safeguard his possessions when he is not at home. She should never waste his money or spend on others without his permission. Should she fail to take care of her chastity or his wealth, she will be guilty of breaching a trust. She should ask her husband for only those things without which some harm may come to them. Never should a wife insist that her husband buys her something merely because someone else has it. Irrespective of how attractive something may be, she should not ask for it if it is not necessary. By unnecessarily burdening the husband with such demands, she is guilty of extravagance as well as misappropriation of trust. Allaah Ι also describes a pious woman in the Qur'aan when He says, “So the pious women are obedient and, in
the absence of their husbands, are protective because of that which Allaah has protected.” [Surah Nisaa (Surah 4), verse 34] Protecting her husband’s home means that a woman should first ensure that she does not commit any sins. Thereafter, she should ensure that his wealth and other possessions do not fall into the wrong hands. In another hadith25, Rasulullaah ρ makes it clear that “a woman is a guardian over her husband’s home.” It is therefore clear that safeguarding her husband’s wealth and possessions is not only a necessary quality of a good wife, but it is actually her duty.
A Wife Should be Genuinely Concerned about her Husband’s Wealth Hakeemul Ummah Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (A.R) has mentioned in his advices that a wife’s heart should pain when her husband’s wealth is spent wastefully. It is her responsibility to be concerned about his wealth. She must never be liberal with his money or allow the servants to do as they please with it. Whenever the desire creeps into one’s heart to have something that another has, one should think about the following: 1.
2.
Death and the thought of what the less fortunate one has in this world, the less will one be accountable in the Hereafter. The more one has in one’s home, the more will one have to account for. The simplicity of the homes of Hadhrat Faatima (R.A), Hadhrat Khadeeja (R.A), Hadhrat Zaynab (R.A) and Hadhrat Aa'isha (R.A).
The more one’s home resembles the homes of these illustrious ladies, the closer will one be to them in the Hereafter. By keeping these thoughts in one’s mind, one will welcome death because the love for the material things of this world will not have permeated one’s heart. Seeing the simplicity of one’s home, others will also follow suit and the money saved can be invested for the Aakhirah. We have not come into this world to amass wealth and possessions. We have come to carry out deeds that please Allaah Ι. The simpler we keep our homes, the more Allaah Ι shall love us. If we donate our excess possessions to the poor, they will benefit tremendously while we will lose nothing. In fact, nearly every household has things in almost every room that are in excess of their needs.
Lavish Weddings Women are inclined to waste a great deal of money in weddings. On such occasions, all matters are referred to women, almost as if men know nothing about spending. As a result of wastefulness on such occasions, many homes have been destroyed. Many people have remained indebted all their lives because of such lavish wedding ceremonies, causing them to age before their time.
Hosting Simple Marriage Ceremonies If people really want blessings in their marriages and desire that the marriages should be filled with love and pious offspring, they should follow the advice of Rasulullaah ρ, who said, “The marriage with the most blessings is the one in which the least expenses are incurred.” Rasulullaah ρ has also mentioned, “The best of women are those who ask for the least dowry.” [Ibn Hibbaan] According to another hadith, Rasulullaah ρ said, “The signs of a blessed woman is that her proposal comes soon, her dowry is small and her child is born soon.” [Kanzul Ummaal] One can well imagine that if the Shari'ah encourages the least expense for the dowry, which is a prerequisite of marriage, it will
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Bukhari.
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