𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭

𝑨𝒔-𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒖 ‘𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒌𝒖𝒎 𝒘𝒂 𝒓𝒂𝒉𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒉𝒊 𝒘𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒌𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒉,

Lately, I have been thinking about how many things can matter to us at the same time.

This has been very real for me because there is a lot happening in my own life right now. I wear different hats, and each one comes with its own responsibilities. There is my family, my work, my businesses, the women and communities I serve, things I am building, things I am learning, people I care about, and personal goals I still want to make room for.

The interesting thing is that I care about all of these things. They are not random things filling my time. Many of them are things I prayed for, chose, started or genuinely want to nurture. That is exactly why deciding where my attention should go can be difficult.

Some days, I manage things quite well. I know what needs to be done, I get through what I planned, and I end the day feeling good about how I used my time.

Other days are completely different.

I can be busy all day and still get to the evening wondering where the time went. I start one thing, remember another, respond to a message in between, deal with something unexpected, and suddenly the day looks nothing like the one I planned.

There have also been times when I am with my family but thinking about work, or working while thinking about three other things I need to get done. I can be answering a message while doing something else and telling myself I am saving time, when really my attention is just divided.

I don't always get this right.

For a long time, I think I believed that if something was important enough, I should be able to make room for it. If I planned better, became more organised and used my time properly, somehow everything would fit.

I am finding out that it doesn't always work like that.

Two important things can need me at the same time. A good opportunity can come along when I simply don't have room for it. Something I genuinely want to do can have to wait because another responsibility needs me more. I can plan my day carefully and still have something unexpected change it completely.

I am also having to accept that I have limits.

I don't particularly enjoy that part because there are many things I genuinely want to do. I still take on too much at times. I underestimate how long things will take. I get distracted. I say yes and later realise I didn't really have the capacity for another yes.

I'm working on it.

One thing I have started noticing is how easily whatever is loudest can take over my day. A message comes in, and I want to answer it. Someone needs something, and I want to respond. I remember something I haven't done, and suddenly it feels urgent.

Meanwhile, the things that matter but don't demand an immediate response can quietly keep getting pushed aside.

I don't want to always be physically doing one thing while my mind is already rushing towards the next. I don't want the people I love to receive a distracted version of me constantly. And I don't want to look back and realise that the things I said mattered most were repeatedly given whatever was left of me.

This has also made me think about my relationship with Allah.

When life becomes full, I can carry that same hurriedness into my worship. I have had moments in salah when I have to bring my mind back because I am already thinking about what I need to do afterwards. I can intend to sit with the Qur'an and then tell myself I will get to it after I finish one more thing.

I don't want to pretend that doesn't happen to me. It does.

At the same time, I don't want to become comfortable with it.

My relationship with Allah cannot be something I keep trying to squeeze into whatever space is left after everything else has taken its share of me.

I don't need to fit Allah into my life. I need to learn how to live my life with Allah at the centre of it.

That is something I am trying to become more conscious of.

I need His guidance when I am deciding what deserves my time. I need His help when I feel stretched. I need Barakah in what I am trying to accomplish, and I need His forgiveness for the days when I know I could have done better.

I am sharing this with you because this is something I am living through right now. I haven't figured out the perfect way to balance everything. Some weeks are better than others. There are still days when I look back and know I could have handled my time, my attention or my commitments differently.

What I am trying to move away from is the idea that managing life well means getting everything done.

For me right now, it means being more honest about what I can carry. It means accepting that some good things will have to wait. It means trying to be present where I am instead of always mentally moving on to the next thing. It also means remembering that I don't have to say yes to everything simply because it is good.

And when I don't get it right, I can adjust and try again.

I don't want to measure the value of my days only by how much I accomplished. I want to pay attention to how I lived them too. Was I present with the people Allah has entrusted to me? Did I give my energy to what genuinely needed it, or simply to whatever demanded it first? Did I make space for myself to breathe? And, above everything else, where was Allah in the way I moved through my day?

I won't always like my answers.

But I would rather be honest about where I am than pretend I have mastered something I am still learning.

𝐀 𝐃𝐮‘𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐬

May Allah give us wisdom in how we use the time, energy and abilities He has given us. May He guide us when many good things are competing for our attention and help us recognise what genuinely needs us in each season of our lives.

May He forgive us for the times we become distracted and gently bring us back when our hearts and minds wander. May we never become so busy with the blessings He has given us that we lose our closeness to the One who gave them.

May He place Barakah in what we are able to do, give us peace with what we cannot do right now, and help us become more present with Him, with the people we love, and in the lives He has given us.

Ameen.

Until the next letter,

Khadeejah

600 1st Ave, Ste 330 PMB 92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2246
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