Noha Alshugairi, MS, LMFT and co-author of Positive Parenting in the Muslim Home, joins us today to be thanked for writing THE manual on Muslim American parenting we needed. Just kidding! Even she says that's not what it is, but it IS the text that gave us hope that there were other moms out there who knew our struggles and would help lighten them.

On this episode, Khala Noha covers the role positive discipline plays in shaping emotionally resilient kids. What are the most common concerns that Muslim parents bring her, what cultural influences help or hinder Muslim families, and why must our kids fail? That last one really begs the question about why we parents are so afraid of failure. All this, and more, in store for our listeners.

You might be surprised to learn what this therapist's beliefs and practices are about therapy and who should be doing it. What won't surprise you is her commitment to the spiritual development of Muslim parents and their kids. We didn't even release the episode and got eager listeners chomping at the bit to share how much they love Khala Noha, and everything they've learned from her.

Tune in at 6pm EST on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or head to our website to check out the latest. And do share this episode with 3 mom friends no matter what stage of parenting they're in. They'll love you for it!

Links:
1. Resources recommended by Khala Noha: https://sakina.gumroad.com/

2. Khala Noha's linktree with ALL the info you need: https://linktr.ee/sakinacounseling

3. Purchase for your home library: Positive Parenting in the Muslim Home
4. Khala Noha on IG: @nohaalshugairi

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

As mothers, we spend years nurturing, guiding, and preparing our children to take flight. And then one day, they do. The once chaotic household grows quiet, and we're left standing in the wake of their departure. It’s a moment we always knew would come, but it doesn't make the transition any less complex. This week's episode dives deep into the feelings of an "empty nest" and challenges the idea of loss by reframing it as an opportunity for growth and reinvention—for both us and our children.

Are we "empty" when our children leave, or are we setting them free to soar, to become who we raised them to be? The truth is, their independence is a reflection of our success as mothers. Every milestone they achieve, every risk they take, is proof that we've equipped them with the tools they need to navigate the world on their own terms.

But this transition is also about us. We aren't just mothers—we are individuals who deserve to rediscover ourselves beyond the role we've played for so long. This is a chapter where we get to ask, "Who am I now?" and "What do I want to do?" It's not about losing ourselves; it's about reclaiming and redefining our identities. From exploring new passions to reconnecting with our dreams, this stage of life is as much about *our* growth as it is theirs.

Tune in as we explore the bittersweet emotions of watching our children fly the nest and how we can embrace this season of transformation with grace, strength, and a little self-discovery. Whether you're on the brink of an empty nest or already navigating this new space, this conversation is for you. 💖

👉 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Links:
Sign up for 1 of 4 limited spots to lose the weight plaguing your peace: Email salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com!

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

This week's episode is all about Zaiba and Uzma's experiences parenting teenagers with the challenges and joys that come with it. If you don't know why they're calling it "The Wonder Years," it's because they are OLD.

How they navigate this phase of motherhood in the bread and circus of American culture is a must listen.

🔏 Limitations of parental control

📌 Teens asserting independence

🚸 Halal gender relations, including dating

☎ Open lines of communication

If you're afraid of this phase of mommying, take a sneak peek now because you can't run away. If you can, let us know you're secret!

Tune in at 6pm EST on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or head to our website to take a listen, and share this episode with a mom of teens to let her know you appreciate the mental and emotional battles she wages daily.

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Parenthood can be a beautiful journey, but it also comes with its share of challenges, right out of the gate.

In this week's episode, we’re discussing the early years of parenting when loneliness, loss of identity, and postpartum mental health often overwhelm, sabotage, and debilitate some of us. We also explore what it means to raise spirited little ones while holding on to faith and hope. 🤍

Join us as we share stories, insights, and encouragement for every mom navigating this season. You’re not alone in this.

Tune in at 6pm EST on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or head to our website landing page and let’s walk this path together. 🎧✨ Share this episode with a new mom or mom to be and help her be more than a tablespoon of peanut butter. IYKYK

Links:
1. Relationships Post Baby
2. Keeping Toddlers Busy
3. NISA helpline for women 1-888-315-6472
4. Naseeha mental health helpline for teens 1-866-627-3342
5. Domestic violence numbers 1-800-799-7233 or Text “BEGIN” to 88788
6. Suicide risk line-Call 988 for 24/7 help, even if it’s just to talk

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

There’s a lot to say about “mothers’ status” in Islam, but sadly, not enough about how to support her to maintain and thrive there. It’s hella lonely and confusing on these pedestals. We aren’t looking for trophies, just Jannah (heaven), but some of us get lost along the way.

Good news! There’s a whole field of study about it! Matrescence, the developmental transition into motherhood, is both spiritual AND practical for Muslims. There’s no other way we know how to do things, but we weren’t always here. It took a long way, through a lot of parenting potholes and pitfalls to get where we are, and we aren’t done yet. Take a walk down memory lane with us and maybe tune in for some familiar experiences and sentiments.

