A happy home

Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):{And Allaah has made for you
from your homes a place of rest.}[Quran 16:80]
You have told the truth, Oour Lord! The home is a place of rest,
stability, comfort, reassurance, safety and tranquility, in which we
live, and with which we protect ourselves from the heat of summer and
the cold of winter. It is also our shelter in which we take refuge
after the trouble and toil of the day.
If a little bird's nest is its shelter, place of rest and abode of
reassurance, it would be more worthy for man to have his homean abode
of happiness and a source of his pleasure. A home is not only walls,
furniture and linen, but it is also a placeof worship, an institute,
and a place for cordiality and comfort. The spousesfill it with love
and affection, and tranquility,calmness and stability shade it.
In the Muslim home, material and sensual rest is combined with
spiritual and emotional rest; thereby the home is comprehensive and
balanced. Also, Allaah TheAlmighty has made the home a place of rest
for the couple; He has made the husband a source of tranquility for
his wife, and the wife a source of tranquility for her husband. Allaah
The Almighty Says (what means):{And of His signs is that He created
for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them;
and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are
signs for a people who give thought.}[Quran 30:21] Thus, marriage is a
source of tranquility, andhomes are places of rest –a favor from
Allaah The Almighty which should be appreciated, maintained and
preserved.
Some of us might wonder: "Why a Muslim home? Is there a difference
between a Muslim and a non-Muslimhome?"
Undoubtedly, the Muslim home differs from any other. Its inhabitants
carry in their chests a glorious belief which fills their hearts with
the light of faith, and this light is reflected on all aspects of
their life. A Muslim person should be (an example of the) Quran among
people, thesame as was the moral character of the Messenger of
Allaah,. For this reason, a Muslim home, with its corners, furniture,
and the way it is arranged, should express the Islam of its owner.
The Muslim home might be a simple hut, or a graceful palace, and in
either there is pleasure, gratitude, satisfaction and living in the
shades of the Noble Quran andSunnah. The family members are happy, not
because they have great furniture or expensive fittings, but because
happiness springs from their believing hearts and reassured souls.
This is because they are pleased with Allaah The Almighty as their
Lord, Islam as their religion and Muhammad,, as their Prophet and
Messenger.
The houses of the Prophet,, were a goodpattern for an Islamic home. As
small in size andmodest in building as they might have been, they were
full of happiness and satisfaction, and remained the highest ideal for
the homes of the Companionsand any of the Muslims who wished to lay
the foundation of a home afterwards.
The houses of the Prophet,, were established on obedienceand seeking
the satisfaction of Allaah The Almighty, thereby representing the best
example of the real Islamic home. Allaah The Almighty Says (what
means):{Then is one wholaid the foundation of hisbuilding on
righteousness [with fear]from Allaah and [seeking]His approval better
or one who laid the foundation of his building on the edge of abank
about to collapse, so it collapsed with him into the fire of Hell? And
Allaah does not guide thewrongdoing people.}[Quran 9:109]
Although the houses of the Prophet,, were as humble, only enough as to
satisfy his need, as simple as to cover (the minimum requirements of)
his living, they were full of happiness, where their inhabitants were
well-pleased with the fate and sustenance endowed to them by Allaah
The Almighty, and believing in the statement of the Prophet,:"He, upon
whom morning comes while being safe and sound, healthy in his body,
and having the sustenance of his day, seems as if the entire world has
been granted for him."[At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah]
The houses of the Prophet,, were based on worship and obedience to
Allaah The Almighty, where humbleness, simplicity and abstinence from
the enjoyment of this worldlylife seemed evident. All his houses
surrounded the mosque. Some of them were built of palm reeds covered
with mud, others of stones piled on top of each other, havingtheir
ceiling made of palm reeds.
The home of the Mother of Believers, 'Aa'ishahthe dearest of his wives
to him after Khadeejahconsisted of one chamber, built of bricks
covered with mud, and another room annexed to it, made of palm
reeds,covered with animal hair.Its door had a single wooden post, and
its ceiling was low, like all the other houses of the Prophet,. It had
simple furniture: a bed ofpieces of wood tied with fiber ropes, having
a cushion of leather stuffedwith fiber; a water-skin; and clay vessels
for his food and ablution.
