Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
6. The Rights of Husband and Wife
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lose sight of the fact that after death he will be faced
with the greatest of the’ Lords and Masters. There
he will not be able to justify himself for being hard
to those who were under him in the world, while
those who were kind to people under them will be
given kind treatment by God. Here is a
hadith
to this
effect, related by ‘Aishah: The Prophet said, “The
best of you is one who is best for his family, and I
am best of all of you for my family.”
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According to this
hadith
home is not a place for ruling,
but a place for training. One who does well in the
system of his home, will prove to be good for the
whole of society and the nation. On the other hand
one who is bad for his home will be bad for the whole
of society and the nation. The former is a blessing for
the vaster humanity while the latter is a curse.
The rights of men and women, in reality, are not a
matter of legal lists, but rather it is a matter of good
living. The points or the lists mentioned here are
not exhaustive. They are only pointers to what
makes for a good life at home. In such matters one
cannot make a complete list of “do’s and don’ts.”
Islam wants both the man and the woman to
