A teacher of mine once asked me, “We spend a lot of time and money to get new clothes, decorations and food items ahead of Ramadan, because we want to enter it at our best, so why do we feel so comfortable showing up to our Ramadan salah with the same few surahs we already knew? Shouldn’t we ensure we have something new to present to Allah ﷻ since last Ramadan?”

That really stuck with me, and each year, I make an intention to memorise something new ahead of the next Ramadan. However, as a madrassah teacher tasked with helping my students memorise their basic surahs and encouraging my own children to complete their memorisation homework, I just can’t seem to find the time and energy to memorise the Qur’an myself. 

Many of us begin January with sincere intentions. We want to do more and to be more disciplined with our fitness goals, our career goals and our relationships with our families. As Muslims, we also want to be more consistent in our worship. We hope that perhaps this is the year we finally memorise more Qur’an, pray with deeper khushu’, or establish a routine that nourishes our iman in the way we deeply desire. 

Yet by the end of January, those well-meaning intentions become distant dreams. 

This is not because we lacked sincerity, but because life feels relentlessly fast. Our days are filled with competing priorities, as we struggle to keep our heads above water. We quickly lose motivation and begin to accept the idea that we are not among those destined to achieve greater goals, whether in deen or dunya. 

But what if that conclusion is wrong? What if the issue is not a lack of time, but something else entirely?

This feeling of life moving too quickly is not new. The Qur’an and the Sunnah repeatedly remind us of the fleeting nature of time and of its barakah being lifted as we approach the end of times. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ warned us of time passing rapidly.

Anas ibn Malik RA reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “The Hour will not be established until time passes rapidly, such that a year is like a month, a month is like a week, a week is like a day, a day is like an hour, and an hour is like the flicker of a flame.” (Tirmidhi)

This is the reality we are living in. Time feels as though it is slipping away. Even for those of us who try to work against the grain of a capitalist society, to slow down and think about pursuing things other than work, eat, sleep, repeat, there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. 

However, we also know some people who appear to be accomplishing far more within the same fast-paced life. They often have commitments similar to ours, but still manage to pursue extra acts of worship, learning or service. The homeschooling mother who is able to attend Qur’an classes more consistently. The friend who runs an awesome business while managing her household. The one that has tested out another new recipe and delivered it to your door while you keep saving recipes on Instagram that you just can’t get around to. This isn’t about jealousy, may Allah increase them all. It’s more a genuine wonder about how other people seem to have the time.

This phenomenon was also true at the time of our beloved Prophet ﷺ. Within the seerah, we have examples such as Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr RA, who lived a relatively short life. According to most historians, he was around 40 or possibly even younger when he was martyred at Uhud.  

After embracing Islam in Makkah, he was sent by the Prophet ﷺ to Madinah (Yathrib as it was known in those days) to teach Islam to its inhabitants. 

Within approximately one year, Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr RA had taught the Qur’an to the people of Yathrib, helping Islam spread through its major clans, laying the groundwork for the Hijrah. Many scholars note that by the time the Prophet ﷺ migrated, Islam had already entered most households in Madinah through Mus‘ab’s RA efforts.

How did he achieve so much in so little time, especially while being a migrant? This is not actually a matter of having more time. It is a matter of having more barakah within that time.

The Meaning of Barakah

Ibn al-Jawzi رحمه الله wrote, “I have seen people who live long lives but accomplish little, and others whose lives are short but whose impact fills the world, and that is barakah.” (Sayd al-Khatir, Ibn al-Jawzi)

With regards to time, barakah is the ability to achieve more within less time. This does not always refer to quantity, but rather to the quality and impact of what is accomplished. 

By the permission of Allah, even those who feel they have lost the barakah of time can be guided back to it through specific means.

I spoke to a number of inspirational Muslim sisters, who are pursuing many of their wider dreams while also managing the challenges of their daily lives, to identify some of the things they do to try and increase barakah in their time. 

Intentions

As with all acts of faith, the journey begins with intention. This requires pausing to reflect on the value of time and recognising it as a gift entrusted to us by Allah.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “There are two blessings which many people waste: health and free time.” (Bukhari)

Time is an amanah from Allah, the Creator of time, and we will be questioned on how we used it. Making a sincere intention to value time and to spend it in ways that please Allah is the foundation for restoring its barakah.

When my children were young, Ramadan fell in the summer months, which was especially demanding because I was in the UK and worked long hours. We would open the fast after 10 pm, having begun around 1:30 am. I remember struggling through those Ramadans as best as I could, asking Allah to forgive my shortcomings and to grant me a time when I would have more time and energy to worship Him properly.

