Navigating Emotional Abuse
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Targets and goals. But none her own. A stranger to her own labour. In a race that never seems to stop, because the finishing line keeps moving. Childhood and youth are times of skill-building, then identity building too. Where fitrah comes out to be refined, polished, and directed and when it begins to take various…
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In trying to build a safe world for a child, you may gently repair the world that once broke you. It’s amazing how it works. But Allah works in wondrous ways. We were taught that to love is to endure. But what happens when we realize that to love is, in fact, to protect? To…
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When battles needed to be fought, and adults needed to be baby-ed, the child missed out heavily. On growing, learning, and understanding life. On knowing who and what was acceptable, and who and what was dangerous. A child abused or neglected missed out. By all means. On parts that were integral for his wholesome growth…
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Being involved in a legal case as a Muslim woman in a country where Muslims are a minority can be an extremely isolating experience. Whether the case involves marital law or children’s rights, it can pull you into a dark place if you do not approach it with the right mindset. However, I want to…
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Somewhere early on, this idea was instilled in us through what we saw, heard, and read: that there is a premade mould, and we need to fit into it. This mould was mostly good. Usually, it was built around tried and tested methods for living. Perhaps we can call it a societal “norm.” It provided…
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When we speak about the fantasies of invisible children, there are several psychological mechanisms at play. An invisible child is exactly that: unseen. If you ask them what they felt like growing up, they often describe themselves as background objects: “like a piece of furniture,” “living in the shadows,” or “present, but not noticed.” Validation…
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It is a wonderful experience to transform from being an object into becoming a human being. It is a wonderful feeling to reach a point where you have little to lose, and to walk free of the invisible and indescribable net that once held you down with such tyrannical force. Recently, as I concluded a…
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حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ يُونُسَ الْحَنَفِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ، حَدَّثَنِي أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، – وَهُوَ عَمُّ إِسْحَاقَ – قَالَ بَيْنَمَا نَحْنُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذْ جَاءَ أَعْرَابِيٌّ فَقَامَ يَبُولُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ فَقَالَ أَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَهْ…
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The game-changer comes when the abused realise that healing—shifaa’—can never come from the same source that broke them and made them question their worth. Whether in blood ties, marriage, friendship, or any other relationship. Had this been any other dynamic, we’d call it absurd: to seek solace from the very place that causes the most…