My article in Hiba Magazine.

Asalamoalikum,

 Hope you are all good and enjoying Winters, brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Today I just want to share with you the small win which the year 2016 has brought.
Alhamdolillah, my Article " Ten Jewels earned in a decade of Happy Marriage"

http://www.hibamagazine.com/

This is my first article to be printed after some articles published on the in the online HTV health & ARY digital blogs.

I would like thanks to all my mentors including you to guide and support me to write and contribute the community.

Hiba magazine is a quaterly magazine with a vision :

“ aim to inspire readers towards positive personal change and self-growth. Hiba reiterates the importance of constructing and nurturing relationships be it personal, professional, business, or familial.”

What you are waiting for ? grab a copy and read it yourself !

Are you happy? Tips to Unlock your Happiness.

Last night, I had an urge for the yummy Ice-cream Faluda ( a mixture of ice-cream, vermicelli, red syrup, nuts and all), but the situation doesn't seem to be i my favor. As nobody is around to console my craving past midnight. Everybody except me was snoozing.
I know, this used to happened with me fortnightly and most of the time an hour later, I was finishing up, sipping the last bit of faluda mix.(Thanks, Almighty). but this doesn't seem to be happening lately so I begin controlling my intention and start thinking on the other side of the fence(read Faluda craving) and practically say no to myself. After pondering for a bit I realized that this attitude is just lending me a few moments of joy but as it is over, I am back to the previous state, even the sweet taste of the faluda had turned bitter.
So actually
What is this?
Am I actually craving for happiness?
Does I am getting lasting happiness from this?

Well, we all work for the happiness and peace, we raise our family to be grateful, we live to squeeze Happiness from our crazy schedule but not just the labile one but everyone is looking for the happiness that is evergreen, the one that gives us internal contentment and lends our soul at eternal peace.

Is ice cream giving us lasting Happiness?

Over the years, the writers have saints have looked for Happiness and peace in the caves, on the mounds, Neuroscientists have  fizzled over the Hormonal side playing with the ups and downs of various hormones(OXYTOCIN, SEROTONIN, DOPAMINE), modern day writers have offered many different theories on how to niche out happiness while living in the era of uncertainty. But the essence of their work come out to a point that the source of eternal, everlasting, never dying happiness comes from the simple way of SHARING, offering some of your Bounties to others, rescheduling your priorities for others without guilt. In return what you get is what that is most sought after, the HAPPINESS, Contentment, the bouncing Feeling of Sustained Joy. Deep inside you know that doing these small deeds of Greatness, showing love through your words opens the flow of Hearty Happiness.

It comes when you drop a nibble or leftover on the floor, a bird instantly picks it up bringing a toothless grin on your kid's face, making you happier than ever.
When someone remarked you"May God Reward You", you instantly begin to feel rewarded in the core of your heart, your self-esteem pinnacles.It magnifies every time when you reflect back upon it, carving an everlasting mark of Happiness on your heart.
Looking your life from the other's frame of reference, helping others by nurturing love, ever growing your task list by lending your time to listens to other's worries so that you are living your life to the fullest. In fact, by doing this you are developing your inner self, adding value to your life, to be happier, more successful and more satisfied. Unleash some more happiness by following these more tips.

Be Generous:

Being generous with your words, with your actions doesn't cause you a fortune but the lightening face, the thankful glance will become a source of constant joy and Happiness. In the long run, you will be treated in the same way.

--- You can read complete article from Muslimah Bloggers ----

The Power Mid Day Nap(Qailulah) Boosts Your productivity

Recently I came across the Sunnah of Qailulah (Mid-Day Nap) and its benefits on the human body.

Since childhood, I have witnessed many around me doing it on a regular basis. An aunt of mine is very obsessive with Qailulah that she want every other person including kids to lie down with her and nobody is even allowed to tap the door at that period but my mindset is at 90 Degree away from her. I always considered Qailulah as a waste of time (God Forbid) and I was under the impression that I can complete a number of chores in that period.

1.QAILULAH With the Islamic Perspective.

Now, have been learned that Qailulah is encouraged in Islam & & our beloved Prophet(SWT) and his companions practiced it regularly for rejuvenation of energy, memory enhancement and relaxation of mind, I, deliberately give it a chance to be part of my daily schedule, snoozing for more than an hour.

I usually get up in the late afternoon thinking that my mind will be more alert and vigilant followed by the brilliant day ahead as they are all the known benefits of the siesta/Qailulah. But to my surprise, a cloud of fizziness hover my mind and I felt more tired than before the shut-eye episode. Infect it has messed up with my night sleep pattern and overall affected my productivity.

I was awestruck and puzzled there must be something cheesy with my shut eye episode as the hadith of the Prophet can't be wrong.

