Daily Routine of a Muslim Mom
Inside: A sample daily routine of a Muslim mom with young and older children explaining how to create a good schedule for yourself around the five daily prayers. We talk about routine-scheduling as a stay-at-home mother, homeschooler, work from home or even when are working outside.
If you are a Muslim mom, have you ever wondered how it is possible for mothers to have a perfect Islamic routine with reading Quran, managing children and keeping the home clean, while also praying Salah on time? Here is an example of a routine for Muslim moms.
First, a disclaimer: Please don’t think that I am a perfect Muslim mom. Perfect mothers don’t exist nor do perfect Muslims. We are all on a journey to become better Muslims.
That said, yes, I pray my every day Salah, and I try to read at least an ayah (verse) of Quran every day and I strive to raise good Muslim children but I am no way perfect. I have my faults that I try to perfect everyday.
We are all a work in progress. Don’t compare your life with other mothers you admire. I know how difficult it is in this time and age, because we have so many distractions in the form of social media and then some.
Let us all compete with just ourselves and nobody else. Let’s just look deep into our soul and strive to build our relationship with God and being better Muslims. That should be our number one intention. Right?
So now, see my daily stay-at-home mom routine below.
An example of Muslim Stay-at-Home Mom Routine
Before I begin talking about my routine, I want to tell you that I find that setting my day around the five prayers as the easiest way to get my prayers, as well as daily activities done. You can see below how this is helpful.
Wake up with Fajr.
I have heard people advise that we should get up an hour before Fajr, pray Tahajud and all, but let’s all be real… waking up at Tahajud when you have a baby and a toddler keeping you up all night is just not possible.
But as the kids grow older and go to school, waking up for Tahajjud and Fajr becomes easier!
I will be honest with you. When my children were small, I only prayed Tahajjud during Ramadan because those days I already woke up for Suhur so it was easier. Through the year, when I had babies, I never got any chance to wake up that early.
Now Alhamdulillah, I have older children who sleep and wake by themselves, so sometimes I do get up at 3am. (Even then, I pray Tahajjud and then fall asleep on the musalla sometimes. My husband or kids will wake me when they come around for Fajr!)
Recently, I read the book Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and it has totally transformed my Tahajjud and waking up early game. (More on that in a post of it’s own.)
Now, I know a lot of mothers who tell me that they miss their Fajr prayer regularly and there is just so much guilt. I will share with you one tip and I promise you, it is going to change your life if you implement it.
“Pray Fajr even if you wake up late. Pray, because you are a Muslim, and Muslims are commanded to pray five times a day. A Muslim starts their day with Fajr and they end their day with Isha’a. Muslims start their day with prayer.
No matter whether you got up at Fajr or close to Dhuhr, if you woke up, train yourself to say:
“I am a Muslim, I start my day with Fajr.“
Remember now: Fajr is not a train. If you miss it… it is not as if you have to show up only tomorrow morning to catch it. You can make up the prayer. You can pray Qadha.
TBH, that goes for all prayers. If you miss it… still pray. Make it up.
Quran till sunrise.
We need the Quran in our life as a balm to our heart, to build our confidence and help us in staying strong and resilient with whatever life throws at us.
I understand and have full experience, with the fact that as young mothers, it is very difficult for us to keep our connection to the Quran. But, I know it is possible.
Over the past few years, I have taught thousands of Muslim mothers how to commit to reading at least one Ayah of the Quran through the #1AyahQuranChallenge. If you’d like to join us, sign up below!
I have this Quran reading habit after Fajr routine now since my kids are now all bigger and school going age. But earlier, with babies, I would just do Dhikr at this time while I fed my baby.
My Everyday Morning Routine
7am: Wash up and start the laundry.
7.45 am: Make and feed Breakfast
8.30am: Clean up the breakfast table and make tea. I’d do as many dishes as I can while my tea is getting ready.
9am: Think about your day. It is very important that you set aside some time to look at your day. I have 20 minutes where I will think about what I am doing that day. Also to see if I have some appointments. At this time, I will also look at what I am making for dinner that night.
