Ramadan with a Toddler in the 21st Century

Bismillah.

This disjointed, random, out-of-the-blue post is typical of my life these days. A phase of life where there are days when I barely have time to go to the bathroom, and days when I find myself listlessly wondering what I should do with my time when my toddler sleeps early.

Being a mother in the social media era has its own challenges. The more the blogs, groups and forums on motherhood, the greater the chaos and the lesser organised are our lives, juggling between screens, wailing children and household chores. And between it all the struggle to make that oh-so-important status update on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram just to make sure the world knows how chaotic organised our lives are.

As if the struggles of motherhood on their own were not enough, add to it the constant battles against society to practice Islam yourself and inculcate its values in your children. Yet, amidst the chaos, that is the very factor that adds an element of much-needed peace in our lives, Alhamdulillah. After all,

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured. (13:28, Quran)

That is why, no matter how skeptical I was regarding how I would manage attending Daura-e-Quran and Taraweeh and manage Sehri and Iftar, it's as if Allah's special help made things possible and things just seemed to happen of their own accord, Alhamdulillah. My eyes filled with tears during Taraweeh as I recalled how my 14 month old cried on the first day but gradually adjusted to the new environment and made it easier for me to pray Salah in the masjid. Even though I had hard days when my back would hurt due to running after him and picking him up again and again during Salah, but my heart was still full of gratitude for just the opportunity of doing more than I ever thought was possible.

Therefore, I'm writing this for all the mothers struggling and feeling guilty that you cannot do enough worship during Ramadan. Do not lose heart! Yes, you are already doing the most important job that you were created for - raising righteous children. Even so, keep trying and you never know how Allah (SWT) makes a way for you to do more acts of worship. The quality of worship may not be the best, but we can be grateful for even the opportunity to do anything that we can, despite all the challenges that we face, Insha Allah!

Edit: Came across this blog post in my drafts from Ramadan 2 years ago, when I was about to post a new one on the same subject. SubhanAllah, that's motherhood for you right there! Thought I'd post this one as well.