The Ideal Muslim Woman and Her Own Self

(An Excerpt from the Book “The Ideal Muslimah: The True Islâmic Personality of the Muslim Woman as Defined in the Qur’ân and Sunnah”)  

By  Dr. Muhammad ‘Ali Al-Hashimi

Translated by Nasiruddin Al-Khattab and Revised by Ibrahim M. Kunna and Abu  Aya Sulaiman Abdus-Sabur Copyright and published by the International Islâmic Publishing House (IIPH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1999.

Introduction

Islam encourages the Muslims to stand out among people, readily distinguishable by their dress, appearance and behavior, so that they will be a good example, worthy of the great message that they bring to humanity. According to the hadith narrated by the great Sahabi Ibn al-Hanzaliyyah, the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) told his Companions, when they were traveling to meet some brothers in faith:

Characteristics Of A Pious Muslimah(In The Light Of Quran & Hadith)

Quranic verses

Allah has said that those women who are Muslims, who put their îmân in order, who are obedient, who give in charity, who fast, who protect their honour and chastity, who remember Allah abundantly - Allah has set aside forgiveness and a great reward for them.

Allah has said that pious women have the following qualities: they are obedient, and they protect their honour even if the husband is not at home. Allah has further stated that such women are good women, who are steadfast on the Sharî‘ah, whose beliefs are in order, who are obedient, if they commit any act that is contrary to the Sharî‘ah they repent immediately, who occupy themselves in the ‘ibâdah of Allah, and who fast.

The conditions of hijaab:

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
The conditions of hijaab:
Firstly:
(It should cover all the body apart from whatever has been exempted).
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allaah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
This aayah clearly states that it is obligatory to cover all of a woman’s beauty and adornments and not to display any part of that before non-mahram men (“strangers”) except for whatever appears unintentionally, in which case there will be no sin on them if they hasten to cover it up.
Al-Haafiz ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer:

Love of Allah

by Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

The love of the Beloved
must be unconditionally returned.

If you claim love
yet oppose the Beloved,
then your love is but a pretence.
You love the enemies of your Beloved
and still seek love in return.

You fight the beloved of your Beloved.

Is this Love or the following of shaytaan?

True devotion is nothing
but total submission
of body and soul
to One Love.

We have seen humans claim to submit,
yet their loyalties are many.

They put their trust here, and their hope there,
and their love is without consequence.

---

Excerpted from An-Nooniyyah
Quoted in "Al-Walaa wal-Baraa" of Muhammad Saeed al-Qahtani

Traps of Iblees

by Ibn ul-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah rahimahullaah

from At-Tafseer Al-Qayyim of Shaikh Ibn Al-Qayyim [Al-Hijra magazine]

It is not possible to encompass one of Iblees' evils, let alone all of them. Since Iblees' evil is of six types, Iblees remains behind the son of Adam until he gets him to do one or more of these six evils.

THE FIRST EVIL IS THE EVIL OF KUFR AND SHIRK and enmity to Allâh and His Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. If he gains this from the son of Adam, his moaning is eased, and he rests from his ordeal with this man. Further, this is the first thing Iblees wants from al-'Abd (the worshipper). If Iblees gains this, he makes this person part of his army, one of his soldiers, and he appoints him as a deputy or agent against other human beings. Then, this person becomes one of the deputies or callers of Iblees.

The Great Virtue Of Lowering The Gaze

Taken from 'al-Muntaqaa min Ighaathatul Lufhaan fee Masaayid ash-Shaytaan'Imaam ibn ul-Qayyim al-Jawaziyyah rahimaahullah

(pp.'s 102-105) of ibn ul-Qayyim, summarised by Alee Hasan

Allaah, the Exalted said,

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts; that will make for greater purity for them. Indeed Allaah is well acquainted with all that they do." [an-Nur (24):30]

So Allaah made purification and spiritual growth to be the outcome of lowering the gaze and guarding the private parts. It is for this reason that lowrering ones gaze from (seeing) the prohibited things necessarily leads to three benefits that carry tremendous value and are of great significance.

The First: experiencing the delight and sweetness of faith.

