Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

4- Sayyda Zahraa Al- Moustafawi said,“ The Imam is strict concerning the marriageable persons’ being at the same place. For instance, my children and my brother Sayyed Ahmad’ s children are of close ages i. e. between fifteen and sixteen years old. If one day we were invited to lunch at The Imam’ s house, we used not to take our children with us. And if we took them with us, the boys would go to Sayyed Ahmad’ s house where the men would have lunch. As regards the girls, they would eat with us in our mother’ s room in The Imam’ s house, in order that the marriageable persons, even if being kins, would not sit to the same table. Even more, he used to assure that there was no need for them to salute each other because saluting is not a duty.”[95]

4- Speaking in a Seductive Way: It is to speak in a coquettish way, and The Most High God forbids this in His saying, (O wives of The Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty [to Allah], then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease [of hypocrisy or evil desire to adultery, etc] should be moved with desire, but speak in a honorable manner). [96]

5- Going Too Far in Looking: The Most High God says, (Tell the believing men to lower their gaze [from looking at forbidden things] and protect their private parts [from illegal sexual acts,Etc]. That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All Aware of what they do* And tell the believing women to lower their gaze [from looking at forbidden things] and protect their private parts [from illegal sexual acts, etc] and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent [like palms of the hands or one eye or both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves, head cover, etc] and to draw their veils all over their Juyub [i. e. their bodies, faces, necks, bosoms, etc] [97]…)

God imprisoning him in this life a thousand years for every word.”[98]

1- Ashamed of The Most High God: Someone said to The Prophet( God ’ s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household ) “ Give me a recommendation.” He( God ’ s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household ) said,“ Be ashamed of God as you are ashamed of a righteous man in your nation.”[99]

2- Ashamed of The Prophet( God ’ s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household ) and the Imams(God ’ s peace bestowed upon them) : It is ascribed to Imam Mohammad Al- Baker( God ’ s peace bestowed upon him ) that he said,“ The deeds of the people are shown before your Prophet every Thursday evening. Let everyone of you be ashamed of showing before his/ her Prophet an abominated deed.”[100]It is related by Ya’ coub ibn Sou’ aib,“ I asked Abou Abdullah( God ’ s peace bestowed upon him ) about the Saying of The Most High God: (And say ]O Mohammad], “ Do deeds! Allah will see your deeds, and ]so will] His Messenger and the believers…) [101]He( God ’ s peace bestowed upon him ( answered,‘ They [the believers] are the Imams(God ’ s peace bestowed upon them ( . ’” [102]

3- Ashamed of the Angels: It is ascribed to God’ s prophet( God ’ s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household ) that he said,“ Let everyone be ashamed of the two angels who are with him as he is ashamed of two righteous men from his neighbors and who are with him day and night.” [103]

4- Ashamed of the People: It is ascribed to Imam Ali( God ’ s peace bestowed upon him ) that he said,“ He who is not ashamed of the people is not ashamed of The Most Glorified God.”[104]

5- Ashamed of the Self: It is ascribed to Imam Ali( God ’ s peace bestowed upon him ) that he said,“ The best ashamedness is your ashamedness of your self.”[105]

- Abstinence from the desire: It is ascribed to Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb( God ’ s peace bestowed upon him ) that he said,“ Abstinence from the desire is chastity.”[106]

- Asceticism: It is also ascribed to Imam Ali( God ’ s peace bestowed upon her ) that he said,“ Chastity is asceticism.”[107]

- Protection of the soul and abstinence from everything mean: It is also ascribed to Imam Ali (God ’ s peace bestowed upon him) that he said,“ Chastity protects the soul and abstains it from the low things.”[108]

1 - Abstinence from Disclosing the Financial Need: The Most High God says, ([Charity is] for the poor who in Allah’ s Cause are restricted [from travel] and can not move about in the land [for trade or work]. The one who knows them not thinks that they are rich because of their modesty…) [109]It is ascribed to Imam Ali( God ’ s peace bestowed upon him ) that he said,“ Chastity is the adornment of poverty.”[110]

2- Chastity as Regards Insistence on the Veil: The Most High God says, (And as for women past child bearing who do not expect wed lock, it is no sin on them if they discard their [outer] clothing in such a way as not to show their adornment. But to refrain [i. e. not to discard their outer clothing] is better for them. And Allah is All Hearer All Knower). [111]

3- Abstinence from the Desire: The Most High God says, (And let those who find not the financial means for marriage keep them chaste, until Allah enriches the from His Bounty...)[112]

2- Imitation of the West: Alienation and loss of identity represent the most dangerous disease to which the human being may be exposed. It is so because it is the disease which destroys the entity and the personality and the privacy. It is, in fact, a breakdown for all the values which are prevailing in the society and a loss of the base on which the human being establishes his/ her society. Then, a society without fixed standards and clear bases is an underdeveloped one to the utmost extents; in fact, it is a pest which survives on the scrupulous of the other societies.

