Islam, Seekers Guidance

“Dear Ustadha Raidah” podcast is live!

Raidah Shah Idil

I’m so excited to share that my podcast series, Dear Ustadha Raidah, is live! Please tune in, and share it with your friends and family.

I’ve been quietly recording my podcast episodes at night, while my daughters are asleep. Alhamdulilah, for the most part, they haven’t been waking up much! This is also why a 60 min podcast is a bit beyond me, at this stage of my life :p Please make dua for me, my family, SeekersGuidance, and remember to donate to support this podcast series. Please rest assured that what you donate, in part, does reach me ❤ And woo, thank you for funding my life!


Islam, Life, Love, Prophet

My letter came second in the Letter To The Beloved ﷺ competition!

Raidah Shah Idil

Alhamdulilah, my letter won second place in the Letters To The Beloved competition! I am so surprised, so grateful and a little embarrassed. You can read it here, alongside the incredible winning entry and my friend Lina Abdul Wahab’s heartbreaking third place entry.

My deepest gratitude goes to Letters to the Beloved ﷺ team, Rabata, Sanad Collective, and especially to Anse Tamara Gray bringing my letter to life with her warm, heartfelt recitation ❤ I hope to read it to my daughters when they’re older some day. You can listen to the recording here (scroll to 26 min). I loved hearing from Anse Tamara, as always, and was really moved by Brother Ali’s talk (48 min). He acknowledges the role of women in understanding Prophetic love.

I would love to say that I wrote this letter with a warm cup of tea at a quiet cafe – but I didn’t. I wrote it in my bedroom, in quiet snatches while my daughters were asleep, over several nights. (I try not to have tea close by because I could spill it on my MacBook Air in my chronic tiredness – as I have done previously!!!) I edited it a couple of times, and then sent it just in time for the deadline lol. This is my modus operandi, these days :p

If you’re an exhausted mama, I hope my letter brings you some comfort. If you’re an exhausted mama writer, then I hope my letter shows you that what we lack in time, we make up for in other innumerable ways – and God, in His Mercy, fills in the rest.

If you haven’t already, please read the different letters from past competitions. I’m blown away by what the children have written, especially! And maybe, just maybe, you can set the intention to write your own to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). His blessed heart and soul is connected to ours, even when we forget.

Life, Permaculture

Grow your own veggies workshop at @urbanhijau this Saturday!

Raidah Shah Idil

In less than a week, Irfan will be running a workshop at Urban Hijau! He has a talent for breaking down permaculture topics into easily digestible nuggets e.g. “Grow what grows!”

If you’re interested in growing your own fruits/veggies/simple herbs, and wondering how to make your own compost, then this workshop is for you. Please spread the word, and sign up before all participant spots are filled up!

baby, Beauty, Writing

“The Healing” is published!

Raidah Shah Idil

I’m thrilled to start off 2019 with my latest creative non-fiction piece, published by Lunch Ticket, as part of their Amuse-Bouche A La Carte series – The Healing. Thank you to the wonderful Lunch Ticket team, for giving my stories a home. I first read Adab at Seksan 🙂

I hope my stories speak to you, especially if you’re an exhausted mother of two (or more) little ones. It does get better.

I vividly remember submitting this 2 am, after yet another night of broken sleep. I’ve come to realise that these exhausting early years of motherhood have given me a kind of creative haze and lucidity – I am both slowed down and sped up. It’s like quicksand and slow motion film, all in one. Do I make sense? Ha. Who knows.

Beauty, Islam

Letters to the Beloved ﷺ

Raidah Shah Idil

And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds [Al-Anbiyaa’ 21:107]

Keen to explore a writing exercise that is also spiritually elevating? Please sign up for the wonderful annual opportunity – Letters to The Beloved ﷺ

I love how this competition is open even to children, up to age 8. That’s how we can grow a more resilient, more compassionate and more forgiving generation of Muslims. By tying their hearts to the Beloved.

This reminds me of the stories I tell my daughter about Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him). I hope to tie her heart to him, so that he will come alive to her, from this young, and for the rest of her life.

Islam

Spiritual Abuse workshop by Rabata

Raidah Shah Idil

Register at ribaat.rabata.org before Dec 16th

I’m so thrilled to share this exciting workshop. It’s so timely, and so necessary. I absolutely love the majority of female scholars teaching this course ❤ Let’s empower ourselves and our communities with knowledge on how to spot spiritual predators, so we can protect ourselves and perhaps even stop them from causing so much harm. Click here for the registration link. 

mindfulness, Uncategorized

Mindfulness course for parents and kids

Raidah Shah Idil

So I’m finally somewhat recovered from our annual visit to Sydney. It’s only 8.5 hours away by flight but man the adjustment home with jetlagged little ones is…..challenging. Mindfulness helps! Noticing those big feelings, making space for them, and eventually those feelings pass. Everything passes. Sleeping earlier helps too. Oh, and tea. Lots of tea. Where would I be without tea??? I LOVE TEA. Alhamdulilah.

Speaking of mindfulness, please attend and/or share the word about gloWithin‘s upcoming parent and children mindfulness workshop. It’s aimed for parents with kids aged 5-10. Teng Yan, my former colleague and friend, is a very gentle and peaceful mindfulness practitioner. Sometimes, just standing next to her feels calming. I attended one workshop while I was pregnant, and really benefited. I’ll have to wait another 1.5 years until my eldest is 5, then we can attend this together, inshaAllah.

If you’re an exhausted parent looking for better ways to connect with yourself and your child, please consider their Nov 17 & 18 workshop.  It’ll be an investment into your well-being, which will flow into your child(ren). If you’re keen but have financial constraints, please contact the compassionate gloWithin team anyway.

Here’s to peaceful parents, and happier kids ❤ Choose love and choose peace, especially when it’s hard.

 

Teaching

Play Therapy!

Raidah Shah Idil

two multicolored slinky toys
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

So, alhamdulilah, I ended up going to the weekend StoryPlay workshop! Haha. No takers for my tickets, which meant I was meant to go, after all. I am so glad! I learned SO much. We were swimming in metaphors the whole weekend, which made my heart smile ❤

Dr Joyce Mills is a warm, empathic and playful storyteller who was so happy to share her stories with us. And that’s exactly what she is – an incredible storyteller who loves children.

Dr Joyce spent a lot of time on the topic of self-care, which is so, so important for all caretakers. We can’t give from an empty cup. She asked us  – “How do you nourish yourself, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically?” Good question. If I’ve had regular breaks, I definitely feel a lot more compassionate, especially at the end of a looong day with small kids. Even 5 minutes in the garden, or sipping a warm cup of tea – this all helps.

I really appreciated her approach of staying in the playful, present moment with our children/clients/families. This isn’t to minimise trauma – because she is resiliency-focused, she encouraged us to ask, “We only have a bit of time together – what do you want?” Ah. So simple, and yet so freeing.

Some gems from Dr Joyce Mills:

  • “Scars are a marker of where I’ve been, not where I’m going.”
  • “What makes your heart smile?”
  • “The child has autism/any other diagnosis – it’s always the child first. He is not his diagnosis.”
  • “This is a strengths-based approach.”

I’d like the thank the wonderful HilsLearning team for organising such a wonderful and transformative event. I am especially grateful for the nursing room they provided. My baby and I had a happy lunch time reunion there ❤ Every little bit of support makes a huge difference.