Characteristics of righteous women - I

Ziyaad ibn Abeehthe Umayyad statesman,asked those who were sitting
with him,"Who leads the most blissful life?"They replied,"The
Commander of the Believers does!"He said, "No. Theman who leads the
most blissful life is a Muslim man who is married to a Muslim woman
and they have enough sustenance, and each of them is happy and
satisfied with their partner! This man does not know us and we do not
know him!"
Who is this woman who was admired by the most eloquent and most shrewd
man among the Arabs? She is the woman who is chaste and virtuous. A
woman whose face is shining with purity, whose heart shines with the
glory of obedience to Allaah The Almighty and whose outer appearance
reflects dignity and arouses reverence. This is thewoman who is
faithful in dedicating her heart, emotions and thoughts to her
husband. Some of the characteristics of such woman are:
·She offers sound opinions and advice: Saffaanah bint Haatim
At-Taa'iwent to her brother after she met the Messenger of Allaahand
started to tell her brother about Islam. Her brother asked her,"What
do you think of this man?"She replied,"I think we should follow
him!"[Al-Isaabah8/108]
·She sacrifices family and homeland for the sake of supporting the
religion: Umm Kulthoom bint 'Uqbahemigrated from Makkah (Mecca) to
Madeenah for the sake of her religion while she was still a girl who
had never been married. Sheleft her father who was an evil man,
comparable to a devil in human form. After that, her brothers pursued
her, so she saidto the Prophet,,"Would you let them take me back [in
order to] turn me back from my religion, low as my endurance is and as
weak as you know womenare?'' [Al-Bukhaari 4/3945]
·Hastens to do good deeds: In the following story, the female
companion gave an excellent practical example of this.The Prophet,had
a guest and asked his wives if they had any food, but they all said
that they only had water. Hence, the Prophet,asked his Companions:"Who
can host this man?"One of theAnsaar(Helpers)said that he could do that
and took the guest home.
The man asked his wife to be generous with the guest of the Prophet,,
but she told him that they had nothing except a little food for their
children. The husband asked her to prepare the meal, light the lamp
and let the children sleep if they asked for dinner. The wife prepared
the meal, lit her lamp and made her children sleep. Then, she stood up
pretending to mend her lamp,but she put it off. Then both she and her
husband pretended to beeating before their guest, while in reality,
they really went to bed hungry.
In the morning, theAnsariman went to the Messenger of Allaah,who
said:"Tonight, Allaah laughed or wondered at your action." Allaah The
Almighty revealed the verse (which means):{But give [them] preference
over themselves, even though they are in privation. And whoever is
protected from the stinginess of his soul - it is those who will be
the successful.}[Quran 59:9] [Al-Bukhaari 3798]
·Her chastity is beyond what minds can conceive: Mu'aawiyah ibn Abu
Sufyaanwent to his wife, Maysoon bint Bahdal, accompanied by a
castrated servant. On seeing the slave, [the unveiled] wife became
very anxious and asked her husband disapprovingly,"Who is he?!"Her
husband comforted her by saying,"Do not worry; he is just acastrated
slave."The righteous wife replied,"Still, he is a non-Mahram
(marriageable man) to me; even castration does not allow for him what
Allaah The Exalted has made prohibited."She refused that the castrated
slave would enter the house [while she was not wearingHijaab(Islamic
covering)]. [Al-Bidaayah wa An-Nihaayahby Ibn Katheer 148/8]
·Honors the rites ordained by Allaah The Almighty: In the year
sixty-five afterHijrah, Jameelah, the daughter of the governor of
Mosul, performedHajjand had four hundred camels and manyHawdajsto the
extent that one could not know on which one she was staying. She
emancipated five hundred slaves and gave fifty thousand dresses to
charity. (Siyar A'laam An-Nubalaa'by Ath-Thahabi)
·Does what is right without fearing criticism: 'Eesa ibn 'Allaam
'Uthmaansaid,"I was at Faatimah bint 'Ali's houseboth, and a man came
praising her father. She took ash and threw it at his face."[Tabaqaat
ibn Sa'ad8/466]
·Devout worshipper:Al-Haytham ibn Jammaazsaid,"I was married to a
woman who does not sleep at night [as she would be praying all the
night]. I could not stay up late with her, but shewould sprinkle water
and nudge me with her foot while saying, 'Are you not shy of Allaah?
For how long would this snoring go on?' (He said), By Allaah! I would
be ashamed of myself considering what she did."(Ta'theem Qadr
As-Salaah2/ 835)
·Abstinent regarding worldly temptations. Al-Waaqidinarrated that once
it was the eve of`Eedand he had nothing, so he went to one of his
friends who was a merchant and borrowed one thousand dinars sealed in
a bag. When he returned home, one of his friends from Bani Haashim
from the family of theProphet,came to him and told him that he was in
need. Al-Waaqidiwent to his wife and told her about this. She asked,
"What will you do?"He replied,"I will give him half the money in the
bag!"She said,"Thisis nothing! One of the family of the Prophet,comes
to you and you give him half the bag!"Therefore, Al-Waqidi gave him
all the money. The merchant was a friend of this man and asked him to
lend him money. The Haashimiman gave him the same bag, so he
recognized it. When the ruler knew about their story, he rewarded
every one of their men one thousand dinars and gave the woman four
thousand dinars,and said,"She is the most generous one among
you!"(SiyarA'laam An-Nubalaa'by Ath-Thahabi 9/467