Happily Ever After Podcast

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Mangera, author of Handbook of  a Healthy Muslim Marriage (https://www.whitethreadpress.com/publication/handbook-of-a-healthy-muslim-marriage/) discuss an important aspect of every marriage: sexual intimacy and making love with one's spouse. (Season 1, episode #12)

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Shaykh Abdullah Ayaz Mullanee (@aamullanee) discuss the the differences between love & infatuation, as well as tips to maintain a happy marriage. (Season 1, episode #11)

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Sheikh Amer Jamil (https://www.amerjamil.com) discuss the first night (or the wedding night) and topics related to sexual intimacy which can sometimes be seen as a taboo for Muslims. (Season 1, episode #10)

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Imam Is'Haaq Jasat (Founder of National Huffadh Association) discuss the impact of COVI/lockdown on marriages, how to manage busy schedules & maintain a healthy marriage with your spouse. (Season 1, episode #9)

Happy holidays to all! In celebration of the season, here's a rendition of my favorite Christmas pilot. It's Christmas Eve, 1957, and a lone pilot is trying to get home to his family. Midway during his flight, all radio communication cuts out, and a fog rolls in. A situation like this requires a miracle.

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Imam Ajmal Masroor (Author of 10 Steps to Getting & Staying Married: http://www.ajmalmasroor.com/book/) discuss intercultural marriages in Islam and important things you should know about it. (Season 1, episode #8)

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Ustadh Abu Zuhair of Q-Iman (www.qiman.org) discuss the role of culture in Islam, cultural practices in marriage, and more! (Season 1, episode #7)

Season One Finale! In this grand conclusion (from the Tibetan Wonder Tales), a kingdom is ravaged by two serpent-gods. The only person brave enough to save them? A young Prince, and his best friend. Will the pair be able to stop the serpents, and find their own happily ever after? This is an episode you won't want to miss!

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Ustadha Saleha Bukhari discuss love in Islam, love marriages vs arranged marriages, and more! (Season 1, episode #6)

Special Episode! We're taking it back, waaaay back. Time for some OG fairytales.

Back to individual stories! This week, a favorite from my childhood by the Brothers Grimm.

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Ustadh Ibrahim Khan (co-founder of islamicfinanceguru.com) discuss everything related to modern Muslim weddings, why it can be so expensive, and the Islamic perspective on this. Includes money-saving tips and more! (Season 1, episode #5)

It's our final episode of the Snow Queen series! Tune in to find out if Gerda finds Kay, and whether or not this story has a happy ending.

Our second last episode, and Gerda is just steps away from the Snow Queen's palace. However, as she travels in Lapland, she gets lost. With Kay so close, will Gerda complete her quest? Tune in to find out. 

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Razia Hamidi (@razia.hamidi.coach) discuss everything you need to know BEFORE getting married. Topics include: how to approach marriage, why we get married, what a meaningful relationship is, and more! (Season 1, episode #4)The #HappilyEverAfter Podcast is dedicated to all things on marriage & relationships in Islam, featuring discussions with scholars, counsellors and experts brought to you by @TheNikahCo.

Another day, another adventure with Gerda! Today, as Gerda drives through the forest in her carriage, she is set upon by a band of robbers. Will she survive? Will she ever hear word of Kay? Tune in to find out!

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Ayesha Aslam of Sakoon Islamic Counselling (www.sakoon.co.uk) discuss the 'pre-marital stuff' including what we look for in a person, how to see the potential red flags, advice for those looking to get married, and more! (Season 1, episode #3)The #HappilyEverAfter Podcast is dedicated to all things on marriage & relationships in Islam, featuring discussions with scholars, counsellors and experts brought to you by @TheNikahCo. 

In today's adventure, The Prince and the Princess, Gerda makes some new friends. From them, she hears of a mysterious young boy who befriended a princess a few towns away. Might it be Kay? Tune in to find out!

Imam Shabbir Hassan (@shabbirhsn) & Shaykh Hasib Noor (@hasibmn) discuss everything you need to know about the Mahr (dowry) including what the purpose of it is, what the amount should be, how to calculate it, cultural differences, and more. (Season 1, episode #2)The #HappilyEverAfter Podcast is dedicated to all things on marriage & relationships in Islam, featuring discussions with scholars, counsellors and experts brought to you by @TheNikahCo. 

Part 2 of our reading of this Hans Christian Anderson classic. After Kay disappears, Gerda sets off into the wide world to find her friend.

Shabbir Hassan, founder of The Nikah Co, catches up with Sultan Ahmed, director of The Nikah Co, about their journey so far as Imams and reminisce on some funny moments from the different weddings they've attended over the years. (Season 1, episode #1)The #HappilyEverAfter Podcast is dedicated to all things on marriage & relationships in Islam, featuring discussions with scholars, counsellors and experts.

Today we start a longer series, The Snow Queen, a classic Dutch tale by Hans Christian Andersen. If you don't know it, you're in for a treat. This story (made up of 7 shorter stories) is all about the love we share with everyone in our lives, and how that platonic love can overcome any obstacle.

Classic Fairy Tale Alert!! Today, we dive into one of the stories from One Thousand and One Nights, a collection I remember reading as a kid with my mom before bed. In this episode, a merchant accidentally angers a genie, and must pay the ultimate price. His only hope of salvation is two old men, who offer the genie stories in exchange for the merchant's life. Will they succeed? Tune in to find out!

Another episode, and our first request! Thanks to Diana, for asking for a Bulgarian folk tale. In this story, an evil witch has banished the spring forever, and its up to one little girl to save her town from eternal winter. Will she be able to defeat the witch? There's only one way to find out!

On this weeks episode, we dive into Celtic folklore. In this tale, as retold by Ella Young, the halter of the Cow of Plenty is stolen from Gobniu, the Wonder Smith, by the evil Balor. Only Cian, the son of Dian-Cecht (the god of healing) can recover it. Will he survive, and return the halter to Gobniu? This is an episode you won't want to miss!

This week, we dive into The Norka, a tale from Russian folklore transcribed in Andrew Lang's The Red Fairy Book. A huge beast, the Norka, is terrorizing a kingdom, so the King sends his sons to defeat it. After the Norka flees to another world, the three princes must find a way to track it down, and save their kingdom. Will they survive? There's only one way to find out!

The second and final piece of The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Child, translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki. Join me as the five brave knights set out on their quests for the magical items Princess Moonlight requested. Will they find the items, and return alive? There's only one way to find out!

Today, we look at the oldest Japanese prose narrative in existence: The Bamboo Cutter and the Moon Child. In this tale, a poor bamboo cutter finds a glowing child in a stalk of bamboo, and raises her as his own. She grows up to be the most beautiful girl in the land, and although she has many suitors, getting married is the last thing on her mind. This story will be in two parts, so make sure to check back next week for the second half!

Our third episode takes us to a Serbian fairy tale collection. A young prince is forced to leave his home by his father and must wander the countryside, having many an adventure as he tries to get back into the king's good graces. Translated by Madame Elodie L. Mijatovich. 

For our first adventure, we start with this classic English fable.