Watching my mum carefully pick her way through her list of things to do and chores, makes me wonder, will I ever be able to live up to that expectation? She balances her work, family time, household chores, social life, and personal time all so well, I often do believe that she is a superwoman. How does she manage it all? Only Allah knows how she does it, but she gets it all done. As Muslim women, we have a lot on our plates; sometimes we let things fall or neglect a few duties here and there. So, how does mum manage to keep it all together, and still end the day with a huge smile on her face, despite the madness?Be Organized: We have to be organized; otherwise we'd lose our hair. Or maybe it'd turn grey; who knows?! The number of tasks we have is endless. Knowing what, when, where, and how are all part of our organization skills. As Muslims, we have to be on a mission constantly, and in order not to forget our mission in life we have to be organized. Plan your day around your salah, and not your salah around your day. Squeezing your prayers, reading of the Qur'an, and other worship into a tight schedule only means that it will be rushed, and lack awareness and mindfulness. Therefore, make your prayer and worship the focus of your day, and when in prayer, concentrate only on that and don't even think of your to-do list. Prep ahead of time: A great way to save time. If you have free time on your hand, prepare yourself. Don't wait for all the tasks to pile up, or become mountains. Tackle them early. At night before going to bed, pick up clothes from off the floor, return books to the bookshelf, and do the dishes- it could save you some time in the morning. Plan ahead: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail! There is no other way to think about it. Plan your day out, map out what you hope to achieve in that day. Routine: This helps keep everything in order and makes organization easier. Have set times for reading the Qur'an, cooking, and cleaning. A great way to have a routine is to use the daily prayers as points of reference. We have to stop for prayer no matter what, so fit tidying before Dhuhr for example, Qur'an reading after Asr, and cooking before Maghrib. To-do lists, diaries, and daily planners are great to have. These will help you keep track of what you have to do. With the ever-growing number of things to do, it's easy to forget something. Making a note of it, and checking your list every so-often means that, God willing, you are less likely to forget. Multi-tasking: Seems simple enough, except none of us are octopuses, with eight arms! Nevertheless, don't let that get you down. Don't wait to finish one task to get started on the next. For example, while the food is cooking away, grab the laundry, sort it, and stick it in the machine. If you wait for the food to finish cooking, you'll never be out of the kitchen! But don't multi-task with your worship, you will end up losing focus. Try to rest! For a busy Muslim woman, there really is little time for rest. By the time you have finished work, done your house chores, settled the kids, cooked for the family, prayed, read Qur'an, and done every other thing that creeps on to the never-ending list of things to o, there is just a few hours to squeeze in some sleep. In spite of this, ensure you do get your beauty sleep; otherwise, you'll wake up like a zombie, unable to cope with the tasks of the next day. Plan yourself a break or two in the day too. Perhaps at lunch time before Dhuhr, or teatime after Asr. Make sure you are not exhausted when it's time for prayer, otherwise you'll compromise your fear of Allah in the prayer. Recruitment: Pull in the kids, or the husband, or anyone you can get your hands on. Delegate tasks when possible, but do not overload your family, otherwise you'll bear the brunt of it, and that's an added thing to deal with. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to mend his own shoes and sew his clothes, so it's no excuse that housework is only for women! If the blessed Prophet (peace be upon him) could do it, despite the enormity of his task, so can every other man. I'm not saying that they have to help with every chore, but they can lend a helping hand, especially when you're tired, dragging your feet, and struggling to stay awake! Inshallah; God willing! This is the most important of all tips. There is no point planning, preparing, and anticipating without saying Inshallah. But this doesn't mean you rely on ‘Inshallah' alone, and make no effort. Of course we must rely on Allah, but as the Prophet said, ‘tie your camel first' meaning make the effort, and depend on Allah. ‘Inshallah I will do the washing' but then you sit on the couch, snoring away lazily…the washing will never get done. Being a perfect Muslimah is impossible; none of us are infallible. We all make mistakes and forget. As a muslimah you have to pick yourself up, lift up your mood, and get on with it. Being a super-muslimah is not easy and takes a lot of courage. A super-muslimah knows she has plenty of faults, but she fixes them when she finds them. She gets on with life, and does her best to keep it all together, striking balance in all her responsibilities. Time is of the essence in life. Every day, minute and second are important.
It is no wonder that the Prophet (peace be upon him) found ease in the prayer, the only time you can let your mind relax. When you're not praying, you're probably busy rushing here and there. When you pray you forget the world, everything stops; it's a break from this rat-race. Remember, though, true rest and peace is only when we step into Paradise. That's when all our worries, problems and chores will end. The key is to make Allah your priority at all times; then you'll taste real success. May Allah unite us in Paradise, with all the super-muslimahs!
