4. THE PERMANENCE AND THE DIGNITY OF THE KINGDOM OF ALLAH

This is doubly assured by an Angel to Daniel. It is stated that "all the nations under the heaven shall serve the People of the Saints of the Most High." It requires no proof to say that all the Christian Powers show a particular respect, and even deference when necessary, not only to Muslim Powers, to Muslim sacred places and mosques, but also to the local institutions of their Muslim subjects. The mystery of this "service" lies in this: in the first place, the Muslims always inspire respect and fear through their dignified behavior, attachment to their religion and obedience to just laws, and their peacefulness; and secondly, because the Christian Governments, as a rule, treat the Muslims with justice and do not interfere with their laws and religion.

Space does not permit us to extend our observations over other points of this Divine Religion and Kingdom, such as the Muslim Caliphas, Sultans, etc. Suffice it to say that the Muslim Sovereigns are subject to the same Qur'anic laws as their compatriots; that justice and modesty are the best safeguards for the prosperity and stability of every State, Muslim or non-Muslim; and that the spirit and the principles of the Book of Allah are the best guidance for all legislation and civilization.

3. THE NATURE AND CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD

There is a call to prayer repeated aloud five times a day from the minarets and the mosques in every part of the globe where the Muslims live. This anthem is followed by a most solemn worship of Allah by His faithful worshipers. This call to prayer is called Adhan (Azan). This is not all; every action, enterprise and business, however important or trifling it may be, is begun with the words Bismi 'l-Lah, which means "in the Name of Allah," and ends with an Al-Hamdu li'l-Lah, meaning "praise be to Allah!" The bond of faith which binds a Muslim to his Eternal King is so strong, and the nearness between the Sovereign and His worshiper is so close, that nothing, however powerful or seductive, can separate him from Allah. The Qur'an declares that Allah is nearer to one than the life-vain.

Never was there a favorite courtier who, in his sentiments of affection, devotion, obedience, and respect for his beneficent monarch, could ever equal those which a Muslim entertains towards his Lord. Allah is the Owner of the Heavens, Earth and Universe, He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the King and the Lord of every Muslim in particular, for it is a Muslim alone who thanks and praises the Almighty King for all that happens and befalls him, be it prosperity or adversity.

Nearly three hundred million Muslims or more are endowed with the same feelings of faith and trust in Allah.

It is evident, therefore, that the nature of Islam consists in its being the only real and truly Theocratic Kingdom on earth. Allah need no longer send Messengers or Prophets to convey His Messages to the Muslims as He used to do to Israel and other Hebrew peoples; for His will is fully revealed in the Holy Qur'an and imprinted on the minds of His faithful worshipers.

As to the formation and the constitution of the Kingdom of God, inter alia, the following points should be noted: -

(a) All Muslims form one nation, one family, and one brotherhood. I need not detain my readers to study the various quotations from the Qur'an and the Hadith (Quotations of the Prophet) on these points. We must judge the Muslim society, not as it presents itself now, but as it was in the time of Prophet Muhammad and his immediate successors. Every member of this community is an honest worker, a brave sol- dier, and a fervent believer and devotee. All honest fruit of the toil belongs by right to him who earns it; nevertheless the law makes it impossible for a true Muslim to become excessively wealthy. One of the five foundations of Islam is the duty of almsgiving, which consists of sadaqa and zakat, or the voluntary and the obligatory alms. In the days of the Prophet and the first four Caliphs, no Muslim was known to be enormously rich. The national wealth went into the common treasury called "Baitu 'I-Mal," and no Muslim was left in need or want.

------------- Footnote (1) The Jihad or "Holy War" is also an obligatory practice of piety. ------------- end of footnote

The very name "Muslim" signifies literally "a maker of peace." You can never find another human being more docile, hospitable, inoffensive and peaceful a citizen than a good Muslim. But the moment his religion, honor, and property are attacked, the Muslim becomes a formidable foe. The Qur'an is very precise on this point: "Wa la ta'tadu" - "And you must not transgress" (or take the offensive). The Holy Jihad is not a war of offence, but of self-defense. Though the robbers, the predatory tribes, the semi-barbarous nomad Muslims, may have some religious notions and believe in the existence of Allah, it is the lack of knowledge and of religious training which is the root-cause of their vice and depravity. They are an exception. One can never become a good Muslim without the religious training and education.

(b) According to the description of the Prophet Daniel, the citizens of the Kingdom of God are "the People of the Saints." In the original Chaldish or Aramaic text, they are described as "A'mma d' qaddishid' I'lionin," an epithet worthy only of the Prince of the Prophets and of his noble army of the Muhajirm (Emigrants) and the Ansar (Helpers), who uprooted idolatry from a great part of Asia and Africa and destroyed the Roman Beast.

