At the start of 2020, Sumaya and I renewed our intentions for Mamanushka – what it is and what we’d like it to be. We committed to upholding Mamanushka as a thoughtful, inspiring, helpful and, above all, genuine online space with real-life resonance.
Our reason for being here and continuing to bring our best selves to you, as often as we can, is rooted in the belief that our histories, our faith and our experiences of motherhood are essential to creating a more equitable, compassionate and beautiful world.
This has always been the guiding principle behind Mamanushka – but as the years pass and lives change, it seems more important than ever to keep going.
Thank you for being here, for reading, sharing and trusting us with your time, your advice and your own stories.
This year, we shared how our experiences of Ramadan as mothers with young children could help our communities thrive through a month of lockdown fasting. How creating Ramadan decor with your family could, itself, be an act of worship. And ultimately, how to leave the blessed month with hope and inner peace intact. We took solace in the story of Prophet Yunus and his own isolation in the belly of the whale even as we appreciated the Divine blessings of having things stay exactly as they are.
In our deep moments of collective despair, we turned to action and shared how to be an anti-racist Muslim, how to raise anti-racist Muslims and how to make sure that even the youngest of children can understand what it means to stand up for justice. We worked through what it meant to not watch Mulan and put the rights of people over our own desire to be entertained.
We dug deep and invited you into our past, as we recalled the power of a gift to transport us through time and brought you with us to meet present day soul-mates marking momentous birthdays. We baked sweet cakes for Mawlid, championed small muslim businesses and added to our collection of much-loved audio stories with one about the most revered woman in the Islam and the birth her miraculous son.
For the first time, a Mamanushka post was translated and distributed into another language – french – and we delivered our first Mamanushka storytelling workshop, with many thanks to Green Dome Kids.
Finally, we are deeply honoured to win in two categories at this year’s Muslimah Bloggers Awards, an international community choice award featuring the best of the Muslim woman blogosphere. Being voted Muslimah Blogs Best Parenting Blog and Best Lifestyle Blog by you and all our well-wishers feels like the biggest hug and warmest way to end this year. Alhamdulillah.
May these final few days of 2020 be ones of ease, contentment and light for you and your families. As for 2021, I leave you with with this du’a of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad, who would say at the beginning of each new year:
O Allah, bring this year to us with security, faith, safety, Islam, your pleasure and protection from evil.
Ameen.
Also, find some our previous year end reviews here
Du’a Source: Al-Mu’jamul Awsat of Tabarani, Hadith: 6237
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