The World of Rekiya & Z
Muti'ah Badruddeen is the critically acclaimed author of three books; Rekiya & Z, Umm Abdillah, and Faltering Steps.
Catch up on author news, freebies, exciting announcements and behind the scenes.
09/08/2023
Charity Book Drive 🚘
Almost 2 years ago (new-ish to Twitter) I ran a poll on "age you first read a book with a +ve portrayal of / Islam" It showed most of my Twitter circle (49 - 60%) had NEVER read a book with a Muslim Xter where and Muslims were portrayed positively!
By then, was out, feted in MW circles (mostly outside Nigeria), I had compiled and edited Not To Be Forgotten, an of MW experience of living through the pandemic - authored by 19 established / emerging MW writers. I was editing Falter for re-release. I was, to all intent and purpose, doing my part.
Still, that result shook me.
“How do we get these books into public literary consciousness?"
Then someone on my team floated the idea of a drive: with donor support, we can give the books to schools and youth spaces. As can be imagined, I baulked
The idea of asking for money is fraught with potential for misunderstanding
Then we won and was everywhere on the Nigerian space (at least virtually). With that visibility, other projects & Life took precedence... Until a few weeks ago when we revisited the idea of the Charity Book Drive again
I tweeted about it then but some verification issues (the many ways Nigeria happens to us) meant we couldn't go live. Thankfully, we are live now with "70 Days of Seeding"
Please donate generously, may your purses be rejuvenated (LaunchGood link in the comments)
For in Naira, pay to 2002141237
Zenith (ref: 70 Days OR Charity Book Drive)
Kindly share far and wide for maximal reach
PS: Bear with me please, I'm going to be posting a lot about this over the next few weeks
70 Days of Seeding: A Charity Book Drive | LaunchGood Bringing Muslim narratives to mainstream literary consciousness by donating 750 Islamic fiction books to young Nigerian readers.
13/12/2022
Quick two-for-one announcement
has been shortlisted for the SpriNG Women Author Prize.
And Muti’ah Badruddeen is meeting an intimate group of readers and supporters of the RZ-verse in Lekki Lagos Nigeria between 10am and 1pm on Sunday 18th December 2022
Comment “yes” below for a chance to attend the meet-and-gree/ book signing
Admission is a copy of or (or both :-)
03/07/2022
23/01/2022
is finally available in Nigeria!
Our apologies for the delay.
You can now order your copy for #3500 or buy both books for #8000.
Pick up locally in Ikeja, Lekki, Abeokuta, Ilorin and Abuja. #500 for delivery to nipost routes.
Offer only until 15th February 2022.
Upholding the Niqab in these times
13/12/2021
If you are on Scribd or Kindle unlimited, you can read my books for free.
Both programs offer a free 30-day to explore and decide if you want to keep a subscription- more than enough time to finish reading and / or
Enjoy. Don’t forget to leave a review!
05/12/2021
I wrote this short story this morning, to celebrate the release of
Here's hoping you like it...
* * *
‘Alhaja, remove dat bag na! Abi bag sef go sit ni?!’
The voice, obnoxiously loud and obviously belligerent in the cramped space and heated swirl of the cab, snapped Uthman out of his semi-slumber. He turned around to confirm what he thought, what he already knew, was going on. The woman he had noticed in the backseat when he’d approached the vehicle a few minutes earlier was being harassed by a rough-looking young man, presumably because she’d settled her hand bag beside her on the seat to create an illusion of space between their bodies.
It was the same story, everyday, on any number of Nigerian public means of transportation. There was always a Muslim, usually female, trying to maintain a modicum of personal space in a system designed to cramp as many bodies as humanly possible in a vehicle. It was why he always sat beside the driver, always paid a double fare.
‘Oya na, abi wetin be dis kain tin?!’