All the Muslims, who believe in Allah, in His angels, Books, and Prophets; in the Day of the Resurrection and Judgment; that the good and evil are from Allah; and perform their pious practices according to their ability and with good will, are holy saints and blessed citizens of the King- dom. There is no grosser religious ignorance than the belief that there is a person called the Holy Ghost who fills the hearts of those who are baptized in the names of three gods, each the third of the three, or the three of the third, and thus sanctifies the believers in their absurdities. A Muslim believes that there is not one Holy Spirit, but innumerable holy spirits all created and ministers of the One Allah. The Muslims are sanctified, not by baptisms or ablution, but their spirits are purified and sanctified by the light of faith and by the fire of zeal and courage to defend and fight for that faith. John the Baptist, or rather Christ himself (according to the Gospel of Barnabas), said: "I baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who comes after me, he is stronger than I; he will baptize you with fire and with the holy spirit." It was this fire and this spirit with which Prophet Muhammad baptized the semi-barbarian nomads, the heathen Gentiles, and con- verted them into an army of heroic saints, who transformed the old waning synagogue and the decaying church into a permanent and strong Kingdom of Allah in the promised lands and elsewhere.

2. CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES PREACHED THE KINGDOM OF GOD

They were, it is true, the harbingers of the Kingdom of God upon earth. The soul and the kernel of the Gospel of Jesus is contained in that famous clause in his prayer: "Thy Kingdom come." For twenty centuries the Christians of all denominations and shades of belief have been praying and repeating this invocation, "Thy Kingdom come," and God alone knows how long they will continue to pray for and vainly anticipate its coming. This Christian anticipation of the coming of the Kingdom of God is of the same nature as the anticipation of Judaism for the coming of Messiah. Both these anticipation exhibit an inconsiderate and thoughtless imagination, and the wonder is that they persistently cling to this futile hope. If you ask a Christian priest or parson what he thinks of the Kingdom of God, he will tell you all sorts of illusory and meaningless things. This Kingdom is, he will affirm, the Church to which he belongs when it will overcome and absorb all the other heretical Churches. Another parson or priest will harangue on the "millennium." A Salvationist or a Quaker may tell you that according to his belief the Kingdom of God will consist of the new-born and sinless Christians, washed and cleansed with the blood of the Lamb; and so forth.

The Kingdom of God does not mean a triumphant Catholic Church, or a regenerated and sinless Puritan State. It is not a visionary "Royalty of the Millennium." It is not a Kingdom composed of celestial beings, including the departed spirits of the Prophets and the blessed believers, under the reign of a divine Lamb; with angels for its police and gendarmes; the Cherubs for its governors and judges; the Seraphs for its officers and commanders; or the Archangels for its Popes, Patriarchs, Bishops, and evangelical preachers. The Kingdom of God on earth is a Religion, a powerful society of believers in One God equipped with faith and sword to fight for and maintain its existence and absolute independence against the Kingdom of Darkness, against all those who do not believe that God is One, or against those who believe that He has a son, a father or mother, associates and coevals.

The Greek word euangelion, rendered "Gospel" in English, practically means "the enunciation of good news." And this enunciation was the tidings of the approaching Kingdom of God, the least among whose citizens was greater than John the Baptist. He himself and the Apostles after him preached and announced this Kingdom to the Jews, inviting them to believe and repent in order to be admitted into it. Jesus did not actually abrogate or change the Law of Moses, but interpreted it in such a spiritual sense that he left it a dead letter. When he declared that hatred was the root of murder, lust the source of fornication; that avarice and hypocrisy were as abominable sins as idolatry; and that mercy and charity were more acceptable than the burntofferings and the strict observance of the Sabbath, he practically abolished the letter of the Law of Moses in favor of its spiritual sense. These spurious and much interpolated Gospels report frequent parables and references of Christ to the Kingdom of God, and to Bar-Nasha or the Son of Man, but they are so corrupted and distorted that they have succeeded, and still succeed, in misleading the poor Christians to believe that by "Kingdom of God" Jesus only meant his Church, and that he himself was the "Son of Man."

These important points will be fully discussed, if Allah wills, later on; but for the present I have to content myself with remarking that what Prophet Jesus announced was, it was Islam that was the Kingdom of God and that it was Prophet Muhammad who was the Son of Man, who was appointed to destroy the Beast and to establish the powerful Kingdom of the People of the Saints of the Most High.

The religion of God, until Jesus Christ, was consigned chiefly to the people of Israel; it was more material and of a national character. Its lawyers, priests, and scribes had dis- figured that religion with a gross and superstitious literature of the traditions of their forefathers. Christ condemned those traditions, denounced the Jews and their leaders as "hypocrites" and "the children of the Devil." Although the demon of idolatry had left Israel, yet later on seven demons had taken possession of that people (Matt. xii. 43-45; Luke xi. 24-26).

