mistress of the house and family and has many great tasks such as
pregnancy, delivery, suckling, feeding her husband and children,
taking care of the children and the home, participating in some tasks
of the husband such as watering, carrying water skins, using the hand
mill, managing and feeding the horse and carrying date stones from the
husband's land.
It is not one kind of work; rather, there is work that is too heavy to
be carried by mountains. They bore these tasks with patience while
praising Allaah The Almighty. When Allaah The Almighty granted Muslims
conquests, the husbands of those women alleviated some of their tasks
and brought maid-servants to help them with their work.
The highest summit that none could reach but Muhammad, sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam, and his offspring remained high, facing strenuous
work day and night even when there was an abundance of servants and
wealth because no one could reach the status of prophethood.
Furthermore, it is sufficient for the woman that her pregnancy and
delivery are considered Jihaad )struggle( in the way of Allaah The
Almighty. The Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:"The woman
in her pregnancy to her delivery until she weans the child is like the
one who guards the frontiers in the way of Allaah. If she dies in this
period, she would have the reward of a martyr."]At-Tabaraani
)Al-Haythami: the chain of transmission includes Qays ibn Ar-Rubay'
who was graded as authentic by Sufyaan and Shu'bah and graded as
Dha'eef by other scholars of Hadeeth; the remainder of the chain are
among the narrators of Al-Bukhaari and/or Muslim[
Listen to the delegate of women to the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa
sallam, Asmaa' bint Yazeed Al-Ansaariyyah, may Allaah be pleased with
her, when she summarized the situation and job of the Muslim woman
while she longs for the reward of Jihaad in the way of Allaah. She
said,
'O Messenger of Allaah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for
you, I am the delegate of Muslim women to you. Allaah The Almighty
sent you to both men and women. We believed in you and followed you.
We )women( are confined and reserved at your houses and bear your
children. )However,( you men are preferred over us by attending Friday
prayers, congregational prayers, funerals, performing Hajj after Hajj
and— better than all of these acts of worship— Jihaad in the way of
Allaah The Almighty. When you go out in the way of Allaah for Jihaad
or for Hajj or 'Umrah, we preserve for you your children and your
property, weave your clothes and bring up your children. So, do we
share with you the reward?
The Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, turned his
face to his Companions and said:"Have you ever heard a woman ask a
more eloquent question about her religion than this one?"They said,
"No. We did not think that a woman would be guided to say the like of
this." Then, the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, turned to her
and said:"O woman, understand and inform the women who are behind you
that being a good wife to your husband equals all that )reward you
mentioned for men(."]Al-Bayhaqi[
What glad tidings for women could be greater than this! The reward of
being a good wife and beautifying herself for her husband equals the
reward of performing Hajj and 'Umrah and doing Jihaad. This is not the
way we see the woman today; she adorns herself when she goes out to
the markets and is in a shabby appearance at home with her husband.
When she goes out of her home, she exposes her adornments like the
pre-Islamic era and even worse. She goes out wearing perfume and
struts among men until she is cursed by the angels. Meanwhile, at home
before her husband, she is in a shabby state and a terrible condition.
What an excellent advice it was that of Asmaa' ibn Khaarijah
Al-Fazaari, may Allaah have mercy upon him, when he said to his
daughter as stated in Majma' Al-Amthaal by Al-Maydaani:
O daughter, you have left the nest where you grew up and went to
another that you do not know and to a mate who is unfamiliar to you,
so be an earth for him and he will be your sky. Be a resting place for
him and he will be your pillar. Be his Bondmaid and he will be your
slave. Do not make excessive demands for he will then desert you. Do
not become too distant from him for he will then forget you. Should he
draw near then draw close to him. Should he become distant stay away
from him. Watch for his nose, his hearing and his eye; so, he will
smell nothing from you but that which is sweet, hear nothing but that
which is good; and look at nothing but that which is beautiful.
This is the best advice ever for every bride on her wedding day. The
Muslim woman acknowledged this advice and was the best wife among
mankind, and she gave birth to the most unique nation in history,
which Allaah The Almighty described as the best nation in the verse
)which means(:}You are the best nation produced ]as an example[ for
mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe
in Allaah{]Quran 3:110[
The woman had a great role in the emergence of the best Ummah )nation(
in the history of mankind. She was the best wife, mother and teacher.
Many are the great men recorded in the history of this Ummah who
became prominent through the efforts of their covered up mothers who
educated and disciplined them!
There is no doubt, if this Ummah wants to assume its prior status and
rise again, then, it should first perfect the upbringing of the
incubators who would bring up the children and teach them Islamic
teachings. In this way, the mother would indeed be like a school. In a
renowned line of Arabic poetry, the poet Haafith Ibraaheem said that
the woman is a school, if you prepare her well, you are preparing a
highly refined people.
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