Salaam Friends!

How are we finding your hearts in the here and now, in the year that is 2026 and in the lead-up to Ramadan (40 roughly!)?

We shared this in the last newsletter but re-sharing because this du’a is an expression of wanting to be blessed with the magic of mercies that are abundant in Ramadan 💜.

Welcoming you all warmly back to Minara. 

And if you happened to read the last newsletter of 2025, no new year, new you — just you as you are: always a living work of art in becoming. 

All praise to Allah. 

So what are we thinking about?

A lot actually: how can Minara serve our community this year, what we’d like to be sharing and what questions should we be asking? 

Start as you mean to go on and all that so we’re taking something from our du’a vision board (on its way soonish in sha Allah on @myminara on Instagram!) to help us keep the ‘spirit of becoming’ alive. 

Because in addition to all of the above, we’ve also been thinking a little bit about capitalism and its legitimacy in our culture. 

(PSA: Don’t know about you but this new year, new you energy feels very capitalistic—hence the rabbit hole into our musings on capitalism — it’ll make sense, we promise!).

Capitalism says—perhaps in implicit ways but says it all the same—that time must justify itself. It is a value system that demands that our time be productive and marketable, our worth demonstrable and that the existence of something is justified by its output.

What we do matters more than who we are. What we produce matters more than the process of getting there and becoming. 

Want to sleep? Dare you to just be tired. At least according to the principles of capitalism. Want to sleep? Capitalism does not give you permission. You need a sleep tracker, a recovery score, a reason your nap will make you better at work tomorrow. 

And now you may sleep easy. Capitalism hijacks even the basic gazillion year old concept of rest and sleep. The irony!

But not salah. No. Capitalism cannot hijack salah. 

Salah doesn't really produce anything marketable in the capitalistic sense. There is no outcome that explains why someone would put their head on the floor five times a day except this: because Allah asked. You are there for the sake of Allah, and even when that doesn't necessarily feel authentic, you know when you stand in salah anyway, you are not:

🟣 self-exploiting;🟣 multi-tasking; 🟣 maximising your productivity so someone else can accumulate its profit— only you friend!; 🟣 rejecting the commodification of your time because your communication with Allah in this salah is not mundane, not superficial and not transactional.

And so going back to our du’a vision boards, when we were reflecting on what we’d like Allah to help us with this year in salah, one of our wishes is to spend longer in sujood.

What we mean by this is the desire to spend longer in sujood and to feel the sweetness and intimacy of doing so. 

Because what is more anti-capitalistic than sujood? 

No productivity optimization here, just pure head to ground for the sweet sake of belonging to Allah! 

Ah - but our musings don’t end here.

Because we know how desperately frustrating it is when you’ve made a promise to do something but have no idea how to get there.

So in true anti-capitalistic fashion once more, let’s explore together for the purpose of wholesome outcomes that benefit you and your spirituality, how one might really and truly spend longer in sujood. 

Before we continue, understand that whatever your du’a for your salah journey is, must be be manageable. So our intention is to explore this i.e. ‘a longer sujood’ in a series of steps over the next few and we’ll be bringing you along for the ride! 

May you be inspired in sha Allah 💛.

First things first, let's understand that this is not a productivity goal about a 'longer salah'. It's a relational goal about depth and connection. Spending longer in sujood is just the shape that longing takes. 

Therefore the first question for this mini-series is: 

Why is spending longer in sujood important? Why does it matter to me? 

1. Spending longer in sujood means I am as near to Allah as I will be in this world. My body has been designed to know this- at least quicker than my mind processes this truth!

2. My face is down. No one is watching me. I don't have to monitor my words or worry about saying the correct thing. I can be honest and true in what I want and need from my Creator. And if I cannot verbalise it, my heart can. Surely Allah will see my lingering in sujood as a yearning to be heard?

3. Sujood interrupts the illusion of self-importance. I want to stay longer here because the act of sujood dismantles my ego. It is a reminder that anyone's worth is really only measured by Allah alone. Isn’t that the only thing that matters really and truly? The Being that knows my heart better than I do is the only One worthy of judging me. 

4. When modern life is pushing for speed and efficacy over slow, intimately-felt experiences, a slower sujood is a resistance. I am pushing back and embracing the joy of experiencing, the joy of being. 

5. Sujood doesn’t take long at all anyway. I really only need to praise Allah here x3. Choosing to stay here longer— well, imagine how happy my Creator, my Allah will be because I am choosing to do so. I am expressing my longing to be near him voluntarily even if that longer just be three seconds. 

Now over to you. 

Perhaps you have a different du’a for your salah. Perhaps you have many. Whatever it or they may be, this is the exercise you’ll be indulging in this week (hurrah for homework - or bleh?🫥 )

Make your salah goal. Ours in the example above was spending longer in sujood. That's it- short and sweet. Focus on one so you are not drowned with the possibilities of what should or could be. Just what is right now please! 

This is your guiding question to ground your intention this week:

why do I want to do this?

We are so excited for what you might come up with—please do share with us your intentions and musings.

🎢 We know we said, join us for the ride but we cannot wait to come along with you on your ride! 

And we’ll see you next week in sha Allah with part two of ‘longer in sujood’!

Love and du’as,

The Minara Team