Christ reformed the old religion; gave a new life and spirit to it; he explained more explicitly the immortality of the human soul, the resurrection and the life in the next world; and publicly announced that the next Messiah whom the Jews were expecting was not a Jew or a son of David, but a son of Ishmael whose name was Ahmad, and that he would establish the Kingdom of God upon earth with the power of the Word of God and with sword. Consequently, the religion of Islam received a new life, light and spirit, and its adherents were exhorted to be humble, to show forbearance and patience. They were beforehand informed of persecutions, tribulations, martyrdoms, and prisons. The early "Nassara," as the Qur'an calls the believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, suffered ten fearful persecutions under the Roman Emperors. Then comes the Emperor Constantine and proclaims liberty for the Church; but after the decisions and the Trinitarian Creed of the Nicene Council in 325 A.C., the Unitarian Muslims (l) were submitted to a series of new and even more cruel persecutions by the Trinitarians, until the advent of Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace and blessings).

----------- Footnote 1. Jesus Christ has never authorized his followers to call themselves "Christians". There is no better title for the early Unitarians than "Muslims." AD. ----------- end of footnote

1. ISLAM BEFORE PROPHET MUHAMMAD WAS NOT THE KINGDOM OF GOD UPON EARTH, BUT ONLY GOD'S TRUE RELIGION

Those who believe that the true religion of Allah was revealed only to Abraham and preserved by the people of Israel alone, must be very ignorant students of the Old Testament literature, and must have a very erroneous notion of the nature of that religion. Abraham himself offered tithes to the King and Imam (l.) of Jerusalem and was blessed by him (Gen. xiv. 18). The father-in-law of Moses was also an Imam and a Prophet of Allah; Job, Balaam, Ad, Hud, Loqman, and many other prophets were not Jews. The various tribes and nations like the Ishmaelites, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and others which descended from the sons of Abraham and Lot, knew God the Almighty though they too, like the Israelites, fell into idolatry and ignorance. But the light of Islam was never entirely extinguished or substituted by idolatry. Idols or images, which were considered as "sacred" and as household gods by the Jews, as well as their kindred nationalities, and usually called "Traphim" (Gen. xxxi.) in the Hebrew, were, in my humble opinion of the same nature and character as the images and idols which the Orthodox and Catholic Christians keep and worship in their houses and temples. In those olden times of ignorance the idols were of the kind of "identity card" or of the nature of a passport. Is it not remarkable to find that Rachel (Rahil), the wife of Jacob and the daughter of Laban, should steal the "traphim" of her father? (Gen. xxxi). Yet Laban as well as her husband were Muslims, and on the same day raised the stone "Mispha" and dedicated it to God!

------------- Footnote (1) In Hebrew these old Imams are called Cohen,' and rendered by Christians as "Priest." A Jewish priest can never be identified with a Christian Sacramentarian priest. ------------- end of footnote

The Jews in the wilderness, inebriate with the wonders and miracles worked day and night - their camp shadowed by a miraculous cloud at daytime and illuminated by a pillar of fire at night, themselves fed with the "manna" and "Salwai" - as soon as the Prophet Moses disappeared for a few days on the misty top of Mount Sinai, made a golden calf and worshipped it. The history of that stubborn people from the death of Joshua to the anointment of King Saul, covering a period of more than four centuries, is full of a series of scan- dalous relapses into idolatry. It was only after the close of the revelation and the Canon of their holy Scriptures in the third century before Christ that the Jews ceased to worship idols, and have since remained monotheists. But their belief in the Oneness of God, though it makes them Unitarians, does not entitle them to the qualification of being called "Muslims," because they have stubbornly rejected both the persons and the revelations of Prophets Jesus and Muhammad. It is only through submission to the Will of God that a man can attain peace and become Muslim, otherwise the faith without obedience and submission is similar to that of the devils who believe in the existence of Allah and tremble.

As we possess no records concerning the other peoples who were favored with Divine Revelations and with the Prophets and Imam sent to them by God, we shall only content ourselves with the declaration that the religion of Islam existed among Israel and other Arab peoples of old, sometimes more luminous, but mostly like a flickering wick or like a dim spark glimmering in a dark room. It was a religion professed by a people who soon forgot it, or neglected it, or transformed it into pagan practices. But all the same there were always individuals and families who loved and worshipped God.

