Barakah Roots

Essays on faith, motherhood, memory, and belonging.

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A warm watercolor illustration of a family practicing appreciation and gentle guidance at home. In the foreground, a Muslim mother embraces her smiling son as he completes his schoolwork, celebrating his effort with quiet affection. In the background, a father offers calm instruction to another child while a young girl listens nearby. Golden afternoon sunlight fills the cozy room, where books, plants, a lantern, and cups of tea create a peaceful atmosphere. The scene reflects encouragement, mercy, family connection, and the balance between recognizing effort and offering loving correction.

The Missing Ten Percent

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A soft, warm watercolor illustration in a gentle children's book aesthetic showing a Muslim mother in a long cream-colored gown and a dusty rose hijab. She stands in side profile, looking thoughtfully into a large full-length mirror in a bedroom filled with amber afternoon sunlight. Her hand rests gently on her waist as she contemplates her reflection. In the background, elements of a full, busy life are visible: a neatly folded stack of laundry on a chair, a children's book titled "The Little Muslimah" on a nightstand, and a framed Quranic reminder hanging on the wall that reads "And rely upon Allah; and sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs (33:3)." Subtle, magical light effects and star dust trail softly across the foreground.

I See Myself in Her

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A warm watercolor illustration depicting a mother building systems to reduce daily friction. Prepared fruit, organized groceries, reusable containers, and helping children reflect the unseen accommodations many women create to navigate chronic fatigue, brain fog, and limited cognitive bandwidth.

The Neurodivergent Tax

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Muslim woman in a hijab sitting by the sea at sunset in a colorful watercolor illustration, reflecting on midlife, caregiving, and renewal.

The Inner Thoughts of a Perimenopausal Woman

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A vibrant watercolor illustration of a festive all-women's Muslim pool gathering. In the foreground, a large buffet table is filled with samosas, fresh fruit, popcorn, and drinks. Women wearing beautiful, colorful hijabs chat inside a decorated living room, while one mother looks out a large window to watch children happily swimming in a backyard pool with a pink flamingo float.

When Everyone Speaks the Language of Invisible Work

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  • Soft green-toned collage illustrating the invisible labor of motherhood in a large Muslim family: a hijabi mother holding papers while children move around the kitchen, children helping wash dishes together, and a mother folding laundry quietly. Botanical sketches and soft neutral colors create a warm, reflective atmosphere about caregiving, teamwork, mental load, and everyday family life.
    Motherhood Unfiltered,  Reflections,  Spiritual Perspectives,  United Arab Emirates

    Nobody Claps for the Mother Who Remembered Everything

    May 13, 2026 / No Comments

    Nobody claps for the mother who remembered everything. Usually, they only notice the one thing she forgot. It’s the child suddenly announcing at 9 PM that they need green cardboard for school tomorrow. It’s the “Mama, did you sign this?” paper appearing exactly when everyone is already wearing shoes. But beneath those frantic moments is a vast, silent ocean of things that did happen because you remembered them: the favorite snack you bought, the way everyone’s different food preferences live permanently inside your brain, and the small emotional tensions you noticed before they ever became arguments. I don’t think most families do this maliciously. Invisible labor becomes invisible precisely because…

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    A warm, sunlit illustration of a Muslim mother in a hijab reflecting at a table with a notebook, while her five children safely play and prepare snacks in the cozy, golden-lit background of their living room.

    Evidence

    June 27, 2026
    A cinematic, warm-toned photograph of a woman from behind, wearing a heavy, cream-colored prayer dress (isra). Her hands are raised in the opening Takbir of prayer, facing toward a soft, hazy light streaming through a window. The background is softly blurred, suggesting a domestic interior with the golden glow of a Sharjah afternoon. The image is framed with elegant gold filigree corners, emphasizing the sacredness of the quiet, private moment.

    Finding Stillness on the Rug

    April 15, 2026
    Muslim woman in a hijab sitting by the sea at sunset in a colorful watercolor illustration, reflecting on midlife, caregiving, and renewal.

