The Ideal Muslimah

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The Ideal Muslimah ÔÎÕíÉ ÇáãÑÃÉ ÇáãÓáãÉ TRANSLATOR’S FOREWORD September 1997 Publisher’s Note Mohammed A. R. Al Tuwaijri PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION CHAPTER 1 The Muslim Woman and Her Rabb The Believing Woman is Alert She Worships All(h (() She Regularly Prays Five Times a Day She May Attend the Jama‘ah Congregational Prayer in the Mosque She Attends ‘E(d Prayers She Prays Sunnah and Nafil Prayers She Performs Her Prayers Properly She Pays Zak(h on Her Wealth She Fasts During the Day and Prays at Night in Rama((n She Observes Nafil Fasts She Goes on (ajj to the Sacred House of All(h (() She Goes for ‘Umrah She is Obedient to the Commands of All(h (() She Does Not Sit Alone With a “Stranger” She Wears Correct (ij(b She Avoids Mixing Freely With Men She Does Not Shake Hands With a non-Ma(ram Man She Does Not Travel Except With a Ma(ram She Accepts the Will and Decree of All(h (() She Turns to All(h (() in Repentance She Feels a Sense of Responsibility for the Members of Her Family Her Main Concern is the Pleasure of All(h (() She Understands the True Meaning of Being a Servant of All(h (() She Works to Support the Religion of All(h (() She is Distinguished by Her Isl(mic Character and True Religion Her Loyalty is to All(h (() Alone She Enjoins What is Good and Forbids What is Evil She Often Reads the Qur’(n CHAPTER 2 The Muslim Woman and Her Own Self Introduction 1 - HER BODY Moderation in Food and Drink She Exercises Regularly Her Body and Clothes are Clean She Takes Care of her Mouth and Teeth She Takes Care of Her Hair Good Appearance She Does Not Go to Extremes of Beautification or Make a Wanton Display of Herself 2 - HER MIND She Takes Care of Her Mind by Pursuing Knowledge What a Muslim Woman Needs to Know Muslim Women’s Achievements in the Field of Knowledge She is not Superstitious She Never Stops Reading and Studying 3 - HER SOUL She Performs Acts of Worship Regularly and Purifies her Soul She Keeps Company with Righteous People and Joins Religious Gatherings She Frequently Repeats du‘(’s and Supplications Described in (ad(th CHAPTER 3 The Muslim Woman and Her Parents She Treats Them with Kindness and Respect birr She Recognizes Their Status and Knows her Duties Towards Them She is Kind and Respectful Towards Her Parents Even if They Are Not Muslim She is Extremely Reluctant to Disobey Them Her Mother Comes First, Then Her Father She Treats Parents Kindly CHAPTER 4 The Muslim Woman and Her Husband Marriage in Isl(m She Chooses a Good Husband She is Obedient to her Husband and Shows him Respect She Treats his Mother and Family with Kindness and Respect CHAPTER 5 The Muslim Woman and Her Children Introduction She Understands the Great Responsibility That She Has Towards Her Children She Uses the Best Methods in Bringing Them up She Demonstrates her Love and Affection for Them She Treats her Sons and Daughters Equally She Does not Discriminate Between Sons and Daughters in her Affection and Care She Does not Pray Against her Children She is Alert to Everything that May Have an Influence on Them She Instils Good Behaviour and Attitudes in Them CHAPTER 6 The Muslim Woman and Her Sons and Daughters-In-Law A - Her Daughter-In-Law Her Attitude Towards her Daughter-In-Law She Knows how to Make a Good Choice in Selecting a Daughter-In-Law She Knows her Place She Gives Advice but Does not Interfere in Their Private Life She Respects her and Treats her Well She is Wise and Fair in her Judgement of her Daughter-In-Law B - Her Son-In-Law Her Attitude Towards her Son-In-Law She Knows How to Make a Good Choice in Selecting a Son-In-Law She Respects and Honours him She Helps her Daughter to be a Good Wife to her Husband She is Fair, and is Never Biased in Favour of her Daughter She Deals With Problems Wisely CHAPTER 7 The Muslim Woman and Her Relatives Isl(mic View of Kinship Ties The Muslim Woman Upholds the Ties of Kinship According to the Teachings of Isl(m She Maintains the Ties of Kinship Even if her Relatives are not Muslim She Fully Understands the Meaning of Upholding the Tie of Kinship She Maintains the Ties of Kinship Even if Her Relatives Fail To