It seems that the Jews, especially the masses, had no true conception of God and of religion as the Muslims have had of Allah and Islam. Whenever the people of Israel prospered and was successful in its wars, then Jahwah was acknowledged and worshipped; but in adverse circumstances He was abandoned and the deity of a stronger and more prosperous nation was adopted and its idol or image worshipped. A careful study of the Hebrew Scripture will show that the ordinary Jew considered his God sometimes stronger or higher, and sometimes weaker, than those professed by other nations. Their very easy and reiterated relapse into idolatry is a proof that the Israelites had almost the same notion about their El or Yahwah, as the Assyrians had of their own Ashur, the Babylonians of Mardukh, and the Phoenicians of their Ba'al. With the exception of the Prophets and the Sophis, the Muslims of Torah, the Israel of the Mosaic Law, never rose equal to the height of the sanctity of their religion nor of the true conception of their Deity. The faith in Allah and a firm conviction and belief in a future life was not ingrained and implanted in the spirit and in the heart of that people.

What a contrast, then, between the Muslims of the Qur'an, the believers of the Islamic Law, and the Muslims of Torah or the Mosaic Law! Has it ever been seen and proved that a Muslim people abandoned its Mosque, Imam, and the Qur'an, and embraced any other religion and acknowledged that Allah was not its God? Never! It is extremely unlikely that a Islamic Muslim community, so long as it is provided with the Book of Allah, the Mosque and the Mullah, could relapse into idolatry or even into Christianity.

I am aware of the certain so-called Tartar families who embraced the Orthodox Christian Faith in Russia. But I can assure my readers, on authentic authority, that these "Tartars" were those Mongols who, long after the subjugation of Russia and the establishment of the "Altin Ordu" by Batu Khan, were either still pagans or newly converted to Islam and seem to have been forced or induced to join the Russian Church. And in this connection it should not be ignored that this happened after the Muslim power of the "Golden Horde" ("Altin Ordu") tumbled down at the tremendous invasion of Timur Lang (Tamerlane). On the contrary, Muslim traders and merchants, in China as well as in the dark continent of Africa, have always propagated their Holy Religion; and the millions of Chinese and negro Muslims are the fruit of these unpaid and unofficial Mussulman missionaries. It is evident from the above that the true religion of God before Prophet Muhammad was only in its infancy, that it remained immature and undeveloped amongst the Hebrews, although it shone brilliantly in the life of the true worshipers of Yahwah. Under the direction of the God-fearing Judges and the pious Kings of Israel, the government was always theocratic, and as long as the oracles of the Prophets were favorably received and their injunctions duly executed, both the religion and the nation prospered.

But the True Religion of God never took the form of the Kingdom of God as it did under the Qur'anic regime. Allah in His Infinite Wisdom had decreed that four great Powers of Darkness should succeed each other before His own Kingdom was to be established. The great ancient civilizations and empires of the Assyro-Chaldeans, of the Medo-Persians, of the Greeks and of the Romans, had to appear and flourish, to persecute and oppress the people of God, and to perpetrate all the evil and wickedness that the Devil could devise. All the glory of these great powers consisted in their worshipping the Devil; and it was this "glory" that the "Prince of the Darkness" promised to grant to Jesus Christ from the top of a high mountain if he were only to follow him and worship him.

Islam Is The Kingdom Of God On Earth

In examination of that marvelous vision of the Prophet Daniel (Chap. vii.) we saw how Prophet Muhammad was escorted by the myriads of celestial beings and conducted to the glorious presence of the Eternal; how he heard the words of honor and affection which no creature had ever been favor- ed with (2 Cor. xii.); how he was crowned to the dignity of the Sultan of the Prophets and invested with power to destroy the "Fourth Beast" and the "Blasphemous Horn." Further, we saw how he was authorized to establish and proclaim the Kingdom of God on earth; how all that human genius can possibly imagine of the highest honors accorded by the Almighty to a beloved worshiper and to His most worthy Messenger could be ascribed to Prophet Muhammad alone. It should be re- membered that among all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah, Prophet Muhammad alone figures like a tower above all; and the grand and noble work he accomplished stands a permanent monument of his honor and greatness. One cannot appreciate the value and importance of Islam as the unique bulwark against idolatry and polytheism unless the absolute Oneness of God is earnestly admitted. When we fully realize that Allah is the same God whom Adam and Abraham knew, and whom Moses and Jesus worshipped, then we have no difficulty in accepting Islam as the only true religion and Prophet Muhammad as the Prince of all the Prophets and Worshipers of God. We cannot magnify the greatness of Allah by con- ceiving Him now as a "Father," now as a "Son," and now as a "Holy Ghost," or to imagine Him as having three persons that can address each other with the three singular personal pronouns: I, thou, he. By so doing we lose all the true con- ception of the Absolute Being, and cease to believe in the true God. In the same way, we cannot add a single iota to the sanctity of the religion by the institution of some meaningless sacraments or mysteries; nor can we derive any spiritual food for our spirits from feeding upon the corpse of a prophet or an incarnate deity; for by so doing we lose all idea of a true and real religion and cease to believe in the religion altogether. Nor can we in the least promote the dignity of Prophet Muhammad if we were to imagine him a son of God or an incarnate deity; for by so doing we would entirely lose the real and the historical Prophet of Mecca and fall uncon- sciously into the abyss of polytheism. The greatness of Prophet Muhammad consists in his establishing such a sound, plain, but true religion, and in the practical application of its precepts and principles with such precision and resolution that it has never been possible for a true Muslim to accept any other creed or faith than that which is professed in the for- mula: "I believe there is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." And this short creed will continue to be the faith of every true believer in Allah to the Day of the Resurrection.

