“And if you were to count the blessings of Allah, you will never be able to count them.”

(Surah Ibrahim, 14:34)

Sayida A’isha (may Allah be pleased with her) was asked to recount one of the most amazing experiences she had in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace). She began to weep, and said, “Was there anything at all about him that was not a marvelous wonder? He came to me one night, and snuggled up beside me in my bed until his skin was touching my skin. But then he said: ‘O daughter of Abu Bakr, let me go, so that I may devote myself to the worship of my Lord.’”

She said, “So I told him, ‘I love your nearness, but I prefer to respect your dearest wish.’ I therefore allowed him (Allah bless him and give him peace) to take his leave of me. So he got up, found a skin container full of water, and performed his ritual ablution, pouring a considerable amount of water in the process. Then he stood erect, and started to perform the ritual prayer. He wept as he did so, until his tears were streaming down onto his chest. He made raka’at (bowing) and shed more tears. Then he prostrated himself, and again he wept. Then he raised his head, and wept still more. He went on like this (Allah bless him and give him peace) until Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived on the scene.”

“I then said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what causes you to weep, when Allah has forgiven you your earlier and later sins?’ To this he replied, (Allah bless him and give him peace) :

‘Should I not be a thankful servant ['abd shakur]? Why should I not do it, since Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He) has sent down to me the words of revelation:

Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day, and the ship that runs upon the sea with that which is of use to human beings, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and the distribution of the winds, and the clouds set in orderly array between heaven and earth–surely there are signs for people who can understand. (Surah al Baqara, 2:164) ‘”

As-salaamu alaykum!

We’d like to welcome you to the official blog for SHUKR Islamic Clothing.

Interest in finding new ways to synthesize the Islamic dress code with Western culture, including current fashion trends and styles, is on the rise.  Over the past two years, a number of stories on Islamic fashion have hit the pages of mainstream magazines and newspapers.  A revolution of sorts is taking place among modestly dressing women, especially Muslim women.

SHUKR Islamic Clothing was the first Islamic clothing company to look at the culture and context of Muslims in the West when it came to designing and producing Islamic clothing.  From the beginning, we’ve tried to help Western Muslims find ways to bring together their requirements for modest dressing with their very natural desire to not look foreign or old fashioned in the Western cultures in which they were born and raised or now find themselves living.  It is our life experiences as Muslims, born and raised in the West, with multi-ethnic families, that gives us the insight we need to choose current trends and make them appropriate for Muslims to wear comfortably.

The evolution of web 2.0 has changed the way that we not only communicate with one another as friends and family, but the way we communicate with one another as businesses and customers. We have entered the Age of Conversation. Customers expect to be able to communicate easily with businesses and retailers, and have their needs met. Customers share their thoughts and experiences with thousands across the globe on forums, blogs, and e-mail groups with one click of a button.

As a retailer, SHUKR has long taken the position that great customer service is essential to our mission — serving God by providing Muslims with clothing with which they can move through society.  Being put on hold while muzak is playing is no longer acceptable to customers. As part of our mission to continue to provide top notch customer service, SHUKR launched our new Customer Support site earlier this year.  The site includes our Knowledge Base, where you can get answers to your questions right away, allowing you to purchase with ease.  We also looked at customer service models of the largest e-tailers, and implemented a ticketing system to deal with customer queries and issues. Tickets allow both our customer care specialists and the customer to track each communication and refer to a record of every question asked and every answer received.

This blog is another facet of our customer service.  It allows us to tell you more of the SHUKR story than our website allows, but it also allows you, our customers, to communicate with us. We hope to provide you with insights into how our company works, from the design process to the shipping process, as well as our own thoughts on the rapidly developing field of Islamic fashion. We plan to look at how you can bring SHUKR style into your everyday life, from the office to the classroom to the park to the mosque.  We also plan to share new developments and ongoing projects that we’ll be working on.

We look forward to speaking with you.