November Giveaway!
*Update*
Thank you to all who took the time to post a comment! We really enjoyed hearing about the Muslim community where you live, many of which seem to have a strong bond for the sake of Allaah, maashaa’Allaah.
And the winner of this month’s giveaway is…..
** Lauren Anderson **
Be sure to subscribe to our feed and be on the lookout for more giveaways in the future, inshaa’Allaah.
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Topic – What is the Muslim Community Like Where You Live?
What country, state, or city do you live in? Are there many Muslims and masjids or very few? Are there a lot of sisters who wear hijab or niqab in your community? Is there easy access to Islamic clothing and books? If you live in a non-Muslim country, are the people there accepting of Muslim sisters who wear the abaya, hijab, or niqab or do they give them a hard time?
Up for Grabs
$25 SunnahStyle.com Gift Certificate!
How it Works
All you have to do to be eligible to win is post a comment below regarding the topic in question. There is no right or wrong answer – just let us know your opinions, thoughts, or experiences (bad or good!). Be sure to post your comment by November 23rd to be eligible – we will randomly select a winner from the posted comments.
**Please provide your email address when posting your comment. Your email address will not be posted but we will need it to contact you if you’ve won!
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Our giveaways will be posted exclusively on our blog. They will not be advertised on SunnahStyle.com or via our Mailing List so be sure to subscribe to our blog feed to stay updated.
as salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh,
We’ll start out the comments…Sunnah Style is based in Toronto, Canada which is the largest city in Canada and has a large Muslim population to match. There are many masjids and tons of Islamic stores for clothing, books, halal meat, and groceries, alhamdulillaah.
It is completely normal to see sisters dressed in hijab anywhere you go in Toronto and they are rarely bothered. Sisters who wear niqab are not as common and are usually not bothered by anything more than a few stares.
We look forward to hearing about the community where you live!
As salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuhu , I am zainab Amatullaah. I am from the U.S. Which is not a islamic country. There are a pretty good amount of muslims here in the area I live in , Alhamdulliaah . As far as masjids there are currently any where from 4-5 which is spreaded through out the city. The sisters here do cover and there are lots who wear niqaab, me being one of them, Alhamdulliaah. There is a total lack of Islamic stores in the area in which I live. Lots of the sisters will go out of the city, travel to another city where there are more quality islamic stores in which to purchase their islamic clothing, materials, books etc. Or order their clothing on line , masha Allaah. However there is about 5 halal meat markets in which to purchase meat . No, Islamic schools . Most sisters choose to homeschool their children, do to the lack of islamic schools. For the most part the people here where I live are pretty accepting of the muslims, sisters who wear niqaab and those who do not. Every now and then you may recieve a strange stare, question or 2 or rude remark . But not that often. As for myself I really dont pay it much attention and I go on about my day. Shukrn, for allowing me to share what it is like where I live for our beloved brothers and sisters alike. May we all continue to be pleasing to Allaah ( subhaanahu wa ta aala) and to follow his way, Aameen. As salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuhu ( smiles)
Assalaamu alaikum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuh,
I live in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas and there are many Muslims in our area. We attend a local masjid called Allen Masjid, my husband is the Imaam there. Our community consists of a diverse group from many areas. The United States (of course), Yemen, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Ethiopia, Ghana (that’s us) and Guinea to name some.
Our community is very respectable to each others’ feelings and cultures. When we get together it is like the meeting at the United Nations. And the foods are so delicious and diverse—we really enjoy Ramadhaan.
The clothing is diverse, too; especially the sisters. The sisters wear all different styles. Some wear Salwar kameez, some wear jilbabs, some wear Indian saree or lehnga choli adapted to be Islaamically correct. Some sisters are more traditional and wear abayas and niqaab (that’s me – I looovvvee to wear black and I wear niqaab). It doesn’t seem to matter what each other wears, we all love each other for the pleasure of Allaah and as long as we’re covered we’re happy to be pleasing to Allaah ta baaraka wata ‘aala.
The Imaam teaches Hifz classes everyday for 2 hours after school to the children and he teaches Qur’an and Arabic to the brothers and sisters on separate days. Every first Friday of the month it is family night! and we get together for a Halaqah at the masjid with pot luck dinners. This past summer we had a cook out for the children that participated in the summer school program and we all had a great time.
The community is currently engaging in a huge project to build a masjid. It will be the only one in Allen, TX ever built from the ground up. During Ramadhaan our small community worked very hard and raised more than $200,000 towards the purchase of the acreage for the new masjid. Alhamdu-lillaah they now are about to close on a property, in shaa Allaah.
Our website is: http://www.allenmasjid.net please visit it at your convenience. Please make du’a for our community to continue to grow in iemaan and cohesiveness for the pleasure of Allaah.