    The Inner Thoughts of a Perimenopausal Woman

    June 29, 2026
  • Warm collage illustrating the emotional atmosphere of womanhood, home, and financial vulnerability: a Muslim woman browsing rugs and fabric in a store, children resting on a worn family sofa, coffee and budgeting notes beside a calculator, a cozy lived-in couch with a laptop and tea, and a beautiful dream living room with new sofas and a large rug. The collage reflects the longing for softness, beauty, dignity, and emotional ease inside ordinary family life.
    Islam,  Marriage,  Motherhood Unfiltered,  Spiritual Perspectives,  United Arab Emirates

    The Quiet Vulnerability of Financial Dependence

    May 12, 2026 / No Comments

    Sometimes I stand holding an item in a store for far too long before quietly putting it back. Not necessarily because we cannot afford it. But because I am already mentally tired imagining how to explain why it matters. I think many women understand this feeling immediately. The small internal rehearsal. How to make the request sound reasonable enough. Necessary enough. Useful enough. Worth asking for. Especially when the thing is not pure survival. A notebook. A new prayer dress. Comfortable shoes. Skincare. An iced matcha. Containers you genuinely believe will finally organize your life this time. Tiny things. Tiny things that help tired women emotionally survive adulthood. And honestly,…

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    Vulnerability as a Woman’s Strength

    April 8, 2026
    A dramatic five-panel collage illustrating a first Umrah journey. The top panels show the Masjid al-Haram at night, a lonely desert highway at sunset, and the back of a woman in a black abaya. The bottom panels feature a car dashboard with a glowing 'Fuel Low' warning light and a pair of open hands raised in prayer before the Kaaba in Makkah. The imagery captures the transition from the vulnerability of a desert road trip to the spiritual sanctuary of the Haram.

    The Road to Makkah, My First Umrah and the Hijab in the Mataf

    April 12, 2026
    An open notebook rests on a rustic wooden table, its blank lined pages waiting to be filled. On top of the notebook lies a silver smartphone, its screen displaying a digital composite image: a miniature 3D model of the Kaaba, surrounded by a dense crowd of pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of the Masjid al-Haram. A black stylus pen rests in the crease of the open journal. In the foreground, the silver edge and black keys of a laptop keyboard are softly blurred, completing a quiet workspace setting that merges analog reflection with digital connection.

    The Eid Al-Adha 2026 Allah Chose for Me

    May 30, 2026
  • Warm collage capturing ordinary Muslim motherhood and faith-filled daily life: a missing white sock lying outdoors, hands on a steering wheel during a school run, soft morning sunlight in a quiet living room with plants, a woman holding Quran and prayer beads, and a calm breakfast moment with a child holding mugs. The images reflect the spirituality of ordinary Tuesdays, school-morning routines, and finding barakah in small repetitive moments.
    Faith,  Hadith,  Islam,  Motherhood Unfiltered,  Reflections,  United Arab Emirates

    Faith Is Also Built on Ordinary Tuesdays

    May 11, 2026 / No Comments

    I think when I was younger, I imagined faith would feel more cinematic than it actually does. I imagined spiritually strong people as calm and refreshed all the time. People who prayed every salah with perfect focus. People who read Quran peacefully for long stretches without interruption. People who woke up for tahajjud with glowing skin and emotional stability. I thought closeness to Allah would feel quiet and uninterrupted. But adulthood, especially motherhood, feels very different from that. On a Tuesday morning in Sharjah, faith sometimes looks like searching frantically for one specific white school sock while the clock is ticking and we should have left the house five minutes…

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    A vintage mixed-media collage centered around an antique world map, layered with torn papers, watercolor washes, old photographs of misty mountains and golden desert dunes, a brass compass, an old sailing ship, weathered keys and keyholes, gears, feathers, driftwood, pressed leaves, lace, and handwritten notes. The composition evokes themes of travel, memory, faith, belonging, and finding spiritual direction while journeying through a changing world.

    Finding Home in a Changing World

    July 13, 2026
    A warm, sunlit illustration of a Muslim mother and young daughter sitting together on a prayer rug beside an open Qur'an, looking out through a large window toward a busy city street. Golden afternoon light streams into the room, illuminating bookshelves and creating a peaceful atmosphere that symbolizes faith, reflection, and raising children with guidance rooted in the Qur'an rather than the changing values of the surrounding world.

    When Ordinary Stopped Looking Ordinary

    July 19, 2026
    A warm watercolor collage depicting a Muslim woman through seasons of faith and gratitude. She is shown making du'a at night, reflecting by a sunlit window with the Qur'an nearby, organizing a well-stocked pantry, reading the Qur'an during a quiet afternoon, embracing her children, sharing a peaceful family meal, and sitting in contemplation during the rain. Additional vignettes feature a glowing lantern, a cup of tea, and a tranquil garden path at sunrise. Soft earth tones, gentle light, and cozy home interiors evoke themes of answered prayers, everyday blessings, remembrance of Allah, and finding beauty in ordinary moments.

    After Allah Answers the Du’a

    July 12, 2026

About Me

Umm Abdallah

I’m an Indonesian mother of ten, now making a home in the Middle East. Most of my days are spent navigating the beautiful, heavy, and often messy reality of a large family and a body that requires me to move a little slower.

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