By Mona Ismaeil

MashAllah, being a mom is by far the greatest gift that any woman can be given. Nothing can fill your heart and your life like the smile and laughter of a child. Nothing can soothe your soul like the touch of your child’s hands, a messy kiss on your cheek or a tight squeeze. Being a busy mom has its pros and cons of course.

Pros

• Boredom doesnt exist… EVER!
• Your day flies by! Seriously, where does the time go?
• Each day (each moment actually) is an adventure
• You get to meet so many people as you are out and about
• You learn to multi-task like a pro!

Cons

Ibadah is affected.

If as a busy mom you have struggled with keeping up your Ibadah, you are not alone! Woman by nature is selfless and self-sacrificing; everyone and everything comes before you and your needs. If we allow our mom/wife duties to affect our Ibadah, have we gone too far? Is folding the laundry really more important than praying Duhr? I’ve been a mom for almost a year and there are days where my Ibadah is almost non-existent.  How can we fix this?  Here are some tricks I have used to keep Ibadah in my daily life.

Keeping Up With Ibadah

Salah

Any mom will tell you she is not a stranger to missing a prayer here or there. It always seems that something important comes up right at the time of salah and we vow to pray right after we are done. Guess what, right after you have done that task, you realize that you’ve missed your salah.

To remind me of my prayer times, I have an application on my phone called “Athan by Islamic Finder”. I try to keep my phone on ringer so I hear the beautiful Athan and don’t just get a vibrate that I will likely ignore.  Also, this application has a prayer tracker. This small feature is strangely encouraging and will make you want to keep your score at 100% for the week.

Seeking Knowledge

I remember before I had my daughter how easy it was to go to any lecture at any time, anywhere. Oh, the possibilities were endless! I also remember the rare brave mother that came to a lecture with her baby and how she spent most of the time standing on the side or just outside the doors trying to console her child while trying to listen to the lecture.

If you can’t get to the lecture, bring the lecture home! Along with my mom/wife duties, I am a business owner and I spend my evenings working on my website, writing a blog article, or searching the international market for new and exciting products. I have found that this is a perfect time for me to pop in my headphones, and listen to my favorite lecturer Ustadh Nouman Ali on YouTube. I can attend multiple lectures right from the comfort of my home while my baby is fast asleep!

Another great idea I have had the pleasure of being involved in is home based halaqas. What is this you ask? Basically, a sister will host a halaqa in her home. This creates a comfortable and child friendly environment where you can still learn the many teachings of Allah (swt). All you need is a very knowledgeable sister and a great group of mommies ready to learn and grown their Iman.

Reading Qur’an

Sitting down to read Qur’an can be difficult when your children are awake and when they sleep it seems we have a million and one things we need to get done BEFORE they wake up! I know as a busy mom always on the go, I spend a great deal of time in my car. One suggestion for you is to listen to Qur’an in your car. This will not only be great for you, but your children will be accustomed to hearing the Qur’an.  While you are cooking, folding laundry or while you are doing other “exciting” chores, you could be listening to Qur’an too!

Community

Keeping up a sense of community can be very tricky. As much as my friends and I try to get together, we struggle because so many things can get in the way. Either a child is sick, it’s their nap time, they need to be fed or they may just be having a fussy day.  Instead of feeling like mom life gets in the way of social life, you can use the technology you already have to keep your connections. My mommy friends and I use applications such as WhatsApp, to keep an all-day conversation going on. One of my friends thought of creating the “Edmonton Muslim Mommy” chat group. We use this well-known application and keep adding Muslim mommies. It’s great because you can always find someone to chat with.

Also, we have a Facebook group. Facebook is a fantastic tool for connecting with others who have the same interests as you! You could create a group for your own town/city or join an existing group. Simple ideas like this will help you feel connected and assure you that you are not alone in the ups and downs of mommy life.

Although, our lives will throw many obstacles our way, keeping up our Ibadah in daily life should not be one of them. Remember, that Allah (swt) is merciful and forgiving and he knows that when we miss a salah, or don’t read Qur’an for a while, it is because we are doing our best to raise righteous and pious Muslim children to lead our Ummah into the future.

About the Author:

Mona Ismaeil is mother to a sweet little toddler, Owner at Modern Hejab  and a Blogger.