@halalgirlnewyork

Zakariya’s first Ramadan 🌙 And my first Ramadan as a Mama. Alhamdulillah (all praise be to God). It feels surreal to say the least. We’re 1 week into the holy month already and it has felt very, very different this year. I’m not fasting this Ramadan, so that I can nurse my newborn and provide the nourishment my baby needs. It’s my first time since I was a child that I’ve not fasted during Ramadan, and I’ll admit, it feels so strange. But I know that Allah, the All-wise, has given us this permission as an act of love and mercy. Although it can feel like we’re missing out by not fasting, I know that with the right intentions, caring for my baby and feeding him is an act of worship in itself. To be chosen by God as a means of continuing His creation is one of the highest honours, and the responsibility of parenthood is not one I take lightly. May Allah swt, the giver and sustainer of life, bless our children with health and happiness. May He shower them with the best of blessings in this life and the next. May He make our children the coolness of our eyes. May He guide all of us first time Mamas and Papas as we navigate our way through this new and scary path of parenthood. May He reward each and every sacrifice that we make in the way of our children. Even in the quiet hours of the night, it is He who sees it all. And may He unite us with our loved ones in the best of His eternal gardens. Ameen. (Everyone say Ameen 🙏🏻🥰) If you can, please keep my family in your prayers on this blessed day of Jummah. “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No servant supplicates for his brother behind his back but that the angel says: And for you the same.” 🙏🏻

The first Friday of Ramadan is here! Have a blessed one beautiful people 🌙This month is the perfect time to get into regular habits and holding yourself accountable to them. A few years ago, Usama and I decided to hold eachother accountable for reading Surah Kahf on Friday, and now, alhamdulillah it’s become such a habit that our day feels incomplete without it. It may seem like a difficult task at first, but soon it will get easier and easier and you’ll find that within a few weeks you’ll practically know the Surah off by heart without even trying to memorise it! May your week ahead shine with God’s radiance, love and mercy, Ameen 🙏🏻(Feel free to share this with your friends to encourage them to read Surah Kahf and it’s also a great time to find an accountability buddy of your own!) .... #ramadan #ramadanmubarak #friday #surahkahf #muslimblog #muslimblogger

Ramadan Mubarak! 🌙 I can’t believe the holy month is already almostttt upon us (I believe the first fast is tomorrow inshaaAllah!) May we all be blessed to enter this beautiful month in good health, and may God accept our efforts, fasts, prayers and intentions. Ameen 🙏🏻Here’s a little reel I put together last year (2022!) decorating my apartment and explaining more about the month. This year will be the first year I won’t be fasting during Ramadan since I’m nursing my newborn baby (and we have religious permissions to not fast if we’re sick, pregnant or breastfeeding) so Ramadan will look a little different for me this year (more on this later in the month!) To all my mamas out there (or those with health exemptions from fasting), how do you make the most of the month? If you’re celebrating Ramadan this year, drop me a comment with the flag of the country you’re celebrating from! 👇🏼🇺🇸..... #ramadan2023 #ramadanmubarak #muslimblogger #doctorblog #nycblogger #nycinfluencer #modestfashion #doctorsofnyc #womeninmedicine #mamablog

Let’s talk about money💰For years I’ve wanted to figure out smart ways to invest my money, but was really torn about how to keep it halal, which isn’t easy! That’s when I heard about Wahed. I’m excited to announce that I am a part of #WahedForWomen! @wahedinvest 💡Wahed’s mission is to make Halal investing easy, simple, and accessible to Muslims worldwide. If you want to learn more, click the link in my bio and download the Wahed App to start on your Halal investing journey! Use the code:  wahedforwomenusa or wahedforwomenuk to receive  $10/£10 to invest for free! #Wahedforwomen #Ad

I have never known a love like this… 🤍 #mamaandpapa Let me take you back to 2016. Usama and I had just had our Nikkah (Islamic marriage) and I flew to NYC to spend some time in my future home (I knew I was moving there soon!). We were both on cloud nine, exploring New York hand in hand. Usama had even planned a bunch of classic New York activities for me. They were some of the most fun and memorable few days of my life. We went boating in Central Park. I remember it being a crisp and beautiful Autumn afternoon. We boated past a couple having a pregnancy shoot near Bow Bridge and I remember feeling like we were on a movie set! Everything felt perfect. Me of course being me, shouted “congratulations on your baby!!! You look amazing”to the couple as we floated past them. She gushed and waved back at me. Fast forward 6 wonderful years, alhamdulillah, here we are ourselves. Living our own little movie set moment. As you can imagine, so many sweet New Yorkers walked past us in classic NYC style and sent sweet wishes for us and our baby. I couldn’t help but smile and reminisce on that crisp October afternoon, many years ago, where I secretly wished and prayed for this moment some day. All praise and thanks be to God, as always 🙏🏻 alhamdulillah. Photographer was the talented Sehee from @flytographer Dress is from the amazing @summereveningsofficial which is literally the perfect dress for any occasion. This one will forever have a special place in my heart 🤍.... #newyorkcity #flytographer #summerevenings #doctorcouple #mama #mothersday #pregnancyshoot #maternityshoot #maternityfashion #doctorblog #nycinfluencer #newyorkblogger #nyclife #mamablogger #mamablog #newyorker

