Your Motherhood Routine Is Actually Worship

Muslim mothers are pulled in many directions at once: children, marriage, the home, and sometimes work outside it. In the middle of all that, worship can start to feel heavy, like one more item on an endless to-do list. This talk offers a different way of seeing things: motherhood is not an obstacle to worship; it can be one of the greatest pathways toward it. Lived with that awareness, every diaper change, every meal, and every bedtime can become an act of devotion.

Ustadha Sarah Sultan grounds this in our primary identity. Allah says, “I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me” (51:56). However many roles we juggle, our first and greatest role is as a servant of Allah, and when that comes first, everything else is filled with more barakah. She also reflects on the verse warning that some of our spouses and children can be “enemies” to us (64:14). How can the people we love most be enemies? Not through anything they do, she explains, but through us: if we let family life take precedence over our relationship with Allah, it pulls us away from our purpose. Our families are both a blessing and a test, and the question is whether they pull us away from Allah or whether we draw closer to Him together.

Her first point speaks directly to mom guilt, which she says every mother she knows struggles with. She shares how, as a new mother, her prayers were thrown off by the upheaval of nights and days, and how guilty she felt. The Prophet ﷺ taught that when something befalls us we should not say “if only I had done such and such,” because “if only” opens the door to Shaytan; instead we say that Allah decreed it and does what He wills. So rather than dwelling on missed Quran reading or distracted prayers, ask: what can I do now? Dhikr while folding laundry, two rakahs during nap time. Her Quran teacher’s practical advice: put the baby somewhere safe, a high chair or crib, and pray. It is your primary role, and you can do it.

Second, prioritize what benefits you. The Prophet ﷺ said: strive for what benefits you, seek Allah’s help, and do not feel helpless. That means letting go of impossible standards, remembering that worship happens because Allah opens the door (not through willpower alone), and refusing all-or-nothing thinking. The most beloved deeds to Allah are the consistent ones, even if small. Something is always better than nothing.

Third, be intentional. Not every path to Jannah looks the same; our personalities and circumstances differ, so our paths do too. The Prophet ﷺ said not to belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face. Smiling at your child, cooking for your family, taking a deep breath instead of snapping: all of these become worship with the right intention. A school run can be Quran time; a call to your mother can be maintaining ties of kinship; a hard moment can become a moment of dua.

Finally, build habits into everyday life, because willpower fades but habits last. Attach worship to things you already do: dhikr at the sink until turning on the tap automatically starts your tongue moving, Quran while cooking or driving, turning to Allah in moments of stress. In this way the monotony of daily life becomes a constant reminder of your purpose, and your children grow up watching a mother whose ordinary days are full of remembrance.