Allaah be with you.
Wassalaamu alaikum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuh.
As’salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh!
Bismillah, i live in the busy city of London, Uk which is a non- muslim country however the general public appear to be fine with the muslim population alhamdulillah, although occassionally there are rude comments and remarks made by the minority of people and also there is the problem with the press scrutinising Islaam and belittling our religion which is tough at times as the thoughts of the press reflects on the public and it is usually at these harsh times that brothers and sisters get verbally abused by these people.
In London it is very common to see sisters of all ages wearing full hijaab and there are quite a significant number of sisters that also wear the niqaab alhamdulillah, it has become widely accepted within the community and it is very nice to meet so many sisters everyday alhamdulillah because without the hijaab it is hard to tell if someone is a muslimah or not unless they greet you with salaam! The sisters here do have a wide range of styles, some sisters like the colourful and stylish approach whilst others like myself prefer the plain and simple hijaab but alhamdulillah like another sister said, we are all sisters in the deen and our aim is to please Allaah and only He knows our intentions subhanAllaah.
In most areas of London Islamic book stores and Islamic clothing stores are available, some areas have more affordable prices than others but generally the stores are not too difficult to locate, in some areas there are even two or three stores in one street alhamdulillah and there are also some brothers that hold Islamic market and da’wah stalls where they sell Islamic books, clothing and perfume, alhamdulillah.
Masjids are also located in all parts of London, there are large noticeable masjids and then there are the smaller masjids and there is one masjid that i am aware of in London that even announces the Athaan on speakers for two or three of the Salaats mashaAllah!
JazaakAllahu Khairan wa BaraakAllahu feek.
Was’salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh.
Assalamu Alaikum,
I live in America. I don’t live in an area with very many Muslims. I am the only Muslim on my block or within the area itself. I am a muslima with a big heart for Islam. I would love to live somewhere where there was a bigger Muslim population, but insha’allah, God wil allow other muslims to see that its alright to move somewhere and to begin daawah. in my area, I sent out flyers for people to read about Islam. I was really into islam. At my school, I am the only hijaabi or girl who wears a headscarf. Its hard because people don’t really understand and the muslims at my school don’t really care as much about islam. Its not many places around my area to buy islamic garb. I love abayas and hijabs. I want to wear niqab, insha’allah. No stores around me have niqabs available for me to buy. I love niqab. I will wear it, insha’llah when I go off to university in 2 months. My whole family is Christian, so Islam is something new to them. Its something new, and insha’allah, they will understand Islam and understand the beliefs of Islam. There isn’t much of a muslim community where I am at right now. The university I will be attending has a muslim population out of this world. I am so happy about this. Subhan’allah!! I don’t hate that I don’t live around Muslims because I have a chance for non-muslims to see that Muslims are regular people too, and that we do co-exist in any neighborhood. Insha’allah, I wish that more muslims were around because Eids wouldn’t be as lonely. I go to the prayers, but it isn’t very huge when I get back home. Its like any other day…to be honest. At Christmas time its big for my family, but Eids are nothing compared to their holidays. I just hope one day that I will have a chance to see a BIG EID and be apart of it. Its one of our holidays in Islam and it should be celebrated. I love being Muslim and if it means that I have to live alone with many Muslims then so be it because Allah is always there to comfort me in my solitude. But, I would love to be around Muslims because it keeps me on my toes and the holidays are as ……lonely. I love the mesjid, but there isn’t really one close to go to….but insha’allah, all this will change.
As salamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu,
I am german but I study currently in France.
Befor going to France I thought there would be much more muslims than in germany, but I was totally wrong! But I guess its because of the city I am living in here.. It is very small and the muslim community is very small too. At my whole university are just two girls with hijab, in the whole city just two ladies who wear the jelbeb, french-muslim garment being a skirt with a huge khimar. As far as I know there is only one lady who wears niqab and the others wear mostly more western/modern clothes.
When looking for garments, books etc. you should order online or travel to the next bigger city which is Bordeaux.
As a muslim girl I provoce a lot of attention when walking through the city but al hamdoulilah I have been in much “muslim-unfriendlier” places than here.
Acctually, I really wish to go one day to a place where people will see me as someone “normal” :)
I wish all my sisters all the best and a blessed eid.
Ma salamah, Laura
As salam alaikum. I live in southern California, and it’s a very diverse area, mashallah. I’m happy to live here. People seem to be pretty accepting here, though I do get people looking at me sometimes. There is a large active Turkish Muslim community here that is involved in a lot of interfaith work. There are also a lot of Pakistani Muslims also. It is not easy to find proper Islamic clothing here, I have to order online. The (non-Turkish) Islamic community here is not very active, they have classes at the mosque here, but the imam is always saying the Jumah khutbah that he wants more people to come and get involved.