Years later, during a Ramadan in Dubai, I realised that the time I had once prayed for had arrived. I was no longer working outside the home. My children were older and at school. The fasting days were much shorter. Outwardly, I had the time I once thought I needed. Yet my ibadah was not increasing in the way I had imagined. Somehow, the day still seemed to get away from me. 

I feared that Allah would ask me how I used this time now that it had been granted, but I would have nothing to show for it. That Ramadan, I set a clear intention to be more deliberate with my time for His sake. Nothing changed immediately, but now, when I look back, I can see how those intentions laid the foundations for more meaningful pursuits, in and outside of Ramadan.

Make Dua

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would often make the following supplication:

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا رَزَقْتَنِي

Allahumma barik li fima razaqtani

“O Allah, bless for me what You have provided for me.” (Tirmidhi)

Scholars have explained that rizq in this dua does not refer only to wealth, but also includes time, energy, ability and opportunity. 

Asking Allah for barakah with conviction is essential, as what seems impossible to us is effortless for Him. Allah is not bound by our understanding of time, and if He wills, He can place immense goodness into even the most limited moments.

Alhamdulillah, the opportunity to write this article came in the run-up to Ramadan. As the author of a Ramadan book, this is my busiest period of the year. During this time, I have been running various author events in-person and online, preparing for Ramadan within my own household, and juggling the competing requirements of my three children. I also teach at my local madrassah on weekends. When I received the news that my pitch had been accepted, I started making a lot of dua that Allah would grant me barakah in my time to allow me to do my best. This dua was granted in so many ways, but one major, unexpected thing that happened was that my madrassah class the day before my turnaround deadline was cancelled. It is very rare for something like this to happen, and I could only attribute it to the fact that Allah knew I needed those few hours on that Sunday morning! Alhamdulillah.

Become a Morning Person

It is well established that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “O Allah, bless my ummah in their early mornings.” (Ibn Majah)

The Prophet ﷺ would use the early hours of the day for his most important matters, and his life is the clearest example of achieving great good within a limited time. Companions such as Ibn Mas‘ud and Ibn ‘Umar RA strongly discouraged sleeping after Fajr.

As a writer, I have learned time and again that the hour post Fajr is when my words flow most easily. I can write the same amount of words in that one hour as all the other hours of the day combined. Many other writers I have spoken to share this experience. 

Author Rabia Bashir is the founder of two publishing houses: Bismillah Bees and Dreams and Duas. She is also a primary school teacher and mother of two young boys. She documents her Tahajjud journey on Instagram to inspire others to seek the barakah of the early hours, which is the time she uses to work on her dream project of creating children’s Islamic literature ahead of the day job. Her top tip for praying Tahajjud is to lay out your salah mat and attire the night before. 

“Not only does it save you some precious minutes, but it also shows Allah how much you value your time with Him. You are not only making dua to meet Him (for Tahajjud) the next day, you are taking action.”

Eliminating Sins and Making Istighfar

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله explained that sins deprive a person of light, and it is this light that enables clarity, sound judgment and the best use of time. When sins accumulate, they affect intellect, focus and productivity.

Acts such as gossip, unnecessary drama, delaying prayers, and other habitual sins can easily become a part of our regular routines without us even noticing. When time starts to slip away from us, it can be a sign that we need to crack down on eliminating these from our lives. It might be something as simple as muting a WhatsApp group or limiting screen time around salah times to avoid doom scrolling your way into delayed prayers.

A mother of three who wishes to stay anonymous shared the impact of cutting music on her time, “I used to listen to music quite regularly, especially during long car journeys with my children. I felt it was the only way to keep them occupied and make the time pass more quickly. I tried replacing it with the Qur’an and nasheeds, but it did not seem to work in the same way. Still, deep down, I knew I was not entirely comfortable with it.

When we went for Umrah together, I made dua to Allah to help me remove music from our lives, and I spoke to my children about its potential harms. Soon afterwards, we began listening to audiobooks instead. That option had always been available, yet it was as though it had never truly occurred to me before.

The children do not miss the music at all. In fact, they are far more engaged in the stories we listen to on long journeys, and sometimes they are content with silence. I have also noticed that those same journeys no longer feel as long. More than that, I have seen a shift in my own focus and productivity since reducing music in my life. I find it much easier to wake up early and generally feel that I accomplish a lot more than I used to.”

