Sexual abuse. Just the words evoke disgust and revulsion in us. “It cannot possibly happen in Muslim communities”, we tell ourselves. “Certainly not in our community”. 

Sad as this reality is, sexual abuse of children can exist in all communities, including ours. According to stats of the American Psychological Association (APA), “Children of all ages, races, ethnicities, cultures, and economic backgrounds are vulnerable to sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse occurs in rural, urban, and suburban areas, affects both boys and girls, and occurs in all kinds of neighborhoods and communities, in countries around the world.“ 

It is a difficult reality to grasp and an even more difficult subject to talk about. The problem is that experts agree that people who prey on children thrive in an atmosphere of secrecy and denial. Sexual predators have confidence that parents in a community such as ours will not consider this to be a risk and therefore...

Mental illness affects the whole family and yet many family members are completely unprepared for dealing with the effects on the family and often do not know how to best support their loved ones through this challenge.

In this session, we offer basic guidance on recognizing mental illness, what to do and how to recognize the limits of your abilities. 

Sometimes despite our best efforts what we want to say does not transfer to the listener. The impact of our communication is very different from what we intended.

What does good communication look like?

How do we develop good communication skills? 

We discuss these and many other questions in this live session.

Recording of a live session in Orlando for Doctors and Medical Students on Communication Skills 

Recording of a live session on Parents as Leaders of the household. What roles they play and the impact of parental leadership on children. 

Parents today are more concerned than ever about raising children who are happy and well adjusted. Yet the stats show that mental and emotional wellbeing amongst youth is at an all time low, at least in North America.

So what are we doing wrong? Why are our well-meaning strategies having the opposite effect of what we intend for our children? 

We answer these and other questions in this recording from a live presentation.

Few things in life can bring us as much joy in life as having fulfilling and close relationships with those who matter most to us – our families. Feeling connected to, being loved and supported by those whom we love has been called akin to experiencing heaven on earth. Maintaining family relationships is not only an integral part of our Deen, it is also a key to having a positive experience in this world. While essential for worldly and ultimate happiness, maintaining a strong family is less than easy in modern society. 

Families everywhere are feeling the stress of conflicting needs and schedules of dual working parents, the shortage of time and the pressures of living in an environment that often contradicts the values they try to nurture at home. Ours is also the first generation to experience the reality of mobile technologies that are always switched on. 

The Internet has expanded our horizons like never before and opened up a world of...

While mothers have always been celebrated as being vital in the upbringing of children, popular culture and even science, until recently, has mostly ignored the crucial role that father’s play in the healthy development and success of children. Attachment literature, therapists and parenting experts alike have focused on the child’s relationship with the mother, maintaining that it is this relationship that predicts whether a child will be emotionally and mentally healthy and well adjusted in life. While this is true, it does not mean that the role of the father is any less important. Thankfully, research has recently begun to recognize the different but equally important role that fathers play in their family. 

Fathers foster emotional intelligence and confidence in children 

According to the American report “Fathers and Their Impact on Children’s Well-Being“: “Even from birth, children who have an involved father are more...

It is said that happy families look a lot like each other whereas those that are unhappy are each unhappy in their own way. In this episode we talk about intentionally strengthening our families. This begins by recognizing what characteristics families have that makes them healthy and strong. 

Do you wonder why you react differently to people who may behave in a similar way. being understanding of one person and annoyed at the other? Your reaction is probably based on the balance in your emotional bank account. 

One of the things that sets newly weds apart from couples who have been married for a while is how they respond to a “bid for connection” from their partner. Dr. John Gottman, the renowned marriage expert explains that a bid for connection is any small or big gesture made by one spouse to get the attention or affection of the other. 

Bids for connection are small everyday occurrences like calling your spouse just to check in during the day, commenting on something you read or heard, asking for an opinion or making an affectionate gesture. 

Spouses make these bids for connection many many times throughout the day. Bids can be in the form of questions or everyday comments such as “how do I look”, “did you see that?”, “what did you think of the show”, “it is cold today”. They can also be in the form of a gesture, a touch or simply looking at the other for a response. 

In the beginning, it is...