Barakah Over Balance: Reflections from SANZAF’s Women in Islamic Business & Finance Webinar

On Saturday, 8 August 2026, SANZAF hosted its Women in Islamic Business & Finance webinar, bringing together Muslim women across the country for a morning of reflection on leadership, professional growth, faith, family, community and the responsibilities entrusted to us.

Held during Women’s Month, the webinar moved beyond a conventional conversation about achievement. Instead, it asked deeper questions about what it means for Muslim women to pursue excellence while remaining rooted in faith, sincerity and purpose.

Across both keynote sessions, one concept emerged repeatedly: Amānah — the trust and responsibility placed upon us by Allah (SWT).

Whether in the boardroom, the classroom, the home, the community or our personal acts of worship, the message was clear: the many roles women carry do not have to exist in competition with one another. When guided by sincere intention, each of them can become part of a life lived in service to Allah (SWT).

Empowered women strengthen communities

Shaykha Basheerah Hendricks Gamieldien opened the webinar with an opening Dua followed by SANZAF CEO Yasmina Francke with the opening address. Yasmina Francke reflected on the significance of Women’s Month and the broader theme that empowered women empower communities.

For more than five decades, SANZAF has witnessed how empowering a woman reaches far beyond the individual. The effects extend into her family, her workplace, her community and ultimately, future generations.

This understanding is closely aligned with SANZAF’s approach to sustainable development. While immediate relief from hunger, poverty and hardship remains essential, sustainable change also requires investment in people, developing potential and creating opportunities for individuals to flourish with dignity.

It is from this conviction that SANZAF’s Women in Islamic Business & Finance initiative was established.

Muslim women today are leading organisations, building businesses, serving communities, raising families, pursuing academic excellence and contributing meaningfully to the future of South Africa. At the same time, they are navigating the demands of professional life while trying to remain connected to faith, family and wider responsibilities.

The opening session therefore posed several important questions:

How do we pursue excellence without losing ourselves?

How do we remain spiritually grounded while navigating increasingly complex lives?

And how does our faith continue to guide our decisions, relationships and purpose?

The webinar was not simply about celebrating women’s achievements. It created a space to reflect on how empowerment can also be measured through the values we uphold, the people we uplift and the legacies we leave behind.

Leadership is an Amānah

The first keynote session was delivered by Shaykha Umme Roomaan Soofie, who explored the role of Muslim women in leadership, work and community upliftment.

Her session was structured around three themes: leadership, labour and Islah, or community upliftment. All three, she explained, sit beneath the wider concept of Amānah — something entrusted to us rather than owned by us, and something for which we will ultimately be accountable.

Drawing from Surah At-Tawbah, verse 71, she reflected on the Quranic description of believing men and believing women as allies and guardians of one another. The verse names shared responsibilities, including enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, establishing Salah, giving Zakah and obeying Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (SAW).

The believers, both men and women, are guardians of one another. They encourage good and forbid evil, establish prayer and pay alms-tax, and obey Allah and His Messenger. It is they who will be shown Allah’s mercy. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. Surah At-Tawbah, verse 71

Her key reflection was that this responsibility for the moral and social wellbeing of the Ummah is shared. It is not a conversation that begins with asking whether Muslim women are permitted to lead or contribute. Islamic history has already provided countless examples of women who did exactly that.

The more important question is: How do we carry that responsibility well?

Muslim women have always led

To illustrate this, Shaykha Umme Roomaan revisited the stories of women from Islamic history whose scholarship, courage and service left a lasting impact.

She spoke about Umm al-Darda al-Sughra, a respected scholar who taught Hadith and Fiqh and whose students included a future Umayyad caliph. Even after attaining political power, he continued attending her classes.

The lesson was striking: her authority did not depend on a title. It rested on knowledge, sincerity and competence.

Leadership, therefore, should not be treated as a permission slip waiting to be handed to women.

Instead, it can be understood as competence married to sincerity.

At the same time, leadership must remain spiritually grounded.

Shaykha Umme Roomaan cautioned against allowing titles, success or recognition to become the foundation of one’s identity. If a failed project, difficult quarter or public setback completely erodes a leader’s sense of worth, it may be necessary to ask what that worth was resting upon.

One of the most memorable reflections of the session was:

Leadership is a trust that we administer, not a throne that we occupy.

When Amānah is carried correctly, success should not inflate us, and setbacks should not destroy us.

Professional excellence can become worship

The conversation then shifted from formal leadership to everyday work.

Shaykha Umme Roomaan drew on the example of Al-Shifa bint Abdullah, one of the literate women of early Madinah, who was asked by the Prophet (SAW) to teach Hafsa (RA) to read and write.

The significance of the story was not simply that a woman’s competence was permitted. Her competence was actively put to use.

This led to an important reflection for Muslim women in contemporary professional spaces.

A spreadsheet, report, classroom lesson, client meeting, case file or business negotiation does not have to be spiritually separate from the rest of our lives.

With sincere Niyyah, ordinary work can become part of our worship.

A woman who manages a team, negotiates a contract, teaches children or develops a compliance framework with the intention of fulfilling an Amānah and benefiting others can transform her everyday labour into an act of service to Allah (SWT).