We didn’t mean to start the waterworks this early in the series, but here we are. Tune in at 6pm EST on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or head to our website landing page. Share this episode with a new mama or even better, a mama to be, who can inshaAllah avoid curveballs where we did not.

Links:

1. What is Matrescence?
2. Huffpost on matrescence
3. Neuroscience of matrescence
4. Read more about matrescence by Dr. Aurelie Athan
5. Kevlar bulletproof hoodies (because America)
   1. https://wonderhoodie.com/collections/wonder-hoodie-bulletproof-clothing
   2. https://bulletproofeveryone.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwreW2BhBhEiwAavLwfF--spBxNBrMLb_uUFBE0pK9BGZDyRZe3jmeQG2YMy5F52UXB1WlhRoCLhQQAvD_BwE

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

☪☪On this popular replay from 2020 (can you believe it's been that long?!?!?!), podcaster mom, Farheen Raza @freeniraza, shared Shia history, practice, and whether or not sects make a difference in America. During this time of division and change in our nation, it DOES matter when we have schisms within Muslim America. Let's close those gaps together. A lot has changed for Farheen since we recorded this, so follow her and find out what that is.

☪☪Part 2 of this conversation was aired in June 2020, and we encourage you to follow up with that one next. This week, tune in at 6pm EST on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music, or head to our website and listen on the landing page. Share this episode with your Muslim friends who you never thought to ask about their sect (and thank goodness you didn't!).

Links:

1. Musings of a Modern Muslim podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/musings-of-a-millennial-muslim/id1489441261
2. On IG: @freeniraza

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

TRIGGER WARNING:

This is one of our favorite episodes because it's no one is above spiritual abuse, and everyone is vulnerable to falling victim to it. We need to have a means to bring leaders to account in this life so we can protect each other in the next one.

FACE (Facing Abuse in Community Environments) addresses those leaders who have taken major missteps, endangering not just our community members, but our faith itself. The time to identify and repair is yesterday. The good news is, we can do it together.

Tune in at 6pm EST on Apple podcasts, Stiticher, Spotify, or head to our web landing page to listen, follow, and share.

Links:
1. Follow FACE on IG: @facingabuse
2. FACE website: https://facetogether.org/3
2. Imam busted in AZ
4. Qari busted in KS and TX
5. The FYI Spiritual Abuse Toolkit: https://thefyi.org/religious-spiritual-abuse-toolkit/

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w

Trigger warning!

This episode is NOT meant to be heard by children unless our mom audience feels they're ready for it. If you're a survivor of any sexual trauma, as a child or as an adult, you may not be ready for it either, so gauge your ability to revisit the past. We are here for you either way. If you need resources to deal with PTSD due to a history of abuse, we have links for you in the shownotes, and we are always just a DM/PM or email away.

This episode IS meant to prepare us to hear the hard truths about child sex abuse, such as our personal experiences with it, how pervasive it is, and also new things, like how subversive it can be. Learn about grooming, disclosure, even forgivenesss, and how to be the safety net our kids need in the event that the worst should happen; may Allah SWT protect them all always. Ameen.

Shariea Shoatz and our team made ourselves incredibly vulnerable in this episode because we trust our Muslim and non Muslim mom sisters to receive these hard truths in love and compassion, and to offer those in turn to themselves, as well as to their children. We are not alone in this. ... Sexual abuse doesn't happen because we are Americans and that's "this culture." NO! Sexual abuse doesn't monopolize any one country or society. Many cultures within and without the US have to deal with it, but we have the opportunity to dive deep into this difficult topic and figure out how to prevent and treat it. Mommying means rolling up our sleeves for the sake of the kids and our God-given duty to protect them at all costs.

Shariea Shoatz is on the money when she says education is the best prevention, so that's where most of this conversation will be. Hugs for anyone who needs them after this one!

Tune in at 6pm EST on Apple podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or click on our bio to listen right on our website. Share this episode with all your mom friends because education is the best prevention.

Links:

1. Follow Shariea on IG: @shariea_shoatz
2. Learn more about Buddy Speaks and purchase the book: https://buddyspeaks.org/home
3. The FYI resources on sexual abuse
4. Are Muslims Doing Enough to Combat Child Sexual Abuse?

Did you know you can send us a text? Feedback, questions, or recommendations welcomed!

Support the show

1. Web: www.mommyingwhilemuslim.com

2. Email: salam@mommyingwhilemuslim.com

3. FB: Mommying While Muslim page and Mommyingwhilemuslim group

4. IG: @mommyingwhilemuslimpodcast

5. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrrdKxpBdBO4ZLwB1kTmz1w