Mother of Mu'awiyah.

Khadijah: Assalamualaikum wa rahmatulahi wa barakatu sis! Thanks so much for agreeing to be a part of this small project, May Allah grant it success and may it unite and unify non-Muslims and Muslims all across the globe spreading the truth about our beautiful Islam. Ameen!!! Please, tell me about yourself (where are you from, what is your cultural background, likes and dislikes - does not have to be Islamic) 

Umm Mu'awiyah: WalAikumssalaamu Wa Rahmatuallahi Wa Barakaatuhu!!! InshaAllah this is beneficial to you and many others. MASHA'ALLAH I love what you're doing here may Allah swt reward you immensely for your efforts in giving dawaah this way :). I was born in raised in the Chicagoland area by a single mother. I am of African American decent. I really enjoy reading, cooking, studying world cultures and writing!

Khadijah: What kind of life(style) were you living prior to Islam? 

Umm Mu'awiyah: Prior to Islam I was living the life that any other pre-teen would. Getting into some occasional trouble at school, hanging out with friends and a few sports. I was raised in a Baptist/Evangelical household. We would attend church for Bible studies and services multiple times a week (I actually think my mom would send us just to get rid of us most of the time hhaha). In addition to that I always went to Christian summer camps and classes (not by choice might I add) which is probably one of the many reasons I'm Muslim now Alhamdulillah. When I was about 6 or 7 years old my mother abruptly stopped making us attend church and stopped going herself. I was very confused as to why she did this but when I later on in life asked her she said it was because there were a few particular church members involved in questionable activities (ie; dealing drugs, prostitution) who thought that just because you went to church you could still sin and makeup for it on Sundays. In addition to that I was a umm very rebellious child sometimes and was basically taught by members of the church that you could do whatever you wanted and just get "SAved" and God would forgive you and you'd automatically go to heaven without any consequences for sinning. And a few years later I began to question this ideology.

Khadijah : When and how did you discover about Islam? Were you religious before?

Umm Mu'awiyah: I first discovered Islam immediately after 9/11. Being that I grew up in the Chicago area there were tons of people of Arab descent and tons of Muslims also. And like the rest of ignorant America at the time I blamed the Muslims for what happened. However after having watched all the new broadcasts and articles during the aftermath of 9/11 I told myself if this is what Muslims really about "why is September 11th the first time something like this has happened? Muslims can't really be that bad of a people, can they? Why does everyone keep harassing these people? WHO are these people?" With my curiousity at a mere 12 years old I began to research things on the internet and ask many of the Muslims in my middle school about Islam. The more I learned about Islam the more I wanted to know. My parents weren't all that surprised because I was always one to learn and study about other cultures and religions. And both my father (who at the time was in the military) and stepfather who worked as a correctional officer knew more about Islam than the average American did since they were exposed to Islam through their line of work, were more supportive and less apprehensive than others. So in September of 2003 I summoned up the courage to email my local masjid and tell them that I was interested in Islam. A brother promptly emailed be back and told me that there were having a lecture on a Friday night at the masjid and to come and someone would give me more information upon arriving. I chickened out at first so I emailed the man again and we rescheduled. When I finally went SUBHANALLAH WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE!! My stepfather walked me in and we were both greeted by a man who knew my stepfather from the jail and we explained why we were there. The brother then went to get the other brother and I was introduced to a lovely sister named Asmaa after having been greeted with a nice hug from her and we went to the womens section of the masjid. Immediately upon entering I noticed a bunch of beautiful women with gorgeous garments. And I said to myself wait, theres blacks, whites, latinos, arabs whats wrong with these people? I had never seen such a diverse group of people in harmony in once place at one time in my entire life!!! I was given basic dawah and introduced to a few younger sisters my age and their mothers. I became very close with an Algerian/Scottish Muslim family who lived very close to me and they strted to pick me up for the Friday night lectures and Islamic Sunday school every week. After about 3 months of studying Islam and getting dawah on December 24, 2003 after the Jummah Khutbah I took my shahada ALHAMDULILLAHI RABBIL AL AMIN!

Khadijah: What does guidance mean to you?

Umm Mu'awiyah: Guidance is following the path that Allah swt has laid out for us by submitting to all he has willed with no hesistations or questions asked. Raditu Billahi Rabba Wa Bil Islami deena, Wa Bimuhammadin sal Allahu alayhi Wa salaam (I've accepted Allah as my Lord and Islaam as my way of life and Muhammad peace bu upon him as Allah's Prophet and Messanger.)

Khadijah: What do you think about modesty in today's world? 

Umm Mu'awiyah: Modesty in todays world in my views is almost nonexistant. Its as if nothing is ever left to the eye anymore and no one has any shame about anything. In the days of the Prophet Muhammad saws it was completely inappropriate and normal to see a woman dressed in a top that shows her breasts or transparent clothing. Unfortunately now it is the complete norm. As a Muslimah I dress in a way not to attract the opposite sex but to make them look away because only my husband and family should be allowed to see my beauty. Modesty isn't just how you dress though it is how you act. Acting modest consists of refraining from inappropriate conversations with people of both sexes and discussing or doing certain things in private.

Khadijah: If you could tell your non-Muslim friends 3 things about Islam, what would they be ?

Umm Mu'awiyah:I would tell my friends that Muslim women have more rights than most think. I would also tell them that everything isn't forbidden for Muslims, just the things that are forbidden are forbidden for a very good reason to save oneself from sins and the Shaytaan and refraning from many "normal" societal activities could be the difference in going to Jannatul Furdosi and Jahannam, so its worth it to refrain from many things. The last thing I would tell them is that before judging or assuming anything about Muslims go to a masjid or spend time with a Muslim family and then make your opinions since 98% of what people think or hear about Islaam is the farthest from the true Islaam.

Khadijah: Tell us what the Sunnah and Hadith means . (i know you know this but insha'Allah it will be good for the nonmuslims!)

Umm Mu'awiyah: The Sunnah is the way of our last Prophet Muhammad sallahhu alayhi wa salaam and his companions (raddi Allahu anum) and a Hadith is the many words of the Prophet and his companions as recorded in the Quraan and Sunnah.

Khadijah: What kind of advice would you give to those who attack Islam and slander our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) ?

Umm Mu'awyiah: As to anyone who would attack our Prophet Muhammad Sallahu Alayhi Wa Salaam I would first make duaa for them because most of the people who attack our Prophet don't have the slightest clue as to who he really was and what it was the he stood for. They're simply ignorant of him which isn't always their fault since most aren't curious enough to question all it is that they see in the media. I'd strongly suggest that they ask a Muslim or someone with unbaised view about our Messenger and to research with books and articles written by knowledgeable people whether it be a scholar, imaan, unbaised author etc.