Birth Stories By Ismail Mazari We plan, but Allah is the Best of Planners Like many women, I dreamed of meeting my Prince Charming, moving into a beautiful, modest home, and of course filling my abode with the contagious laughter of a few children. But upon college graduation, I hoped to take pleasure in a nine-to-five career to make a deep impact in our Ummah. Something, I told myself, that I could enjoy and ease out of when I wanted to have children. I carefully planned this to satisfy all of my dreams in life, but Allah is the Best of Planners. The recession hit the job market hard, and this highly employable Muslimah with an impressive resume was finally “caving in” to the idea that taking on a mundane, part-time job wasn’t that bad. It *was* that bad, and Alhamdulillah my Prince Charming came to meet me to save me from the perilous path I was heading down. Fast forwarding one year later, I followed Prince Charming to a faraway land. I took on a promising job to pass the time, but it wasn’t my passion. I dreamt of myself as a future international lawyer, CNN correspondent, or a UN representative. Those roles, I told myself, were the equivalent to success. Nothing else. Then came a winter Friday that I learned I was pregnant. I always imagined this day to be joyous, memorable, and much later in my life. I pictured myself meeting my husband for a candle-lit dinner at our favorite (well, my favorite) Italian restaurant, hold his hands in mine, and share the exciting news. It went nothing like that. I cried softly in my apartment, called my husband at work and told him to come home immediately. I wasn’t crying because I didn’t want the baby. I was crying for feeling and guilty about not being excited. I felt unaccomplished. I still had to “succeed in life” first. Then, and only then, can I become a mother. If I remember anything clearly from that day, it is the fear that Allah would be disappointed that I would lament such a miraculous gift that so many people prayed endless nights for. In an effort to change my attitude, I decided to celebrate with my husband that night--with dinner at my favorite restaurant. That following week, my pregnancy began to grow on me, figuratively speaking as I was only one month along. While I was on a slow highway stretch leaving work, I decided to play “Lessons From The Life Of: Eesa Ibn Maryam,” by Muhammad AlShareef. He reached the story of Mariam’s birth (peace be upon her) as I reached a dead halt on the highway. It wasn’t the story of Mariam that had captivated me in that winter afternoon drive, but the story of Mariam’s mother. In Suraat Aali Imran, Imran’s wife promised Allah swt to dedicate her future son to worship Allah. Yet we learn that she delivers a baby girl, presumably not someone whom she can devote to Allah. But Allah swt says in the Quran: “When she delivered her, she said: “O my Lord! I have delivered a female child,” – and Allah knew better what delivered, “And the male is not like the female, and I have named her Mariam, and I seek refuge with you (Allah) for her and for her offspring from Shaytan the outcast” (3:36). All of mankind would soon learn that the birth of this baby girl would facilitate the birth of Prophet Isa (peace be upon him). She need not be a man to be dedicated to Allah, for no man can miraculously become impregnated and give birth to a prophet. She was a woman, like many women, whose dedication to our Ummah was not through prophecy, leadership, or a nine-to-five job; but through being a mother. And in turn, Allah rewarded her with being one of the four best women in Paradise. I finally came to learn that motherhood was this life’s true success. Warm tears rolled down my cheeks, but I did not wipe them. I let them efface my doubts of becoming a new mother. I let them cleanse my heart and renew my intentions of becoming a true leader. I let them lead me to promise that I will raise my child to become a servant of Allah, so that she may follow the footsteps of the prophets and noble women before us. And finally, I decided that if our baby was a girl, her name will be Mariam. Every time I hear the new topic of upcoming webinars, its almost as though it was chosen keeping me in mind. I’ve never come across ANY online community that deals with such relevant topics about motherhood that is not only elegant and helpful, but also Islamic. May Allah put immense barakah in Mum Loves Me’s outstanding efforts for this very noble endeavor, Ameen! Umm Umar Conception, pregnancy, labour, birth, and child rearing is overwhelming. Especially in this day and age when we have so many options. Mum Loves Me helps Muslim mothers navigate through all of these options by providing information from experts in both Islamic and professional feels. I have found stories and articles inspirational and the webinars are full of gems. The topics covered are things that every mom both needs and wants to know about, the added bonus is that it comes from fellow Muslims and scholars that we trust and respect. Mum Love Me is a one of a kind resource for muslim mothers! Maryam A Alhamdulillah, connecting with other sisters has been such a blessing. To be able to share each other experiences. An important service for sisters. I am very grateful to have access to such support and scholarly advice. Mum Loves me is indeed a pioneer in the muslim community for this service. Bint Mohamed Subhan Allah as soon as I knew that I was pregnant with my first child, I got an email from a friend advertising about the first \MUM LOVES ME\ webinar. Since then, I had been closely following all their outstanding webinars and I had benefited so much from them. They answered most Fiqh questions related to pregnancy, childbirth and even beyond that. I didn\t hesitate to subscribe to their website later on. The website is rich with articles and audios that gave me just the information I need. Living in the US away from home, I also needed support from sisters like me who are expecting or who have newborns. The MUM LOVES ME forum gave me that support and even more. I would recommend this site to all moms and moms to be who are looking for \Islamic\ maternity support through their journey of motherhood.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 13:29:51 +0000
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