Get to know Ayman J. Sabir, Muslim poet and founder of The Poetry Journal

Written by: Yasmin Qureshi

30 August 2025

Ayman and I bumped into each other on Instagram, and I have to admit—it was love at first discovery.

Her bubbly personality and passion for poetry shines through instantly. I enjoy listening to her poems, having a nosey inside her notebooks, and getting a behind-the-scenes look into her life as she pursues her creative passions.

Most recently Ayman launched The Poetry Journal, a pen pal service designed to help curious writers discover the therapeutic nature of poetry, whilst sending and receiving poetry from the community.

In her interview, Ayman shares insight into her journey as a writer, her inspirations, and her thoughts on the current visibility of Muslim poets in the literary world.

Salaam Ayman! Go ahead and introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background and education.

W/salam! My name’s Ayman, I’m 21 and I’ve just graduated from my English Literature with Creative Writing degree. I have been making content for about two years now, through different experiences in publishing, marketing and my own social media platform of a community of poets!

How long have you been writing and what inspired you to start writing poetry?

I have been writing since I was around 13 years old, when I was in a massive fan fiction phase. I published those fan fictions on online communities like Wattpad and they’ve actually done really well (I think they are still on there!). My inspiration for writing stemmed from during my GCSEs actually. We did our English Literature GCSE during year 10, so English Language (the non-fiction, storytelling one) was the one we paid most attention to during our final years. I fell in love with storytelling through all of the practise we did on that final question.

Who and what inspires your poems and creative writing?

I don’t really have a ‘who’, a significant person that inspires my poetry as such. Sometimes, the people around me do, like my grandparents for instance. I have written so many poems about my Nannie Jaan I don’t think she even knows how many. In terms of the ‘what’ I would say life experiences, random thoughts, tough emotions and all-round randomness as a whole.

What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to in your work?

This is an easy question ahah! Grief, overthinking, spirituality, time, identity. The first four mainly. The more I write about these themes, the more I realise they are like neighbours to me. I know them better than I know myself and in reading those specific poems back, I get to know more about myself. It’s such a weird but interesting paradox.

How do you deal with creative self-doubt?

I step away and read poems or short stories that I am the most proud of to reaffirm my belief that this is something I KNOW I can do! Taking time away is important but in that time, I’ve found that you do still have to be doing something productive. Don’t let the time eat up the space between you, your rest and your craft! I also remind myself why I write in the first place and why I want to continue to write because without it, I don’t think I would be where I am today or even be the person I am today.

What projects are you currently working on?

I’m currently trying to start my own poetry penpal service called The Poetry Journal. The whole point of it is to teach people the therapeutic nature of poetry and how it can be used in place of journaling. I’ll be teaching people how to do this through live workshops, helpful resources and so much more! Creative expression is something that needs to be taken seriously and hopefully inshallah, I will be able to spread this message through the penpal service.

Can you give us an insight into your creative process?

Back when I started writing poetry, I used to listen to instrumental/ classical music to promote inspiration. I can write to music! Images were easier to write, descriptions were easier to create and characters were more alive than before. Pinterest boards and visual representations also really helped me provoke inspiration in my own words. However now that I am more experienced, I honestly don’t really do much. What I have started doing though is whenever I have an idea (however detailed or flat) I quickly go and write it down! I used to do this on the Notes app on my phone but I find that physically writing it with pen and paper actually helped you remember it better.

Ayman performing spoken word poetry at The Cosy Desi Club event

Tell us a little bit about the spoken word events you participate in

For the past couple of months I have been trying to find ways of networking in person. The best place for a poet to do that is an open mic night/ event, where you can meet other poets, readers and writers and also get the chance to read your own out. The most recent one I have participated in was during the launch party of a magazine called The Cosy Desi Club. I was fortunate enough to be performing to a larger audience than I ever have before and further grow my confidence at spoken word!

How do you feel about the current visibility of Muslim poets in the literary world?

I think that progress is slow. Very slow. A lot of Muslim poets I know of that are Gen Z are self-published, which is great! They are getting their name's out there and really trying to make Muslim poets be seen. However, I think that more Muslim poets need to be traditionally published and spotlit by the 'bigger' people because we are still not there yet. When I think of the 'predominant' Muslim poets, none that come to my mind are those of this age, which is disappointing because our voices should be seen and heard. It's a topic that's quite hit or miss. Some people will say that we have made leaps and bounds but I can't really say we have just yet.

How do you navigate topics that might be seen as sensitive or controversial within Muslim spaces?

I think that the key thing that I do is make sure I am balanced. At the end of the day, there's always going to be one person out there that completely disagrees with what you're saying. But that's why it's important! I feel like the taboo/ controversial topics stay that way because when one person firmly says that they disagree, the rest of us are too scared to speak out. And in my opinion, that's wrong. I suppose it also depends on what the topic is but if it is something that is extremely controversial, I try to do my research in depth and see where my argument can be placed. However, if it's something that isn't, I write it anyway. At the end of the day, everyone's different and everyone's beliefs should be respected.

What advice would you give young Muslim poets and creative writers who are just starting out?

Please don't shy away from your Muslim roots! Your faith and belief is a significant factor of your identity and it shouldn't be ignored or pushed away. Make a relationship with it and be comfortable with it. And don't feel like just because you are a Muslim, you HAVE to write about your faith. You don't. But don't shy away from being proud of your faith. At the end of the day, Allah SWT gave you your passion to write and create for a reason- use it, create and turn it into something special :)!

How can people support your work or get involved?

Honestly, it's the little things that matter! You can support me by commenting on my posts, following and sharing your fave pieces of mine on your stories. As simple as that!