Poetry is my love language. I believe I was born with a poetic pulse and peeling poems from my soul is an important part of my daily self-care. I wrote the poem below many years ago, back in 1998. I can’t believe it’s been 25 years! Over the years, it’s made its way around the world and has been published in Islamic Studies textbooks, used in documentaries and a myriad of other videos, recited at conferences, and shared on countless websites. I’m often surprised to find it still in circulation to this day, ma shaa Allah.
But now, as decades have passed and as I continue on my lifelong journey of healing and growth, I can’t help but feel something about this poem just doesn’t sit right anymore. I was young and naive when I wrote it, and back then I had mastered the art of pushing my pain down so deep until I could no longer feel it. It’s not that this poem is a lie or that I intentionally tried to present my life as picture-perfect; I just wasn’t present enough to realize there were so many things that needed my attention and care, wounds that needed tending.
As a trauma survivor who battled depression for years and, now, as a therapist who holds the hearts of many sisters suffering from a wide variety of mental health challenges including depression, I don’t feel right about the way this poem reads anymore. I’m going to leave it here for a bit while I reflect on it some more and as I do, I’d love to hear your thoughts and receive your feedback at the bottom of this page. Please share how you feel this poem should be updated to reflect the reality of so many of us Muslim women who do struggle and who long to feel accepted and validated as we are, in shaa Allah. Bismillah!
Umm Rahmah
August 14, 2023
I am a Muslim woman
Feel free to ask me why
When I walk I walk with dignity
When I speak, I do not lie
I am a Muslim woman
Not all of me you’ll see
But what you should appreciate
Is that the choice I make is free
I’m not plagued with depression
I’m neither cheated nor abused
I don’t envy other women
And I’m certainly not confused
Note, I speak perfect English
Et un petit peu de Français aussi
I’m majoring in Linguistics
So you need not speak slowly
I run my own small business
Every cent I earn is mine
I drive my Chevy to school & work
And no, that’s not a crime!
You often stare as I walk by
You don’t understand my veil
But peace and power I have found
As I am equal to any male
I am a Muslim woman
So please don’t pity me
For God has guided me to truth
And now I’m finally free!
© Jenn Zaghloul 1998