The great destroyer of the "Eleventh Horn," that personified Constantine the Great and the Trinitarian Church, was not a Bar Allaha ("Son of God"), but a Bar Nasha ("Son of Man") and none other than Prophet Muhammad al-Mustapha who actually established the Kingdom of God upon earth. It is this Kingdom of God that we are now to examine and expound. It would be remembered that it was during the Divine audience of the Sultan of the Prophets, as given in Daniel, that it was promised that:

"The kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under all heaven shall be given to the people of the Saints of the Most High; its (the people's) kingdom (shall be) a kingdom for ever, and all dominions shall serve and obey it" (Dan. vii. 22 and 27).

The expressions in this prophetical passage that the Kingdom of God shall consist of "the People of the Saints of the Most High," and that all other dominions or powers shall serve and obey that people, clearly indicate that in Islam the Religion and State are one and the same body, and consequently inseparable. Islam is not only the Religion of God, but also His earthly empire or kingdom. In order to be able to form a clear and true idea concerning the nature and the constitution of the "Kingdom of God on earth" it is necessary to cast a glance upon the history of the religion of Islam before it was perfected, completed, and formally established by God Himself under His Messenger Muhammad.

GUIDANCE FOR THE MUSLIM WIFE (the method of living together)

Sayings of Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Rahmatullahi alaih)
1. Before shutting the door at night, make certain that no cat or dog is left in the house. Sometimes they can harm a person at night. Even if they do not cause any harm, they make a din all night and prevent you from sleeping.
2. Occasionally place your clothing and books out in the sunlight.
3. Keep the house clean and tidy.
4. Do not make yourself accustomed to leisure if you desire good health. Do some manual work. The best manual task for women is to use the hand-mill (to grind flour). It keeps the body healthy.
5. When going to meet someone do not sit for too long nor converse at length. This may frustrate or disturb her in her work.
6. All the family members should be particular in fixing a place for everything. This will prevent time being wasted when the object is required.
7. Do not place a bed, chair, utensil, brick, stone or slab on the way. This can injure someone who accidently knocks it, especially in the dark.
8. When anyone tells you to do something, reply immediately either in the affirmative or in the negative so that he/she knows whether you are going to do the task or not.
9. Sprinkle less salt on the food, because if there is less it can always be remedied but if there is an excess it is difficult to correct.
10. Do not cut chillies and place them in daal or vegetable curry. Grind them instead, because by cutting, the seed remains in the pieces. If any piece comes in the mouth, it burns severely.
11. If you happen to drink water at night, look carefully into the utensil and if there is no light, place a cloth etc. over it before drinking so that no particles go in the mouth.
12. Do not throw a child up in the air jokingly nor let him hang out of the window. This can seriously injure the child.
13. When a utensil is emptied always wash it and place it upside down. When you want to use it again, wash it first.
14. After placing a utensil on the ground when dishing food into it, do not place it on the table or daster khwan without first wiping the bottom.
15. If you are visiting someone at his/her house do not ask for anything. It may be insignificant but it can be embarrassing if the person does not have the required item.
16. Do not spit or clean your nose where other people are sitting. If there is a need, excuse yourself and go to one side.
17. Whilst partaking of meals do not mention something which can offend the listener and make him feel uncomfortable.
18. Do not mention anything in front of a sick person or his family that make them lose hope in his life. He will be heartbroken. Comfort him by saying that Insha-Allah your illness will soon be cured.
19. If you want to mention something about a person while he is also present then do not indicate to him by winking or by gestures. He will unnecessarily be placed in doubt. This can only be done if the statement is permissible in Shariat, otherwise if it is unlawful then to make such a statement will be sinful.
20. Do not gesticulate too much when speaking.
21. Do not clean your nose with your dress or sleeve.
22. Do not cleanse yourself where there is urine and stool. Move one step away to purify yourself.
23. Always dust your shoes before wearing them. There can be a harmful creature inside. Similarly dust your clothes and bed as well.
24. If a woman has a boil on her private part do not ask her where it is as this can be embarrassing.
25. Do not sit in a place where people are moving about. This causes unnecessary obstruction.