9.30 am: 30 minutes cleaning routine and then we start the appointments. When my kids were homeschooling (during the Pandemic), I was busy with that. They generally start studying at 9am. In the past, when I had babies and toddlers, this was the time for getting babies down for their morning nap or so.
When I was homeschooling, I would sit with my kids for their homeschooling. We’d all clear the dining table and study until noon.
A few years ago, I was attending university while my kids were at school. These days, I work from home, so this is the time I start my Office Hours.
You can learn about my Morning Routine in more detail in this post.
Afternoon Routine starts with Dhuhr
Noon – In the past, this would be the time I came home from University but either way, this was also when my homeschool would end and we would start cooking. These days, I pause Office Work for Lunch at this time.
Dhuhr prayer is at 12.30pm, so generally that’s when I start cooking. I will hear the Adhan (call for prayer) and we all know it is time to shift to cooking.
2pm: Lunch time is always at 2-2.45 pm in our home. Irrespective of school time or holidays or homeschool.
When my kids are at school, they come home between 2.15pm and 2.40pm, so we start as soon as they come in. Sometimes, I’d set the table and then go grab them from the bus.
Nap Times and Quiet Times
2.45 – 4pm Quiet time. According to sunnah the Prophet (PBUH) did Qaylullah or seista as it is called in English. I encourage my children to do this. In fact, we have had a quiet time for 2 hours every day since my children were babies. You can see my toddler and baby routines or the school time and summer routine. All of them have Quiet time written in it because it is just a very important part of our day.
Do my kids sleep in the afternoon? No. Mostly nobody sleeps now but, it benefits my children in so many ways.
My children wake up at Fajr. During school days, they wake up even earlier so this afternoon Quiet Time helps them relax, unwind from the day and also deeply think or have some peaceful moment.
I have had four children and they are all 2 years or less apart, so I know how much this benefits young mothers too. When I had babies, I’d nap with them. If I wasn’t tired or I had work, I’d sleep for 20 minutes. My experience has been that even 20 minutes are enough to revive us. We go through the REM cycle and then waking up definitely clears our mind.
So, if you are a mom with a young kids, get some shut-eye! You need this self care!
Asr Prayer:
Between Asr and Maghreb is when kids are the most cooperative. As a mother, I have learnt that this is the time for full creativity and fun. Children have a lot more energy, parents have lesser but more tolerance. So here is the best time for you to have some Quran, homework and play!
Quran Time
4-5pm: Quran time for the whole family. I learnt this after my fourth child that if I didn’t take out time for Quran in my life, I am going to be one very unhappy mother. Quran is SOUL care. We owe this to ourselves to take care of us.
It is good if we can take out time for some personal Quran time but it is even more important for mothers to take out some time to teach or discuss Quran with kids so this is why we have this hour for the kids. (I teach my kids Quran myself).
Quran time is also the time we read as a family together. I have taught my girls to learn to read the Qaida from my lap. I am now teaching them the Quran and also helping them memorize (hifz) at home. Although my children’s Hifz routine is significantly different than I show here, I cannot stress enough the importance of this 4pm Quran time.
Homework time:
Parents often tell me that they are overwhelmed with school and homework time for kids. Their kids don’t do homework by themselves and that they have to nag or sit around them that makes the home environment stressful. Please read what I have to say here.
A set homework time in your schedule is what is going to help your children form the habit to study by themselves.
During school days, this is the time my children do homework. As I had children who were 6 years and under, their attention span for Quran was less than 20 minutes. So, I’d direct them to homework.
There is a trick about making children complete their Quran and homework ASAP that I want to share with you:
Always use the sentence, ‘When you are done with homework, you can go off to play.” This helps children learn when they can go out and play.
Just remember not to confuse the When with If! Because when you say ‘If you do your homework you can go off to play…’ you are telling them YOU are in control of their play… not them. Don’t make this mistake. Always empower your children with the right choices. <3
You can get all my Positive Parenting Tools here.
