The Women's Mosque of America

Q&A with Tasneem Noor (1/31/2020)

Q&A Discussion Circle with the Imam -- Tasneem F. Noor leads the congregation through an intuition exercise and answers questions specifically about Istikharah - the Guidance Prayer. Several different congregants share their own istikharah experiences and how they learned to trust their own intuition and direct connection with God.

Istikharah (Guidance Prayer): "O God! Behold I ask You the good through Your Knowledge, and ability through Your Power, and beg Your favor out of Your infinite Bounty. For surely You have Power; I have none. You know all; I know not. You are the Great Knower of all things. O God! If in Your Knowledge, [this matter] be good for my faith, for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs (in this world and the Hereafter), then ordain it for me, and make it easy for me, and bless me therein. But if in Your Knowledge, [this matter] be bad for my faith, for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs (in this world and the Hereafter), then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and ordain for me the good wherever it may be, and cause me to be pleased therewith.
Ameen."

Tasneem's Heartfelt Dua as an example of how to ask God to guide you toward connecting with your intuition: "Bismillah Ar Rehman Ar Raheem. Subhanallah Alhamdulilliah La Ilaha Ilallah. Ya Allah, my Lord, My Creator. You are the source of all creation and of all substance. You have created me, my gifts, my dreams. You are All-Knowing and know what Is in my heart and mind. You are Most Magnificient and Most Merciful and Most compelling. Please help me Ya Allah to surrender deeply to you, to be moved by you, held by you, used by you. I surrender to you my Lord, I surrender. You are the Ultimate creator and THE Master of this universe. Everything is yours and yet you have blessed us with the power of choice. The choice to choose you or choose our ego. To choose serving you or serving ourselves. Choose truth or choose illusion. I choose You My Lord! I choose You. I choose to serve you my Sustainer that sustains all that I am and all that I can. I choose you My lord who is All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Hearing. It is You I trust. It is you I seek to please. It is you I love. It is you whose approval I crave and need. Please forgive me for my inconsistencies and short comings and mistakes and for all the precious time I waste. Please forgive me with your Mercy My lord. Please forgive me. Please help me, guide me, and continue to compel me so I stay present and surrender and do my best to express through you, to serve for you and with you. I love you Ya Allah. And I surrender to you. I surrender. I love you. And I am ready to be used by you. I trust you. I surrender. I surrender. I surrender. Let my words be yours. Let my thoughts be from you. Let my intuition be your voice. I am ready now, Ya Rabb. I am ready. I am yours and you are mine. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I am eternally grateful that you chose to create me and create work through me in ways You know to be the best. I trust you. And I am ready now. Ameen."

Adthan by Shireen Alihaji (12/27/19)

Long time volunteer videographer and supporter Shireen Alihaji gives her 1st adthan at The Women's Mosque of America for the 60th jumma'a on December 27th, 2019.

"Infertility & The Spriritual Winter" by Sameerah Siddiqui (12/27/19)

Khateebah Sameerah Siddiqui delivers the 60th khutbah for The Women's Mosque of America on December 27th, 2019. In this powerful khutbah, Sameerah Siddiqui speaks to us about how to navigate through times when your prayers go unanswered, with a special emphasis on dealing with infertility. She courageously removes the stigma from a usually taboo topic in order to provide more community support for those who need it most.

Bio: Sameerah Siddiqui is a Senior Advocacy Advisor at Oxfam America, a global humanitarian and advocacy organization. She has held a variety of roles in her time at Oxfam, from campaigning on the political drivers of poverty, such as a lack of corporate accountability in our global food system to building external relationships with American faith communities. She currently leads the organization's campaign response to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. 

Sameerah grew up in the Inland Empire and after finishing her degree at UC Davis, she moved to Los Angeles to learn faith-rooted and community organizing with Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy. 

Sameerah is currently based in Washington, D.C. but her husband is convinced that they'll make SoCal home again. 

Q&A with Sameerah Siddiqui (12/27/19)

Q&A Discussion Circle with the Imam -- Sameerah Siddiqui answers questions from the congregation about dealing with infertility, and several women in the discussion circle open up about their own struggles with it. One congregant shares a surprising story that demonstrates the power of hope and not giving up.

Adthan by Abrafi Sanyika (11/22/19)

Former Khateebah Hajjah Abrafi Sanyika returns to deliver the adthan as Mu'adthinah for the 59th jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on November 22nd, 2019.