26. Do not let any smell arise on the body or clothing. If you do not have a clean pair of clothes, wash the one you are wearing and take a bath.
27. Do not sweep where people are sitting.
28. Do not throw pits and peels on anyone nor on the road.
29. Do not play with a knife, scissors, needle or any sharp instrument. You may be careless and hurt yourself.
30. If any visitor comes from a distant place ask him if he wants to relieve himself and direct him to the toilet. Do not try to prepare a lavish meal as this will be time consuming. Prepare a simple meal so that he can partake of it immediately. When he intends departing, arrange his breakfast early. In short there should be no disturbance in his comfort and need.
31. Do not emerge from the bathroom or toilet tying your clothing on the back, rather wear the clothing properly inside.
32. If someone asks you something, first answer him and then proceed with other work.
33. Whenever you say anything or answer anyone, open your mouth properly and speak clearly so that the next person understands what you are saying.
34. If you have to give someone something, do not throw it from far. Damage will be caused if the other person does not hold it. Give it from close by.
35. One should not speak or scream between two persons that are teaching and learning or conversing.
36. If someone is involved in some work or conversation, do not go and begin speaking with him immediately. Wait for an opportunity and only begin speaking when he turns his attention towards you.
37. When giving anyone something, do not remove your hands until the person has held it properly. Sometimes due to a slight negligence, damage is caused.
38. When eating, gather the bones in one place. Similarly do not spread peels etc. of anything all around. When all are gathered, place them on one side.
39. Do not run or put your head up when walking. You may fall.
40. Close a book carefully. Very often the first and last pages get folded.
41. Do not praise a (ghair mahram) man in front of your husband. Some men get highly offended.
42. Similarly do not praise other women in front of your husband. He may become inclined to her and leave you.
43. Do not ask someone about her home, wealth, jewellery and clothing when meeting her if you are not closely associated to her.
44. Specify 3 or 4 days a month for cleaning the entire house. Remove all webs, lift the mats, sweep under them and put everything in its place.
45. You should not take a written note or book away from in front of someone to read it yourself. It may contain something personal which is not meant for you.
46. Be very careful when ascending and descending steps. It is better if you place your one foot on the steps, then place the other one on the same step as well. Then advance to the next step in a like manner. It is not suitable for girls and ladies to have one foot on one step and another on another step. Prevent the children also in their infancy.
47. Do not dust your clothing or a book where someone is sitting in such a manner that dust falls on him. Similarly you should not blow with your mouth or dust with a cloth but instead you should go further away and dust it.
48. On hearing news about someones grief, worry or sickness do not mention it to anyone unless you have made certain. His relatives especially should not be told, because if the information is wrong, it will unnecessarily worry other people.
49. Similarly do not inform distant relatives if there is a slight illness as this may cause unnecessary concern and anxiety.
50. Do not spit or put paan (betel-leaf) on the wall. Similarly do not merely wipe your hands on the wall or door. Wash them instead.
51. If there is need for more food on the table, do not take a utensil from in front of someone. Instead, take the food in another dish.
52. If someone is sitting on the bed or lying down, do not call him. If you pass by, walk in such a manner that you do not bump the bed. If you want to put something on that bed or take something, do so quietly.
53. Do not leave food uncovered. Even if you leave something on the table that is going to be eaten last, cover it also.
54. The visitor should leave a little food on the table if he is satisfied so that the host does not get the impression that the food was less and thereby feel ashamed.
55. Whichever utensil is completely empty and has to be put in the cupboard or unit should be placed upside down.
56. When walking, lift your foot completely and step forward. Do not drag your feet. Apart from wearing out the shoe, it also looks unmannerly.
57. Always be careful that a portion of the scarf or shawl does not hang on the ground.
58. If someone asks for salt or for some other food, bring it in a utensil, not in the hand.
59. Do not speak of shameless things in front of girls as this can make them lose their modesty. FAULTS WOMEN SHOULD REFRAIN FROM
