Body Image

With his website, Like A Garment, Sh. Yasir Qadhi has made it cool to talk about the importance of sex. Before this movement, I think that the average Muslim limited the discussion of sex to: "Haraam! Until marriage." However, Sh. Yasir Qadhi is not a trail blazer. I have to argue that Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood should be credited with that distinction because of her work: "The Muslim Marriage Guide." Any married or about-to-be married person should read her book. It gets a bit graphic at some places, but with well intentioned necessity. Both  Sh. Qadhi and Maqsood point out the beauty and power of sex. One of the chapters in Maqsood's book is, "How to turn sex into sadaqa." In addition, both argue that each partner is responsible for satisfying the other. This idea gets me to my point on body image.

A woman's body image has become a huge deal. Lately, we have become paranoid about not making women and young girls fell insecure about themselves and their bodies. I can't help but feel that we Muslims have taken on this mindset as well. True, we do not and should not make women fell physically inadequate. However, we as Muslim women, should be aware of the responsibility that we have when it comes to the physical aspect of our relationship with our husband (while also expecting a similar awareness form our partner). I am not saying that we all have to strive to look like a model. All I am saying is that we should not stigmatize the idea of striving to look hott (for lack of a better term).

Truth?

A few weeks ago, I read an article online (I tried to find it, but couldn’t) about how vast mineral resources were found in Afghanistan. The key and unique point from the article: An American advisor from some mining company was to go and advise the Afghan government on the situation. Obviously, this means that American, and other foreign, companies will greatly profit from such resources if they truly exist.

Recently, I was watching the Rachel Maddow Show. She went to Afghanistan to report on the situation there. I saw a video of Richard Engle, NBC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent, and Maddow explore a tourist spot in Kabul. While walking and admiring the shops, the two reporters get into a conversation about Afghanistan’s mineral wealth. By the end of the conversation, Maddow makes it clear that she thinks that the reports on Afghanistan’s mineral wealth are a ploy by the American government. The reports are supposed to make the Americans think that Afghanistan will one day be independent of their financial support and will instead be able to support itself by its own wealth.

Two conflicting reports. Which is true? I don’t know, but one thing is sure: either way, we are clearly being deceived by the government. This specific situation effectively captures my mindset. We are constantly fed conflicting “reports” on everything. How do we know what to believe? I don’t know. Everything is so complicated today. I don’t know what to believe. The only think that we have is Allah SWT’s guidance. The best we can do is to make dua that He reveals the truth to us.


The clip from Maddow's show (conversation starts at 2:10):

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Opening

﷽

I have been thinking about starting a blog for the past few years but I never got around to do it. After finding some other blogs written by Muslims, I have decided to take a go at it myself. Most likely, I will just write about my thoughts as I seek a deeper understanding of my faith and my reactions to the world's reaction to Islam and Muslims.

A bit about me: I am a 20-something Muslim gal living in Chicago.