For those of you who don't know, I work a full-time job, and I've been married for over a year. Many of you enjoyed and found useful my posts about "Managing University with a Religious Life", and "Being Married While in University". So naturally, I felt the need to write a post about managing a full-time career with married life, and religious responsibilities. I hope this post is helpful to all those who are trying to find a balance in life and juggle their responsibilities gracefully.

I want to begin by reminding you of our purpose in life which is to worship Allah. Yet, oftentimes we get so caught up in our day-to-day routines that we put off our Salat and dedication to the Jama'at because, we don't have time. We forget that these actions are the greatest source of blessings and investment towards the Hereafter. As depressing as this may sound, with the bloodshed and chaos in the world today, each additional day we have in this world is truly a blessing. We must stop putting our spiritual progress off for tomorrow, because tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone. I often hear many young adults say, "my life is too busy right now, I'll increase my regularity in prayer, service to the Jama'at, and seeking of religious knowledge for when I have time". If there's one thing I can promise you it's this, you will never have time you need to make time. First, you'll be busy with high school, then with University, then comes married life, managing a home, a career, having children, raising children, etc. Chances are, you will always be busy! Without time management and incorporating things into the schedule you have now, years of your life will go by the same. What's the point of waiting until most of your life is over before you make room for spiritual progress in your life? Why wait to share the knowledge you can gain, when it is so valuable to you in these stages of your life - as a student, coworker, and mother? I can attest to the fact that the time you dedicate seeking, sharing, and applying religious knowledge at your Mosque and within your community is never wasted time. For example, my husband and I have always made it a requirement in our lives to be active in the Jama'at. We both have responsibilities within the Jama'at, and are always kept busy. But, with the busy weekdays and weekends, week after week, I know for a fact that Allah is showering His blessings on us. We witness the fruits of this time spent dedicated to Allah, each and every day. So, if you ever think that you don't have time to dedicate towards serving Allah and His Community, I want you to remember that you are truly missing out on the blessings that follow. Make an effort to attend programs, help arrange events, assist with the clean up after events, and see for yourself how rewarding it is. Moreover, read Islamic books and share your religious knowledge by putting aside any embarrassment you may have of professing your faith publicly.

With all of that said, I want to share with you a few techniques of building on your spiritual life on a day-to-day basis, even when it may feel as though you don't have enough hours in the day.

1. Salat & Holy Qur'an - The first and most important thing for you to remember is making your prayers and recitation of the Holy Qur'an a habit. Start your day with Fajr, pray Zuhr and Asr when you get home from work (if you don't have time at work), and never go to sleep without reading Maghrib and Isha'a. This is the bare minimum of our remembrance of Allah! If you have a car with you, try praying your Salat in your car during your lunch break, or before driving home, to ensure your Salat is read on time, and not combined. Remind yourself that Salat is mandatory! Many of us would not miss work without a solid reason, so why do we miss our prayers - even though Salat is mandatory and work is not? On my way to work, I like to leave the house early to ensure I arrive on time. Depending on traffic, I can arrive at work 30 minutes early, or totally last minute. On days I'm lucky enough to get to work early, I sit in my car and read the Qur'an with English Translation on an App on my phone. This is honestly a great way to start your day positively, and give you something to ponder upon throughout your day. 
2. Rearrange your schedule around Jama'at events - This can only be done if you make every effort and intention to go to these events! Get your cooking, cleaning, and other responsibilities taken care of before or after the time of these events. Yes, some programs can take up a good portion of the day, but start by going, even for 1-2 hours. Once you start with this small sacrifice, it will become much easier for you to sacrifice more and more time. If you typically work on the weekends, ask for either Saturday or Sunday off every week. This way you can ensure that you are able to make it to at least 50% of the programs - assuming most are held on the weekend! Similarly, don't say "no" to Jama'at responsibilities on the basis of not having enough time or knowledge. You can make time, and accepting the role will result in an increase in knowledge, Insha'Allah! I can give you an example from my life - shortly after receiving the responsiblity of Nasirat Secretary, I landed my current full-time job. I was told by some that now I could use that to excuse myself from the Nasirat secretary role, by saying that I have a full-time job and home to manage. But, I had to remind myself that this was a poor excuse and reason to give up a responsibility that was assigned to me. While my job may have been able to benefit me in this world, the time and effort I put towards my Jama'at duties would benefit me in this world and the next. While I was putting 50+ hours a week towards my job, why couldn't I sacrifice another 3-4 hours a week for Allah? That's how I reminded myself that I could make the time Insha'Allah, and Allah would help me manage this and all my other responsibilities. 
3. Listen to Jama'at programs and audiobooks - If you commute to work/school, try listening to an MTA program or an Islamic audiobook. I'm not saying you have to do this all the time - I know some of you will say that you value your music. But even if you make it a habit to listen to something that will increase your religious knowledge on the way to work/school, and then listen to whatever you please on the way home, it ensures you don't waste the 1-2 hours you may have otherwise wasted everyday listening to music. If you have a 1-2 hour commute everyday, you are probably spending 5-10 hours every week listening to music. Similarly, when cooking dinner, try to listen to a religious program on your phone/laptop/TV, instead of watching shows or listening to music. Typically, you can spend 1-2 hours in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. So using 30 minutes of that time to build on your spiritual self should not be considered a waste of time.

Just think for a second about your daily schedule - how much of your time do you actually spend doing homework and working? How much of this time is wasted? Now don't tell me every second you spend on your laptop, consists of you doing homework - I'm sure Netflix or YouTube is just a tab away. Next comes the question, how much time do you waste? Wasting time does not mean giving yourself a 30 minute break to watch an episode of your favourite show after a tiring day. Instead, spending hours upon hours doing things that are not necessary, and putting off your other responsibilities. Now, how much time do you spend for Allah - gaining knowledge, praying, tabligh, etc.? I promise you, keeping yourself busy is the best way for you to waste the least amount of time. And knowing that you have to go to a meeting at  specific time, work at a specific time, pray at a specific time, is the best way for you to accomplish more! It frightens me to see the young generations pull so far away from their religious obligations and dedication to the Jama'at. The future of this Jama'at rests in our hands. We are the ones who will be raising the children who will grow to be Lajna and Khuddam. If we ourselves don't value our faith, there is no way our children will. If we allow "having too much school work" and "a job" as valid excuses for missing prayers and Jama'at events, our kids will grow up with the same mentality.

Please start with one thing at a time. Do little things that slowly become habits that will benefit you in the Hereafter. Stop thinking of this life as being longer than it is. Realize that your life is passing quickly! Please remember your purpose in life! Stop disobeying the commands of Allah. Do you not see the state of the world? Sin is rapidly spreading. We are exposed to horrible things every single day. How else can we ensure that we are not negatively influenced, if we don't pray for protection against Satan? By not realizing how important your religion is, you are truly hurting yourself! Being born a Muslim is not enough. There are so many who leave behind their culture, beliefs, family, friends, country, everything, in search for the true religion and purpose in life. We are so beyond blessed that Allah allowed us to be born into this religion, and Community! Please do not take this for granted. You are capable of being a better Muslim!

May we be the recipient of Allah's mercy and live a life that ultimately pleases Him, Ameen!