2. Performing the 5 daily Salaah on time

Salaah is the most important deed enjoined upon us after we say the Shahadah. A good Muslimah tries her best to perform all her 5 daily Salaah on time. If she misses her Salaah unintentionally, she makes them up immediately and tries her best to not miss them again. 

If you are someone who habitually misses Salaah, you might want to make a list of reasons why you miss your salaah. Then find ways to combat them. 

Remember that no matter how much you try to pray on time, Shaytaan will whisper excuses in your ears as to why you can miss them. “You’re too tired. It’s ok.” “You have to get this project completed right now.” “There’s still a lot of time left. You can pray a little later.” So your willpower should be stronger than all the excuses Shaytaan whispers. Our reason for wanting to pray on time is greater than every excuse that might crop up in our minds.

3.Paying Zakaah that is due

After Salaah, zakaah is the most important duty of a good Muslimah. Your regular charity doesn’t make up for the compulsory zakaah. It may seem like a daunting task to calculate the zakaah due on all the zakat-able money, gold and wealth you may have. But nothing is too difficult when we are doing it for the Lord who created us and gave us the blessings we have. Isn’t it?

4. Fasting in the month of Ramadaan

Apart from being one of the 5 pillars of Islam, fasting can build life skills like self-control and discipline. As a woman, you may have missed fasts during Ramadaan that have to be made up later. Many mothers have lots of fasts that they may have missed due to pregnancy and nursing the baby. 

As a mother of 3, I know what that feels like. By the time, I’d finished nursing my youngest one, I had around 100 fasts that I’d missed. I was trying to find the right time to make them up and that time never came until I decided to take control. So, I said, ‘Enough is enough.’, and made up my mind to fast at least 10 fasts every month, whether I felt like it or not. I decided to put all others tasks aside and focus on eliminating the debt I owed to Allaah. And that’s how I got it done. The amount of barakah and blessings that poured in after that was unimaginable. Now, whenever Ramadaan ends, I make the fasts up immediately after Eid, if possible. 

Instead of thinking you can make them up ‘anytime’, if you viewed it as a ‘debt owed’, you might feel more compelled to get it out of the way. 

Different things work for different people. If you’re not up to date with your fasting, I suggest you write down the challenges you’re facing and come up with solutions and a plan to finish them all off. You may have to give up some of your tasks or activities if you get tired. So be prepared in advance. Every fast you make up is going to be totally worth it. 

5. Performing Hajj if you’re able to

If you can afford the provision and transportation to perform Hajj, it becomes something you owe to Allaah. The more we delay it, the more we are exposing ourselves to the risk of dying without performing it. Perform Hajj; eliminate your duty so that you’re free. 

You don’t need a ‘perfect’ Hajj; you just need a simple, accepted Hajj. You can always perform another Hajj later if you are able to do so. 

I know of a wonderful lady who sold her jewellery to accompany her daughter and son-in-law for Hajj. And there are other stories of people who did what they could to complete their duty to their Lord. It’s not so complicated as we may think; we just need to focus, stay determined and just do it. (Does ‘Just do it’ remind you of Nike? No? Ok..)

6. Respecting parents

Many people struggle with being a great son or daughter to their parents. I question myself from time to time about whether I’m kind enough to my parents. There is so much we can do for them. Yet it will never be enough. We are required to be kind to them, make duaa, for them, serve them and show gratitude as much as we can. 

It may not be easy to do everything for them but we can always do better than what we are currently doing. As a minimum, you could pick one thing that you want to do for your parents and keep doing it consistently. Then, add more. Parents wish for their children to stay connected with them and talk to them. Keep them updated with the good things going on in your life and ask them to make dua for you.

7. Keeping ties with relatives

It is required to keep ties with our relatives by whatever means we can. We can visit them, give them a ring or message them. Even if you keep ties by just saying, ‘Assalamu alaykum.’, that should be sufficient. 

Make a list of your closest relatives – your siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, in-laws, nieces and nephews. And devise your strategy on how you’re going to maintain ties and get started. I started keeping ties by ringing my closest relatives up on the Eid days. Now I stay in contact with most of them through Whatsapp. I struggle with replying to all of them on time. But I do keep in touch and more often than before. 

It might be a bit embarrassing to start a conversation with someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time. But if you are determined to stay in touch for Allah’s Sake, you will be able to do it, in sha Allaah. 

These are a few of the most basic things a Muslimah can pay attention to. There is so much more to do to be a good Muslimah. Thinking whether I should compile a Part 2… Hmm.. 

Please do comment and let me know your thoughts after reading this. 

Jazakumul lahu khayran.