the village

Peace and blessings to you all,

Many of us are familiar with the Nigerian Igbo Proverb "Ora na azu nwa" or "It Takes a Whole Village to Raise a Child". If we weren't familiar with it before, Hillary Clinton popularized the phrase among Americans with the release of her book It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us.

Parenting and specifically, mothering is one of the most difficult blessings we are tasked with. To some it comes very naturally, while others have to work extremely hard to be successful. One isn't celebrated more than the other because both ensue difficulties and obstacles they have to overcome.

The results that we seek are hardworking, successful, happy and productive children. Mothers are united in one thing, wanting what is best for their children.

Mothering spans across cities, continents, cultures, social status, race, creed, nationality and religion. Mothering isn't dedicated to the typical category of the "mother" who gave birth but has extended to kinship care of aunts, grandmothers, cousins, and sisters who are "acting mothers"; and those outside of the direct or biological family circle in fostering, adoption and mentoring/big sister programs who provide guidance to the children.

It Takes a Village is dedicated to unifying mothers, of all categories - originally starting off as a homeschooling advocacy project and beyond to explore topics ranging from public school vs. homeschooling, breastfeeding, infant to toddler transition, home birthing vs. hospital birthing, spanking and other disciplines, and everything else in between. Developing insight from the lives and experiences of mothers of all kinds, in a friendly blogging style.

We will be the village that raises our children!

بسم الله الر حمن الر حيم

السلام عليكن ورحمة الله وبركاته

Bismillaahi ar-Rahmani ar-Raheem (In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful)

As salaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah wa barakatuh (Peace be upon you and the Mercy and Blessings of God)

JazaakunnaAllahu khayran (May God reward you with goodness) for all of the sisters who participate, provide handy materials and support one another in providing the best skills for parenting.

Always remember that we are coming together in this group as mothers, aunts, sisters, co-mothers, grandmothers and other kinds of caregivers to learn from one another and assist each other in Islamic Parenting. We are unifying as a "Village" to raise our children, properly in an Islamic households, tackling difficult issues and provide the support necessary to raise productive individuals in society and strong Muslims in religion.

This page is primarily based on teachings of Islaam, one upon Qur'aan and Sunnah upon the righteous path of the Prophet of Allaah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and the Pious Predecessors inshaa Allaah. We believe if we say that we are upon this then we must take from sources that are in accordance with this.

The "Salaf" refers specifically to the first three generations of Islaam in which the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) described as being the best generations of Muslims. The first, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and his Sahaabah (companions). The second, the Taabi'een (the followers of the companions). The third, at Tabaa'at-Taabi'een (the followers of the followers of the companions). We do not "claim" that we are the salaf, only that we follow the teaching of the best of generations. 

Please feel free to share this blog with other like-minded parents. We are always looking to increase our knowledge on parenting, crafting, recipes and the like. If you are interested in writing for Takes a Village to Raise a Child please contact us at awholevillage@gmail.com.

Discrimination, bigotry, hate speech, rudeness, defamation of character or any other slanderous activity or libelous speech is NOT and will NOT be tolerated. Please do not waste your time with iniquities, ALL comments are moderated before posting and any violations WILL BE reported.

Small excerpt from the Moderator:

I'm Umm Ayyub (Mother of Ayyub) Najmah Burton. I am currently a wife, mother, full time student and most importantly striving to be a humble servant of Allaah. I developed the facebook group, takes a village forum and this blog, mainly because I want to share my successes and learn your successes - each one, teach one - from the veterans to the beginners helping our children be successful in life, in education and in Islam.

I am a firm believer that as women, as mother's we are given everything we need to raise our children until adulthood - from the nourishment in their infancy to molding minds in their adolescence. A difficult path, but one I'm ready to embark on and hopefully you will too... if not for the sanctity of our homes, our morals, our lives, our families then for the stability of our children and their education.

My family and I practice Islam. I was born into the faith of Islaam, however did not start "practicing" the true tenets of Islam until my late 20's. My family and I are American born and raised, from a lineage of reverts to Islam. My family is one huge melting pot or mixed salad (however you choose to view it) of race, creed and religion. We "hail" from parts all over the continental United States.

Most of my family have deep military backgrounds, in different branches of the Armed Forces, to include the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines. I grew up in a loving family as an only child to my mother and youngest grandchild for close to 13 years. Many of the posts in this blog will reflect my/our belief's of Islam. However ALL are welcome to comment or ask questions, regardless of religion/creed to relay their mothering experiences and are welcome to share in ours. Although we practice Islam in our household, we are not close-minded to the knowledge that other people practice other religions in their homes or choose not to practice religion in their homes.

We accept and acknowledge the right of everyone to be able to raise their children upon their religious or lack of religious belief, as long as it is not harmful to the children. We would appreciate your acceptance in our right to practice and teach our children according to monotheistic principles. I believe it was Aristotle who said: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." And I truly believe I am in the existence, where we are communicating with one another with educated minds.

Peace and serenity to you and your families and wished success upon this wonderful path of parenthood!