Uthman did not even think about it. He got out and quickly jogged across the front of the car. He reached the door at the side of the poor beleaguered woman who was doing everything to make herself smaller; simultaneously trying to pacify the disgruntled co-passenger and obstinately refusing to remove the offending object at the same time. He yanked the open quickly, knowing how these scenes usually went – the entire cab of men, except him of course, would soon verbally pile on her. The flaying in such scenarios often bordered on abusive. He had to do something.
She, poor woman, hadn’t been paying him much mind, though, and almost tumbled out of the unexpectedly opened door.
‘Careful!’ Uthman caught her falling body by the shoulders, totally on reflex, before his brain caught up with his hands.
They both froze for an infinite second – the type that lasted eons – before she awkwardly righted herself and he stepped back, rubbing his inexplicably tingly hands together behind his back.
‘Erm… Salaam alayki. Would you take my seat up front? I paid for two, so you won’t be bothered in shaa Allaah.’
She was startled enough to meet his gaze headlong, before both their eyes scuttled away from each others’.
https://deenprogress.wordpress.com/2021/12/05/a-muslims-meet-cute-a-falter-short-story/
A Muslim’s Meet Cute ( A Falter Short Story) He’d been struck. Like a sense of deja vu, he’d been hit with an ethereal awareness that he was meant to be here at this moment, to meet this woman. Something about her face, the light of its seren…
A TEXT OF MY ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT THE DAYBREAK PRESS AWARDS
It is surreal, being here. For one thing, it's 3am here. I wasn't going to be here, my fellow writer and awardee () had agreed to give this speech on my behalf. But somehow, I couldn't sleep and here we are!
For another, growing up a bibliophile in Nigeria, authors were White or Western non-Muslims. To be celebrated for a book that I, a fully veiled African Muslimah wrote - set in Nigeria and centering women like me - was not something even my overactive imagination ever dreamed possible.
Yet here we are, at an event doing just that. Celebrating Muslim Women writers who dare to change the narratives about us and our community, to reflect the reality we live and not the perception others choose to see.
May Allaah reward everyone at Daybreak press and Rabata for putting together such an amazing event. Thank you for the honor bestowed on my work. Rekiya&Z was a book that took a lot to write, and it means a lot that it is getting the recognition and validation it deserves.
I want to say congratulations to all the winners. It's been a pleasure interacting with you all over the past few weeks. And to my family and friends who have supported me through this journey - but they've heard that often enough!
This award is for my readers - For everyone who picks up a book about African visibly-Muslim women who strive to hold on to Faith. Thank you.
20/10/2021
For those who have been asking, here are the most recent bookshops in Lagos and Abuja that carry Rekiya & Z.
18/10/2021
A Writer-ly Timeline
18years ago, I was a sleep-deprived med student with no aspirations of writing. Authors were Art students who studied English and Literature, not lifelong readers who just couldn't keep words from spewing forth. Faltering Steps was the book I wished someone had written
11years ago, I was knee-deep in the haze 'mothers of small children' inhabit. Barely keeping my head above the water of my daily To-do lists, Umm 'Abdillaah was my' hand in there' to women like I used to be. So, nope, still not a writer...
6years ago, immersed in a mental health struggle I didn't how to deal with, I started writing because the words wouldn't let me be. And because for those few hours a day, I could see the glimpse of a different reality than I currently occupied
And last year, because of family and friends who wouldn't let me bury the manuscript in the recesses of my drive anymore, went on into the world. And I'm forced to consider that I might be a writer?
This year has been a blur of book promotion and making connections, "meeting" readers and embracing social media, winning awards (! 😳) and collaborating with several amazing Muslimah writers. And acknowledging the many, many tales that live rent-free in my head.
Some days, it feels like a dream. Am I really a Multiple Award-winning author of contemporary Islamic fiction? Someone please pinch me!
Then go add Falter on goodreads ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59385474-falter)
😘
01/10/2021
"WHAT INSPIRES YOUR WRITING / STORIES / CHARACTERS?"
