This year, we wanted to showcase authors of all sorts here at Sakina Literary Society of the Arts, and give readers and writers a look behind the scenes at different Muslim authors' writing journeys. With this, we hoped to demystify the act (and art) of writing, to showcase the vast variety of Muslim authors and their works, and to encourage you to join them in their literary endeavours without fear. We start off our 2026 interviews with Nida Rashid, author of From You...to You, Post Parting, and HumDrums. You can find her on Instagram as @ennarre.
How long have you been writing?
I started writing for myself when I was around 11 years old. It was always poetry to start--I loved to rhyme.
What was your first creative writing piece, as far as you can remember?
I wrote a song called "Puppy Dog Face" about people who use their innocent charm to get away with mischief. The song had a great hook, "don't give me that puppy dog face, that puppy dog face". My sister and her friend found it and made so much fun of me that I deleted it from the computer.
I started writing for myself when I was around 11 years old. It was always poetry to start--I loved to rhyme.
What was your first creative writing piece, as far as you can remember?
I wrote a song called "Puppy Dog Face" about people who use their innocent charm to get away with mischief. The song had a great hook, "don't give me that puppy dog face, that puppy dog face". My sister and her friend found it and made so much fun of me that I deleted it from the computer.
Did you always feel drawn to poetry? What got you into writing poetry?
Yes. I always felt drawn to tones and rhythm. Poetry appealed to me, ironically because of Quran recitation (in the Quran itself, it is repeated that the Quran is not mere poetry for entertainment). The calming tones, and various recitations led me to recognize how words can carry powerful meaning in their rhythm. When I discovered spoken word poetry on Youtube, I was completely mesmerized.
Once, in high school, I had to present a biology project but had only 24 hours to come up with a presentation. I realized poems are easy to memorize, so I made a 3 minute spoken word poem about the topic. My science teacher was so impressed that science could be presented in an artistic form--I got an A. From then on, whenever I needed to remember a difficult topic--I wrote a poem.
Who were some of the major influences/supports, real or fictional, in your creative writing journey?
Sarah Kay - her spoken word on Youtube is what helped me gain confidence to speak my poems aloud. My friends - who would read my poems and tell me they felt something in reading it.
Yes. I always felt drawn to tones and rhythm. Poetry appealed to me, ironically because of Quran recitation (in the Quran itself, it is repeated that the Quran is not mere poetry for entertainment). The calming tones, and various recitations led me to recognize how words can carry powerful meaning in their rhythm. When I discovered spoken word poetry on Youtube, I was completely mesmerized.
Once, in high school, I had to present a biology project but had only 24 hours to come up with a presentation. I realized poems are easy to memorize, so I made a 3 minute spoken word poem about the topic. My science teacher was so impressed that science could be presented in an artistic form--I got an A. From then on, whenever I needed to remember a difficult topic--I wrote a poem.
Who were some of the major influences/supports, real or fictional, in your creative writing journey?
Sarah Kay - her spoken word on Youtube is what helped me gain confidence to speak my poems aloud. My friends - who would read my poems and tell me they felt something in reading it.