I wanted to share a fantastic recipe for an all natural face mask/scrub!
Although it isn't really an islamic principle, I think that using natural products fits really well within our faith... and since this recipe uses honey, which is Sunnah... so thought you might like it!!
My skin is sensitive so will react to pretty much EVERY face mask/ scrub in the UK shops. The ones that my skin tends to be better with are those with less chemicals and more natural products in. Unfortunately, those are the high end products, with a price that can cause potential lethal harm to your poor purse...
It got me thinking, why spend a fortune on a product made from natural products when I could just use natural products themselves?
And here is the result of my research!
The secret to hydrated skin is to .... DRINK WATER! Lots of it! Before you layer on moisturiser after moisturiser, make sure you 're hydrating your body well !!
I also came up with this recipe, which I just tried on today, and I would not lie to you, my skin is actually glowing!! I'm calling this face scrub 'Le Naturel'
What you will need, you will probably already have in your cupboards: 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of nutmeg 2 teaspoons of tumeric 2 teaspoons of baking soda 1.5 tables spoons of milk 2 table spoons of honey
At the end, your mixture should look like this:
Apply on your skin after having rinced it with warm water. It may be quite runny until it starts drying. Leave on your skin for around 5 minutes, give or take, or when it's completely dry. Rince with warm water. You will notice the exfoliating effect of the spices! Dry and apply your usual moisturiser!
TADAH!!!
Let me know how you get on!! It's meant to be really good for fighting acne as well as just giving your skin some glow!
When Joanna and Safira from Turning Point Academy contacted me a few weeks ago about
the open day, and asked me to talk about my favourite part of the Qu’ran I knew
immediately which one I would be talking about. I prepared this talk which I am
sharing with you now.
“My favourite Ayat
is a verse or ayat taken from the
chapter- or surat- An Nur, meaning
the surat of light.
This Chapter is often source of reflection as it contains
guidance on many subject matters, such as modesty, punishment of sins and
family laws and rulings.
It’s the 24th Surah in the Qu’ran and it contains
64 ayats.
The general consensus amongst scholars is that this chapter
was revealed shortly before the battle of the trenches, in the year 5 AH.
Anyway, my favourite verse from the whole of this chapter
and actually from the whole of the Quran is the 35th of the chapter
and called Ayat-An-Nur- the light verse.
Here is a link to a Youtube video of the verse
Bismillah Irahman Iraheem
Allah is the Light of the heavens
and the earth.
The parable of His Light is a
niche wherein is a lamp—
the lamp is in a glass, the glass
as it were a pearly(white) star—
lit from (the oil of) a blessed
olive tree,
neither eastern nor western,
whose oil almost glows,
though fire should not touch it.
Light upon light.
Allah guides to His Light
whomever He wishes.
Allah presents examples for
mankind,
and Allah has knowledge of all
things.
There are many reasons why this is my favourite verse.
Firstly, I think it evoked an echo of the idea of divinity I
grew up believing in. The content and the style of this Ayat seemed familiar to
me. Before converting to Islam, I was a Christian, first Catholic then sort of
Protestant. But from a very young age, I had faith. A faith in God, which I
always visualised as a light.
To a certain extent, it may be due to the history of art I
had been accustomed too, which represented God and the Divine as a bright
light. But mostly, this was a feeling that I had deep down in my heart, this
notion of God as light. He is light. That was what I believed.
In my late teenage years, I started writing my own prayers
and sometimes even worship songs for a friend of mine who had a christian band
. All of those prayers and songs reffered to being kept into God’s light, being
guided to God light …
It was a notion that I really related too.
So, I can remember the exact moment I read this ayat for the
first time. It was shortly after my conversion, and I had decided to sit and
read the Qu’ran, letting my fingers ‘randomly’ pick a page to read from. I say
randomly in inverted comas, because I think most of you know here, that when
you have faith, you realise that nothing ever happens at random.
So anyway, I opened the Qu’ran at Surat An Nur and my eyes
fell immediately on those words. Let me tell you, I was in absolute awe! It was
a moment of illumination for me. For those who were here last week, and who
hear Lauren Booth talking about her conversion, she used the expression ‘
sitting in a beam of light’ at the moment she realised the existence of God…
Well that was exactly how I felt, I was almost hearing a choir of Angels in my
ears and my eyes werelike – open as
wide as you can imagine. I can remember gasping and my husband asking if there
was something wrong with me, so I read out the chapter to him and he smiled.