Outside play
Children need fresh air and they need it more so that they can be children. In the new modern life that we live today, our children don’t get enough chances to explore their surroundings. We are either locked up in apartments or we worry about dirt and disease. You have to think about this a little bit.
Look here, our modern homes are fitted with all the latest, greatest technologies. If nothing else, there is at least a Fridge, Internet Modem and Air conditioning in your home. Not to mention small gadgets like your cell phone, chargers, television, electric bulbs and small appliances. These all emit vibrations, electronic signals and waves… Our skin, eyes, ears and brains are constantly busy “feeling” them.
When you stay closed indoors, these make us sick in different ways. Everything from headaches, vision problems, behaviour and even digestive problems are occurring somehow because of these. Then there is the fact that the air indoors, with all the toxic wastes is what we breathe.
Open the windows, let the kids out. Once a day, at the least, take your children outdoors to breathe fresh air, jump around, exercise their muscles, explore their surroundings and be “normal”. And while they are out, you get some fresh air too.
Maghreb: Dinner and Evening Routine
Years ago, when I was an overwhelmed mom of two little babies (both under 2 years!), I learnt the power of the 7am to 7pm routine for children. I admit it was very hard for me to accept and train myself to adapt to this kind of schedule, but once I did, it changed my life for ever!
Kids and adults need to eat at least an hour (if not more !) before their bedtime. This helps them digest their food easily and also to have a good night sleep. Bedtimes need to be relaxing but for that to happen, we need to start dinner early.
Now most people, when I say Bedtime, they assume I am talking about sleep time. We tend to have this culture where parents feed their kids and thens ay “off to bed!” How is this possible? that your child sleep right after bed? Can you sleep right after eating?
Before you start bedtime, there needs to be a bedtime routine. And you also need some end of the day family time and cuddling!
So, how do you include all that? Well, the simple solution is that you start dinner as soon as you can.
When my children were babies, they had dinner at 5pm. It wasn’t we parents eating at 5pm, just the baby and toddler. Because in order for me to incorporate a bath time, book time and cuddling with them, they needed to eat early. They also got bottle-time so… the question was never about hunger.
Now that my kids are older, from the age of four, Dinner is right after Maghreb. We all pray and start setting the table. The little ones join me in setting the table or inviting people. This helps them eat well, and also we get to have some family time right after.
Family hours
Just 30 – 60 minutes cuddling with your parents can change your and your children’s behaviour towards each other. I am not even kidding you when I talk about behaviour!
I think of the after dinner, family hour as my second-last chance in the day to connect with my lovely children and husband. This is for you too. Think about it.
Bedtime routine.
Bedtime routine for kids starts much MUCH before the parents sleep. I know it is a culture in most Asian households that kids stay up until the parents sleep but this is only because they started dinner and bedtime routine late! That or they don’t have a bedtime – routine at all!
Everyone needs a bedtime routine. Whether they are adults or children, we all need a sequence of habits that define how we sleep. The real reason why we (and our children) are unable to sleep is because of a lack of bedtime routine.
Think about it: How can you relax in an environment of uncertainty? When you don’t know what time is bedtime, and what happens before you go to sleep… when you haven’t had a chance to relax your body and mind… won’t be buzzing with excitement when you lay on the bed?
When do you get a chance to think about the things you want to think about? Don’t you feel good cuddling with your loved one in bed, koochie-koo and all ? Doesn’t it help you relax and feel good?
Exactly like that. This is the reason why you need a bedtime routine for yourself and for your child. Since we are talking about just moms, we will talk about just your bedtime routine here.
My bedtime routine is almost 3 hours long! It starts with getting kids in bed. My kids don’t require me to read to them anymore but when they were younger than 5 year old, I would read to them. These days, I kiss them good night t around 9pm and then head to the kitchen to clean and shine my sink.
After the kitchen work, I will check on kids once more and then these days since I have a teen, it is his time to talk before going to bed. He sleeps at 10pm.
At around 9.45 pm, I send my son to bed, wash up, get ready for bed, pray Ishaa, do my end of day Dhikr and then turn off all the lights to settle in my room with the door closed . I read a book and spend some time with my husband before going to bed.