Women in Islam

The primary sign of a virtuous woman is that she should fear Allah Ta’ala and love her husband.  For a woman, obeying her husband is like engaging in worship.  When the husband comes home tired after his daily engagements, the wife should welcome him with a smiling face.  She should never behave with him with bad manners.  She should not excuse herself from fulfilling the sexual desires of her husband as well.  She should always think about serving her husband.  She should meticulously guard her chastity and should never step out of the house without the express permission of her husband.  She should treat the relatives of the husband with love and affection.

 

If by chance the husband commits any excess against her, she should be patient and should not complain before others.  Every person will have some flaws or the other, they should be concealed.  Although doing so hurts, the results are very pleasing.

 

A woman should not trouble her husband for fine clothes, jewelry and the like and make him resort to loans, etc.  Whatever is her lot, she should be happy with it and thank Allah for it.

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  The woman who offers the 5 daily Salaat, fasts in Ramadhan, does not blemish her chastity and accepts the obedience of the husband may unreservedly enter Jannah from any door that she wants to.

 

Anecdote:  Hadhrat Umme Sulaim (May Allah be well pleased with her) was the wife of Hadhrat Abu Talha.  She was an obedient wife, because of which Hadhrat Abu Talha (May Allah be well pleased with him) would also treat her with love and affection.

 

Once, Hadhrat Abu Talha (May Allah be well pleased with him) had gone out of the house and his only son passed away.  Hadhrat Umme Sulaim (May Allah be well pleased with her) covered him with a cloth.  When Hadhrat Abu Talha (May Allah be well pleased with her) came back, he asked about the son and she told him that the child had gone to sleep.  After this, she served the food.  Hadhrat Abu Talha (May Allah be well pleased with him) ate heartily and later slept with her.

 

The wife later told the husband that I had lent such and such a thing to a neighbor and when I asked for it, that neighbor raised a hue and cry.  Hadhrat Abu Talha (May Allah be well pleased with him) said:  This is utter foolishness.  How foolish are those people who do this!  She retorted:  Our son who was given to us by Allah Ta’ala as a trust has been taken back by Him.  Hadhrat Abu Talha (May Allah be well pleased with him) recited Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Raji‘oon.

 

The next morning, he related this to the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  Last night was a blessed night for you, which you got because of your virtuous wife.

 

Hadhrat Fatima (May Allah be well pleased with her) says:  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was at my place when a servant girl came and said:  O Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)!  My master has gone out for trade and my mistress is alone in the house.  She is in the upper portion of the house and in the lower portion, her old parents live.  The husband has emphatically said that until he comes, she should not go downstairs.  Her parents are very ill and there is no one to care for them.  My mistress has said that if He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) permits her, she can go downstairs.

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  Tell your mistress that if she desires the pleasure of Allah and His Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), then even if her parents die, she should not dare to go downstairs.

 

The servant girl went away.  She came back double speed and said:  O Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)!  My mistress’ father has already passed away.  Her mother is also in the throes of death.  Please grant permission now.  My mistress is lying upstairs crying.  She would also be deprived of seeing her parents for the last time.

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) said:  O girl!  Listen carefully and remember!  Unless and until her husband does not give her permission to go downstairs, no matter what happens, it is not permissible for your mistress to do so.  Tell her to obey the Lord Almighty, His Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and her husband.  She will receive the reward of it.

 

The servant girl again went back.

 

Hadhrat Fatima (May Allah be well pleased with her) says:  The servant girl returned after a week.  I asked her about her mistress.  She said:  May I sacrifice myself for the Prophet of Allah (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)!  Her mother and father passed away that day itself.  Her husband returned after 2 days.  He was very embarrassed and ashamed on hearing what had happened.  He expressed his happiness on the obedience which my mistress had shown.  The same day my mistress saw a dream and saw that her parents were in Jannah.  She asked them:  Your deeds in this world were not of the nature that you would enter Jannah, then what is this?  They replied:  Child!  In lieu of the obedience that you had shown to your husband and Allah and His Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), Allah Ta’ala granted us this bounty.

 

Hadhrat Hatim Asamm (May Allah shower His mercy on him) says:  A virtuous woman is a pillar of religion and the light of the house.  She also helps her husband in obeying Allah Ta’ala.

 

A woman can make life hell for her husband by her nagging and mannerless ways and with her, this is only something worth joking about.

 

Hadhrat Ka’ab Ahbaar (May Allah be well pleased with him) says:  To the person who is patient on indignities by a woman, Allah Ta’ala grants him reward similar to that of Hadhrat Ayyoob (May peace be upon him).  The woman who remains patient on the excesses of her husband, she will be given reward like that of Hadhrat Aasiya (the wife of pharaoh)

 

The veil guards the modesty of a woman.  By not using it and meeting and interacting freely with men, modesty is lessened and shameful incidents also occur.  The eyes, the ears, the hands and the feet also participate in adultery.  There is only solution for all this and that is the veil.

 

Nowadays because of the company of non-Muslim folks and their education, the tendency for indecency has increased among Muslims as well, as a result of which young girls go to cinema houses without any veil.  They also suffer the consequences of this day in and day out.  For the sake of Allah, be really careful about the veil.

 

The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) has emphasized using the veil even before those who are blind.  The Fuqaha (jurists) are so cautious about this that (in light of the Holy Quran and the Hadith), they have ordered that even a young girl should use the veil even before her paternal/maternal uncle.  Hadhrat Shah Abdul Qadir Dehlwi opines that using the veil before sinful women is also necessary.  Thus, it is necessary to use the veil before them as well.

 

[Excerpted from Mawaaiz-e-Hasana of Hadhrat Muhaddith-e-Deccan, Vol. 1, Pg. No. 272-275]