. Muslim festival decorations: Eid, Ramadan, Aqiqah, Hajj and Umrah: I am pleased to be one of the first companies that mass produced Eid decorations, 8 years ago there was hardly anything out there and now there’s so much variety for Muslims! We should all make a big deal of Ramadan and Eid, you don’t have to buy my decorations inshallah you can make your own at home, that’s what I used to do.
5. Muslim Dolls: This is a new area I’ve decided to explore, mainly because I didn’t have any dolls when I was growing up! Seriously, I approached sisters who sell Muslim dolls and unfortunately they couldn’t sell them to me wholesale, so I decided I would start making them myself. I love sewing, I used to make dresses for my daughter and nieces so Alhumdulilah, I’m getting to use my sewing skills again.
When I first started out large Muslim shops run by men demanded 30-day credit for payments or they wanted to be the sole distributer of my products because I was naïve and didn’t have a lot of business experience (I was an English teacher after all!) I agreed. Unfortunately, I ended up wasting so much time chasing late payments but it did toughen me up. I always ask for upfront payments now and never agree to any one person being the sole distributor of my products in a particular country or area. Another problem I face are companies copying my ideas, now that is inevitable and I do believe imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so it just comes with the territory.
I organize my day as follows, in general I wake up early, work on the business and do housework when the kids are at school, go to the gym 3 times a week (womens gym), work on the business again, then stop once the kids come home. I’ve trained my kids to be productive i.e. study, cook, wash up, hoover, tidy up and help with the business. Although I left full time teaching 2 years ago I still teach by tutoring GCSE students at home on the weekend. It’s nice I can just focus on teaching rather than disruptive behaviour or unnecessary paperwork. I also make time at least once a month to write an article for my blog, this month I wrote about ‘Prom Stress’ – should we allow our kids to go to their school prom?
1. I would definitely recommend working from home and being your own boss, I am so happy I started The Muslimsticker Company.
2. Make everyone pay for their goods/orders before you send anything, it doesn’t matter if the order is big or small.
3. Don’t be intimidated by larger Muslim companies, if your product or service is good, you decide the price and don’t give in to demands for ‘discounts’.
4. Don’t make a large quantity of one product until you’re sure you can sell it.
5. Don’t worry about your business, your rizq it has already been allocated to you by Allah, just do as much as you can and then trust in Allah.
]]>‘AYE’ is to AYEsha and ‘INA’ is to SamINA (Together known as AYEINA)
Founders of AYEINA – Two Muslim mom bloggers, countries apart, with hearts as one. Sisters by birth and best-est of friends who are commonly known as the “twin-ninjas”.
Ayesha - a mum of 2 (with 3rd coming soon in shaa Allah) is 30 years old, living in a joint family (with in-laws) in Pakistan and studying Islamic psychology from Islamic Online University.
Samina - mum of 1 is 26 years old, residing in Dubai, UAE and studying Advanced Arabic from Islamic Online University.
AYEINA as a whole is an online space for Muslims to reflect – a community of people trying to strengthen their Islamic identity and make the best of both worlds.
It started simply as a blog and soon turned into business with #AlhamdulillahForSeries gratitude journal launch. AYEINA is only one and a half year old right now so total newbies here :D
We started #AlhamdulillahForSeries as a digital series which was later turned into a book due to public demand alhamdulillah. But instead of just making it into a gratitude book, we turned it into a journal because that's what the series aimed for - to make it interactive for people to be more grateful and blessed as a result in shaa Allah.
This is one of the reasons, we turned it into a Biyearly Contest as well - to bring Muslims from all over the world through the power of Alhamdulillah. Gratitude bringing us all together and exuding positive vibes on a universal level.
Before this gratitude journal, we designed a meal time magnetic book around the series but it never came into existance because of the risks that were involved in the process. High amount of personal investment plus having to trust some printing company (somewhere in China) with such huge amount. We struggled to find a manufacturer for this and asked around but got no help.
We'd like to specially thank Zanib Mian who went out of her way to help out alhamdulillah. Although it wasn't something we were looking for, we really appreciate her help amidst the time of need. In the time when others rejected to offer any kind of help. The designs are still sitting in drafts until we figure out all the logistics of it in shaa Allah.
We knew it would take time so we simply moved forward. Something which was slightly easier to achieve. And ended up designing and printing this journal instead. Finding a trustable printing company was a massive task for this one as well.
We usually work when the kids are asleep or along with the kids when it comes to artsy stuff (it's so much more fun - caution: also messy). Alhamdulillah for extremely supportive husbands who help out in terms of website design, shipping etc. Yet it's a lot of work sometimes which is why we ended up hiring interns who help us out in tiny tasks here and there. And not to mention all the lovely volunteers who contribute every now and then.
We still struggle to juggle so many roles as both of us are also students (Islamic psychology and Arabic language). So outsourcing and lowering your expectations and standards can be a breath of fresh air in such times. Everything doesn't have to be perfect and you don't necessarily have to do what everyone else is doing.
We let our intern (more like our sister) handle some of the social media accounts and other little marketing tasks to lift off the burden from our shoulders. She carries them beautifully alhamdulillah.