Amna Hasan, a Canadian homeschooling mum based in Saudi Arabia, who shares her homeschooling tips via her blog, shared the impact of prioritising her salah timings,

“I felt like that block of time where I prioritised my salah actually led to a lot of barakah in that time period. Often times, I would try and get through other things in my task list to have it clear before reading salah, but I saw that when I left everything to pray first, that block of time to the next prayer would have a lot of barakah in it and I’d be thinking ‘oh wow I have so much time left and I’m finished,’ and on the other side, I’d be rushing my prayers yet things wouldn’t get done as fast.”

Conversely, engaging in extra istighfar is not only a way to remove the effect of the sins we accumulate, but also a means of restoring clarity of thought and productivity. Istighfar will also increase all our provisions, including the wealth of time. 

Allah says, “So I said, ‘Seek forgiveness from your Lord. Indeed, He is ever Forgiving. He will send rain upon you in abundance, and give you increase in wealth and children, and provide for you gardens and rivers.’” (Surah Nuh 71:10–12)

Mother of two, Fozia Aden, started doing istighfar during a really overwhelming season of her life. Having moved countries, she found herself solo-parenting a three-year-old and a newborn. With no village to lean on, she felt like she was struggling to show up for her children the way she wanted to.

“Someone advised me to try istighfar, and I began doing it intentionally during the hardest moments. Like when my three-year-old was having a meltdown, when my baby wouldn’t sleep, or when anxiety would hit me late at night as I worried about how I’d survive the next day on no rest. Instead of spiralling, I would turn to istighfar.

Over time, I noticed a real shift. My anxiety and negative feelings around motherhood began to ease. I felt more level-headed during tantrums and more emotionally present for both of my children. I was still tired, but my heart felt lighter, and I wasn’t as drained or overwhelmed by the end of the day.  The days felt more manageable, and I felt supported in a way I hadn’t before, even when I was physically alone. That’s how I knew my time had [increased in] barakah.”

Strengthening Family Ties

It is common to feel that family commitments can take personal time away from us. For example, a mother switching to homeschooling from secular education might at first see it as a sacrifice of her personal time, albeit for the greater good of her children. 

However, homeschooling mother Amna quickly realised that this wasn’t the case. 

“Homeschool is more like a learning culture you adopt at home instead of a specific time that you’d allocate for school. While we do have some specific time for ‘teaching’, many things are now already ingrained in the culture, and we almost do them on autopilot. My younger children also ended up picking up a lot of things from me, teaching my eldest, so I don’t have to spend much time teaching them the same things again, which actually concludes as an immense barakah in both time and learning.”

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever wishes for his provision to be increased and his life to be extended, let him maintain family ties.” (Bukhari)

Scholars explain that an extension of life can refer either to an increase in lifespan or to an increase in barakah within one’s years. Time spent nurturing relationships with parents, spouses, children, and extended family, when done for the sake of Allah, becomes an act of worship and a source of increased provision.

Sophia Farooq is a multi-award-winning Global Senior Talent Partner who has worked with some of the world’s largest Fortune 500 companies and global leaders, impacting thousands worldwide through her professional work. Alongside her corporate career, she is an author and mentor, and is currently developing a mentorship platform to support Muslim women in building meaningful legacies of their own. She has also been the sole carer for her elderly grandmother for over three decades.

“There are nights when I barely sleep properly because of caregiving, and the next day I still have work and responsibilities that need full mental focus. Normally lack of sleep ruins you. But I noticed something different — even though my body was tired, my mind would still have clarity when I needed it. I’d get key things done in small pockets of time that shouldn’t have been enough. It wasn’t that I suddenly became more disciplined. It genuinely felt like Allah was placing ease and expansion in my time and capacity. That’s when barakah became real to me. SubhanAllah.”

Gratitude

Allah says, “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you.” (Surah Ibrahim 14:7)

This promise applies to every blessing, including time. Gratitude will increase, while constant complaining will block barakah. 

Mona Zac, author of the popular poetry book Connecting with Allah, suffers from a serious health condition, which resulted in her needing a kidney transplant last year.

“I was very conscious of increasing my gratitude before and after my transplant. And SubhanAllah, following the operation, some complications resulted in me being kept in hospital for a lot longer than imagined. However, throughout everything, by Allah’s grace, I felt very stable internally. I would constantly recite the following ayahs from Surah Al Baqarah: 

“And We will surely test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits. But give glad tidings to the patient. Those who, when disaster strikes them, say, ‘Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.’ They are the ones who will receive Allah’s blessings and mercy. And it is they who are ˹rightly˺ guided.’” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:155-157)

And I felt that as a result of Allah allowing me to turn to him in gratitude and remembrance, that time of difficulty passed very quickly.”