1. They do not give a logical answer which can satisfy the questioner. They add many unnecessary points and the actual answer is still not known. Always remember that if anyone asks a question, fully understand what is being said and then reply accordingly.
2. When women are given some work, they listen and keep quiet. This leaves the speaker in doubt because he does not know whether the answer is in the affirmative or in the negative. In this manner the task remains undone.
3. Women normally scream when giving the maid a task to perform or tell anyone something. There are two evils in this: One is shamelessness and lack of concealment (pardah) because the sound reaches outside. The second evil is that the message is not understood and the work remains undone.
4. Women generally waste money in useless avenues even if they have to take a loan. It is sinful to waste. Whenever you intend spending, first examine whether there is any deeni benefit or any worldly need. After thoroughly pondering, if there is a need and a benefit, go ahead and spend. As far as possible avoid taking debts even if you have to undergo a little hardship.
5. Always be punctual especially when travelling. Do not delay unnecessarily.
6. Do not take too many things on a journey. This restricts the space. The greatest problem is for the accompanying men who have to look after everything. In certain places they have to carry the things and certain places they have to pay the transport costs. Take similar precautions on a train-journey because the more provisions you take, the more problems will arise.
7. Upon reaching a place, women should not descend from the car immediately. First send a male to find out if there is anyone and inform them of your arrival. If there is any male he will separate himself. When you are informed that there is no male in the house, you can enter.
8. When two women are conversing, it often happens that one begins to speak while the other has not as yet finished speaking. In fact it occurs very often that both start speaking together. Neither of them listen to the other. What benefit is there in speaking in such a manner?
9. Women keep jewellery or money carelessly under the pillow or open in some corner even though they have the means to protect it in a safe place.
10. Sometimes you send a woman for some work and she goes and begins something else. She returns after having completed both tasks. The person who sent her is confronted with extreme anxiety and doubt because he has estimated that the work will take a certain amount of time and when that time passes by, he begins to get worried. In the meanwhile the woman thinks to herself that there is no harm in doing both errands simultaneously. Do not do so. First complete the initial task thereby honouring his request and thereafter tackle your other work at ease.
11. A common defect is of laziness and procrastination i.e. to leave work for later. Most often harm is caused.
12. There is no brevity in the nature of some women and a woman does not realise that the situation requires haste. Therefore the task has to be done as quickly as possible. Sometimes the actual work is spoilt and the opportunity lost.
13. If something is lost, women normally accuse without investigating. Do not become suspicious on the slightest of doubts.
14. Too much money is spent on purchasing betel leaf (paan) and tobacco. At least five or six poor people can be fed with that money. By eating paan unnecessarily, one becomes addicted.
15. If there are two people speaking about some matter, do not unnecessarily meddle. As long as you are not asked for your advice, remain silent.
16. After returning from a gathering do not describe the form, clothing and jewellery of other women to your husband. This may incline his heart to one of them ultimately resulting in anguish.
17. Do not interrupt someone who is engaged in some work. This is a loathsome habit. Wait until he finishes his task and then address him.
18. Always speak properly so that you are understood. Sometimes due to not understanding the message correctly, animosity is created between two people.
19. Listen with full attention when you are spoken to. Do not do something else or begin to speak to someone else.
20. Admit your faults and do not make feeble excuses.
21. Do not criticize any small or insignificant present which is given to you by saying, "what was the need to send such a present? Did the sender not have any shame in sending it?" This is an evil habit. The sender could only afford that much. Appreciate it and be grateful.
22. Do not hesitate in doing a task which is assigned to you.
23. Do not stitch clothes while you are wearing them.
24. At the time of arrival and departure, women attempt to cry even if they have to force themselves because they fear that if they do not shed a few tears people will say they are bereft of love.
25. Do not carelessly leave a needle in the pillow as it can prick someone.
26. Always protect the children from heat and cold as neglect in this regard results in illness.
27. Do not feed the children when they are not hungry nor insist on feeding the visitors.

