Episodes

Zaiba and Uzma talk about expected symptoms of “the change,” and what exactly that is and is NOT. Menopause and genitourinary syndrome of menopause are the topics of the day. Super exciting, right? It IS! If we aren’t in the neighborhood of these things happening to us, we can at least walk our moms through it for sure, and they certainly deserve it. If you love an older mom out there, share this episode with her! God knows she won’t talk to her doctor or to us about it! Don’t forget to listen t...

We continue our Women’s Health series by focusing on our spiritual health today with Zahra Aljabri, founder of Practical Muslim. She joins us on the podcast today to discuss developing our relationships with Allah SWT in order to strengthen what we have with our kids. She is a spiritual coach who reminds that motherhood is an act of worship and in itself is a way to gain closeness to Allah SWT. **** One of our biggest complaints is often feeling disconnected from God because of our daily human w...

Dr. Tayyaba rejoins us today on the podcast to talk about endometriosis, a condition that can cause pelvic pain in 10% of women in the WORLD, regardless of whether or not they still have periods. This affects quality of life and sometimes fertility, so it’s important to ALL of us. Special cohost Solat Zaidi shares her personal experiences with this condition and Dr. Ahmed gives us LOTS of facts, differentiating endometriosis from painful periods, which we are more familiar with. Sadly, we will ...

Let’s grieve Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week and talk about feminism as we end our month of Female Islamic Scholarship with Reem Shaikh. Reem is a graduate student at the Harvard School of Divinity who speaks to us about her singular path toward earning her position as a shaykha. Her goal is to provide the ummah with diverse voices in scholarship so that Muslim women don’t have their religion mansplained to them anymore. When women get and give information to each other, especially our most sacred...

Dr. Saadia Mian joins us today to discuss her unexpected journey toward memorization of the Quran, and love for it. As moms, we generally have the primary burden of Quranic study for our kids, but we lose our own relationship with it. Let’s talk about making it a daily practice using baby steps, and touch on how to make the Quran beloved to our kids as well. Dr. Mian’s 4 tips to get closer to the Quran are golden. Today we answer the relevancy and blessing of the Quran in Muslim American life. ...

Anse Tamara Gray, founder of Rabata, an online institute for and by Muslim women to educate themselves in Islam. She’s also an experienced mom who has a lot to share with moms about allying with their kids as part of their mothering. Mic drop moment 32:36 when Anse Tamara reminds us about the etymological relationship of the words “umm” (mother) and “imam” (one in front of whom we study, or leader), but on a lighter note at 44:15 “Anse Tamara: I am green beans!” Serious butterflies and chills in...

The author of the incredibly popular and much loved book Secrets of Divine Love, A. Helwa, joins us today to talk about her book and what it brings to our souls during these turbulent times. Her popular blog @quranquotesdaily inspires and reminds us of Allah SWT daily as we scroll through fashion and makeup on IG. Secrets of Divine Love is a motivational and inspiring guide to help experience the Qur’an and the Islamic tradition from a place of love, passion, and joy. She explains the anonymity ...

Umaima Jafri very own sister comes on to share her experience with single motherhood and the conspiracy of Counter Violence and Extremism that made her live this life. If you’re familiar with Free Ibrahim Now, you’ve heard about Ibrahim Muhammad and how the FBI held him for 3 years without trial with trumped-up terrorism charges and after strongarming him into a plea bargain, deported him this summer to India. Umaima shares the details of the case and how she’s been forced to be a single mom for...

Hurunnessa Fariad of Sister Act podcast joins Zaiba and Uzma today to discuss how her marriage abruptly ended and under the most unique of circumstances. The video on this one is a must watch, so we’ve linked it below (YouTube) so you can see Uzma’s blooper. Poker face much? We talk about abandonment, women led households as a more common situation worldwide and in America, financial stressors, facing and raising resilient daughters alone. Hurunessa is a pillar of her active Muslim community an...

Dr. Aneesah Nadir, a lifelong social worker, professor, and director of the Islamic Social Services Association of America and attorney Zarinah Nadir join us today to discuss the paperwork we need to LIVE WELL. Their backgrounds in the law and social work are huge resources to our community and their experience is GOLD. We aren’t inviting death to us by getting our affairs in order; rather we need to be prepared for it as Muslims are instructed to do by God. We talk about the cultural barriers t...

The vertically multigenerational family is not new to America, or to the world. We discuss the pros and cons of vertical and horizontal generations in a household, talking about the trauma we’ve witnessed and how we take the good parts of our histories to build future families. Alternatives to intergenerational families are explained, as well as the costs. The economic realities that are forcing families into multigenerational households is going to be faced head-on in this episode. This opens a...

We continue our discussion of the evolution of the Muslim American family in this episode: What does that look like and why? An anonymous guest shares her personal experience of marrying a non-Muslim man with Zaiba and Uzma today. What led her to do it, and what takeaways does she have? The social landscape is just different in America and with that comes changes from our understanding of the “traditional” Muslim family. There are opportunities and challenges here that don’t exist in Muslim coun...