HAPPY MATCH MONDAY! 🎉 #MATCH2023 #img #doctorlife Today, 4th year US medical students and International Medical Graduates across the globe 🌎 found out if they matched into Residency in the USA! It’s a HUGE huge deal and it’s a day many doctors (and doctors-to-be) have been working towards for years of their lives! I sincerely hope those of you who were waiting for your Match email today received the news you were hoping for! If you did match - HUGE congratulations to you! 🎉 AND if you DIDN’T match today, it’s okay to feel disappointed but please remember that today’s results DO NOT DEFINE YOU. You are still capable, incredible, intelligent and successful. You will STILL have the career of your dreams. This is just one more hurdle you need to jump.Here’s a throwback to this day 3 years ago (omg?!) when I found out I matched into Residency. Completing all the exams, interviews, visa applications and countless other steps required to match into the USA for residency has BY FAR been one of the biggest achievements of my life - and I still remember the elation I felt when I opened up that email 3 years ago. All praise be to God. If you (or someone you know!) matched today, let me know in the comments! And let me know which speciality you’re applying for! Wishing you all the best for Friday when you’ll find out WHERE you matched!👇🏼💥 Photos from 2020, 2021 and 2022! Definitely don’t look like this right now.. #postpartum ... #doctorsofnyc #doctorsofinstagram #matchday2022 #matchmadness #residencylife #imglife #imgjourney #doctorblog #medblog #medfluencer #medicine

Welcome to the world, Zakariya Syed 🤍🐻 Usama and I have loved the name Zakariya for many years before he entered our world. It probably sounds crazy to admit this, but we even spoke about our favourite baby names back in 2012 when Usama and I first became friends as late teens. I’ve had a “baby name” list in the notes app on my phone since I was 16, and right at the top is his name, Zakariya. 3 weeks ago, while I experienced some of the most intense and painful contractions in the middle of the night, (a day or so before he was born), I listened to Surah Maryam (a verse of the Quran) to soothe me. And, as I heard the reciter say Ya Zakariya (O Zakariya), tears streamed down my face as I felt in my heart that it was my son’s name and I couldn’t believe I would be meeting him soon iA - the years of memories I’ve shared with Usama flickered through my mind. After 10 years together, it was the last day of just us, and we couldn’t wait for this next chapter of our lives to begin inshallah. All praise and thanks be to Allah swt, the giver and sustainer of life. We are eternally grateful to You for this blessing and I pray we are able to raise Zakariya on the straight path under Your guidance - Ameen 🙏🏻🤍 Baby Zak, your Mama & Papa love you so very muchOutfit from LondonBlanket from @pehr Bunny from @cuddleandkind Name plaque from Etsy .... #babyboy #newyorkbaby #nycbaby #nycinfluencer #doctormom #doctormum #womeninmedicine #doctorblogger #doctorblog #newyorkblogger #nycinfluencer

We’re having a… 👶🏻💙💗 #genderreveal This was undoubtedly one was the best moments of my whole life. For some reason, it was only in this moment that everything started to feel real. I didn’t really have time to process the pregnancy (and honestly, I’m still processing it now!) and in this moment, surrounded by some of my closest friends and my family, I started to have clarity and this wild journey started to feel true. I was going to be a MOTHER, inshaAllah, to a sweet, sweet baby. Alhamdulillah, All praise and thanks be to God. MashAllah 🙏🏻Of course, Usama and I didn’t have a preference for the baby’s gender. All I prayed for in every prayer since seeing the little blue line on the pregnancy test, was for a healthy and happy baby, who would be a blessing to us and never a trial. May Allah swt, the giver of life and health, continue to bless our baby boy with health and happiness. May He make him the coolness of our eyes, always 🙏🏻🤍 Ameen .... #babyboy #centralpark #doctorparents #doctorcouple #doctormom #womeninmedicine #doctorblog #mommyblog #nycblogger #newyorkblogger #nycblog

