Primark haul

There was a bit of a sale down at Primark when we went this weekend just gone (31st March).
Here’s what I bought:

Clockwise from left: Black and white bag with a tassel, coral/brown beaded necklace, mock royal engagement ring in style of K.Middy, a diamond shaped necklace with purple stones on a long chain, pink feather necklace. Underneath: navy and white dress (not for me though)!

Insha Allah, I shall be reviewing these items in the future where you will eb bale to have a closer look at the items.

What do you think of the mini haul? See anything you likes?!

Review: The Bay Leaf Cafe

Salaams everyone :)

So we went to the Bay Leaf Café in Tottenham Street for some lunch. Seating was available downstairs, as the café is not huge. The workers seemed really friendly.
I got the vegetarian lasagne which had spinach, red and green peppers, carrots and mushrooms, with plenty of tomato sauce and cheese served with a small pot of salad.
My companion got the jacket potato with chilli, also accompanied with lashings of cheese and salad. They also have a breakfast menu where you can buy anything from toast, croissants, and fresh fruit salads to a full (halal) English breakfast.

The food was really tasty, well made, halal and the portion size was generous. I would definitely go there again.

Vegetable lasagne

Jacket potato with chilli

Hajj exhibition at the British Museum

Just got back from the Hajj exhibition that is being held at the British Museum. Apparently, it is the first in any museum in the world to focus on the pilgrimage. I thought that the artefacts in the exhibition would be seen within an hour, however we were there for almost 3 hours as there was much to see!

First of all, as you enter the exhibition, you go through a tunnel adorned with an image of pilgrimages to hear the Talbiya:

‘Here I am O Allah, (in response to Your call), here I am. Here I am, You have no partner, here I am. Verily all praise, grace and sovereignty belong to You. You have no partner.’
http://www.makedua.com/display_dua.php?sectionid=120

Then you hear the adhaan (call to prayer).

The exhibition houses manuscripts such as a copy of an 8th century Qur’an.

There is a focus on the different historical routes taken to undertake the Hajj, such as Kufa to Mecca, Timbuktu to Cairo and then Mecca, Damascus to Makkah, Jeddah to Makkah.

We got to see a mahmal (silk tent):

Pic from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1237079&page=64

The mahmal does not hold religious purpose, but was placed on top of the camel when the procession was leaving for Makkah and inside a copy of the Qur’an was placed. (Don’t know if they actually took the mahmal into Makkah or brought it back after the procession had left the local town/village).
Here is a link to a short video containing part of the grand procession leaving Cairo in 1918!



The exhibition also looks at the appointment of Thomas Cook in the 19th century by India as the official hajj travel agent. We saw a Hajj ticket dating from 1886.

There was part of a kiswa on display, curtain for the door of repentance and a cloth that was meant to be used (or was indeed used) to cover the Prophet Muhammad (saw’s) grave.

You also get to see in figures how many people went to Hajj from 1932 (20,181) to 2011 (2,927,719)
We got to watch a 5 minute film on the rituals of Hajj too in a sort of mini cinema within the exhibition!

Art work by Ahmed Mater depicting pilgrims circumambulating the Ka’ba by using a magnet and pieces of iron.

All in all it was well worth it and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone - Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Hurry as the exhibition's final date is on the 15th of April. If you cannot make it here is a link to some pictures that were displayed at the exhibition. Enjoy!




Review from an Arabic international daily news website: http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?id=28245

Review from The Guardian newspaper


Have you been to the exhibition? What did  you think? Leave a comment.

Welcome to Muslimah Delights.

Asalaamu alaykum,

Thank you for visiting our blog. This is our first go at a blog, so let’s see how it goes! We are 2 sisters in our 20’s, born and raised in London and have been wearing hijab for over a decade. The purpose of the blog is to document food, religion, modest clothing and well-being.