Welcome to the winter edition of the E-magazine ‘The Soul Journal’. On behalf of the editorial team, we would like to extend our warm greetings to the readers of our magazine and hope readers take pleasure in reading the first issue of 2023.

Each issue of ‘The Soul Journal’ is actually a milestone that marks the growth of our community. It celebrates the creative talents of our children and depicts the genuine experiences of Muslims born and raised in the West. The theme of our third issue is “The Purpose of Life”. Hence, the content of this issue is mainly focused on the experiences of first-generation muslims living in the UK and the challenges they face.

Purpose serves many roles in the context of our lives. It can guide life decisions, influence behaviour, shape goals, offer a sense of direction and create meaning. For some people, meaning is connected to satisfying work. For others, their purpose lies in their responsibilities to their family and friends, whilst others seek meaning through spirituality or religious beliefs. It is clear that the purpose of life is unique to everyone and what you identify as your path may be different to others. Whilst your purpose can actually ebb and flow throughout your life in response to evolving priorities and fluctuations of your own experiences, one thing remains constant amongst all of us: our Iman. In this issue, we cover a range of those stories, from the lives of Muslims in a secular environment to how our peers remain productive in the dark of the winter to recipes to warm these late January evenings. We hope that this is an opportunity for all of us to improve and engage with the articles within the issue. We are certain there will be something to learn from each article to help make your life a more productive and meaningful one!

On this inspiring note, we would like to thank the Almighty for giving us this opportunity to work for this magazine and represent the influential voices of those within our community. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the success of the magazine– we would not be the initiative we are today without you!

To conclude, we’d like to leave you with some of the words of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said, “Whoever imparts knowledge will have the reward of whoever acted upon it, without detracting from the reward of one who acted.” May Allah reward us all for our efforts and Jazakallah Khair to all of those who are helping us deliver knowledge to the wider community.

Jazakallah Khairan,

Your Sisters in Islam

Rimza Riyas, Fazra Nazoordeen and Azmina Rushdy