This challenges the idea that “worldly work” and “religious work” must always compete for our time.

Our intention can connect them.

The women who preserved Islamic knowledge

Another powerful segment of the session focused on the contribution of women to Islamic scholarship.

Shaykha Umme Roomaan referred to the extensive research of scholar Mohammad Akram Nadwi, who documented nearly 9,000 female Hadith scholars and transmitters across Islamic history.

These women studied, memorised, travelled, examined narrators, corrected errors and transmitted Prophetic knowledge from one generation to another.

They were not merely a footnote to Islamic scholarship.

They formed part of its infrastructure.

This became a powerful metaphor for the unseen labour women continue to perform today.

Community upliftment does not always look like a stage, a microphone or a public title. Sometimes it is the woman who checks that educational material is accurate, corrects misinformation before it spreads, mentors a younger colleague or quietly supports someone through a difficult season.

Much of the work that holds communities together is never publicly recognised.

That does not make it insignificant.

Serving without needing applause

Through the example of Rabi’a al-Adawiyya, the webinar also explored the question of sincerity.

What happens when we serve our communities because we need to be seen serving them?

If service depends on recognition, it can become difficult to sustain when the recognition disappears.

The challenge is to serve because the work needs to be done and because it is pleasing to Allah (SWT), whether or not anyone applauds.

For anyone working in community development, nonprofit spaces or volunteerism, this was an especially important reminder.

Building institutions that outlive us

Shaykha Umme Roomaan also reflected on the legacy associated with Fatima al-Fihri, remembered for founding the institution that became Al-Qarawiyyin.

The lesson was not simply that a Muslim woman entered an institution.

She helped build one.

This shifted the conversation from individual success to long-term legacy.

What are we building that others will still benefit from when we are no longer here?

The session then brought this idea closer to home by referring to South African Muslim history, including figures such as Shaykh Yusuf of Macassar and Tuan Guru.

Their stories demonstrate that building, teaching and uplifting communities under difficult circumstances is deeply connected to the history of Islam in South Africa.

Women serving their families, workplaces and communities today are not necessarily beginning a new story.

They are continuing a legacy.

What if work-life balance is the wrong goal?

The second keynote session was delivered by SANZAF CEO Yasmina Francke, who addressed professional growth and the challenge of balancing work and personal life.

But rather than presenting another formula for achieving perfect work-life balance, she challenged the premise itself.

Her presentation was framed around Barakah rather than balance.

Drawing on more than 30 years of professional experience, she shared openly that she too has struggled with work-life balance.

Some days work requires more. On other days, family needs more. At other times, community responsibilities take priority.

This led to an important question:

What if balance is not actually the destination?

Women often carry multiple identities at once: professional, mother, wife, daughter, caregiver, volunteer, friend, leader and Muslim.

Every role comes with expectations.

The problem, Yasmina Francke suggested, may not always be a lack of time.

Sometimes, the problem is expectation.

We compare ourselves to others, absorb expectations from culture and society, and place pressure on ourselves to perform every role perfectly every day.

But when did Allah (SWT) ask that of us?

A better question to ask

Yasmina Francke reflected on the guilt women can carry when they feel they are not doing enough at work, at home or even in their worship.

Repeatedly asking, “How do I balance everything?” did not remove that guilt.

Eventually, she began asking a different question:

What has Allah (SWT) entrusted to me in this moment?

That shift changed how she understood time and responsibility.

Balance suggests that every part of life should receive equal attention every day.

But real life does not work that way.

On one day, the Amānah before us may be a child who needs us.

On another, it may be a deadline.

At another point, it may be our health or an ageing parent who needs time, compassion and patience.

Giving one responsibility more attention during a particular moment or season does not necessarily mean that we are failing at everything else.

It may simply mean that we are honouring the trust currently in front of us.

You do not have to water every plant every day

One of the most memorable metaphors of the webinar was the image of a garden.

Yasmina Francke invited women to imagine their lives as a garden filled with different plants:

Our relationship with Allah (SWT), marriage, children, parents, career, health and community.

A wise gardener does not water every plant equally every day.

Instead, she walks through the garden asking:

What needs my attention today?

Some plants need more water.

Some need less.

Sometimes there is a weed that needs to be removed.

In the same way, our responsibilities require different levels of attention during different seasons of life.

Honour the season you are in

Yasmina Francke reflected on the many seasons women experience:

Study, career development, marriage, motherhood, caring for ageing parents, health challenges, loss, healing and spiritual renewal.

Every season carries different responsibilities.

Difficulty often arises when we compare our current season with someone else’s.

Social media can intensify this tendency by showing us carefully selected glimpses of other people’s lives.

Yet the responsibilities of a new mother cannot necessarily be compared with those of a woman caring for elderly parents, a student pursuing her education or someone building a demanding career.

Recognising the season Allah (SWT) has placed us in allows us to respond to our lives with more wisdom and less resentment.

The invisible mental load

The webinar also made space for something many women experience but rarely discuss openly: the mental load.

Who remembers the birthdays?

Who knows when the school project is due?

Who remembers the medication schedule?