1- Affection: The Most High God says, (… and He has put between you affection and mercy…) [113]Affection is the psychological inclination which represents a basic ground for mutual understanding and harmony.

3- The Honorable Association: Once the affection and the mercy prevail in the hearts of the husband and the wife, then their imprints will appear in the daily life and in the association between them in the form of(… And live with them honorably…) [114]For harm can not issue from the one who has affection and mercy towards the other one: (… and do not treat them in such a harmful way that they be obliged to leave…)[115]

4- Cooperation and Filling In the Gaps: The Most High God says, (… They are libas for you and you are libas for them… [116]). This verse implies the next connotations. Firstly, each one of them is considered to be an adornment for the other one; for the garment is an adornment for the one putting it on. Secondly, both fortify each other; for the garment fortifies the human being from coldness in winter and keeps back the intensity of the heat of the sun in the summer. Thirdly, both enshroud each other; for the garment enshrouds the body and hides its private parts. If the woman regards a shame or a problem in her husband, her responsibility is to enshroud him at first, to help him fill in this gap at second, and to adorn him in front of the eyes of the people at third.

5- Patience and Tolerance: Impatience and bad temper can destroy the building of the family from its very roots because the wife’ s and husband’ s association is a daily one and the consequences of impatience will accelerate to an extent at which it can not be controlled and at which it will be hard to be amended. On this basis emerges the recommendation of The Noblest Prophet( God ’ s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household ) with patience:“ God grants the woman who is patient with the ill temper of her husband the reward of Asya ibnat Mouzahem.”[117]

6- Taking into Consideration the Husband’ s Capabilities: Let us learn from Sayyda Fatima A- Zahraa The Mistress of the Women of All the Worlds( God ’ s peace bestowed upon her ) when she said to her husband The Prince of the Believers Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (God ’ s peace bestowed upon him) , “ O Aba Al- Hassan, I am ashamed of my God to ask from you what you are incapable of.”[118]

It is also ascribed to Imam Al- Baker(God’s peace bestowed upon him) that he said, “The Most Glorious and Reverent God imposed on the men the struggle for God’s sake and on the women the struggle for God’s sake as well. That of the man is to sacrifice his money and blood until he is killed for God’s sake. On the other hand, that of the woman is to tolerate the hurt and jealousy issuing from

her husband.”[119]

Such are the healthy environments to which the sacred doctrine guides us. They are demanded to be a manner and a methodology which govern the behaviors of the wife.

Islam did not put this behavioral methodology only, but also it divided the work of the family, thus assigning for each of the husband and the wife a special role adequate to the nature of each one of them. These assigned roles represent the system which rules the family.

The System of the Family

The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) divided the work between Imam Ali and Sayyda Fatima (God’s peace bestowed upon both), thus assigning the work inside the house to Sayyda Fatima(God’s peace bestowed upon her) and that outside the house to Imam Ali(God’s peace bestowed upon him) . At that, she(God’s peace bestowed upon her) said, “Only God knows how happy I was when God’s prophet spared me to bear the necks of men.”

The Scholar Al-Majlisi says in illustration of this, “Bearing the necks of the men means bearing the things which the necks of the men carry, such as: the canteens and the wood. It may also mean showing up among the men…”[120]

Anyway, Sayyda Fatima Al-Zahraa(God’s peace bestowed upon her) carried the burdens of the work inside the house to the extent that she(God’s peace bestowed upon her) said, “O God’s prophet! My hands blistered from the hand mill: at one time, I grind; and at another time, I knead.”[121]

The system in the house of Imam Ali and Sayyda Al-Zahraa(God’s peace bestowed upon both) sets forth this house as a model for the believers in general. There are certain narratives which refer to the woman’s work inside her house; it is ascribed to The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) that he said, “God looks at the woman who moves something in her husband’s house from one place to another with the aim of using it in a better way. And God does not torture the one whom He looks at.”[122]

As we have mentioned, the family is a small society which is founded on affection and mercy and which is wrapped by the environments of repose and peace. However, this does not delete the necessity of the presence of a guardian who is considered to be the head of this small society. The man, therefore, is the guardian chosen by The Most High God to govern this small society; The Most High God says, (Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has made one of them to excel the other…)[123]

This is also assured by the narratives. It is ascribed to The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) that he said, “The man is benefited by nothing next to Islam but by a Muslim wife who pleases him when he looks at her, obeys him when he orders her, and preserves him in herself and in his money when he is far away from her.”[124]In addition, it is ascribed to Imam Al- Baker(God’s peace bestowed upon him) that he said, “The woman has no better intercessor on her behalf to her God than her husband’s pleasure with her is.”[125]

Such was the model house which was headed by the two Impeccables: Ali and  Al-Zahraa(God’s peace bestowed upon both) . From her words, it is related that she said to her husband (God’s peace bestowed upon both) , “The house is your house, and the free woman ]wanting herself] is your wife. Do whatever you wish.” [126]

Summary

The family is that small society which Islam stresses its importance, spurs on establishing it, and lies the bases for the relationship among its members on the level of the prevailing environments and the behaviors before the level of the rights and duties.