I think there are a lot of sisters wearing the hijab, but very few wearing jilbab/abaya and fewer wearing niqab, but I’ve seen a few, mashallah.
As salaamu alaikunna wa rahmahtullah wa barakaatu…..
MashaAllaah, I live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in the United States. Concerning my community then our majid is al-Masjid al-Awwal located at 1911 Wylie Avenue in the Hill District. Our masjid is the oldest masjid in Pennsylvania. Since 1933. We are the only masjid in the city upon the pristine dawahtus salafiyyah. MashaAllaah. My father in law Aboo Siddiq Mansoor Ahmed ( rahimuhullaah) was the imam until he returned to Allaah seven years ago. I have been married to his son for 14 years mashaAllaah.
We are a small community compared to cities such as Philadelphia. We have around 60 families who attend regularly and whose hearts are attached to our masjid for the sake of Allaah. The majority of the women here wear niqaab. We find that there is no problem with that as we travel around the city walhamdullilah.
We are blessed to have classes every weekend on the manhaj and aqeedah. Our imam is Aboo Abdil Fataah Salaah Brooks.
One remarkable thing about our masjid is that we have an old building which is quite large. It used to be a public library and is a historic landmark. However, we had a problem with a very ancient boiler system and since we are a community of modest means we were not able to pay for repairs and we had no heat for 5 winters. We continued to come for classes as well as for salatul Jumuah using propane heaters and covering with blankets and our coats. Nothing ever stopped. Allaah allowed a very special muslim to give us 25 thousand dollars to repair the heating system. we dont know who this person is but may Allaah allow him/her to see His Face on that Day. ameen.
We have a loving community of sisters. We host fundraisers by selling dinners to help pay the masjid utility bills and to have funds to host wonderful Eid celebrations after the prayers. Ours is a family oriented community, people who have visited us have said that they have felt very much at home here. They feel the love and would return inshaAllaah.
We have iftar every single night in Ramadan before the Taraweeh prayers, our masjid is alive for lack of a better term. People come from other cities to celebrate the Eid with us.
I am blessed to be here. I think that it is important to be a part of a community and be active in it and be known. One day we will die and we wish for someone to know us and who will wash our bodies and who will pray Janazah over us.
What I love about my community is EVERYTHING. From the classes – and the admin of our masjid are studious brothers who have studied the arabic language and who have sat with the students of knowledge and who have direct access to the ulema. MashaAllaah. I have not learned more about my deen except here in our aqeedah and manhaj classes, and I have been muslim since 1977. MashaAllaah. So if you are ever in the Pittsburgh area please visit us and bow down with the believers here. InshaAllaah. You will feel the love. MashaAllaah
Umm Saalih
Wa ‘Alaikum as-Salaam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh
Maa shaa Allaah walHamdulillah my sister……..you make me wanna be there! Where I live, in Hartford Connecticut, you may be able to count the Salafis on one hand. There are no Salafi Masjids which means no Salafi Community. I have seen only one sister who covers correctly (besides myself with the niqab and proper abaya, gloves, etc…) since I have been here, which has been about 3 years and believe me, I do get the staredown when I go places. It is wonderful to hear of the communities upon Ad-Dawatus Salafiyyah that have the studious brothers who give so freely of themselves for the Pleasure of Allaah subhaanahu wa ta’aala and keep contact with the Ulemaa, having the love for the brotherhood and sisterhood! InshaAllah one day soon for my ibn and me…………………….!
Your sister in Islam
Jameelah Iman
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu
I am Aisha, from Romania.First of all I want to congratulate all of the staff at Sunnah Style, it is such a joy to see that you are promoting niqab and very modest clothing, aswell as large sizes.As I was saying i am Romanian but I left my country Alhamdulillah and I live in UK now with my husband that is Saudi.My country is pretty hostile toward muslims and we are very few, maybe 800 in the whole country(22 milion ppl).The sisters here don’t cover properly, very very few are wearing correct islamic attire.It;s true, we lack clothing stores and such but many of the sisters have arabic husbands that can bring abayas from their countries.Many of them are not convinced about it, many don;t really care and many are misguided.The norm here is something very colorful, blouse+pants and a hijab also many of them are not wearing hijab due to the impossibility of having a job or because many of them are young and still living with the family that doesn’t allow them.Overall Islam is pretty poor in Romania, but I still hope for better, by the grace of Allah everything is possible.