Who notices what is missing from the fridge or cupboards?

Who keeps track of the family appointments?

This is not simply about physically performing tasks. It is the invisible work of remembering that they need to happen at all.

That labour requires mental and emotional energy.

It often continues even when our hands are still.

And while others may not always recognise it, the reminder from the session was that Allah (SWT) sees every unseen act of service.

The quiet sacrifices, small acts of care and work that nobody applauds are not wasted.

Rest is not laziness

Another important reflection challenged the way many women treat exhaustion as proof of commitment.

We may wear tiredness like a badge of honour, believing that running on empty demonstrates how much we love our families or how seriously we take our responsibilities.

But exhaustion is not the measure of our worth.

Rest can be part of how we honour our Amānah.

Rest restores our ability to serve with excellence and sincerity.

Allah (SWT) created rhythms of work and rest, night and day.

Neither was meant to completely consume the other.

Protecting our rest is therefore also a way of protecting our ability to serve.

Presence over perfection

The session then invited women to consider what their loved ones are likely to remember.

Probably not the flawless meal.

Not the perfectly folded laundry.

Not the spotless kitchen.

They are more likely to remember how they felt in our presence.

Yasmina Francke reflected on the Prophetic example of attentive listening, warmth, compassion and the ability to make the person in front of him feel that they mattered.

This is the kind of presence we should strive toward.

Not perfect multitasking.

But being fully where our feet are.

Sometimes one sincere, undistracted conversation can be more meaningful than a day of perfectly completed tasks.

One woman, one set of values

Another important reflection challenged the tendency to divide ourselves into separate identities.

The professional at work.

The mother at home.

The Muslim woman during worship.

But our values do not remain in separate rooms.

Integrity should move with us from the boardroom to the kitchen.

Compassion should shape the way we deal with our families and our colleagues.

Honesty should appear in our business dealings and personal relationships.

Sincerity should accompany us wherever we are.

Rather than continually asking, “Who do I need to be in this space?”, Yasmina Francke encouraged women to ask:

How do I honour Allah (SWT) in this space?

Faith does not require women to shrink their excellence

Through the example of Sayyidah Khadijah (RA), the discussion returned to Islamic business and leadership.

Khadijah (RA) was already a successful business woman before Islam.

Her faith did not require her to step away from her excellence.

Instead, her wealth, judgement, generosity and standing became part of how she supported the mission of the Prophet ﷺ.

Her business ability and her faith were not competing versions of her.

They were expressions of the same integrity in different areas of life.

This offers an important reminder to Muslim women today:

Faith does not require us to become less capable, less ambitious or less excellent.

It asks us to ensure that our excellence remains anchored in purpose.

Corporate KPIs and spiritual KPIs

The world often measures success through:

promotions, salaries, recognition, awards and achievements.

These are not necessarily unimportant.

Professional excellence itself is part of the responsibility we carry.

But they cannot be our final measure.

Our Deen invites us to ask different questions:

Did I fulfil my trust?

Was I just in my dealings?

Did I show mercy?

Was my intention sincere?

Did I seek the pleasure of Allah (SWT)?

These are the deeper measures of success.

At the end of our lives, people may not remember our inboxes, meetings or perfectly organised homes.

They are more likely to remember our character, kindness, patience, integrity and the way they felt around us.

Faithfulness, not perfection

As the webinar drew to a close, Yasmina Francke returned to the question that had shaped her presentation:

Instead of asking,

“How do I balance everything?”

ask,

“What is Allah (SWT) asking of me today?”

And rather than measuring the day by whether everything was completed or everyone approved of us, ask:

“Did I honour the Amānah Allah (SWT) placed before me today?”

There will be days when we fall short.

Our Deen does not ask us to despair.

It teaches repentance, hope and renewed intention.

The closing reflection captured the heart of the entire morning:

Faithfulness, not perfection, was always the goal.

Yasmina Francke ended with a prayer that women would not measure their worth by exhaustion, that their homes would become places of mercy, that their work would become worship through sincere intention, that their children would remember their presence more than their perfection, and that their hearts would find rest in Allah (SWT)’s pleasure.

The Amānah we carry

Perhaps the most meaningful aspect of the webinar was how closely the two keynote sessions complemented each other.

Shaykha Umme Roomaan spoke about Amānah through leadership, professional excellence, scholarship and community service.

Yasmina spoke about Amānah through family, work, mental load, rest, presence and the changing seasons of life.

Different subjects.

The same foundation.

At the close of the webinar, Shaykha Basheerah Hendricks reflected on how strongly the concept of Amānah had come through both sessions and how it challenges women to reconsider the way they understand their responsibilities.

We do not have to be perfect at everything.

We do not have to carry every responsibility with equal intensity every day.

We do not need public recognition for our contribution to matter.

And we do not have to separate our faith from our professional, family or community lives.

Instead, we can ask a simpler and perhaps more transformative question:

What has Allah (SWT) entrusted to me today?

May Allah grant us the wisdom to recognise the responsibility before us, the sincerity to carry it for His sake, the excellence to carry it well and the Barakah to ensure that our efforts strengthen not only ourselves, but our families, communities and future generations, Ameen.