Do So CHAPTER 8 The Muslim Woman And Her Neighbours The Muslim Woman is Kind and Friendly Towards her Neighbours She Adheres to the Isl(mic Teachings Regarding Good Treatment of Neighbours She Likes for her Neighbours What she Likes for Herself She Treats her Neighbour in the Best Way That She Can She Treats Her Neighbours Well Even if They Are Not Muslim She Starts With the Neighbour Whose Home is Closest to Her Own The True Muslim Woman is the Best Neighbour Bad Neighbours The Bad Neighbour is a Person Who is Deprived of the Blessing of Faith The Bad Neighbour is a Person Whose Good Deeds are not Accepted Her Good Treatment of Her Neighbour is Enough She Puts up With her Neighbour’s Mistakes and Bad Treatment CHAPTER 9 The Muslim Woman and Her Friends and Sisters in Isl(m She Loves Her Friends as Sisters for the Sake of All(h (() The Status of Two Who Love One Another For the Sake of All(h (() The Effect of Love for the Sake of All(h (() on the Life of Muslim Men and Women She Does not Forsake or Abandon her Sister She is Tolerant and Forgiving She Meets Them with a Smiling Face She is Sincere Towards Them She is Faithful and Kind She is Kind to Them She Does not Gossip About Them She Avoids Arguing With Them, Making Hurtful Jokes and Breaking Promises She is Generous and Honours her Sisters She Prays for Her Sisters in Their Absence CHAPTER 10 The Muslim Woman and Her Community/Society Introduction She has a Good Attitude Towards Others and Treats Them Well She is Truthful She Avoids Giving False Statements She Gives Sincere Advice She Guides Others to Righteous Deeds She Does not Cheat, Deceive, or Stab in the Back She Keeps her Promises She is Not a Hypocrite She is Characterized by Shyness [(ay(’] She is Proud and Does not Beg She Does not Interfere in That Which Does not Concern Her She Refrains From Slandering the Honour of Others and Seeking out Their Faults She Does not Show off or Boast She is Fair in Her Judgements She Does not Oppress or Mistreat Others She is Fair Even to Those Whom She Does Not Like She Does not Rejoice in the Misfortunes of Others She Avoids Suspicion She Avoids Cursing and Foul Language She Does not Make Fun of Anybody She is Gentle and Kind Towards People She is Compassionate and Merciful She Strives for People’s Benefit and Seeks to Protect Them From Harm She Helps to Alleviate the Burden of the Debtor She is Generous She Does not Remind the Beneficiaries of her Charity She is Patient She is Easy-Going and Does Not Bear Grudges She is Easy on People, Not Hard She is Not Envious She Avoids Boasting and Seeking Fame Her Speech is Not Exaggerated or Affected She Has a Likeable Personality She is Friendly and Likeable She Keeps Secrets She is of Cheerful Countenance She is Lighthearted and Has a Sense of Humour She Tries to Make People Happy She is Not Over-Strict She is Not Arrogant or Proud She is Humble and Modest She is Moderate With Regard to Her Clothing and Appearance She Loves Noble Things and Always Aims High She is Concerned About the Affairs of the Muslims She Honours Her Guest She Prefers Others over Herself She Checks Her Customs and Habits Against Isl(mic Standards She Follows Isl(mic Manners in the Way She Eats and Drinks Spreading the Greeting of Isl(m She Does Not Enter a House Other Than Her Own Without Permission She Sits Wherever She Finds Room in a Gathering She Does Not Converse Privately With Another Woman When a Third is Present She Respects Elders and Distinguished People She Does Not Look into Other People’s Houses She Avoids Yawning in a Gathering as Much as She Can She Follows Isl(mic Etiquette When She Sneezes She Does Not Seek the Divorce of Another Woman so That She May Take her Place She Chooses the Work That Suits her Feminine Nature She Does Not Imitate Men She Calls People to the Truth She Enjoins What is Good and Forbids What is Evil She is Wise and Eloquent in her D(‘wah She Mixes With Righteous Women She Strives to Reconcile Between Muslim Women She Mixes With Other Women and Puts up With Their Insults She Repays Favours and is Grateful for Them She Visits the Sick She Does Not Wail Over the Dead She Does Not Attend Funerals CONCLUSION Symbols used in this book Transliteration Chart