Now as you know, confusion leads to queries and investigation, I began to enquire about the Qailulah bounties and its effects. As far as I begin to know, the butterflies from my mind begin to fly.

Generally, a third of our life is spent on sleeping \ snoozing unless suffering from the sleep disorder. Sleep and its architecture are just recently pondered over by the Neuroscientists but it has remained an important topic in the Islamic literature, even the sleep manners are dealt in detail (which needs another post). Sleep is considered as one of the greatest signs of Allah (SWT) to ponder over.

2. Nap Lounges:

Midday napping (Qailulah) is also a cross-cultural practice. A Chinese company has recently implemented to have a mid-day half hour sleep necessary for its employees because it leads to surprisingly increase the productivity causing the day to divide into two productive halves.

Recently Nap lounges have been set up in the corporate hub of Hong Kong for 15 min to an hr long duration. Sleep has the beneficial effects on the person of all ages. Recent studies conducted in University Burkley, Harvard and the University of Athens states that a midday nap boosts brain power, benefit mental health and decrease the risk of Heart disease and helps in increase the intelligence.                

--- You can read complete article from Muslimah Bloggers ----

Infograph: IRREGULAR BLEEDING.

As  Ramadan is just about to unfold all its blessings and advantages, more and more women with intimate issues like irregular cycles/ bleeding, pregnancy, painful periods, breastfeeding and fasting are surrounded by a series of doubts. Most commonly they are perplexed about their fast and any loss in the indulgence of the spiritual awakening in the holy month of RAMADAN due to the cycle disturbances and irregular bleeding.

As a physician, the most debated questions put by the women are:

Are we fit enough to fast with Pregnancy?
Will fasting have any effect on the production of milk?
Older women are mostly concerned about any episodes of spotting/ bleeding which may happen in Ramadan.

But the most awestruck are the young women having a MISSED PERIOD or an episode of IRREGULAR BLEEDING and assuming themselves to be pregnant.

What quantifies a physician’s role is the fact that these women also want to know the ISLAMIC RULINGS about the issue at first hand.

Recently, a newlywed girl with delayed periods came up for the confirmation of pregnancy and left with a heavy heart when she was told that her period irregularity is not because of conception but something else.

Al-Baqarah.

ISLAMIC RULINGS:


As mentioned above, most of the women insist on having the valid Islamic Rulings regarding their FAST and PERIOD IRREGULARITIES. As I am not an Islamic Scholar, I used to guide them to the Islamic JURISPRUDENCE sites for their issues. What I ensure them is the fact that SHARIAH rulings are built on consideration of differences between Individuals, Kindness and Gentleness. (Allah knows the Best)



According to By Sh. Muhammad al-Hassan Wali al-Dido al-Shanqiti
        women are presented with a number of issues that meet the               requirements of hardships like pregnancy, nursing,                          menstruation and irregular vaginal blood flow and it influences        the ruling related to purity, prayer and fasting….
you can read more here. (Allah knows the Best)

MEDICALLY:

We are all aware of the fact that the most common cause of MISSED PERIOD is PREGNANCY but also many of the causes of missed period could be due to any pathology other than pregnancy leading to IRREGULARITY in periods. It is a common complaint among women significantly affecting their quality of life.

According to the report published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, missed periods over an extended period of time (Amenorrhea), is a relatively common condition that is present in up to 5% of adult women at any time.

Wait! Before digging into the irregular periods and their causes we must first get clear about what the normal or regular periods are?

NORMAL PERIODS:

Approximately every month, there is bleeding from the vagina when the lining of the womb sloughs off if the egg released from the ovary is not met with the sperm (the male unit of fertility). This is called as MENSTRUAL PERIOD or period.

It is usually scheduled after every 21 to 35 days, lasting for 2 to 7 days.

There are certain important things to be known about the period.

1. The LENGTH.

It is the number of days from one cycle to another counted from the first day of bleeding. Any length from 21 to 35 days are considered normal.

2. The QUANTITY.

Classically, it is about 20 to 60 ml(as written in the textbooks), but this measure is of no value for the household women; so practically it is something about 3 to 4 pads soaked per day. Remember not oversoaked.

3. The QUALITY:

The blood is usually bright red to light red in color.

IMPORTANT FOR REGULAR PERIODS:

But what is important is that the parameters for regular periods written above do not fit for all females. Rather, every woman should make a note of their own cycle, its length, flow every month and anything considered aberrant from this is taken as abnormal for that women.

IRREGULAR PERIODS.

For a regular cycle, experts usually take the length of the cycle alone as the parameter for the regularity. Accordingly, the cycle is said to be regular if it falls on the same date only with the variation of 1-3 days. So if somebody is experiencing vaginal bleeding apart from the expected periods than it may be due to some abnormality. After excluding pregnancy and menopause, there are no other normal happening which causes the periods to be irregular, missed or delayed.


