Understanding Islam

By Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad

And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe, the wife of Fir'aun (Pharaoh), when she said: "My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and his work, and save me from the people who are Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers and disbelievers in Allah). [66:11] Asiya (ra) was the wife of Pharaoh and she is a real life example for the believers of today on how we should deal with the bush and blair of our times. Allah (swt) made her an example and symbol of the deen for the women. For anyone wanting to seek guidance and follow the Sunnah this is an excellent example. She had maturity and understanding in the deen desiring only the akhirah. She said I do not want anything in the dunya I want to be near to you Oh my Lord by having a house in Jannah. Whenever we look for house in the dunya we check the neighbours to see if they are good in order to make our decision on taking the house, yet Asiya (ra) said to Allah (swt) that I want your neighbourhood in jannah. Asiya (ra) said that I came out from obedience to Pharaoh, usually it is forbidden to disobey the husband but for her to do so was qurba ilallah (to become closer to Allah). Even though she benefited so much by being with him in terms of living such a luxurious life she left all of it and she rejected to live in his palace or to have his servants for the sake of Allah (swt). She said to Pharaoh; I will not accept to live with you, she said; Oh enemy of Allah I am free from you and anything that you did before and I reject you, you see from me nothing but plotting to kill you and complete animosity towards you. He said to her; stop saying it otherwise you will be deported. Ibn Abbas (ra) said that she ran away in order to seek the guidance of Allah (swt). He had her arrested and tortured for 3 days burning her body and yet she continued to say I reject you and do not want anything to do with you. Where then is the wife of today who will account her husband like this? To tell her husband that he is an apostate if he does not pray or commits shirk by voting, joining the army, police, MCB etc. Where is the wife who rejects her husband to commit haram and kufr even if it means leaving him? The Messenger Muhammad (saw) informed us about her as being one of the women of jannah that has been testified to. The wife will get the reward in helping her husband and in fulfilling her own duties, yet what about her duties for the deen and her role to rear the future generation of Muslims? The Muslim sisters should be daaiyah (callers to Islam) and muraabiyah – nurturing the body and soul/personality of the children. The mother is the school for the children. The mother of Imam Shafi, Abu Hanifah, Malik and Ahmad all had mothers who made them what they were. Imam Shafi was born after his father passed away he only had his mother and she guaranteed that her child would be educated with the relevant ilm. Imam Shafi became the imam of Quraysh who the prophet (saw) informed us about (i.e. that there will be from Makkah an Imam from Quraysh). Imam Abu Hanifah was known as Imam al-A’zam and all the people agree that the one prophesised about to be from Khurasaan and very high in ilm was him. His father went to Iraq in order to trade but it was the mother who made him what he was and she was the one caring about his education. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal would refuse his child to be breast fed by any bad person, once he saw his child being breast fed by this woman so he took back the child and put his fingers down his throat for him to regurgitate the milk that he had suckled. This is because of the genes that you inherit from the DNA of the milk from the woman. The prophet (saw) said be careful of the irq which is the DNA that is passed on via breast feeding. When the child is suckling the milk of the mother will build a link with the child. That is why the hadith says that you should chose your wife on the basis of her deen as this is the right your children have over you and will be best for them. In order to teach her children the mother must herself learn ilm and aspire seek knowledge.Once upon a time there was a man well known called Farrukh who wanted to go to jihad from the age of 14 up until the age of 20. It was up to the khaleefah to choose the people as offensive jihad is fard kifayyah. On the age of 20 he got married and 3-4 weeks after he got married the call for jihad came to him, it was reported that less than 2 months of him getting married he was called to go out and fight. He told his wife that I have been trying for this for years and now it has come up, are you going to help me and support me to go or are you going to be an obstacle in my way? She said I will support you but I am pregnant, he said I will go and if I am victorious I will return with booty and if not then I will become shaheed, he said this is 30 000 dinars - all my savings take it and keep it. She was obedient and said that I rely on Allah (swt) hasbunallah wa ni’mal wakeel. In the time of Omar (ra) he was asked how long after the husband has gone away from his wife is it before it invalidates the nikkah, he adopted 4 months, this is why every 4 months the people who were fighting in the army would be sent back home to renew the time limit. Farrukh went and it was 30 years before he came back, the whole of Madinah had changed, he came there seeing all new people yet when he went to his house it was as he left it. He entered the house and saw a man in his house, the man said how dare you enter into my home without knocking, he said what are you doing in my home? They began to fight, the wife looked and recognised him and said it is Farrukh! She told him that the one you are fighting with is your son, so they embraced each other. He said I have booty and added an extra 15000 dinars. She said to Farrukh make ghusl and rest, so he did after which he went to the masjid of Baghdad (at time of Abu Hanifah) where there used to be a majlis and the one doing the bayaan was Rabeea’ tul Raie’, Farrukh asked someone who is this man? So they told him, he asked about him and who he was? They said his father is called Farrukh and left for Jihad many years ago. Upon hearing this he felt so happy and could not contain his happiness. He went back to his wife and said what did you call my son? She said Rabeea’ tul Raie’ he said the one giving the majlis? She said; yes. She said that the money you left I used it to send him from alim to alim in order for him to learn the deen. She said that I heard the single mother who does not marry for the sake of her children she will enter with the prophets into jannah and therefore I never did so. These are the sort of examples that we need to follow and learn from. The mother of Imam Abu Hanfiah would go with him to Abu Zarrah to ask him ahkaam and he would go to him to ask. She would teach him that we only ask ilm from the ulama yet even though Abu Zarrah himself would ask Abu Hanifah for the answers. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s mother used to say that if I worked day and night washing peoples clothes or cleaning peoples floors in order to get money to teach my son the Quran I will never stop working day and night.Imam Malik’s mother was the wife of Anas bin Malik, they asked Anas bin Malik are there any sahabah left in your time he said from the Bedouins there are many (meaning he was of the last of the companions). His mother was a sahabiyyah and would wake up in the night and say to Imam Malik let us memorise the quran. The muslimah today should look to the kafirah and see how you differ from her if you do not differ in any way then there is a problem and you need to change yourself. The mother will never allow her child to go the kufr schools and to learn their kufr education, this is the biggest mistake and betrayal for the child. The mother is the one that ensures her children are brought up with the correct understanding and are educated in the deen. The kafirah does not cover, she dazzles herself, she does not pray or fast, she works whilst free mixing with men. The muslimah on the other hand is muwwahidah and does not leave her home except without permit, she wears khimar and jilbab and even niqab in fitna, she looks after children, does not free mix, does not soften her voice when speaking with other men, honours her family etc. What makes a women a good wife:
Her family (education)
The society she learnt from (schooling)
Her husbandThe role of the husband comes into play especially when the first two things fail. If he is kind to her and good to her he can mould her to be a great woman by teaching her. The good husband is one who cares about the wife, fulfils his duties and makes sure she does hers, remembering that she is the mother of his children. The prophet (saw) said if you look after them and be good with them they will listen to you. If you educate her properly she will blossom to become a good woman, the wife is the outcome of what you plant and rear/look after. The hadith says teach your wife the chapter of Nuh, Nisa and Noor, these surahs are the biggest in terms of fiqh. If your husband is taghoot he must be rejected and the wife is obliged to leave him otherwise she will also take the same rule, learn from the example of Asiya (ra) who left and up rose against her husband who was taghout.