1) Utilise the time after Fajr. Utilise every minute of it. The amount of work you'll get done in that time will leave you fulfilled for the rest of the day. That barakah has no comparison with any other time you may get. Doing all at night usually drains you out because your brain isn't ready for creative work when it's so tired after the whole day of work (I am editing this at 1am ironically :/ So the advice is for me first lol)
2) Journal positivity. Comparison will knock at your door the first day you'll start your journey towards entrepreneurship. So it's extremely important to celebrate your tiny achievements. Keep a gratitude journal for it or make a gratitude wall, a positivity board - anything really. As long as you are grateful, your blessings will increase. This way - little will become enough. Which is very important for you to be able to progress without comparing it with anyone else's progress as no path is the same.
3) By this time, this will definitely sound like a grandma lecture :p but hey! Collaborate instead of compete. Can't stress enough on it. You will only rise up by lifting others up. So help people out and you will see it come around. Some may use you. Some may ignore. Some may benefit. No matter what, you'll see yourself flourish as a result. Exude positive vibes and it will attract positivity around you as well.
P.S. This doesn't mean that you get bit by a snake twice. This means that you will want for your brother what you want for yourself and as a result, Allah will make your path easy too! Because you don't only build relationships this way, you build trust, love, unity and most of all connections! You build a community - an ummah that wants good for each other just like they want good for themselves!
This is what drives the idea of AYEINA's tagline - "Believer is the believer's mirror". And this is why we recently made a page on AYEINA called "Let's collaborate" - because we love to collaborate with anyone and everyone.
]]>Today we start our 2017 campaign. We have many exciting plans for this year, and look forward to revealing them when the time comes! It has also made me realise how close Ramadan is, and is a reminder to us all that we have to start preparing now if we want to attain the maximum goodness from it.
My personal aim for this year is to start balancing my time between my family and my work. With 2 little girls who love attention, this is not as easy as it sounds! I am still learning what it is to do full-time work as well as being a full-time mother and wife.
We hope you have a blessed year, and we look forward to building a stronger relationship with you, and I really hope I get the opportunity to meet more of you on this journey. We are really looking forward to our challenges for this year as we aim to grow considerably, and contribute positively to our childrens lives.
Thank you.
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"It has a rigid one-size-fits-all kind of education. All the kids are the same, there is no individuality. That's what they do to prisoners, and prisoners have to all wear the same kind of clothes"
- Hoda Yusuf on state education
Hoda Yusuf from BlissfullSoul shares her experiences 6 months into her homeschooling journey. In this video she explains why she took her kids out of state education. She mentions the benefits of taking children out of an inflexible system, and also the struggles and lifestyle changes she has experienced so far.
Watch the video for a good insight and arguments presented on why to homeschool, along with some great resources she has used.
It has been extremely useful to myself as my daughter is coming close to school age, and this is one of these topics I am constantly debating with myself. I'm sure many will agree with me when I say the benefits are clear, but taking the plunge is another story.
]]>First up is Migo & Ali: Stories of the Prophets by Muslim Children's Books. This is an absolute must have in your home library. It contains stories of 17 Prophets. The thing I love most about this book is the way it is written. The language used is perfect for children, which is an extremely rare thing to find. The illustrations are bright and engaging. Each story is nice and short so perfect for bedtime reading. If your children are anything like mine its never just one story that we read before bed, so this is perfect!
You can purchase this here.
The Prophets Pond by Learning Roots is another of our favourites. My children are a bit too young to appreciate just how special this book is but they loved the bright and different textured illustrations. It also has no faces inside. This is a lovely start to teaching your children about the Prophet (saw).
You can purchase this here.
Princess Esme and the Royal Secret is one of my 3 year olds absolute favourites. I have lost count of how many times we have read this. It is about a little girl whose Dad builds her an amazing tree house, when she goes inside it turns into a palace and she is the Princess! My 3 year old loves anything about princesses so this is perfect for her.
You can purchase this here.
My First Quran Storybook by Goodword is the perfect starter Quran for your little ones. It has bitesize stories inside so it is another great one for bedtime. It contains 42 short stories. Teaching our children to read the Quran is amazing but we also want them to be able to relate to the stories in the Quran and implement them, so it is really important to also introduce them to the stories of the Quran in a way that they understand. This book is perfect for that. You can read one short story each evening and you will still have time to choose another different book to read after.
You can purchase this here.
Don't forget to say Bismillah by Desi Doll is our absolute favourite sound book! Whilst reading through the book, every time you come across an Islamic phrase, you can press the corresponding button. These include Assalamu'alaikum, inshaAllah, Alhamdulilah and many more. This book is a really great way to introduce Islamic sayings to children from a young age, whilst having fun and learning at the same time. The story is great for bedtime and although it is for 3+ my 2 year old also loved it!
You can purchase this here.
The Story of the Elephant by Shade 7 is another one of our favourites. This is the first Islamic pop up book we have found and it is amazing! It even comes with activities at the back to encourage further learning of surah Al Feel. It is interactive and allows children to really see the story of the elephant through creative animations and popups. It makes the surah real for them. This would be a great book to start a project with throughout the day and then remind them of the story before bedtime.
You can purchase this here.
Lastly on our list is Can't you sleep little bear? by Martin Waddel. This has to be one of our all time favourites. My girls find it quite hard to fall asleep, and they have both had their fears of the dark. This book is really lovely for showing them that the darkness isn't scary and there is so much more around us that we can't see. It has such cute illustrations and is a book that you can read again and again, trust me, we have!
You can purchase this here.
We really hope that the list is useful and you grow to love these books, just like we do. Reading with our children is so so important, and is really enjoyable when you have the right books.
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