Motherhood and Intentions

I received an e-mail recently from a sister who I have a lot of time for. She wanted to share a piece of advice that had helped her. It really helped me to think about how consciously I do things and I wanted to share her advice (with her permission)as it benefitted me so much:

As mothers, we all have good days and bad days. I was having a difficult day with my children and struggling to juggle everything. My husband reminded me that with the right intentions this is ibadah and will be rewarded as such. It is easy to wake up every morning and do the normal chores of motherhood - feed children, bath, nappy changes, cleaning, cooking etc. I think most of us can even do it with our eyes closed! It’s also easy to forget to make intentions EVERY SINGLE DAY. Otherwise everything we do for our children day in day out is just a "chore".

I now have a piece of paper stuck on the door of my wardrobe which I read every morning. Here are some of my intentions: 

• To attain the Pleasure of Allah and to draw closer to Allah and RasulAllah salAllahu alaihi wasallam
• To fulfill the huqooq (rights) of my family
• To acquire qualities of sabr
• To raise my children to worship Allah in the best possible way
• To follow the Sunnah in raising my family
• To follow in the footsteps of Sayyida Fatima and Sayyida Khadija

If we wake up and think of Allah throughout the day, He subhanahu wa ta'ala will think of us and our children.

Remember BIG intentions = BIG rewards.

Subhan’Allah, we know that raising our children in the best manner we can is an act of worship for Muslims, but how often do we make the conscious intention to do so for the pleasure of Allah (SWT)?

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “The reward of deeds depend upon the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.” - 'Umar bin Al-Khattab, Vol. 8, Book 78, Number 680

How much of a difference would it make to make the intention every day? Big intentions at that? I love this reminder, I hope it will benefit others insh’Allah.

Please do make dua for the sister and her children insh’Allah, that Allah (SWT) rewards her according to her intentions and helps her raise her children to be the best of Muslims.

What are your intentions?  How can you make them even bigger?