GUIDANCE FOR THE MUSLIM WIFE (THE RIGHTS OF THE PARENTS)

The parents have great rights. After obedience to the Creator of the Universe, it is compulsory to obey the parents. Allah Ta'ala has commanded that parents should always be obeyed. If both or one of them becomes old in your lifetime, do not (regarding them as weak) even say "oof" to them nor reproach them. Always speak gently to them.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said: "Allah's pleasure lies in the pleasure of the parents and the displeasure of Allah lies in displeasing the parents." In another hadeeth Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that kindness to parents is greater than optional salaah, charity, fasting, haj, umrah and jihaad in the path of Allah. He also said that the person who spends the morning in such a condition that his parents are pleased with him, then two doors of Jannat are opened for him, and if only one of them, the mother or the father is alive, then one door of heaven is opened.
If he spends the morning in such a condition that his parents are displeased with him, two doors of hell are opened and if only the mother or the father is displeased then one door of hell is opened. This command applies to all conditions, whether the parents are just and kind to him or they are unjust and oppressive. In the hadeeth Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam repeated this statement thrice: "Even if the parents oppress him."
The attention of the previous ummat was also drawn to the rights of the parents because it is related to the nature of man. Allah Ta'ala addressed Musa Alaihi Salaam saying: "O Musa! The Muslim who does good to his parents and disobeys Me, then repents, I will note him down as a thankful and good servant and whoever obeys Me and disobeys his parents and then repents I will still regard him as disobedient."
Always beware of the curse of the parents, because Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said : "A mother's dua for her children is very swiftly accepted". At another instance he said: "Serve the mother because heaven lies below her feet". In these type of ahadeeth great emphasis is laid on obedience and service to parents. The reason for this is that they bore great hardships for your sake. How many sleepless nights they spent for you. If you became slightly ill, how much attention they paid to you. When you were in any slight difficulty they were prepared to undergo a thousand difficulties to remove one difficulty of yours. Their condition is explained in this couplet:
"If you were roused a little they became afraid, when you had a little fear they were placed in difficulty".
For your comfort they did not for a moment regard day as day and night as night. How much of sorrow did they have to experience to keep you happy. A slight change in your face would change all their joy into grief. One falling tear from your eye would strike their hearts like lightning.
Just as the parents desire your physical comfort, similarly they desire your spiritual well-being as well. Besides giving you good clothing they also disciplined you with good character and a sound education. It is for this reason that you should read books which teach you nobility, discipline, sympathy and house-keeping etc. and you are prohibited from books containing false stories, legends and subject-matter that besmirches the character. They do all this so that your character is not affected because they realize that children are a trust from Allah who have not only been entrusted to them for up-bringing but also for education and discipline. If they are deficient in their training then it is as if they are disregarding an important compulsion of Allah Ta'ala and are breaching Allah's trust. On the day of Qiyamat they will have lowered heads in front of Allah due to regret. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that every one is responsible for his subjects and the parents are guardians of their children. On the day of judgment they will be questioned as to how they educated their children. In view of this, they disregard their comfort to accommodate your comfort and peace. They have made arrangements for the tuition of a pious tutor from whose company you can benefit so that you can be called a well-mannered girl and be an example of nobility and character, thereby achieving the honour and respect of this world and the hereafter. Sisters, should we not appreciate all the efforts of the parents? Should we not obey them and serve them?
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that the one who forgets the favour of a human being is also ungrateful to Allah. If we disobey our sympathetic and kind parents and do not appreciate them nor serve them, who can be more ungrateful than us. The worst sin is to disobey Allah Ta'ala. He has emphasized obedience to parents and thankfulness to them in several places in the Holy Quran. Here are some of the verses:
"Your creator has commanded you to worship none besides Him, and be helpful and favourable to your parents. If one of them becomes old in your presence, do not even say "oof" to them nor reproach them but say noble words to them. Be humble to them and continue making this dua for them: O my nourisher, have mercy on them just as they nurtured me in my childhood".
In this verse it has been clearly mentioned that the greatest right of Allah upon anyone is to worship none besides Him, that is, not to ascribe any partner to Him. Then the rights of the parents are explained. When a child is delivered from the mother's womb the parents nurture the child in all ways. Thus He has emphasized their obedience and gratitude. In another verse He states:
"We have commanded man to obey Me and be thankful to his parents as his mother bore burden upon burden and kept him in her womb and his weaning is after two years. Remember that you have to return to Me."
In this verse the rights of the mother are more than the father, because the difficulty of bearing the child has been predestined for the mother. Hence the favour of the mother and her gratitude is more than the father.
In another verse Allah Ta'ala has mentioned this in more detail:
"We have commanded man to be kind to his parents. His mother bore him with great difficulty and problems and the period of his stay in the womb and weaning is 30 months. O my Guardian, grant me the ability to thank You for this favour which You have bestowed upon me and my parents, and that I do such pious actions which please You and grant my children also this ability. I turn towards You in obedience".
In this verse also, the mother's rights have been mentioned as being greater. For so many months she carried him in her womb, walked about with him, underwent great difficulties, breast-fed him for 2 years and cared for him in every possible way. She sacrificed all her comforts for his peace and comfort. The father also shared in many of these difficulties and made all the requirements for up-bringing available. There is no doubt that these duties are done naturally but the requirement of nature is that the children perceive the love and compassion of the parents and be grateful for their efforts and sacrifices. This is a virtue in this world also and in the hereafter it has great merits.
On one occasion whilst climbing the pulpit, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, while placing his foot on the first step "Aameen". Then he placed his foot on the next step and said "Aameen" and then he placed his foot on the third step and said "Aameen" . On completion of the sermon he stepped down. The Sahaba Radhiallahu Anhum asked: "O Rasulullah, today we have witnessed something new which we did not experience before". Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam remarked "Jibraeel Alaihi Salaam appeared in front of me. When I put my foot on the first step he said "Woe to that person who witnesses the month of Ramadan and yet is not successful". I said Aameen. On the second step he said "Destruction to the person in whose presence your name is mentioned and he does not send salutations upon you. I said Aameen. When I placed my foot on the third step he said : "Destruction to the person in whose presence both his parents or one of them become old and they cannot make him enter jannat. I said Aameen."
Can there be any limit to the misfortune of a person whom Jibreel curses and Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says Aameen?
It is mentioned in a hadith that from among the doors of jannat, the best door is the father. If you desire, safeguard it otherwise destroy it. A Sahabi asked what the rights of the parents are. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam replied: "They are your heaven or your hell i.e. earning their pleasure is a means of gaining jannah and earning their displeasure is a means of entry into hell."
My sisters! Whatever details have been mentioned regarding the parents will also guide you in your new home. Wherever you get married, there too you will have to practice according to these guidelines to be successful.