Adthan by Mona Abdulla (10/25/19)

Mona Abdulla was the very first mu’adthinah for The Women’s Mosque of America in January 2015. As a young girl, she had always practiced calling the adthan in her home, but her friends and family would make fun of her, saying that she was wasting her time because she would never be able to call the adthan in a mosque. As an adult, Mona taught her two boys to call the adthan because she thought she never would have the chance. When she heard about the Women’s Mosque opening in January 2015, she flew out from New Jersey to California to call our very first adthan! In this recording, listen to Mu'adthinah Mona Abdulla return to deliver the adthan for the 58th jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on September 27th, 2019.

"Part Two: Balancing Religion and Culture -- from the Perspective of an African American Muslim" by Hajjah Abrafi Sanyika (10/25/19)

Returning Khateebah Hajjah Abrafi S. Sanyika continues with the second part in our discussion on balancing religion and culture -- this time, from the perspective of a Black American Muslim. In her khutbah, Abrafi recounts the African roots of Islam in America, the ways in which African Americans sacrificed and contributed to the freedom and wealth that is enjoyed by all Americans and immigrants to America, and the ways in which she made sure her own daughter was raised with a balance between culture and religion so that she could grow up to love Islam and being a Muslim in America.

Bio:
Hajjah Abrafi S. Sanyika is a proud native of Chicago, which was founded on the shore of Lake Michigan by an African fur trader, Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable. She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and listened as a young child to the life-affirming teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Even then she knew that there is only One God, because that is what her parents taught at home. She remembers being “thrown out” of her Christian Sunday school at age eleven, because she announced that Jesus (pbuh) was not the “son of God”, but a great prophet like all the other great prophets. She was exposed to many religious/spiritual traditions growing up and continues to honor the beauty in all of them.

Abrafi euphemistically describes her professional career as “eclectic”. She reflects that she is from that generation of women who chose either nursing, teaching, or secretarial work, because other professions were generally foreclosed to women. Originally an anthropology major, she redirected when she got a divorce and had to consider raising two small boys as a single parent. Instead, she obtained a B.A. and M.A. in education. Her M.A. thesis was a study of the cocoa industry of Ghana, West Africa. She first taught at the University of Chicago Lab School, then directed Ujima Family Center, an alternative school in Chicago. Moving to California, she attended UCLA Law School, worked for several attorneys, became a realtor, and eventually returned to professional education.

She is now retired and has published several position papers, including “An Open Letter to the Immigrant Muslim Community.” She co-wrote The Eternal Genetic Presence, an anthology of visual artist Nathaniel Bustion’s incredible talent; and is the author of Makeda, Queen of Sheba, a children’s book written in honor of her daughter, Makeda. She is the founder and director of The Egyptian Repertoire Company, a nonprofit educational foundation that researches, writes, and presents seminars and rituals based on African history and culture, and is currently writing two other books for publication.

Q&A with Hajjah Abrafi Sanyika (10/25/19)

Q&A Discussion Circle w/the Imam -- Hajjah Abrafi Sanyika answers questions from the congregation on how to naviagate free will vs. faithful trust, and she shares candidly from her experiences to help the congregation forge a deeper, more personal relationship with God.

Adthan by Abrafi Sanyika (9/27/19)

Former Khateebah Hajjah Abrafi Sanyika returns to deliver the adthan as Mu'adthinah for the 57th jumma'a at The Women's Mosque of America on September 27th, 2019.

"Balancing Religion And Culture While Forging Our Own Path to God" by Maheen Abbasi (9/27/19)

Khateebah Maheen Abbasi delivers a special khutbah for American Muslim youth and anyone struggling with their faith identities at The Women's Mosque of America on September 27, 2019. In this amazing and candid khutbah, Maheen speaks openly about how she went from being a child who resented her Pakistani and Muslim identities to becoming an adult who now feels fully aligned and at peace with her Muslim, American, and Pakistani identities. Maheen shares her delightful practice of starting "car talks" with God through which she learned how to truly rely on God for the first time in her life.

Bio: Maheen Abbasi is an activist, mentor and dreamer. She immigrated to American from Pakistan when she was 3 years old. She grew up in the Bay Area with her 3 siblings and millions of cousins. She went to college at the University of California, San Diego, where she studied cognitive science and business. For the past 5 years she’s worked at Twitter and Google in Product Management. She is currently working on starting her own women’s empowerment business to help motivate young Muslim girls. 

Maheen was born into Islam and grew up struggling with her connection to her religion. She had a hard time balancing her Pakistani and American identities. At one point she felt so lost, she didn’t even know if she still identified as a Muslim. After years of personal development, self realizations and countless motivational books she’s come to have the most intimate relationship with God that she’s had so far and a complete certainty in her faith.

Maheen is passionate about women’s rights and girls education. She wants to empower all women to be able to live as their truest selves and to help them foster a real relationship with their maker. Maheen aspires to dedicate her entire life and career to God’s love and message.