My friend - baker, designer... and writer

I am fortunate to have some remarkable women as my friends and one of them is Noorshin Ng Abdullah. A single mother, she uses her God-given talents to support herself and her son (now a young adult). She bakes really delicious cakes, for which she takes orders, and designs and makes clothes. Busy with these pursuits as well as taking care of her aged parents (until first her mother passed away and then her father not long after), she still finds time to be actively involved in NGOs. And Noorshin is also a writer, having written, illustrated and published her very first book, The Beauty of Covering Up, in 2010.

Front cover

It's a beautiful full-colour book produced with the help of Yasmin Gan Abdullah, with whom I co-wrote Hajj - The Humbling Journey in 2011, and her production team. The designer, Junaida Samsu, also worked on the book by Yasmin and me. 

On the back cover, Noorshin explains that her book "is a humble means of sharing my thoughts and ideas on the beauty of Muslimah covering ourselves not only with garments that conceal our aurah but also with beautiful manners and character that come our cloak of humility as Muslims." It is dedicated to her mother...

The chapters, each with its own pleasing colour scheme, begin with the first two reminding readers 'You Are Beautiful' and that 'Beauty (comes) From Within'. In the chapters that follow, Noorshin shares 'Words From Al-Quran', 'Branches Of Iman' and 'Striving Towards Modesty'. She also collected the experiences of women who donned the hijab in 'What Our Sisters Have To Say'.  

A page from 'You Are Beautiful'.

A Chinese Muslimah relates her experience in 'What Our Sisters Have To Say'.

The experience of a corporate high-flyer.

Noorshin has included several design ideas (all illustrated by her) in the book to show the many possibilities of covering up without looking boring.

Friends need to support one another. Noorshin had many in regard to her book; there were those who helped her get started, who instilled confidence in her, who gave helpful comments, who helped towards part of the publication costs. My contribution was to offer my house for introducing Noorshin's book to guests that included my family and friends, as well as those of Noorshin and Yasmin's, on 12 February 2011. 

Waiting for others to arrive.

Pot-luck.

Some of Noorshin's designer clothes on sale.

It was a simple but memorable occasion, during which guests not only got a copy of Noorshin's book for themselves and others but were also able to catch up with one another and make new friends. Noorshin's road towards and in Islam is a fascinating one and I hope that her next book will be a memoir. By the way, Noorshin also blogs at Enjoy Your Life, where she shares her values and experiences.

The exquisitely designed endpaper of The Beauty of Covering Up.

Note: The book's pages above are reproduced with Noorshin's permission.