--- You can read complete article from Muslimah Bloggers ----

Ten jewels earned from a decade of happy marriage

10 JEWELS

Being a young girl, I repeatedly had to listen to such statements:

“Whatever you study, one day you have to get married and do the household chores.”

I used to ignore it as much as I could. After the bone-breaking study of Medicine- with all work and no play schedule; cramming all the boring details of Anatomy, and memorizing the depths and details of a tangled human brain- there came a time when I had to tie a knot with somebody and leave all my books. Then, I had to start from the scratch and set foot in the sea of whole new experiences and learning. The Anatomy and Biochemistry that had become a part and parcel of my life got replaced by the study of kitchen management and hacks.

My married life is now ten years old, and a proud feather is added to my marriage cap. I have realized that marriage has more meaning to it. It is a pact of making your sharp corners round.

According to Mufti Ibrahim Desai, in a recipe for a successful marriage (1):

“There can be no doubt in the success of a marriage governed by the fear of Allah (SWT).”

Hence, I don’t celebrate marriage anniversaries by parties or hip-hop; but I do celebrate by pondering over the lessons that I had learned during that year and store them in my memory. Each year, I implement those lessons into my life to get more happiness and success. My secret of a blissful marriage is based on the following lessons.

Silence is the best medicine

It is very usual to have differences, but to remain calm and composed is an art which is achieved through excellent self-control tactics. Arguing, at times of conflict, can make the situation worse by letting the Satan enter into it.

It has been narrated by Abu-Said Al-Khudri, the Prophet (saw) said:

“He, who is humble, for the sake of Allah (SWT) by a degree, Allah (SWT) will elevate him one degree, until he reaches the highest degrees; and he, who is arrogant toward Allah (SWT), Allah (SWT) will lower him one degree until he reaches the lowest of low degrees.”

The very first thing that took me to the tantrums after my marriage was the late night schedule of my husband’s job. As my father was a government officer, we used to enjoy the evening tea with him at home. When I shared that with my hubby, I used to get a mind-blowing lecture of office responsibilities and problems. Now, what I have done best is to pray to Almighty Allah (SWT), and remain silent. The next year my hubby changed the job in which he had the facility to return back home early from office, and could work from home. Thus, silence helped me keep a peaceful environment at home and fulfill my dream through prayers.

Conquer via Love

Love is the language which everybody understands. Showing constant gratitude and love takes your hubby to the Mount Everest of his self-esteem. He, in turn, showers you with the same.

To err is human, forgiveness is divine

Females have a 967432 GB of memory, and at any little issue, they open up the historical book of complaints which ignites the never ending argument. I used to avoid it imagining a large number of women ungrateful to their husbands, burning in the Hellfire. (Astaghfirullah)

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Abbas ( RA) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: “I was shown Hell and I have never seen anything more terrifying than it. And I saw that the majority of its people are women.”
They said: “Why, O Messenger of Allah (saw)?” He said: “Because of their ingratitude (Kufr).” It was said: “Are they ungrateful to Allah (SWT)?” He said: “They are ungrateful to their companions (husbands) and ungrateful for good treatment. If you are kind to one of them for a lifetime, then she sees one (undesirable) thing in you, she will say: ‘I have never had anything good from you.’” (Bukhari)

The Foolish secret

I know this is difficult to apply for many of us, but believe me, it works. I used to surprise my hubby by listening to common talks with great astonishment. It is a secret which I apply regularly and keeps my relationship filled with joy.

Invest in your relationship

Sharing lovely gifts and words, add up the strength to my life and fuel up my passion for living together. A beautifully wrapped present leaves a long lasting effect on the heart of your hubby- it will never be a waste!

  ------ You can Read complete article from Hiba Magazine  --------

Granny, The Wonderful women.

When I gave birth to my first child, I was really really dumb about the newborn care, not only because I have become the mommy for the first time but because the newborn is the pre-termer also. Her birth was through the C-section conducted in the emergency Department and was immediately shifted to the NICU after coming to this world.

Granny,My best friend.

After growing under the NICU Docs and cared by the nurses for a week, she is finally strong enough to breathe in the fresh air on its own. As I am never a Baby person, the test on my part begins. I really don't have the slightest idea even how to hold the pre-termer baby. I was taught the Basics by the loving nursing staff there but still I am in the need of constant support 24/7 after the discharge from the hospital.

But thanks to Almighty, she has been blessed with the awesome granny who is ready to ride with us on the parenting Bandwagon and being there for all the Emotional and Physical Support.That was really a tough time as the routine for the Preterm is quite different from the term child but my Baby is very brave to face all the temperature variations she had been thru in the first few weeks of life assisted by the granny and the docs at the emergency visits. The road to life isn't easy for her, there are many stumbles which she was crossing successfully and slowly, making a steady progression.