I moved in Uk 4 months ago and from the 1st day started wearin niqab.It was pretty hard at the beginning but after 2-3 weeks I got used to it and I love it!It helped me very much to become more kind and shy.The situation in the city I live(Sheffield) is pretty ok, many muslims and the majority of the sisters are wearing correct attire or at least they struggle to do so mashallah/There are few niqabis, me another english sister, few saudi sisters that study here.What saddens me is that I didn;t succeed to have a relationship with the sisters here…I had a very bad surprise for Eid, the arab sisters rules out the reverts…so I was kinda shocked…but then the revert sisters are very busy with their families or studies and I feel lonely as I have no friend except my husband(who is away at school or library most of the day).I know they have some activities cause there are like 7 mosques in the city and some Islamic centres, but I really don;t know what they are up to.It;s sad when you see each community has it;s own mosque and they dontl try to mend or they dontl have activities…I am glad to read that other sisters have a nice environment and nice “family” feeling in their mosques.I know I sound desperate but i am such a friendly person and I really need to feel like I am living in a muslim community, inshallah things will go better:)
I love you all for the sake of Allah, maybe it would be a good idea to form an online community here:DIt would be nice to know you all
Salam sister Aisha,
i really understand how you feel SubhanaAllah! I feel the same way, that’s what i mean when i said the Muslims/masjids in my city are divided. When I became more religious and started to cover up more, I basically lost the one freind I had in this city i’m living in and now I literally have no one I can actually call a freind. So I understand the loneliness you speak of. I don’t know what is wrong with our Ummah, I feel like sometimes when I even say Asalamu Alaykum to someone they just look at me like i’m crazy or something for saying salam to them. Anywho sister Aisha, i’ll be your freind if you be my freind…lol InshaAllah. And just in case you are interested, here is a website for muslim sisters to network and connect just for Allah’s sake. sisterszone.com,
love all of you for Allah’s sake!
Asalamu Alaykum,
I live in the U.S as well. It is not a Islamic country unfortunately. The city I live in has many Muslims and many different masjids all around the city, however I don’t think the Muslims are very united. As for sisters, yes there are many who wear the proper Hijab and some even wear Niqab, but unfortunately the ones who do not cover up seem more to me, just my opinion…Allahu A’lam. And I think the sisters who wear the niqab are given a hard time by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, and i’m talking from experience. I don’t wear Niqab anymore because of the many discouragements and harassments i received especially from family members as well as non-Muslims. I was so troubled to the point I developed doubts about my reasons for wearing Niqab and then I eventually ended up taking it off and I regret it sometimes. I feel like i have in a way failed and gave in to Shaydan and to people.
There are Islamic stores and many Islamic bookstores. But I still like shopping online because it is more convenvient.
Salam:) hope i win!
assalaam alikum wa rahmatullaah wa barakaatuhu..
i am Amina,from the island nation,Maldives.
My country is one of the 100% Muslim populated countries Masha Allaah.
i live in the capital,mal’e.We have a lot of mosques in mal’e,,i believe more than like 15 mosques in this 2 kilometer island.And not even nearly as much actin\vities as we should have going on in mosques.Sad,but true.
A lot of sisters do wear hijab,but sadly,not properly.
I believe that is because most of our sisters follow Islam as part of their culture.
I am a niqaabi and am often stared at and sometimes ridiculed..
I have been wearing hijab from a very young age,so i am used to being stared at,and ofcourse there are those ridiculous questions like,dont you feel hot??????
sad that we Muslims tend to forget more often than we should that it is a way severe heat of tomorrow that we are trying to find coolness from today..
But recently,more and more sisters have started wearing abayas and and niqaabis are Masha Allaah increasing too.
As i mentioned before,because following Islam really for what it is,it is so much easier to get western style clothes here.its a tough getting to buy proper Islamic clothing here.so i usually make my own clothes..quite a few times,i have looked and drooled over beautiful abayas and niqaabs,and made ones like that for myself..
Islamic books are available here in some places.
As i am 7 months pregnant now,all my abayas have grown too fit to be appropriate to wear outside.
i have not been able to sew much,as a result,currently have only one dress that i can fit into,lol!!
so you can see that it is quite a bit of trouble getting good islaming clothing here,good quality ones are impossible!
anyway.i love your website and have come here quite often!
your site is great masha Allaah,keep up the good work!
jazakumullaah khaira!
your sister is islam,
Amina
Western Australia is where I call home. There are quite a few muslims here and if you live here long enough you pretty much know everyone! Alhamdulillah we have masaajids, halal butchers, halal food outlets & Islamic Schools within reasonable driving distances in the metropolitan area. Most universities also have prayer rooms for students and one mall in Perth city has a wudhu & prayer room, which is great Alhamdulillah. There is a growing market in Islamic clothing and books. Reason why I shop online though is because I’m quite fussy when it comes to abayas and so far Sunnahstyle is ‘my style’ 100%. Its pretty common seeing sisters with hijaab and depending where you shop people generally dont bat an eyelid to niqaabi’s but as always there are exceptions.
F. Syaid