Welcome to Islam by Bushill-Matthews Lucy;Bushill-Matthews;

Author:Bushill-Matthews, Lucy;Bushill-Matthews;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Published: 2008-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

6Babes in Arms

‘Verily, We have created [every one of] you out of dust, then out of a drop of sperm, then out of a germ-cell, then out of an embryonic lump complete [in itself] and yet incomplete so that We might make [your origin] clear unto you. And whatever We will [to be born] We cause to rest in the [mothers’] wombs for a term set [by Us], and then We bring you forth as infants and [allow you to live] so that [some of] you might attain to maturity.’

(Qur’an 22:5)

‘A man came to the Prophet and asked: “Who among people is most entitled to kind treatment from me?” He answered: “Your mother.” The man asked: “Then who?” He said: “Your mother.” “Then who?” The man insisted. The Prophet replied: “Your mother.” The man asked, “Then who?” The Prophet said, “Then your father.”’1

(Saying of Muhammad)

Within eight months of completing the Hajj I became pregnant.

As soon as I found the result of my home pregnancy test was positive I performed two voluntary raka’ah of prayer to thank God for this special event - but I had to do this in the hallway as the flat was temporarily full with people staying over in every room. And then I booked an appointment to see the doctor, assuming she would need to verify it. The doctor told me that if my own test was positive she had no need to do another one. Her expression remained blank, and she then asked me her only question: ‘Do you want your baby?’ I was taken aback. ‘Yes, I really want this baby, I’m very happy,’ I replied. She finally relaxed and smiled. ‘It’s just that a third of all pregnancies in England are unwanted - I had to ask if you wanted yours. Congratulations.’

We wanted a bigger place to live to accommodate our prospective baby. We soon discovered we could only afford that if we moved out to the suburbs. And so we moved to a commuter town 30 minutes away from London, to a place called Woking. A new phase in my life - and my husband’s life - was about to begin.

What’s in a name?

One of our first responsibilities as prospective parents was to think of a name for our unborn baby.

Unlike some converts to Islam I had never changed my first name. I knew that as long as my name had an inoffensive and preferably positive meaning, it was fine to keep it. Muhammad had insisted on changing the name of a man previously known as Abdu Shams, but that name had the meaning ‘Slave of the Sun’ so it wasn’t exactly Islamic.2 Lucy meant ‘light’. I knew other Muslim girls called ‘Nur’, which was Arabic for ‘light’: I figured that my name was no more or less ‘Muslim’ than theirs. I had therefore successfully resisted the exhortations of several Muslim taxi drivers to change my name.

But naming my own child was different: there was the Muslim community to consider and Julian and I wanted this baby eventually to feel part of it.

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