Simplicity and contentment also seemedevident in the homes of the
Companions of the Messenger of Allaah,. The furniture of Faatimahthe
daughter of the Prophet,, with which she was wed to 'Ali Ibn Abi
Taalibconsisted ofa mantle of velvet, a cushion of leather stuffedwith
fiber, a millstone, a water-skin and two jars. That was the furniture
of the leader of the women of Paradise, and the daughter of the master
of all the prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention. This shows howthe
houses of the Prophet,, and of his Companionswere a good model for the
Islamic home.
If such was the state of the houses of the Prophet,, and his
Companionsthis does not mean that Islam impedes one from being blessed
in a graceful spacious home; on the contrary, according to Islam, that
is a sustenance, favor and grace bestowed by AllaahThe Almighty upon
whomever He pleases. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):{Say, "Who
has forbidden the adornment of Allaah which He has produced for His
servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?"}[Quran 7:32] The
Messenger of Allaah,, said:"Four things bring about happiness: a
righteous woman (i.e., wife), a spacious residence, a good neighbor,
and a comfortable means of transport."[Al-Haakim] Man then has to
utilize this pleasure in all that is good, for he would be held
accountable about iton the Day of Judgment as confirmed by Allaah The
Almighty in the verse (which means):{Then you will surely be asked
that Day about pleasure.}[Quran 102:8]
Like other human beings,the Muslim family inclinesto possess the best,
the most spacious, the prettiest, and the richest of homes. Allaah The
Almighty Says (what means):{Beautified for people is the love of that
which they desire - of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and
silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the
enjoyment of worldly life, but Allaah has with Him the best
return.}[Quran 3:14]
The Muslim family knows well that real happiness is to make the home,
whether it is small or large, a garden full of faith, satisfied with
contentment, shaded with tranquility and reassurance; and to have its
members adopt high morals and upright conduct. It perceives that in
whichever state it might be, it is living in a favor bestowed by
AllaahThe Almighty for which gratitude is due. Gratitude for a favor
develops, purifies and proliferates it as confirmed by Allaah; Allaah
The Almighty (what means):{If you aregrateful, I will surely increase
you [in favor].}[Quran 14:7]
The Muslim family neitherboasts nor shows pride over others because of
the favors of Allaah The Almighty bestowed upon it. It always shows
the bounty and favor conferred by Allaah The Almighty upon it in
response to His statement(which means):{But as for the favor of your
Lord, report [it].}[Quran 93:11] And, acting upon the statement of
the Messenger of Allaah,:"Indeed, Allaah likes to see the signs of His
favor on His slave."[At-Tirmithi and Al-Haakim]
But, at the same time, theMuslim family should not engage in worldly
pleasures and neglect obedience to Allaah The Almighty, nor be mainly
concerned with their house in this worldly life, which diverts them
from working for their house in Paradise, Allaah willing. To this
meaning a poet refers, by saying that one shall have no abode to
reside in after death other than the onehe built before his death.If
he built it well, his residence (in the Hereafter) would be good; and
if he built it with evil, he would fail.
Once, 'Ali Ibn Abi Taalibpassed by a man who was building a house,
thereupon he said to him,"You were dead before you came to life, and
in a short while you will be dead [yet again]. You are building a
house for the perishing abode [i.e. this worldly life], so build a
house for the eternal abode [i.e. the Hereafter as well]."
Blessed be the Muslim family if it is to have the world in its hand
and notin its heart; and blessed be it if it is to utilize all things
surrounding it correctly in such a way asto help it obey Allaah
TheAlmighty, acting upon the following wisdom,"Work for your worldly
life as if you would live forever, and work for your Hereafter as if
you would die tomorrow."[Ibn Al-Mubaarak inAz-Zuhd]
To talk about the Muslim home, its components and furniture, does not
mean that all those specifications should be comprised in every home.
But, it is an ideal we ask Allaah The Almighty to give to every Muslim
on the face of the earth.
The main point lies not inthe walls and furniture ofthe house so much
as it lies in its inhabitants. Hence, every family member could bring
about happiness and satisfaction to his household with the smallest
thing available to him. The faithful believer is intelligent
andprudent, as the Messenger of Allaah,, said:"The sagacious one is he
who holds himself accountable [for his deeds], and works for [the
life] after death; andthe incompetent is he who subjugates his self to
its fancies and has hopeful expectations from Allaah."[Ahmad,
At-Tirmithi and Ibn Maajah]