In Mona’s case, the barakah wasn’t time slowing down, but in fact passing more quickly until she was on the other side of her ordeal.

Making a habit of ending each day with gratitude, even by simply saying Alhamdulillah for the time that has passed and what was achieved, is a means of inviting greater barakah into the days ahead. Keeping a small gratitude journal and noting the tasks completed each day also helps shift perspective. Over time, it becomes clear how much has accumulated across months and years through steady, consistent effort.

Sadaqah

The Prophet ﷺ said, “Charity does not decrease wealth.” (Muslim)

Charity increases wealth, either in terms of Allah returning more than the exact amount given, or through increased barakah in what remains. This same principle also applies to the wealth of time. Time given sincerely for the sake of Allah, whether through volunteering in the masjid or serving the community in some other way, is returned in multiple ways. 

Aisha Farooq owned a successful business for many years, but decided to give it up to focus on her home life and children. She now spends much of her free time volunteering at her local mosque. 

‘When I was working for my business, I felt like there was a lack of barakah in my life. I felt overwhelmed with all that I had to do at work and came home mentally exhausted. There was a lot of bickering at home, and I’d quickly lose patience with my kids. When I compare that to now, I do still sometimes take on more [voluntary work] than I can reasonably manage, but alhamdulillah it always works out. Allah sends help, for example, many times when I’ve not had the chance to cook something at home, a neighbour will randomly drop off food. There’s also just a general sukoon (tranquillity) in the house which wasn’t here before. Alhamdulillah.”

Reading the Qur’an

The Qur’an is among the greatest sources of barakah in a person’s life. Shaykh Wahaj Tarin writes,

“Whatever the Qur’an touches, Allah blesses and honours. The night in which the Qur’an was revealed became the best of nights. The month in which the Qur’an was revealed became the best of months….The nation to which the Qur’an was revealed became the best of nations.”

For those who struggle with a consistent Qur’an habit, the time immediately post-Fajr is highly recommended by Allah in the Qur’an.

“Establish prayer from the decline of the sun until the darkness of the night, and the Qur’an of Fajr. Indeed, the recitation of Fajr is ever witnessed.” (Surah Al-Isra 17:78)

In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear discusses “habit stacking,” the principle of attaching a new habit to an existing one so it becomes easier to sustain. Rather than relying on motivation, you anchor the new action to something already established.

For a Muslim, Fajr is already a fixed anchor at the start of each day. If someone already wakes up for Fajr and prays, the most natural habit stack is to keep the mushaf beside the prayer mat and recite even a small portion before getting up.

This is exactly what Rabia is doing. After salah each morning, she reads just one page of the Qur’an, in an effort to do a small but consistent good deed and also stay connected with the Qur’an. 

“I do believe there is increased barakah because I’m still able to get ready for work, complete my Dreams and Duas work before [my teaching] work, and I still get to work on time. The act of reading a page takes up time, but I have not seen a deficit in my time as a result. My morning is still running as smoothly as before, if not more. I believe wholeheartedly that engaging in acts of worship and service to Allah will not decrease our time. It will, in fact, bring more barakah to our day.”

Asfia Bint Abdullah, writer and mother based in the UAE, believes that anchoring the day with Quranic recitation brings blessings to her entire day.

“I recite the Qur’an at the start of the day and at Asr to close the day. The barakah is pro max – can’t even put it into words. I see an overall improvement in the quality of my life and experience inner peace. Earlier, I was in a constant state of stress and anxiety, but now calmness has settled in my heart.” 

In particular, reciting Surah Al-Baqarah carries immense benefit.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Do not turn your houses into graves. Indeed, Shaytan flees from a house in which Surah al-Baqarah is recited.” (Muslim)

The presence of Shaytan can manifest in many ways, including time bandits such as procrastination, laziness, distraction, and mental heaviness. Ibn al-Jawzi رحمه الله explains that one of Shaytan’s most effective strategies is distracting people with permissible but meaningless actions. When Shaytan is repelled from a home, clarity and ease in doing khair often follow suit. 

The mother of a teen son, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared that she was struggling to motivate her son to do anything. He wasn’t rude or disobedient, just simply lazy to get on with basic tasks like completing homework or studying for a test. Instead, he preferred to waste his time playing games or scrolling. She started to read a small part of Surah Al Baqarah each day, and almost instantly, she noticed a change in his mood and motivation. He didn’t seem as resistant to his studies and became generally more active. She cannot think of anything else that has changed other than the consistent recitation of Surah Al Baqarah within her home. 