Yet, the hard time has to come when I joined the part-time duty. Now, again I need the granny to care for my little Cutie Pie to conquer the front of the part-time working Mother.

With the Kids in sight, she has to play many roles from the feeder to the playmate and the lovely supervisor also. Some of her best entertaining areas are,

1. She is an awesome cook, prepares all kinds of scrumptious dishes to please their grandkids, never ever mind to cook instantly anything their grandchildren asked for. She is especially good at cooking Sweets.
2. Granny is always best at dealing with the tantrums.She uses different tactics to deal with the meltdown by offering a joke or a favorite drink. She knows by experience the controlling button of the kids.
3. If any of her grandkids got sick, she has the whole bucket of Natural remedies and potions and avoids using the Allopathic pills.
4. Usually, my sweetheart had her garments stitched long before the festivals because her granny is the first to think about what she will wear on that occasion and shop for her.
5. As we all live in the digital world...my activities with the kids revolve around smartphones and other gadgets but the Granny always favors the conventional activities for kids both indoor and outdoor like book reading, Board Games, Ball Throw etc.
6. Whenever any baby has a fall or bumped the door she is the one to show up first and offer for help bringing warm milk with turmeric.
7. However, in normal circumstances, she is a patient, suffering from multiple diseases of the back and limbs, but for kids, she is the most active and become their best friend forgetting all her pains.
8. What my kiddo admires her most is that she is never ever in a hurry, always allow the kids to take their time while tieing shoes, pulling up pants.
9. A granny's lap is a place where the kids use to hide their mischiefs. She always favors her whatever the fault is and my dear one knows it quite well how to get all the sympathies.
10. With the grandkids around, she never minds that her normal live come to a halt while she devotes herself to the kids,cherishing every moment of their company.

So without the granny, my kidoo won't be having so much special in her life, as they are taught to be great human beings which I alone can't achieve.

Thank You Granny.

This post is part of a Blog Hop from Blogs and Business: Moms Who Do it All Facebook Group.

Check out some of the other awesome blog posts below:

Daily Momtivity | Thrifty Guardian | Blue Eyed Babies | Tot Tot Goose | The Violet Moon | The Triplet Farm | The Non Housewives | From Engineer to SAHM | Be Fed Again | Sweet Tiny Blessings | Loud Parent | Every Super Woman | Mrs and Momma | Sweet Discord | Southern Mommas Reviews | The Outnumbered Nest | LATOM | Organized Homeschool | Stellar Mama | PB Pearls | A Cotton Kandi Life | A Bird with a French Fry | Novice Mommy | Meera Kothand | Misty Shaheen | Fighting for Fitness | Cheeky Days | Hebrew Dawn | Tilt a Mom | Tid Bits of Experience | Frugal Coupon Crazy | Lilies and Lambs |Projects and Parenting | Modern Mama Blog | The Seventh Mom Project | Life Moves On

Book Review: Unleashing Your Creativity By Majid

I have given this opportunity to review a short guide by Majid Mehmood, business consultant titled :

Unleashing Your Creativity: A short guide to becoming more creative 

Author : Majid Mehmood.

Although I am not a life coach or a mentor but anything related to creativity fascinates me a lot. I instantly got inspired when any creative piece of work rolled in front of my eyes so this book instantly got my attention.

It is a short book, consisting of 53 pages altogether  covering the topic in 9 Chapters, each chapter begins with an ambitious quote, inspiring the reader to move on .

Unleashing your Creativity.

In the initial Chapter , the author keeps the readers engrossed with different definitions of creativity as it is the process of materializing the idea into the product by tapping into your creative potential. He supports creativity  because to have fun without thoughts, thinking obstacles as opportunities to enhance the brain activity, nurturing new neural pathways and overall increasing the productivity.

Perfectionism, Procrastination, Fear, Anxiety, Guilt are the hurdles to the creative potential. They will not allow your Imagination to get working. Give wings to your Imagination. Get inspired and motivated by the sources of positive energy around you. your books, your parents.

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” 

                           ― Sylvia Plath.

Enemy of Creativity.

He also shares two methods of tapping the Creative Potential,

1. PIRI MODEL.

2. DRCBRI MODEL.

Both of them begins with drafting down all the thoughts and imagination, then constant editing and reviewing to bring out a unique product, asking the why's, where's in between. In the last chapter, he beautifully defines ways to remain creative in our capacity.

The essence of this short guide is to allow yourself to play with your Imagination and challenge your copy paste Lifestyle, grow your hunger to do something New, something Creative , something that is Different. Make it a fun habit of yours. Sooner or Later you will be on the pinnacle of Productivity.

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” 

― George Bernard Shaw

Imagination is the beginning of Creativity.

You can purchase the book here