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Muslim Women's
Wellness Retreat
... embarking on a health & wellness journey
Imagine a gathering driven by the power of sisterhood …
A gathering where Muslim women embark on a health and wellness journey together ...
The Sisters' Wellness Retreat, established in 2021, provides a supportive environment for Muslim women to foster a sense of sisterhood. The primary focus is on nurturing individual inner peace in response to the many stressors that uniquely impact the health and well-being of minority women, particularly Black Muslim women. This cultivation of inner peace serve to empower women to become more productive members of the community. Health and wellness topics covered during the 4-day retreat include: financial wellness, physical wellness, social-emotional wellness (mental health), and spiritual wellness.
Our History
The wellness retreat idea was born out of the friendship circle of professional women at the height of the COVID pandemic shutdown. These women recognized the need for women, especially Black Muslim Women to strengthen their sisterhood by being more intentional about holding space for one another. They discussed the importance of showing up for each other and creating a safe environment where everyone can share their wins and challenges in life without judgment.
Sisterhood is a powerful force that can help us explore health and wellness in new and exciting ways. By coming together and supporting each other, the wellness retreat help create a community of women that empower each other to be our best selves. Whether it's through sharing wellness tips or simply being there for each other, sisterhood can be a transformative experience that helps us achieve our health and wellness goals.
This idea, now a stand-alone program at The Aafiyah Project: Sisters' Wellness Retreat; continue to help women begin, restart, or reset their health and wellness journey in a holistic way that integrates four key areas of health and wellness: financial, social-emotional, physical, and spiritual.
Annually, the highly anticipated wellness retreat takes place in the summer. Join us for a rejuvenating experience that will leave you feeling refreshed, revitalized, and with a strengthened sense of sisterhood. Don't miss out on this opportunity to prioritize your health and wellness.
2025
#DazzlingDoha
Date:
Thursday July 10 - Sunday July 13
check-in @ 12 NOON | closing @ 10 PM
Travel Days:
Wednesday July 9
Monday July 14
Venue:
The Ritz Carlton
Sharq Village & Spa, a Ritz-Carlton HotelRas Abu Abboud Street, Doha, QATAR
Theme:
Horizons of Blessings
A Retreat of Reflection & Renewal
Wellness
Sessions:
Physical | Social-emotional | Spiritual
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2025
Workshop Leads
2025 Physical Wellness facilitator: Dr. Muneera Fontaine.
Dr. Muneera Fontaine is the owner of Peaceful Earth, Graceful Birth, a Womb Wellness practice in Washington, DC. She is a master educator, veteran birth worker and womb wellness advocate.
Dr. Muneera is mother to three and an educator who also works as a birth and postpartum doula, womb healer, and early interventionist. 2025 will mark her 17th year of practicing as a birth worker. She has served with several birth organizations (both doula and midwifery), developed doula training curricula and taught several other doulas in the process. With her own children, she has experienced a range of births from C-section to a home/waterbirth and wants other people to experience the amazing ability and power of the womb. Her talk will be on the importance of connecting to your womb and simple methods to incorporate womb wellness practices into your daily routines.
2025 Spiritual Wellness facilitator: Ustadha Suzane Derani.
Ustadha Suzane is a Hafidha of Qur’an, a published author, and well accomplished scholar in her own right, ma shaa Allah.
Raised in Michigan, Ustadha Suzane was began her Qur’anic studies at an early age alongside her regular schooling. In 1996, she traveled to Damascus, Syria to pursue formal studies in Arabic, Seerah, Aqeedah, Shafi‘i Fiqh, and Qur’an memorization. Ustadha Suzane studied under esteemed scholars, including Shaykha Samira al-Zayid and Shaykh Abul Hasan al-Kurdi, from whom she received her ijaza in the Hafs recitation. She later completed her memorization of the Qur’an at the age of 18.
Previously, Ustadha Suzane taught tajwid at Zaytuna Institute in California and studied with scholars such as Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Zaid Shakir, and Shaykh Samer an-Nas. And with over 20 years of experience teaching Qur’an, tajwid, and tafsir, Ustadha Suzane continues to teach privately. In 2023, Ustadha Suzane received her ijaza in the 10 Qirā’āt from Ustadha Saima Yacoub.
Ustadha Suzane holds a Bachelors of Arts in European and Middle Eastern History with a focus on education, and a Masters in Divinity in Chaplaincy. In 2020, she authored The Qur’an, My Best Friend, an Islamic children’s book.
Ustadha Suzane is passionate about studying the tafseer of the Qur’an in a reflective manner, connecting it to nature, animals, and the creation around us. In her free time, Ustadha Suzane enjoys cycling, horseback riding, coffee with friends, and spending time with family. Ustadha Suzane currently resides in Michigan, where she teaches and serves on the board of The Rahmah Foundation while continuing advanced studies in Qur’anic Sciences.
2024 Workshops
Financial wellness is all about achieving financial stability and success in both the short and long term. This includes managing your budget, saving money, investing wisely, managing debt, and planning for the future. By improving these aspects of your personal finances, you can achieve greater financial security and peace of mind. This year's financial wellness workshop will focus on the benefits of personal investments and teach us how to begin or enhance our investment journey that aligns with Islamic principles. This year's workshop will be led by an expert from a renowned Islamic-based company that has proven to be socially responsible and sustainable.
