October 2011 Editor’s Letter
Assalamu alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barkatu.
May the peace and blessings of Allah SWT be unto you.
Welcome to the Health & Wellness Issue of MBMuslima! We are so glad you found us. We pray that you leave this issue feeling appreciative, refreshed, inspired, creative, and faithful. In May 2011, we brought you the ‘Healthy Hearts’ issue, focusing on Mental, Spiritual, and Physical well-being. Why then did I deem it necessary to also include a ‘Health & Wellness’ issue in the 2011 editorial calendar? As Yvonne Maffei, founder and chef of My Halal Kitchen elegantly points out in “A Food Revolution for Muslims” (page 12), you don’t need to be a medical expert to notice the health concerns amongst Muslims.
As Muslims, we should be the healthiest individuals on the earth. Our beloved Prophet (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah subhana ‘wa ta3la be upon him) told us that: “There are two blessings which many people waste: health and free time.”
While there are many physical health, fitness , and nutritional tips that I would normally love to throw into this letter, I am going to focus on a very important, often overlooked way to stay healthy. So what is this simple tip that many of us (including myself) overlook? What is the tip that you opened this issue to reveal? Taking a break.
While today’s digital world allows us to be more productive, get this done faster, and multitask more than ever, many of us have a really hard time taking a break. The reality? Allah suhana ‘wa ta3la did not create us to be these ‘superhuman’, do-it-all individuals. Don’t get me wrong—we should certainly always strive to do better. That’s actually the beautiful thing about Islam. It doesn’t ask us to be perfect. It just asks us to continuously rise up and elevate ourselves. By realizing our limits given to us by Allah subhana ’wa ta3la and giving ourselves the break needed to rejuvenate and do better.
Keep a few things in mind while reading this issue of MBMuslima, inshaAllah:
Take a break. Refresh. Rejuvenate. Come back 5x better, inshaAllah.
JazakAllah khair. Enjoy the issue. 
-Sister Yasmin Essa, Founder of MBMuslima
Sit Down. Stay a while. Read the full issue here:
