seven years older than her sister. Allaah The Exalted has granted her
a sound mind and an eloquent tongue. Hence, her younger sister
Ruqayyah discusses life's affairs with her and asks for her opinion on
issues or problems that she encounters or any of the various
manifestations of contemporary life.
One evening, they decided to buy a new iron, as the one that they had
was broken. Because Faatimah was busy doing some housework, Ruqayyah
went to buy the iron alone from a large store that sells household
goods and electrical equipment.
When she returned, Ruqayyah said to Faatimah, "I managed to buy a new
iron for a reasonable price, but something strange happened at the
store."
Faatimah asked, "What happened?"
Ruqayyah replied, "While I was buying the iron and checking the
different types and prices, I unintentionally overheard an argument
between a husband and his wife who were standing by my side and buying
some electric equipment.
"The wife said to her husband, 'I want to buy a new electric meat
mincer to make cooking easier for me.' Her husband objected saying,
'Why do you want to buy it if you have the manual mincer that both of
our mothers used to use. Besides, the minced meat that comes out of
the manual mincer has a special taste that I like and I think that the
electric mincer will not give the same taste. Moreover, you are a
housewife and have enough time that would make it possible to use the
manual mincer and you will not need to use the electric one that is
used by working women because they do not have enough time. Thus, I
totally refuse to buy this electric mincer.' Here, the wife looked sad
and distressed. She did not reply and walked on helplessly with her
husband."
Faatimah said, "Allaah The Exalted has granted man a mind and honored
him among all creatures. Allaah The Almighty inspired man to use his
mind in inventing useful things that would make life easier. In the
course of progress, man invented many things that made his life easier
on earth and saved his time and effort. Therefore, our grandmothers
and mothers used the manual mincer and considered it at that time to
be an amazing invention as they used to mince meat and beans with a
mortar or a grinder that were common at that time. Thus, using the
manual mincer at that time was considered great progress and I think
that if the electric mincer had been invented at their time, they
would have hastened to buy it. Therefore, why should we stick to an
old invention that does not save time or effort?
"Is it because the husband likes to waste his wife's time in something
useless or has he other logical reasons like not having enough money
to buy it? If this is the reason, he should have persuaded his wife
gently to postpone purchasing it until he can afford it. Furthermore,
using modern and safe inventions at home is something important as it
saves time and effort for both the working woman and the housewife who
should not spend all day in the kitchen in order to prepare lunch by
using a manual mincer for instance. If she uses an electric mincer,
she will save effort and time that she can use in doing more important
things like looking after her children, educating them and teaching
them the Quran. Also, she can have enough time to learn new things,
read, learn matters pertaining to religion, attend religious lessons
and other useful things."
Ruqayyah said, "The contemporary Muslim, whether male or female, has
important tasks that he should do. Thus, he should save his time and
effort. If he is able to save the time and effort that he spends in
his daily activities, why does he not do so by using modern equipment
that helps him to achieve his aims and saves his time and effort in
order to achieve what is more beneficial and important?"
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