Fig & Olive

Hello and salaams all, We’ve recently received a lot of new readers so I thought it would be valuable to see which of my posts have been the most popular over the period of our entire blog lifespan and share with you. Enjoy. Top Ten: 1. Hijab is not simply a “choice” 2. Asking more […]

It’s very difficult to have an honest conversation about hijab. Muslims go in to defense mode and non-Muslims go in to attack mode. The basic question that surrounds the tension -is hijab a choice or a form of oppression? As Muslims we’ve been trained to say of course it’s a choice, many non-Muslims will say the […]

What is the job of an Imam? In the most basic sense it is simply to lead the prayers including the Friday Jummuah. But what does it usually mean in our communities? Often the Imam becomes our prayer leader, our counselor, our adviser, our teacher, Masjid maintenance, our match maker, etc. It’s not to say […]

Some time back I read Anne-Marie Slaughter’s excellent essay in The Atlantic, ‘Why Women Still Can’t Have It All‘. It was a much-needed response to the nauseating cry that women in the 21st century, in the West, can ‘have it all‘. The car, the kids, the husband, the education and the career not to mention […]

I once reflected on why it might be that in the past Sufi Tariqas, including my own, have not been filled with many female students. Of course, modern day women would say it’s because of plain ‘sexism’ but I wonder if it was not the wisdom of the women of the past not to be […]

After travelling and overall exhaustion from the heat I fell asleep and ended missing two prayers. Usually, when I miss a prayer I try to rush to make it up. But I have the unfortunate habit of rushing the salah itself. Somehow in my mind, I mix up having to rush to pray with rushing […]

Reflective Ramadan Post Series, #2 Wise words from Al Ghazali I think the below passage perfectly describes what we hope to attain from Ramadan, exerted form Sheikh Abdul Hakim Murad’s translation of Al Ghazali On Disciplining the Soul and Breaking the two Desires: “Fight your soul with the swords of self- discipline. These four: eating little, […]

I always thought that if I had a dog I wouldn’t be one of those people who feels too lazy to walk their dog, clean up its poo, rub its belly or refill its food tray. After all, we all know what is entailed in having a dog if you choose to have one it’s […]

Reflective Ramadan Post Series, #1 A time to recharge Whether your practice has been lacking lately or you’ve been doing your best Ramadan serve as a perfect time to recharge. When Ramadan arrives we are reminded that God has blessed us to live another year -another year of our lives, another year as Muslims, another […]

I want to sit on a sidewalk Forget who I am Where I am Or who I belong to Forget myself And why I am Who I am My dreams My goals My half- baked ideas Empty promises Unfulfilled wishes Unfinished stories And unedited poems