MODERN LUXURY IS ABOUT MEANING AND PURPOSE. HOW DO YOU ENSURE THIS IS LIVED IN LIGHT OF SAKINA, NOT JUST CSR?
At Light of Sakina, every creation begins with a story, a spiritual connection, a feeling, a moment of light. We do not start with a product; we start with intention. My inspirations often arrive through my faith, Sufism, dreams, or nature. Once the story comes, we translate it into a sensory universe through scent, poetry, design, texture, color, and ritual. I work very closely with perfumers to ensure the emotional dimension of the story is felt in the composition itself. The fragrance must feel like the narrative; it must carry the energy behind it. Luxury, for me, is in the details; every wick, vessel, ribbon, word, and raw material has a purpose. CSR is one of our pillars, but our foundation is stillness, love, and the desire to uplift. Empowering women and children is woven into our structure, not a separate initiative. Everything we create is meant to bring “sakina”, inner peace because luxury should nourish the soul, not just the senses.
HOW DO YOUR INGREDIENTS, SCENT COMPOSITIONS, AND RITUALS HELP CREATE INNER CONNECTION FOR YOUR CLIENTS?
I truly believe scent is a portal to the soul. Metaphysically, fragrance can shift your aura, your mood, and your internal light. There is both energetic and scientific truth behind this. Yes, scent interacts with the limbic system, the emotional center, but beyond that, it interacts with the soul itself. Personally, I wear different attars in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I light different candles and burn different bakhoors throughout the day. It’s important to understand which scent belongs to which moment, because fragrance can transform the way you feel, think, behave, and even the energy of a room. Some scents uplift, others ground you; some soften your heart, others expand it. This is where our rituals become powerful for our clients. Lighting bakhoor, applying attar, choosing a candle – these are rituals of stillness. They invite you to pause, breathe, realign, and reconnect. In a world that moves so quickly, these simple rituals become acts of returning to yourself. We often rely on the mind to solve everything, but the mind is limited. The soul is the most powerful force within us.
HOW HAVE YOUR ENERGY-SECTOR BOARD EXPERIENCES SHAPED THE WAY YOU BUILD LIGHT OF SAKINA?
When I founded Light of Sakina, I built it entirely from heart. The first years were pure intuition, creativity, and a deep spiritual calling to bring something meaningful into the world. There was no complex structure in the beginning. Just a story, a purpose, and a desire to create fragrance as a form of inner light. As the brand grew, I realized that heart alone is not enough to scale globally. Now we are entering a new chapter. One where structure, systems, and organizational clarity sit alongside creativity and soul. We are refining our internal processes, strengthening our team with people from structured environments, and building a solid operational foundation to support our expansion into retail, partnerships, and new markets. My previous career played a major role in shaping this evolution. Before Light of Sakina, I worked in the energy sector as a board member and also as a trader and trade finance manager. That world taught me governance, discipline, risk management, relationship-building, negotiation, and how to scale with strategy, not just emotion. It also taught me how to build partnerships, how to think long-term, and how to expand through strong retail and commercial channels.
LIGHT OF SAKINA BEGAN BY EMPOWERING WIDOWS. HOW DO YOU ENSURE THIS MISSION SCALES GLOBALLY?
Our mission began in Najaf, training widows in candle-making, and that purpose remains at the very core of our brand. As we grow, we continue to honor that intention through ethical sourcing, fair wages, and full transparency across our supply chain. But my long-term vision goes far beyond Najaf. I imagine Light of Sakina stores in different countries, run by local women who then empower other women in their communities, a chain of light spreading across the world. We are not scaling a business; we are scaling an ecosystem of empowerment. This commitment also lives deeply inside the company itself. Light of Sakina is built by women. I employ many women across the organization, and I actively grow them, mentor them, and empower them.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN KEEPING LUXURY SUSTAINABLE?
The challenge is not in creating sustainable systems. We can always innovate there. The real challenge is cultural, especially in the GCC, where luxury is still strongly associated with large boxes, layered packaging, and visual abundance. In Europe, a luxury item presented in a refined tote bag feels perfectly acceptable; here, that shift has not yet happened. It’s a gradual mindset change that we are gently guiding our customers toward. For me, true luxury is expressed through conscious choices: the materials we select, the partners we work with, and the values we uphold every day. At Light of Sakina, we take sustainability step by step, without compromising the soul of the brand. All our candles are made with soy wax and eco-cotton wicks, and we prioritize natural, earth-derived ingredients. Our attars use raw materials that are pure and minimally altered, and our bakhoor is crafted from resin, wood, and agarwood, all elements of the natural world. We also make sure the paper we use is ethically sourced, choosing FSC-certified materials to honor responsible forestry. And we are planning to introduce elegantly designed tote bags next year to slowly encourage more conscious gifting habits. Importantly, we partner with perfumers and fragrance houses that have their own sustainability ecosystems, from responsible harvesting of raw materials to protecting the environments and communities that grow them. This allows us to create an end-to-end ecosystem of sustainability, not just in the final product but across the entire supply chain.
HOW DO YOUR DUBAI MALL BOUTIQUE AND ATELIER DELIVER EXPERIENTIAL LUXURY AND ENGAGE THE NEXT GENERATION?
Our Dubai Mall boutique is truly a Sanctuary of Light, a place designed to slow you down in the middle of a fast world. The arches, shadows, textures, scent stations, poetry, and rituals create an atmosphere of serenity. It feels like an oasis in the heart of the mall, where you step out of the noise and into a world of stillness and beauty. The space is intentionally curated this way. Even the team I choose for the boutique are spiritually aligned; they understand the emotional and sacred depth of perfumery. Their energy contributes to the atmosphere as much as the architecture does. We have also been blessed with an incredible partnership with Dubai Mall and Emaar, who have retained us year after year because they recognize that Light of Sakina offers something unlike anything else in the mall. Over time, we’ve built a loyal, beautiful clientele. What amazes me is the diversity of the people who walk into our store, from Alabama to Tennessee, from Bulgaria to Poland, from the UK to every corner of the world. When I am in the boutique, I am always touched by how people from such different backgrounds connect deeply with our scents. We receive repeat orders internationally and locally. Many of our visitors are people of faith who come in seeking something meaningful, something spiritual, something that resonates with their soul.