The simple, unfiltered answer to this is...
You.
My books do not have fire-breathing dragons and teens with super-powers upon whom the fate of the world rests. There are no mythical creatures or alternative universes to escape to (or from) And, for the most part, there are no villains, no heroes too!
Just Muslim living life.
Because that's my inspiration - every Muslimah I've interracted with over the course of living. Your strengths, your weaknesses, your moments of triumph and the wells of despair that even the best of us occasionally sinks into. What drives us, what we hold dear, what we've had to sacrifice...
I write the mundane of what makes us unique, individually and collectively. And because life is sometimes more dramatic than , there's more than enough fodder for tales that pull the reader in. A world similar enough to be relatable yet intricate enough to require exploration. Filled with characters that remind us of we know, or the ones we to be. The words I weave are just a conduit for these of ours.
Sometimes, like with Umm Abdillaah - my -fiction self help manual for dealing with , we meet these and their in their unadulterated forms. With my fictional works, they have often been through a crockpot of - this dilemma here, that backstory from there, the one whose life was barely celebrated and the sob story I came across a while back...
At the end of a book / story, I am eternally and gratified when and comment on feeling 'seen' / connecting to the work 'in a way I haven't done in a long time'. That's how I know I did my job well.
That's what inspires me!
So, go ahead and me today! (I am post- call duty and in no head space to 🥴) Tell me the one character / / / story (even a backstory or a line of dialogue) that you have connected with the most from my work.
I'm waiting 👇. I'll reveal mine after the first five responses.
And with sufficient 'inspiration' I might even share my story with y'all 🤔 in my next post
28/09/2021
'You know you have recurring characters, right?'
This was feedback from a beta-reader recently. Since she reads most of my work pre-publication, she knows a thing or two.
She was also right.
-Educated Nigerian Yoruba Muslim women
-A Niqabi living her best life
-An adoring Muslim husband who is not above the typical male blunder
-A woman grappling with subfertility
-A woman who redefines herself, throwing off the yolk of societal expectations
-A woman persisting despite discrimination for using hijab
Over and again, these characters reoccur in my work - sometimes a single xter like Mummy from &Z embodies many of them together.
After the publication of Rekiya&Z, one xter nagged at me, pushed me, demanded from me to write more on Muslimah-centred joy.
Jumai.
She was colorful and full of joy! This isn’t a coincidence - Jumai is fashioned after a dear friend of mine, someone who inspires me with her ability to spread and share joy. Allaahuma baarik laha.
Now, one of the themes of RZ was women being, and learning how to be, happy. We see it with both MCs. I want more of that.
Using social media, I asked Muslimahs to share stories of . The responses were stunning. They are documented across my socials, my blog and the essay I penned. Give it a read, and share your story 👇
Muslimahs have joy. Contrary to the popular opinion dedicated by mainstream media, we should normalize it.
We want joy, tales of this emotion curated for us, by us. The type that represents our realities. Not manufactured by those who think it their place to tell us how we feel, who we are.
And, yes, sometimes our joy is muted. We can be reluctant to show the joy we feel due to cultural or even perceived religious constraints. A stark contrast to the lives of the women around the prophet who embraced life, even playing practical jokes on each other.
It can be performative and burdened, difficult to separate from the roles of service most of us play.
But it is joy.
And it is ours.
And I, for one, want to write more of it!
15/09/2021
AND... HERE IT IS!!! 💣
The news I've been sitting on.💥
is the winner of the Daybreak Press award 2021 for Islamic fiction.🎉🎉🎉
"Daybreak Press aims to create positive cultural change through literature.
The Daybreak Press Book Awards uplift the work of Muslim women writers by recognizing and honoring books that are most effectively creating that change."
That's it for now.
I'll be back to share my innards when my head catches up with the reality.
Aaaaah! Thank you . Mabrook to all the winners.
Thank YOU for being in my tribe of readers and supporters.
