The IDEAL MUSLIMAH
The True Islamic Personality of the Muslim Woman
as Defined in the Qur'an and Sunnah

By  Dr. Muhammad ‘Ali Al-Hashimi 
Translated by Nasiruddin Al-Khattab and Revised by Ibrahim
M. Kunna and Abu Aya Sulaiman Abdus-Sabur 

Copyright and published by the International Islâmic Publishing House (IIPH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1999. 

 

She is cheerful and grateful when she meets him and shares his joys
    Posted by: "The Ideal Muslimah" forthemuslimah@yahoo.com forthemuslimah
    Date: Thu Jun 26, 2008 1:11 pm


12. The Ideal Muslimah: Characteristics of the Ideal Muslim Woman According to the Qur’an and the Sunnah


The Ideal Muslimah: the true Islamic personality of the Muslim woman as defined in the Qur'an and Sunnah

The Ideal Muslimah  is proud of the great position that Islam has given her among humanity. She performs her duties knowing that her role is clearly defined and that her rights are still, even today, greater than any other ideology has provided. She is a woman of moral excellence, true to her nature, not confused by alien and morally bankrupt ideas. She preserves her self-respect and dignity through her piety in obedience to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw). She is the role model that every true believer hopes to emulate.

CHAPTER 4: THE MUSLIM WOMAN AND HER HUSBAND

She is cheerful and grateful when she meets him

One of the ways in which the Muslim woman makes herself attractive to her husband is by being happy, cheerful, friendly and gentle, thus flooding her husband's life with joy. When he comes home exhausted from his work, she greets him with a smiling face and kind words. She puts her own concerns to one side for a while, and helps him to forget some of his worries. She appears as cheerful and serene as she can, and expresses her gratitude to him every time he does something good for her.
The true Muslim woman is fair-minded, and is never ungrateful to any person, because the teachings of her religion protect her from falling into the error of bad behaviour and ingratitude for favours. How then could she be ungrateful to her husband, her beloved lifelong companion? She knows well the teaching of the Prophet (PBUH):
"He does not thank Allah who does not thank people. "68

She understands from this that every person who does good deeds and favours deserves thanks and recognition, so how could she hesitate or fail to show gratitude to her husband, especially when she hears the words of the Prophet (PBUH):
"Allah (SWT) will not look at the woman who does not thank her husband at the time when she cannot do without him."69

She shares his joys and sorrows

Another of the ways in which a woman may endear herself to her husband is by sharing his joys and sorrows. So she joins him in some of his pastimes, and his daily work, such as reading, exercise, and attending useful talks and gatherings, and so on, so that her husband will feel that he is not alone in his enjoyment of the good things in life, but that he is sharing these pleasures with a loving, intelligent and loyal wife.
The fact that the Prophet (PBUH) raced with `A'ishah more than once indicates the fact that Islam urges both spouses to share their partner's joy and happiness in life, because this sharing will have a powerful effect in deepening their feelings for one another and strengthening the bonds between them.
Just as she shares his joys, so she also shares his worries and concerns, and comes to him with kind words of consolation, mature and sensible advice and sincere emotional support.

68. Reported by Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, 1/310, Bab man la yashkur al-nas.
69. Reported by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, 2/190, Kitab al-nikah; he said it is a hadith whose isnad is sahih.