To whom is Wives of Jannah geared?

Most of my work is geared towards a married Muslim woman, and although anyone can benefit, the angle taken is definitely geared towards wives living in a Westernized society.

Beyond a geographical location, ideally, I’m building a community of women who love their husbands, are in safe and dignified marriages, live spiritually conscious lives, and are looking to deepen their love and connection with their husband.  

People tend to assume that only people with major problems take courses, classes, or attend retreats with their spouse to improve their marriage, but I want to inspire couples, beginning with the wives, to stop waiting for a fire to put out in their marriage, and start focusing on taking the love they have for each other even deeper.

When you have something good, make it even better, rather than letting good wane to mediocrity, and just living with that.

What inspired you to start Wives of Jannah?

I love to read about the relationship the Prophet Muhammad (saw) had with his wives.

Beginning with Khadijah, and ending with his last moments with Aisha. We often explore these relationships from what he (saw) did, but I am just as interested in paying close attention to what the women did, and extending that to other female Sahabiyat.

These were real women, women we can relate to as women, and yet their level of iman and Islam is what we are all struggling to live up to, to follow in their shadows. If I am going to dedicate so much of my life to being a wife, then I must have a constant reminder that this is for the sake of Allah.

The idea of being a “wife of Jannah” makes everything I say or do as a wife so much more important, as it is one form of worship I pray will give me a gateway to Jannah.

Traditionally, most Islamic material for couples revolves around fatwas, Islamic rights, and a long list of what we “should” be doing. But being told what to do is very different than being given an experience of how to do it.  

My husband and I attended a marriage retreat together, ran by non-Muslims, and up til now there has been a positive impact on what we learned about ourselves and implemented with each other.

However, we had to also avoid so many other activities and group work because of the differences in how we interact with the opposite gender as Muslims.

It was a bit stressful for the organizers to accommodate us, and consistently awkward for us!

After that experience, I knew that I had to set out to create a space for Muslims to focus on their marriages, and I decided to start with Muslim wives. 

What is Wives of Jannah?

Wives of Jannah’s mission invites Muslim wives to create a loving, emotionally deep, spiritual and passionate marriage; to rekindle marriage as an act of worship, a path to being nearer to Our Creator, and a gateway to being a wife in Jannah, insha’Allah.  

One of the goals on an organizational level is to bridge the divide between Islamic literature and "other" literature through courses, live events, and direct relationship coaching so the Western Muslim couple can co-create a marriage that is in line with our Islamic values, traditional teachings, and honor their desired outcome for their relationship.

What is a unique aspect that Wives of Jannah brings to the relationship advice arena?

One of the main principles that keeps Wives of Jannah unique is a principle I’ve created back in 2009 called “Fearless Vulnerability” which I define as:

“Creating opportunities to give and receive deep and meaningful love by practicing the art of raw honesty and emotional and physical vulnerability in a safe and respectful relationship despite deep seated fears which would otherwise hold you back”

What I’ve learned is that for many of us, we are afraid to grow, to explore the depths of our hearts and feelings, and this in and of itself, is also a hindrance to our growth as Muslims.

I understand that marriage is “half my Deen” because marriage becomes a vehicle to know myself at a greater level, and when I can see who I am at even deeper and deeper levels, not only will my Salah or du’a or understanding of this life be different, but so will the love and connection with my husband.

I want couples to not only prevent drifting apart, but to discover how many more levels their marriage has for them to reach together.