The muslim woman and her rabb

[mariashahid]

One of the most prominent distinguishing features of the Muslim woman is her deep faith in Allah
(SWT), and her sincere conviction that whatever happens in this universe, and whatever fate
befalls human beings, only happens through the will and decree of Allah (SWT); whatever befalls a
person could not have been avoided, and whatever does not happen to a person could not have
been made to happen. A person has no choice in this life but to strive towards the right path and to
do good deeds - acts of worship and other acts - by whatever means one can, putting all his trust
in Allah (SWT), submitting to His will, and believing that he is always in need of Allah's (SWT) help
and support.
The story of Hajar offers the Muslim woman the most marvellous example of deep faith in Allah
(SWT) and sincere trust in Him. Ibrahim `May peace be upon him' (PBUH) left her at the Ka`bah in
Makkah, above the well of Zamzam, at a time when there were no people and no water in the
place. Hajar had no-one with her except her infant son Isma`il. She asked Ibrahim, calmly and
with no trace of panic: "Has Allah (SWT) commanded you to do this, O Ibrahim?" Ibrahim (PBUH)
said, "Yes." Her response reflected her acceptance and optimism: "Then He is not going to abandon
us." Reported by Bukhari in Kitab al-Anbiya1
Here was an extremely difficult situation: a man left his wife and infant son in a barren land, where
there were no plants, no water, and no people, and went back to the distant land of Palestine. He
left nothing with her but a sack of dates and a skin filled with water. Were it not for the deep faith
and trust in Allah (SWT) that filled Hajar's heart, she would not have been able to cope with such a
difficult situation; she would have collapsed straight away, and would not have become the woman
whose name is forever remembered night and day by those who perform hajj and `umrah at the
house of Allah (SWT), every time they drink the pure water of Zamzam, and run between the
mounts of Safa' and Marwah, as Hajar did on that most trying day.
This deep faith and awareness had an amazing effect on the lives of Muslim men and women: it
awoke their consciences and reminded them that Allah (SWT) witnesses and knows every secret,
and that He is with a person wherever he may be. Nothing gives a clearer idea of that
consciousness and fear of Allah (SWT) at all times than the story of the young Muslim girl related
in Sifat al-Safwah and Wafiyat al-A'yan and cited by Ibn al-Jawzi in Ahkam al-Nisa' (pp. 441, 442):
"Narrated `Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: `When I
was accompanying `Umar ibn al-Khattab on his patrol of Madinah at night, he felt tired, so he leant
against a wall. It was the middle of the night, and (we heard) a woman say to her daughter, "O my
daughter, get up and mix that milk with some water." The girl said, "O Mother, did you not hear
the decree of Amir al-Mu'minin (chief of the believers) today?" The mother said, "What was that?"
The girl said, "He ordered someone to announce in a loud voice that milk should not be mixed with
water." The mother said, "Get up and mix the milk with water; you are in a place where `Umar
cannot see you." The girl told her mother, "I cannot obey Him (Allah) in public and disobey him in
private." `Umar heard this, and told me: "O Aslam, go to that place and see who that girl is, and to
whom she was speaking, and whether she has a husband." So I went to that place, and I saw that
she was unmarried, the other woman was her mother, and neither of them had a husband. I came
to `Umar and told him what I had found out. He called his sons together, and said to them: "Do
any of you need a wife, so I can arrange the marriage for you? If I had the desire to get married, I
would have been the first one to marry this young woman." `Abdullah said: "I have a wife." `Abd
al-Rahman said: "I have a wife." `Asim said: "I do not have a wife, so let me marry her." So
`Umar arranged for her to be married to `Asim. She gave him a daughter, who grew up to be the
mother of `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz.'"
This is the deep sense of awareness that Islam had implanted in the heart of this young woman.
She was righteous and upright in all her deeds, both in public and in private, because she believed
that Allah (SWT) was with her at all times and saw and heard everything. This is true faith, and
these are the effects of that faith, which raised her to the level of ihsan. One of the immediate
rewards with which Allah (SWT) honoured her was this blessed marriage, one of whose
descendants was the fifth rightly-guided khalifah, `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz `May Allah be pleased
with him' (RAA).
The Aqeedah (faith) of the true Muslim woman is pure and clear, uncontaminated by any stain of
ignorance, illusion or superstition. This Aqeeda is based on faith in Allah, (SWT) the One, the Most
High, the Eternal, Who is able to do all things, Who is in control of the entire universe, and to
Whom all things must return:
( Say: `Who is it in Whose hands is the governance of all things - Who protects
[all], but is not protected [by any]? [Say] if you know.' They will say, `[It belongs]
to Allah,' Say: `Then how are you deluded?') (Qur'an 23:88-89)
This is the pure, deep faith which increases the character of the Muslim woman in strength,
understanding and maturity, so that she sees life as it really is, which is a place of testing whose
results will be seen on the Day which will undoubtedly come:
( Say: `It is Allah Who gives you life, then gives you death; then He will gather you
together for the Day of Judgement about which there is no doubt': but most men do
not understand.) (Qur'an 45:26)
( Did you then think that We had created you in jest, and that you would not be
brought back to Us [for account]?) (Qur'an 23:115)
( Blessed is He in Whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things has Power - He
Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed; and He is
the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving.) (Qur'an 67:1-2)
On that Day, man will be brought to account for his deeds. If they are good, it will be good for him,
and if they are bad, it will be bad for him. There will not be the slightest injustice:
( That Day will every soul be requited for what it earned; no injustice will there be
that Day, for Allah is Swift in taking account.) (Qur'an 40:17)
The Balance (in which man's deeds will be weighed) will measure everything with the utmost
precision, either in a person's favour or against him:
( Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it! And anyone
who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it.) (Qur'an 99:7-8)Nothing could be hidden from the Lord of Glory on that Day, not even if it were as insignificant as a
grain of mustard seed:
( We shall set up scales of justice for the day of Judgement, so that not a soul will
be dealt with unjustly in the least. And if there be [no more than] the weight of a
mustard seed, We will bring it [to account]: and enough are We to take account.)
(Qur'an 21:47)
No doubt the true Muslim woman, when she ponders the meaning of these ayat, would think about
that crucial Day and would turn to her Lord in obedience, repentance and gratitude, seeking to do
as many righteous deeds as she is able, in preparation for the Hereafter.

[taz...]

nice post, good reminder.

[Endymion]

I need to read something like that today.Alhamdulillah,Allah SWT make me read read such benificial words.May Allah SWT reward you with the best for sharing these precious words,dear sister :statisfie

[.iman.]

mashAllah, sis, thank you for posting.

"Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, although you don't see Him, He certainly sees you." May Allah help us all to achieve our true responsibility.

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[Kitsune92]

thanks for posting! :)

[Ghazalah]

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God, that a man must seek Him just to find her."