Being the longest Surah in the Qur’an, the idea of reciting Surah Al Baqarah daily can feel daunting. But Sophia Farooq shared some sound advice,

“Surah Baqarah also made a noticeable difference, but I did it realistically. I didn’t force myself to read it all in one sitting. I broke it up across the day/week: a few pages after Fajr, a few later, or listening while doing things. When Surah Baqarah is present consistently, I feel calmer internally, and the home atmosphere feels calmer too. And when your mind is calmer, you stop losing time to stress and overthinking.”

Dhikr

One of the greatest causes of lost time is not a lack of hours, but a lack of presence. 

Allah says, “Remember Me; I will remember you.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:152)

Dhikr restores our awareness and connection to Allah. Incorporating dhikr into daily tasks such as walking, cooking, or cleaning prevents time from slipping away unnoticed. When Allah remembers His servant, that remembrance manifests as guidance, facilitation, protection from sin, and the opening of beneficial doors, all of which contribute to barakah. For me, keeping a tasbih by my bedside, in the car and in my purse is the easiest way to slip dhikr into small pockets of the day. 

A doctor and children’s book author from the UK, who wishes to remain anonymous, shares her experience of one specific dhikr which increased the barakah in her time. 

“I was a medical student when I got married. The house was full of my husband’s family, and I had some very important exams coming up. Up to that point, all I’d done at home was study. My parents even delivered me fruit to the bedroom. So I was quite aware of the fact that things were about to change, I’d have more responsibilities, and so would be able to spend less time revising. This hadith came into my mind:

‘Ali ibn Abi Talib RA reported:

Fatimah RA complained about the hardship of grinding grain and household work. When some captives were brought to the Prophet ﷺ, she went to him to ask for a servant but did not find him. She mentioned it to ‘A’ishah RA. When the Prophet ﷺ came, ‘A’ishah RA informed him.

He ﷺ came to us while we were lying down and said: “Shall I not inform you of something better for you than a servant? When you go to bed, say Subhan Allah thirty-three times, Alhamdulillah thirty-three times, and Allahu Akbar thirty-four times. That is better for you than a servant.”(Bukhari)

I started doing this dhikr regularly, and I believe it was this, as well as my attitude that if I helped others around the house, Allah would help me, that ultimately led to me doing very well in those exams, Alhamdulillah.” 

Keeping Righteous Company

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “A person is upon the religion of his close friend.” (Tirmidhi)

Laziness breeds laziness, just as motivation inspires motivation. Surrounding oneself with people who are motivated to strive for their akhirah encourages us to make better use of our time and strengthens our resolve.

You may have noticed that many of the examples quoted in this article come from other writers. That is not a coincidence. Some time ago, I became part of a remarkable group of Muslim women who pursue writing professionally as a means of pleasing Allah. Many of them also have full-time jobs, homeschool their children or are caregivers.

Seeing their striving encourages me to use my time wisely. We support one another to keep going when things feel too difficult. Once a week, we meet virtually to work together over Zoom. Every single person who attends speaks about the noticeable increase in barakah and productivity within that focused hour compared to working alone. The interviews I needed to conduct for this article would not have been possible within the timeframe without having such sisters to turn to for support. May Allah be pleased with them all. 

It is a simple assessment. Think about the people you spend time with regularly. Are they driven? And if they are, is their drive solely for the dunya, or does being around them also remind you to aim higher for your Akhirah?

Whatever your answer, do not stop making dua for Allah to place such people in your life. Righteous company is one of the most beautiful forms of rizq – a provision that, amongst other things, enriches your time on this earth.

For someone already feeling stretched for time, this list may appear overwhelming. However, the purpose of outlining these avenues is to highlight the vastness of Allah’s mercy. Consistently implementing even one of these practices can restore the barakah in our time.

Allah says, “I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me….If he draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length. If he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.” (Bukhari)

Making time for Allah, even in small ways, invites divine assistance that transforms what little time we feel we have into something vast and meaningful. In each of the stories I have heard from all the sisters above, one theme prevails, which has been beautifully summed up by Sophia Farooq:

“The biggest shift overall was relying on Allah instead of carrying everything mentally myself. When I consciously say “Ya Allah, I’ve done my part, You handle the rest,” my mind calms down, and I waste less time in fear, resistance and spiralling.”

When we make time for Allah in small ways, He removes the bigger anxieties around how little time we have. That mental shift is the key, not just for achieving the far-off dreams, but actually, it opens doors to new dreams beyond what we can imagine at this moment. That is the barakah effect.