This delight and sweetness is far greater and more desirable that which might have been attained from the object that one lowered his gaze from for the sake of Allaah. Indeed, "whosoever leaves something for the sake of Allaah then Allaah, the Mighty and Magnificent, will replace it with something better than it." [1]

Sabr ( Patience )

By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah.

An abridgement of his original work entitled, “Uddat as-Sâbireen wa Dhâkirat by TaHa Publications

The Definition of Patience

---

Sabr is an Arabic word which comes from a root meaning to detain, refrain and stop. There is an expression in Arabic, "so-and-so was killed sabran," which means that he was captured and detained until he died. In the spiritual sense, patience means to stop ourselves from despairing and panicking, to stop our tongues from complaining, and to stop our hands from striking our faces and tearing our clothes at times of grief and stress.

What scholars have said about patience

Ways of Strengthening Patience

by Imâm Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Patience and Gratitude. By Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah. An abridgement of his original work entitled, “Uddat as-Sâbireen wa Dhâkirat by TaHa Publications

The Patience of noble people and the patience of ignoble people

Every person has to exercise patience in order to face difficulties, whether he does so willingly or unwillingly. The noble person exercises patience willingly, because he realizes the benefits of patience, and he knows that he will be rewarded for his patience and will be criticized if he panics. He is aware that if he does not have patience, panicking and impatience will not help him to regain missed opportunities, and will not take away things he dislikes. Whatever is decreed and is qada’ wa qadr cannot be prevented from happening, and whatever is decreed not to happen cannot be made to happen. So an attitude of impatience and panic actually causes harm.

Polishing the Hearts

Imaam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d.751 H), rahimahullaah ¹

From al-Istiqaamah magazine Shawwal 1418H/ February 1998

Allaah - the Most High - said:

"O you who believe! Remember Allaah and remember Him a lot." [Soorah al-Ahzaab 33:4I].

"Those men and women who remember Allaah a lot." [Soorah al-Ahzaab 33:35].

"So when you have finished the rights of your Pilgrimage, then remember Allaah as you remember your fore-father, or with more intense remembrance." [Soorah al-Baqarah 2:200].

These verses contain a command to remember Allaah intensely and abundantly, since the worshipper is in dire need of [remembering Allaah] and cannot do without it even for a twinkling of an eye. This is because every moment that a person does not spend in the dhikr (remembrance) of Allaah will not be of any benefit to him. Rather, the harm entailed in being neglectful of the dhikr of Allaah is far greater than any benefits that can be gained. One of the 'aarifeen (those who are knowledgeable about Allaah) said:"If a person were to spend such and such number of years engaged [in the dhikr of Allaah], then he turns away from it for just a moment, what he will lose is far greater than whatever he has already gained."

Al-Bayhaqee relates from 'Aaishah radiallaahu 'anhaa that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: "There is no time in which the son of Aadam does not remember AIIaah in it, except that it will be a source of regret for him on the Day of Judgement" ²

Ibn ul-Qayyim's beautiful description of Paradise

from the amazing and beautiful book Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah by Ibn al-Qayyim, pg. 193

Ibn al-Qayyim said, in regards to the description of the Paradise and the delights that it contains:

"And if you ask about its ground and its soil, then it is of musk and saffron.

And if you ask about its roof, then it is the Throne of the Most Merciful.

And if you ask about its rocks, then they are pearls and jewels.

The real test of faith.

Talha Ibn Sabeeh says: al-Hasan said: A believer believes in what God has said. He is the best of men in his deeds, but he fears God most, so that if he spends the size of a mountain of money, he would not be sure of his reward until he sees this with his own eyes. The more righteous and charitable the believer is, the more afraid of God he becomes. While the hypocirte says: Men are too many, I shall be forgiven. There is no harm on me. Thus he acts badly, but wishes many things from God.

Faith is not mere wishes but what you have in your heart which is confirmed by your deeds. This means that deeds are the real test of faith.

Remaining Silent

" If Allah wanted to punish a people, 

He would make them indulge in arguing and give up action. 

Many a times I have regretted speaking my son, 

but I have never regretted remaining silent."

-Luqman Hakeem

In a dome of green like his on earth

I envy the sand that met his feet

I’m jealous of honey he tasted sweet

Of birds that hovered above his head

Of spiders who spun their sacred web

To save him from his enemies

I envy clouds formed from the seas

That gave him cover from the heat