The Muslim Home -
40 Recommendations (pt. 4)
By: Sheikh Muhammad
Salih al-Munajjid cont…
Islaamic Knowledge in the home
(8)
Teaching the family
This is an obligation which the head of the household must undertake, in
obedience to the command of Allaah (which means): “O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire
[Hell] whose fuel is men and stones…” [Q66: vs6]. This Aayah is the basic
principle regarding the teaching and upbringing of one's family, and enjoining
them to do what is good and forbidding them to do what is evil. There follow
some of the comments of the Mufassireen
(Exegete) on this Aayah, in so far as
it pertains to the duties of the head of the household.
Qataadah, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: “He should command them to obey Allaah, and forbid them to disobey
Him, and direct them in accordance with the commands of Allaah, and help them
to do that.”
Dhahhaak and Muqaatil, may Allaah have mercy on them, said: “It is the Muslim’s duty to teach his
family, including relatives and female slaves, what Allaah has enjoined upon
them and what He has forbidden.”
‘Ali, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: “Teach them and discipline them.”
At-Tabari, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: “We must teach our children and wives the religion and goodness, and
whatever they need of good manners. If the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam, used to urge the teaching of female servants, who were
slaves, what do you think about your children and wives, who are free?”
Al-Bukhaari, may Allaah have mercy on him, quoted in his Saheeh, in the
chapter headed 'A man’s teaching his female slaves and wife,' the Hadeeth of the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam: “There are three who will have two rewards:
… a man who has a female slave whom he teaches good manners and teaches her
well, and teaches her knowledge, and teaches her well, then he frees her and
marries her: he will have two rewards.”
Ibn Hajar, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, commenting on this Hadeeth: “The chapter heading refers specifically to female slaves, and to wives
by analogy, i.e., teaching one’s free wife about her duties towards Allaah and
the Sunnah of His Messenger is more clearly essential than teaching one's
female slaves.”
In the midst of all a man’s activities, work and other commitments, he
may forget to allow himself time for teaching his wife. One solution to this is
to allocate some time for the family, and even for others such as relatives, to
hold a study-circle at home. He can let everyone know the time and encourage
them to come regularly, so that it will be an ongoing commitment for him and
for them. Something similar happened at the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.
Al-Bukhaari, may Allaah have mercy on him, quoted in his book's chapter
headed 'Can the women be given a day exclusively for them to seek knowledge?'
the Hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri,
may Allaah be pleased with him: “The
women said to the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam: ‘The men always crowd
us out and we cannot reach you, so set aside a day for us when we can come to
you.’ So he set aside a day when he would meet them and teach them.”
Ibn Hajar, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: “A similar report was narrated by Sahl ibn Abu Saalih from Abu
Hurayrah, according to which [the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam] said:
‘Your appointment is in the house of so
and so,’ and he came to them and spoke to them.’”
What we learn from this is that women should be taught in their houses,
and we see how keen the women of the Companions were to learn. Directing
teaching efforts to men alone, and not to women, is a serious shortcoming on
the part of Dai’yahs and heads of
households.
Some readers may ask, suppose we set aside a day, and tell our families
about it – what should we study in these gatherings? Where do we begin?
I suggest that you begin with a simple program to teach your family in
general, and the women in particular, using the following books:
- The Tafseer of Ibn as-Si’di,
may Allaah have mercy on him, entitled Tayseer
al-Kareem al-Rahmaan fi Tafseer Kalaam al-Mannaan, which is published in
seven volumes and is written in an easy style; you can read it or teach some
Chapters and passages from it.
- Riyaadh as-Saaliheen – you
could discuss the narrations quoted, along with the footnotes and the lessons
learned from them. You could also refer to the book Nuzhat al-Muttaqeen.
- Hasan al-Uswah bimaa thubita ‘an
Allaahi wa Rasoolihi fi’l-Nuswah, by al-‘Allaamah
Siddeeq Hasan Khaan.
It is also important to teach women some of the Ahkaam of Fiqh, such as
the rulings on Tahaarah (purity) and menstrual and post-partum bleeding, Salaah, Zakaah, Siyaam (fasting) and
Hajj, if she is able to go; some of
the rulings on food and drink, clothing and adornment, the Sunan al-fitrah, rulings on Mahaarim
(who is a Mahram relative and who
is not), rulings on singing and photography, and so on. Among the important
sources of such information are the Fatwas (rulings or edicts) of the scholars,
such as the collections of Fatwas by Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz and Shaykh
Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen, may Allaah have mercy on them, and other
scholars, whether they are written Fatwas or Fatwas recorded on tapes.
Another
matter that may be included in a syllabus for teaching women and family members
is reminding them of lessons or public lectures given by trustworthy scholars
and seekers of knowledge which they can attend, so they can have a variety of
excellent sources for learning. We should not forget either the radio programs
of Idhaa’at al-Qur’aan al-Kareem;
another means of teaching is reminding family members of the particular days
when women can attend Islaamic bookstores, and taking them there, within the
guidelines of Sharee’ah [i.e., proper
Hijaab, etc.]
to be continued...
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