Zaiba & Uzma hash it out over outlaws...no, the IN laws on this episode. Having been in these relationships for a while, they talk about interference, childrearing disputes, social and ethnic expectations, and most importantly, communication gaps that lead to an outlaw situation. The audience really participated in this one and their answers to MWM’s survey questions are terrific and telling. They’re not just talking about having outlaws; they’re also talking about how NOT to be one themselves! ...

Yasmin El Hady, lawyer, mom, and comedienne joins Zaiba and Uzma to talk about her out of the box career. Is our dream job REALLY our dream? Why or why not? These are important topics explained, as well as the wealth of comic relief in mothering, “Ramy,” what “move over” means, Muslim porn stars, and the halal and haram of entertainment. Despite the sound difficulties in this episode, it delivers the laughs and perspective needed to chase down “what might have been” so that it becomes a reality ...

Sumiya Khan, RD comes on today to discuss devastating loss and overcoming it. Her advice on the do’s and don'ts during grieving are golden and should be printed for general public use! She’s truly a model of resilience, and since like-minded folks get together, Sanctuary Kitchen is her passion, outlet, and work empowering refugees. We look forward to her supportive endeavors in Muslim bereavement based on her personal experience. As a role model for all, she lives life outside the box in her wo...

Rubina Cohen, our podcast’s Marketing Manager and partner, joins Zaiba again today to talk about how incredible losses in her childhood prepared her for success in the future. From a critical death in the family to running away and exploring faith, Rubina and Zaiba discuss imposter syndrome, difficult relationships, fear-based parenting, and COVID related anxieties that we all share. Learn about mindful marketing and seeking the authentic goals that make the most sense for us during these turbul...

Continuing our series on “moms outside the box,” Lt. Col. Mona Johnson USA, Retired joins Zaiba and Uzma today to discuss her military career post-divorce, the unique experiences she had as a single Muslim mom in the Army, and the cultural hot topics she saw then and now. As an immigrant to this country in the late 50s, Miss Mona has literally seen the United States transform in progressive ways, yet remained stagnant in others. Some of these discussions are heartwrenching and leave us wanting m...

Zaiba and Uzma’s dads join them on this bonus episode for Father’s Day talking about their immigrant experiences and how they contributed to their daughters’ Muslim identities in America. It’s a rare to have male voice on the podcast, but as moms themselves, the cohosts know how important fathers are in their children’s lives. These dads are friends in real life, developed generational relationships and resilience, and pray that their Muslim American grandchildren inherit and practice the truest...

To kick off this month’s theme of “moms outside the box,” momfounder of Emar Italy, Dr. Najwa Javed joins the podcast to talk about her line of high heels THAT ARE GOOD FOR YOU! For those of us in slides and flip-flops, because comfort is Queen, this is great news, especially coming from a foot and ankle surgeon. Najwa talks about the research and hustle required to launch a new product, gives golden advice on how to find a cheering section, and reassures us about the challenges of COVID new com...

I continue our conversation with podcaster and radio personality, Farheen Raza, mom of 3 rambunctious boys. We're talking about what Shiism is--history, practice, and whether or not it matters which sect we identify with in the United States. During this time of division and change in our nation, it matters whether or not we decrease or broaden the schisms between our neighbors and mom sisters. We barely touched the tip of the iceberg on this topic in the first part. Links:https://youtu.be/NrB8...

Dr. Sylvia Chan Malik joins us today to talk about social justice as achieved and achievable in America through the work of Black Muslim women, or first mothers in this country. As an American historian, Dr. Chan Malik shares her study of race, religion and gender as agents of change, and how Muslim moms can leverage their identities to force equity and equality still missing in our social fabric. For those of us with biases about Nation of Islam, buckle up as we talk about her insightful book ...

Ikhlas Saleem of Identity Politics Podcast joins us today to talk about her intersectional experiences as a Black Muslim female and mom, or as she prefers to be identified, Moorish American mom. There are so many things to be learned on this episode! Non black Muslims are discriminatory toward black Muslims and guess what--black Muslims know it! Due to black erasure that starts in our history books on US soil, there are hard truths non black Muslims will never know, and it’s time to find and fac...

Not all second-generation Americans were encouraged to be overtly “American,” or to adopt the cultural practices that make us unique on the planet: our innate senses of justice, equality, work ethic, and our history of rebellion weren’t exercised and flexed in traditionally Muslim countries, but then our parents came here and some felt slapped in the face by these traits. Others embraced them. Sabeeha Rehman, a grassroots activist, community builder, mother, grandmother, and author joins us toda...

Podcaster and radio personality, Farheen Raza, mom of 3 rambunctious boys, joins us today to inform us about what Shiism is--history, practice, and whether or not it matters which sect we identify with in America. During this time of division and change in our nation, it matters whether or not we decrease or broaden the schisms between our neighbors and mom sisters. We barely touched the tip of the iceberg on this topic, so watch out for a second part coming this month as we continue to discuss ...