Who is the captivating woman:

She is one on whom the eye rests with pleasure when it turns toward her. Whether she is beautiful or not, she always appears in an elegant guise that bespeaks sound taste and care.

Second—she has confidence in herself to the point that she no longer needs to concern herself with watching herself; the faculty of conduct and comportment is so firmly rooted in her that all her movements are natural.

Third—she takes a special interest in others, which makes her company delightful.

Fourth—she is full of life—all activity.

Fifth—her thinking renews itself with the years.

The attractive mind renews itself with the years: it has something of the qualities of youth, many of the qualities of maturity, and a few of those qualities most often found in the elderly—a blend hard to attain, but worthy of attention.

How can we keep our thoughts renewed? We must keep away from the qualities that make the mind old, and they are:

First—self-sufficiency. Being convinced that our opinions and our ways in life are the best of ways.

Second—indifference to what happens to others, especially in matters of universal value; and, on the other hand, taking pleasure in the feeling of calamities and in recounting private misfortunes.

Third—an increasing pleasure in material things: food, money, possessions, and bodily comfort, which cast darkness over the spiritual and moral side of life.

Fourth—vitality too weak to accept new habits, in the belief that the old habits are best.

Fifth—arbitrary prejudice—hating a thing without any justification. Let us analyze a little our prejudices, which mostly arise from trifles we turn away from and reject merely because they are new to us.

Sixth—resentment is a trait that

every person must fight constantly. Youth and young years pay no heed to catastrophes, because youth lives

in the future as it lives in the present, and very little in the past.

On the other hand, we must hold fast to certain qualities found in young minds if we wish to be captivating, and they are:

First—the youthful woman is not content with what she has attained at some limit or age; rather, she is always ready to accept new ideas, useful and beautiful.

After a short time has passed since their marriage, a husband no longer sees in his wife anything but her personality, her character, and her spirit. So be captivating in your personality, your character, and your spirit.

And she desires to go on improving the ways of living. This readiness brings with it many attractive qualities: some make a person listen to what others say with pleasure and with the intent to profit; some make her a companion easy to get along

Sabiha Munir al-Mudarris

O Mother, your pardon if my tongue is tied,

What shall I say? What lines shall I set down? When the visions

I have remembered a golden childhood

And remembered years that blossomed in your tenderness,

Days when I frolicked in your care, which

You watch over for my sake my dearest hopes,

And you set at rest—as I would wish—my aims,

And with your sacrifices you secure all that

O Mother, every counsel you have offered

O Mother, to me the humblest morsel

As for silk—every garment stitched

My soul be your ransom, in requital for your rearing

and my flowing speech grew bashful between your hands.

blazing with colors in my mind.

resplendent, reveling in serene bliss.

how gracious the fair years gone by,

brimming over with every cheerfulness and tenderness,

so I walk proud when they return with thanksgiving.

in glory, of culture and of understanding.

I gaze toward in comfort and safety.

has endured—as the sun endures—in my heart.

your hands prepared is food of paradise.

is mine, for all the meagerness of the two.

and in fidelity for the kindness you have bestowed.