Alhamdulillah.
It felt to me like I had struck Gold! It felt like all my
life, I had had this prayer in my heart which I was trying to put into words,
and that it materialised itself before me, written in the Quran thousands of
years before I was even born – a prayer that was dear to my heart.
The other thing which I felt was beautiful about this verse
was its poetic and allegorical style. It painted a really visual impression of
God’s powers, while still admitting that it was nowhere near what we humans
could ever compare it too.
It uses the words, star light, blessed olive tree, an oil
which glows without any heat, an illuminated glass. It is announced as a
parable, we know that we are nowhere near the truth of what Allah’s power may look like, but with the use of those
words, we know it is something of incomparable beauty.
Now, let’s just think about the concept behind the words.
The first concept we grasp here is Light.
What would the world be without light?
Without Light, there
would be nothing. Light is the source of life. Day light brings nutrition to
the ground we walk on, to the plants we use to feed ourselves, clothe ourselves
and build our homes. So what better way to describe God, than by a Light- but
brighter and more powerful than any light we will ever know. God created light,
and therefore there was a creation, our creation. God is the reason behind
creation. God, is life. Shubannahlah
What else does this Ayat evoke? Stars, and star light.
Stars, throughout the years, have reflected light to guide us humans, when the
sun was set and there was no way to know which way to go.
Our ancestor would look up to the sky, draw maps from the
stars which they could see, and therefore were able to carry on with their
journeys in the dark.
When all else was darkness, the stars shone to guide them. What
do we humans have, when we feel lost and in darkness?
Faith. That’s right,
having God in our hearts can guide us out of any darkness. And Islam in
particular has created a map for us to follow. A guide to a better life. Do you
know what I’m talking about? The Qu’ran. Subhannalah
Guidance is exactly what the Qu’ran is all about, and this
is so beautifully represented in Surat- An- Nur, the Surat of Guidance.
Alhamdullilah.
Well I hope I haven’t lost you now- no pun intended, this
all made sense to me as I was writing my thoughts down.
I’m getting close to the end of my little bit now.
I just wanted to elaborate on one more phrase.
‘ Allah guides to his light whom he wills’
Alhamdulillah, what a blessing to have been chosen and
guided into his light. I can’t begin to express my gratitude. Out of all the
places I could be, out of all the things one could be doing, good or bad, with
all the ignorance which leads so many people away from God, I am here. Sharing
and gaining knowledge and peace with some amazing sisters, with my best friend,
with my new friends sharing what I love about my faith, Islam.
I have been working hard on a talk for turning point next Friday Inshallah. It is open day and a few of us sisters are talking about the beauty of the Qu'ran.
I will be uploading my notes on here soon as they share some good insight on being a revert.
To give you a sample of it now, I wanted to share a poem I wrote and will be reading Friday Inshallah.
I would love to know what you all think.
It is based on my interpretation of the Ayat An Nur in the Qu'ran.
Flame of Faith
By Fiona Cross Chowdhury
Like a pearl in it’s shell
My faith grows in Allah’s nacre,
His guidance shapes my heart and soul
Into a gem which is called Iman.
Like a flower in the sun,
My faith is blooming under Allah’s light,
From a small grey seed to a colourful scented rose,
I would be nothing without his nourishment.
Like the most precious jewel I have ever seen,
I have been given a priceless gift,
A gift I will forever treasure,
In a chest made of glass, for all to see, for all to share.
Like a star shining in the sky,
Islam has guided me into Allah’s light
I am rich because I have been blessed by knowledge,
I am rich because the oil of a blessed olive tree
Lit a flame in my heart and in my soul.
A flame made of pearl, made of light and made of Gold.
The flame of Faith.
I'm attaching a picture of something which always makes me cry a little- of awe more than anything... (source: www.technobuffalo.com)
I also came up with this recipe, which I just tried on today, and I would not lie to you, my skin is actually glowing!! I'm calling this face scrub 'Le Naturel'