He or She, what will baby Bee? 🐝 #genderreveal #shirinandusama #babySyed Get your guesses in everyone! 👇🏼💗💙 This day feels like a lifetime ago, but also like yesterday at the same time… Alhamdulillah. We planned a small gender reveal picnic in Central Park when I was around 20 weeks pregnant. I waited until then to find out if we were having a little boy or little girl because my mama was flying to New York from London for my sister’s baby’s birth - and I knew it would be extra special go have Ammi there 🤍 I planned this picnic in just 2 days because my sister’s baby ended up arriving a month early sA! Which meant I was on my critical care rotation at the time doing 12 hour shifts every day! So I painted all the little details and favors myself after or even at work! I knew I wanted to make this first pregnancy special and didn’t want my residency to get in the way of that. It was SO hectic but we made it work! Alhamdulillah! Now, time to get your guesses in? Did we have a precious baby boy or a darling baby girl? 👇🏼 please keep us in your prayers if you can 🥰 ..(PS - baby’s name is NOT Syed 😂 that is baby’s last name! So this doesn’t give away the gender) .... #genderreveal #babysyed #doctorcouple #babyblog #babyblogger #mamablogger #mamablog #doctormom #womeninmedicine #doctorsofinstagram #nycblogger #nycinfluencer

Walking into the next chapter of our lives…aH 🙏🏻 #parenthood Thank you all so much for the kind wishes and prayers on our last post where we announced the arrival of our sweet baby. Alhamdulillah, all praise be to God, we feel so blessed 🙏🏻I read through every DM and comment these past 2 days, and whispered “Ameen” to each prayer that you sent our way. Your words made me smile so wide during the quiet hours of the night as I nursed our baby, and some of them even made me cry. I know that this life update came as a surprise to so many of you. I had a lot of “how did I not know you’re pregnant!?!” messages in my DMs! 🫢Early on in the pregnancy, Usama and I decided to keep our little blessing off social media until baby was safely here, mainly because I knew I would experience too much anxiety and pressure to share this new journey live. Alongside my final year or residency training, these last 9 months have been some of the most difficult of my entire life, and so I felt peace in knowing that I could share the journey with you guys whenever I felt ready. It wasn’t easy keeping it off instagram since it’s such a big part of my life, but thank you all for understanding, being excited for us and for keeping us in your prayers 🙏🏻 we are so grateful for this community! I’m SO excited to share the gender of sweet baby next week iA - the gender reveal was one of the best days of my life! 💙💗👶🏻.... #babyshoot #maternityshoot #doctorsofnyc #motherhood #parentsofnyc #centralpark #doctormom #doctordad

Upgraded our names to Mama & Papa 🤍By the grace of God, we are so overjoyed to announce the birth of our sweet baby, who entered the world last week. Sweet baby, you have already transformed our lives in ways we couldn’t have even imagined. You have brought a new kind of meaning into our world and expanded our hearts ten-fold in just a few short days alhamdulillah. I pray that your Papa and I can do a great job of raising you and keeping you safe. May Allah keep you under His protection, today and always. Ameen.These last 9 months have been the greatest emotional rollercoaster of our lives, going through pregnancy alongside my residency training and moving to a new apartment has been intense to say the least! But now that baby is safely here, I cannot wait to share the journey with you all inshaaAllah. I have so much to say! On this blessed day of Jummah, I humbly request that you please keep the 3 of us in your prayers if you can as we go through this wild ride of parenthood. I’ll be taking some time to rest and recover and soak in every moment and will be back as soon as I can to share the journey with you 🙏🏻..... #babywelcome #parenthood #newbaby #nycbaby

LIFE UPDATE! 💥🏠🔑 If you’ve been following along our journey, you’ll know that for the past few months we’ve been apartment hunting for a new place since our lease was up this month! After hunting farrrr and wide alongside our hectic residency/derm schedules, we finally found (what we think) is the perfect place for the next chapter of our story 🙏🏻❤️ alhamdulillah I’ve been a little MIA this past week or so since we’ve been so busy packing and with the move but I’m excited to settle in and explore the neighbourhood. If you’re from Brooklyn or have ever lived here, comment below and let me know your fave thing about NYC’s coolest borough. Restaurants, day trips, activities, parks, cafes! I need all the recs! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼I can’t wait to get to know our new home better 🤍 As always, all praise and thanks be to God. Without His blessings, none of this would be possible.