Meet the 2024 Financial Wellness speaker: Hud K. Williams.
Brother Hud is the Regional Manager for Saturna Capital. With over 20 years of experience in financial services, including financial systems implementation to Islamic-compliant home finance. Brother Hud holds an undergraduate degree in Economics from Old Dominion University, an MBA with a finance concentration from Georgia Institute of Technology, and is currently pursuing a Certificate in Islamic Finance from The International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, INCEIF, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. When he's not working, Brother Hud spends time with his family and serves on the board of the Atlanta Masjid of Al Islam and Muslim Aid USA relief organization.
Brother Hud's session: Growing Your Finances Over Time, will cover sharia compliant / halal investment products and sustainable investing; the necessity of saving and benefits of investing; investment vehicles for retirement investment; vehicles for education/children shariah; screening criteria for equities; and the historical performance overview of the Amana Mutual Funds.
Physical well-being is crucial for a healthy lifestyle. It involves practicing self-care for the needs of your body through physical activity, balanced nutrition, sufficient sleep, and avoiding harmful behaviors. Taking care of ones physical well-being also includes a personal responsibility to understand your body’s warning signs and recognize when you are ill and in need of medical attention. Prioritizing physical wellness can lead to a happier and healthier life. This year's workshop will be led by a functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner and board certified functional wellness coach.
Meet the 2024 Physical Wellness speaker: Sunny Majeedah, FDNp.
Sister Majeedah, is the Founder and CEO of Root Cause Root Care. Her expertise lies in using functional lab testing to address midlife women's peri- and menopause hormonal issues, with a focus on metabolic challenges. She is passionate about educating women on midlife and empowering them to advocate for themselves in a medical system that often dismisses their concerns. Her approach is affectionately referred to as Sex-ed 4.0, The Midlife Changes Primer!
Sister Majeedah's session: Practical & Pleasurable Perimenopause, aims to help women better understand perimenopause, its signs and symptoms, practical ways to manage perimenopause and gain relief such as dietary / nutritional alternatives (including wholesome food, natural remedies, herbs), mindfulness practices, exercise, aromatherapy etc.
*FDNp: functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner
*NBC-FWC: National Board Certified Functional Wellness Coach
Social-emotional wellness is crucial for overall well-being. It involves understanding and managing emotions, i.e., a person's ability to identify what they are feeling, how to manage that feeling or emotion, and how to navigate those emotions in a way that leads to building and maintaining stable relationships. Strong social-emotional health enables an individual to integrate their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in a way that supports greater health and well-being in life. By prioritizing social-emotional health, we can achieve a more balanced and fulfilling life. This year's workshop will be led by a trained psychologist adept at working with the Muslim community and Muslim women to improve their health and wellness.
Meet the 2024 Social-emotional Wellness speaker: Dr. Farah Shakour-Bridges.
Dr. Farah has one primary focus: to help people deeply connect to self, others, and the Creator as a foundation for realizing their human potential. Utilizing a number of holistic spiritual strategies, Dr. Farah supports individuals in discovering their internal wisdom and reconnecting with their fitrah - their innate state of Divinely imbued goodness - to achieve a profound sense of well-being, manage stress, heal, and actualize life’s possibilities. Dr. Farah extends these transformational principles to organizations to assist them with strategic planning and development, beginning with their people and cascading to their business goals. Drawing from over 20 years of experience and training, Dr. Farah integrates diverse disciplines, including theology, psychology, education, philosophy, business, spirituality, the arts, indigenous wisdom, and energy work into her practice. Dr. Farah is a leader in creating restorative, regenerative spaces and facilitating meaningful relationships among people of diverse backgrounds, particularly historically marginalized people, youth, and women.
Dr. Farah is a mom, a spouse, and a community auntie. She is married to Imam Chaplain Dr. Edrees Bridges, founder of Baytul Sabr Jameel, and the two join forces to develop programming centered on social justice, equity, and belonging. Dr. Farah finds solace in creating culturally representative spiritually uplifting art, reading, reflecting, writing, exploring nature, and traveling.
The workshop on spiritual well-being aims to help women strengthen their connection with Allah by exploring Islamic beliefs, values, principles, and morals. By expanding their sense of purpose and meaning in life, women can achieve a greater sense of fulfillment and contentment. The workshop will be led by a Muslimah psychotherapist who has served the community for over 15 years.
Meet the 2024 Spiritual Wellness speaker: Najwa Awad.
Sister Najwa is a psychotherapist and certified perinatal mental health specialist that has provided services to individuals and families for over 15 years. She is also the co-author of the book, Your Lord Has not Forsaken You: The impact of Trauma on Faith. She has a private practice, Amanah Family Counseling, that offers psychotherapy and EMDR to women and children, and specializes in treating depression, anxiety, trauma and family conflict. Najwa enjoys giving workshops to destigmatize mental illness, address current mental health issues within the community, and promote psychological health from an Islamic perspective. She is also a Fellow at the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research.
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