I moved to Singapore 4 months ago, after living in the US for 3 years. However, if only I had a dime for every time someone was shell shocked about what they call a “reverse” move. Especially when I tell them it was my conscious decision to move, not because my H1B visa expired, not […]

Like Tasnim, I’m going through Ramadan in a relatively new and unfamiliar city. Though I’ve stumbled a few times, my fears have not entirely come to pass and I reached the halfway point with the intention to complete the remaining fasts. Generally, Ramadan is a lonely experience for me. I don’t have a Muslim family […]

This post was written by Guest Contributor Rawiya, who is a university professor and a musician. “He who knows himself knows His Lord.” As an academic, my initial impulse is to authenticate my sources. Who uttered these words? Can we find a source to validate this phrase as “Islamic?” The above saying is disputed, attributed […]

I was travelling today, so I did not fast. I considered fasting anyway, because I wanted to be part of the community, at least virtually – my Whatsapp right now is a constant scroll of friends and family checking in with each other, asking what everyone is having for iftar, sending both cheesy and/or moving […]

Not enough can be said about sexual relationships that start in a coercive silence; the damage can be indefinite and lifelong. Shreerekha, In the Wake of His Damage.   My past few Ramadan seasons have been complex ones. And this year, despite my efforts to have a time of reflection and renewal, as I believe […]

After a health setback a few years ago, I was under medical instructions not to fast for Ramadan.  In the years since, I kept thinking “maybe I can fast next year.”  I wrote about this in 2016.  It is now 2018 and it doesn’t look like I will be fasting again any time soon. Although […]

Salaams to our readers, and Ramadan Kareem to those celebrating! Since 2012, MMW has published its Ramadan Series. As writers, these posts are dear and near to our hearts because they are our personal stories. We see these posts as a time to reflect on religion, worship,  family, food, mental health, loss, community, and everything […]

The first few years I fasted, I used to get a little irritated with friends who lamented the sometimes anti-climactic Canadian Ramadans that paled in comparison to Ramadan “back home” in Pakistan, Egypt, or Indonesia.  I mean, I could understand what they meant, and I knew it wasn’t a comment on my experience.  Fasting as […]

Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar is a powerful time. The Qur’an was revealed during this month. For those who choose and are able to, fasting is a prescribed form of worship and what I consider a spiritually and physically cleansing tool. But the month of Ramadan is also a month in which […]

Last summer, I did not return home at the end of the school year. Having spent the previous Ramadan fasting alone and in secret, I decided that going elsewhere for the following summer would allow me to be freer in my religious expression during the Holy Month. To this day I’m incredibly grateful for having […]