The Believing Woman is Alert
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One of the most prominent
distinguishing features of the
Muslim woman is her deep faith in
Allah (SWT), 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 (SWT); 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 – acts of worship
and other acts – by whatever
means one can, putting all his trust
in Allah (SWT), submitting to His
will, and believing that he is always
in need of Allah’s (SWT) help and
support.
The story of Hajar offers the
Muslim woman the most
marvellous example of deep faith
in Allah (SWT) and sincere trust in
Him. Ibrahim `May peace be upon
him’ (PBUH) 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. Hajar had no-one with her
except her infant son Isma`il. She
asked Ibrahim, calmly and with no
trace of panic: “Has Allah (SWT)
commanded you to do this, O
Ibrahim?” Ibrahim (PBUH) said,
“Yes.” Her response reflected her
acceptance and optimism: “Then
He is not going to abandon us.”
Reported by Bukhari in Kitab 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 (SWT) that filled Hajar’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 night and day by
those who perform hajj and `umrah
at the house of Allah (SWT), every
time they drink the pure water of
Zamzam, and run between the
mounts of Safa’ and Marwah, as
Hajar did on that most trying day.
This deep faith and awareness had
an amazing effect on the lives of
Muslim men and women: it awoke
their consciences and reminded
them that Allah (SWT) witnesses
and knows every secret, and that
He is with a person wherever he
may be. Nothing gives a clearer
idea of that consciousness and
fear of Allah (SWT) at all times
“Narrated `Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn
Aslam, from his father, from his
grandfather, who said: `When I was
accompanying `Umar ibn al-
Khattab on his patrol of Madinah at
night, he felt tired, so he leant
against a wall. It was the middle of
the night, and (we heard) a woman
say 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 Amir al-Mu’minin (chief of
the believers) 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 (Allah) 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.”
`Abd al-Rahman 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 `Abd al-`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 (SWT) 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
ihsan. One of the immediate
rewards with which Allah (SWT)
honoured her was this blessed
marriage, one of whose
descendants was the fifth rightly-
guided khalifah, `Umar ibn `Abd al-
`Aziz `May Allah be pleased with
him’ (RAA).
The Aqeedah (faith) of the true
Muslim woman is pure and clear,
uncontaminated by any stain of
ignorance, illusion or superstition.
This Aqeeda is based on faith in
Allah, (SWT) 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’an 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)
( Did you then think that We had
created you in jest, and that you
would not be brought back to Us
[for account]?) (Qur’an 23:115)
( Blessed is He in Whose hands is
Dominion; and He over all things
has Power – He Who created
Death and Life, that He may try
which of you is best in deed; and
He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-
Forgiving.) (Qur’an 67:1-2)
On that Day, man will be brought to
account for his deeds. If they are
good, it will be good for him, and if
they are bad, it will be bad for him.
There will not be the slightest
injustice:
( That Day will every soul be
requited for what it earned; no
injustice will there be that Day, for
Allah is Swift in taking account.)
(Qur’an 40:17)
The Balance (in which man’s
deeds will be weighed) will
measure everything with the
utmost precision, either in a
person’s favour or against him:
( Then shall anyone who has done
an atom’s weight of good, see it!
And anyone who has done an
atom’s weight of evil, shall see it.)
(Qur’an 99:7-8)
Nothing could be hidden from the
Lord of Glory on that Day, not even
if it were as insignificant as a grain
of mustard seed:
( We shall set up scales of justice
for the day of Judgement, so that
not a soul will be dealt with unjustly
in the least. And if there be [no
more than] the weight of a mustard
seed, We will bring it [to account]:
and enough are We to take
account.) (Qur’an 21:47)
No doubt the true Muslim woman,
when she ponders the meaning of
these ayat, would think about that
crucial Day and would turn to her
Lord in obedience, repentance and
gratitude, seeking to do as many
righteous deeds as she is able, in
preparation for the Hereafter.