The Muslim Woman and Her Lord

The believing woman is alert

One of the most prominent distinguishing features of the Muslim woman is her deep faith in Allah 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; 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 by whatever means one can, putting all his trust in Allah, submitting to His will, and believing that he is always in need of Allah’s help and support.

The story of Haajar (Prophet Ibrahim’s wife) offers the Muslim woman the most marvelous example of deep faith in Allah and sincere trust in Him. The Prophet Ibrahim (may peace be upon him) 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. Haajar had no one with her except her infant son Ismail. She asked Ibrahim, calmly and with no trace of panic: “Has Allah commanded you to do this, O’ Ibrahim?” Prophet Ibrahum said, “Yes.” Her response reflected her acceptance and optimism: “Then He is not going to abandon us.” Reported by Bukhari in Kitaab al-Anbiya.

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 that filled Haajar’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 day and night by those who perform Hajj and ‘Umrah at the house of Allah, every time they drink the pure water of Zamzam, and run between the mounts of Safa and Marwah, as Haajar did on that most tiring day.

This deep faith and awareness had an amazing effect on the lives of Muslim men and women: it awoke their conscience and reminded them that Allah witnesses and knows every secret, and that He is with a person wherever he may be.

“Narrated ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: ‘When I was accompanying ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) on his patrol of the Madeenah at night, he felt tired, so he leant against a wall. It was the middle of the night, and (we heard) a woman says 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 Ameer al-Mu’mineen (chief of the believers – the caliph) 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 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.’ ‘Abdur-Rahmaan 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 ‘abdul-‘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 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 ihsaan (excellence). One of the immediate rewards with which Allah honoured her was this blessed marriage, one of whose descendants was the fifth rightly-guided khaleefah, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdul-‘Aziz.

The aqeedah (faith) of the true Muslim woman is pure and clear, uncontaminated by any stain of ignorance, illusion or superstition. This aqeedah is based on faith in Allah, 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’am 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)

No doubt that the true Muslim woman, when she ponders the meaning of these verses, would think about that crucial Day and would turn to her Lord (Allah) in obedience, repentance and gratitude, seeking to do as many righteous deeds as she is able, in preparation for the Hereafter.

Adapted from:

The Ideal Muslimah by Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi, International Islamic Publishing House 2005, Chapter 1, pg 27-31

Intan Sofia Omar
Biro Wanita dan Keluarga
ISMA Australia (South Australia)