* still happy crying *
31/07/2021
We love being notified of reviews for (still available at
https://books2read.com/u/bxjQov) Especially reviews that threatens one with a few happy tears.
Thank you, Tohib Adejumo
Habeebah is a recurring character in a number of Muti'ah books. In , she is a minor but intriguing character
Muti'ah introduces the character of Nkechi, Rekiya's beautiful and enigmatic mother from the book, Rekiya&Z.
27/06/2021
The Live on Mummy had some OMG! glitches, so I deleted it. You can see it here
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQoiGdPDchH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Author Reading from the book introduces the character of Z. Grab your copy https://books2read.com/u/bxjQov
24/06/2021
By popular demand, here is the list of how to obtain copies of in Nigeria. If you are a bookseller interested in stocking up, do contact 08057717392 (sms only) or DM Muti'ah Badruddeen (facebook.com/deenprogress)
Internationally, the book remains available on all major online sellers https://books2read.com/u/bxjQov
Autor reading from the book, Rekiya & Z
05/06/2021
MEET THE WOMEN OF
Via these twice-weekly Author reading by Muti'ah Badruddeen, Muti'ah Badruddeen, to be live-streamed across her platforms on this page, Instagram (instagram.com/deenprogress), YouTube and Clubhouse. Thursdays and Sundays from 20th June until 4th July.
Muti'ah will read selected portions of the book, a contemporary Islamic fiction novel that centers Nigerian Muslim women and deals with trials of friendship, family, trauma, loss of faith and innocence, to introduce the amazing women that make up the characters of this truly inspiring book, "a celebration of everything woman" - Amaliah Bookshelf ( https://www.amaliah.com/post/60638/book-review-rekiya-z-mutiah-badruddeen )
In addition, she will answer questions/ provide insights to these women that she created and the process leading to the book itself. is available on all major booksellers https://books2read.com/u/bxjQov
This virtual reading is free and open to all - even if you've never read Muslim fiction set in Africa before. Especially if you haven't read Muslim fiction set in Africa before!
27/04/2021
THE PERFECT GIFT FOR RAMADHAAN AND 'EID!
"You must read this book!"
"Gripping, all-encompassing, poignant... a celebration of everything 'woman' "
"... a beautiful tale of the reunion of two women whose bond of faith and friendship is threatened by an unresolved trauma."
"This is one of the most positive portrayals of Islam that I have read in a long time."
*
is the contemporary Muslim fiction readers cannot get enough of. A perfect Ramadhaan and 'Eid gift!
Synopsis;
When Rekiya and Zaynunah met as teenagers, neither had any inkling this would be the start of a lifelong friendship. That the bond they formed as friends would see them through the best and worst of times. An unlikely alliance, Rekiya is the unacknowledged daughter of one of the Richest men in the country, while Zaynunah is the Ibadan raised hijabi from a more modest background.
Years later, Zaynunah is the quintessential Nigerian Muslim Superwoman - wife, mother, business owner, niqabi. While Rekiya is the aloof Black finance guru whose blazing career hides a multitude of cracks.
When a mutual loss bring them together, forcing them to revisit the memories of their unlikely teenage friendship, can they navigate decades of hurt and betrayal, childhood trauma and self esteem issues, loss of innocence and faith to find the healing neither had been aware they needed?
Rekiya & Z explores the themes of Time and its fickleness, trauma, loss and the varying realities of Muslim Womanhood against the backdrop of Africa’s most populous country.
Snippets of the 5-star reviews on Goodreads ( https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55542257-rekiya-and-z... ) and
the editorial review on Amaliah.com Bookshelf ( https://www.amaliah.com/.../book-review-rekiya-z-mutiah... )
For more information www.deenprogress.com/rekiya-z
Available on all major online booksellers https://books2read.com/u/bxjQov
Available now at your favorite digital store! Rekiya & Z by Muti’ah Badruddeen