From the aims of the building of the family are:

1- Chastity and purity

2- Fortification of the morals

3- Complementarity between the husband and the wife and fulfillment of the needs of each one of them

4- Occupation of the time with obedience

5- Increasing the believing progeny and maintaining the continuity of life

The woman must bear in mind that her relationship with her husband has a religious priority and that it comes at the head of everything else as long as it is included within the frame of the religious standards. It is ascribed to The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) that he said, “Woman’s struggle for God’s sake is fulfilled by her being a good wife.”

There are many details concerning this relationship upon which the doctrine reflects:

1- Affection

2- Mercy

3- Honorable association

4- Cooperation and filling in gaps

5 - Patience and tolerance

6- Taking into consideration the husband’ s capabilities

The system in the house of Imam Ali and Sayyda Fatima Al-Zahraa(God’s peace bestowed upon both) sets forth this house as a model for the believers in general.

The family is a small society which is founded on affection and mercy. However, this does not delete the necessity of the presence of a guardian who is considered to be the head of this small society.

The man, therefore, is the guardian chosen by The Most High God to govern this small society; The Most High God says, (Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has made one of them to excel the other…)

Comprehension Questions

1- To what extent does Islam attach importance to marriage?

2- What is the aim of marriage and family establishment?

3- Is the fulfillment of the needs of the society prior to the fulfillment of the needs of the husband?

4- Mention some issues which the wife must take into consideration in her husband’ s house?

5- How did God’ s prophet (God ’ s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) divide the work between Imam Ali and Sayyda Fatima Al- Zahraa (God ’ s peace bestowed upon both) ?

For Reading

Sayyda Fatima Al-Zahraa (God’s peace bestowed upon her): The Wife

Sayyda Fatima Al-Zahraa’s(God’s peace bestowed upon her) life in the house of her husband The Prince of the Believers(God’s peace bestowed upon him) is of the most wonderful issues which represent a model which every woman can follow after. Many narratives refer to Al-Zahraa’s(God’s peace bestowed upon her) life in the house of her husband The Prince of the Believers(God’s peace bestowed upon him) . Among what the chronicles relate is that one day, God’s prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) entered his daughter’s house while she was grinding by the hand mill and putting on a cover from the hair of the camels. So he(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household) wept and said, “O Fatima, gulp the bitterness of this life in order to gain the comfort of the hereafter.”

Concerning her good morals, The Prince of the Believers(God’s peace bestowed upon him) said, “…And she never enraged me nor disobeyed any of my orders. My worries and sorrows used to be driven away when I looked at her.”

How content with what God gave her a wife Al-Zahraa(God’s peace bestowed upon her) was. She used to demand nothing from The Prince of the Believers(God’s peace bestowed upon him) . The chronicles relate to us that Imam Ali(God’s peace bestowed upon him) woke up one day and asked her, “O Fatima! Do you have anything for me to eat?” She answered, “By Him Who honored my father with prophecy! No, I have nothing to give you to eat. And since two days, I have used to prefer you to my own belly and to my sons as regards any food we have had.” At that, he(God’s peace bestowed upon him) asked, “O Fatima! Why do not you tell me, so that I will try to bring you something?” She(God’s peace bestowed upon her) answered, “I am ashamed of God to ask from you what you are incapable of.”

When Foud’da was serving her, Al-Zahraa did not use to relax and give orders to the maid Foud’da. She(God’s peace bestowed upon her) used to alternate the service between herself and Foud’da: She used to work one day and Foud’da the next day, and so on. The narrative relates that Salman Al-Mohammadi saw Fatima(God’s peace bestowed upon her) while she was sitting down and grinding barley. And he noticed that there was blood on the column of the hand mill. Also, Al-Houssein(God’s peace bestowed upon him) was in a corner of the house starving. So he said to her, “O Daughter of God’s prophet! Your palms have blistered. Here is Foud’da [i. e. let Foud’da do the work].” She(God’s peace bestowed upon her) said back to him, “God’s prophet recommended me to alternate the service between me and her, and yesterday was her service day.”

Such is Sayyda Fatima Al-Zahraa(God’s peace bestowed upon her) in the modest house of her husband. She sublimed herself till The Most High God made her a model for the women of all the worlds and their mistress as well!!