Prophet Muhammad ﷺ – The Perfect Husband
Prophet Muhammad (peace and salutations be upon him) said, “The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best of you to my family.” He had eleven wives with whom his marriage was consummated: Khadijah, Sawdah, Aishah, Hafsah, Umm Habibah, Umm Salamah, Zaynab bt. Jahsh, Zaynab bt. Khuzaymah, Juwayriyah, Safiyyah and Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with them all). The Prophet (peace be upon him) was an amazing husband and a perfect role model for all the husbands of the world to follow. He was an epitome of many qualities some of which are mentioned below.
Cheerful
`A`ishah (RA) narrates, “I raced with the Prophet and I beat him. Later when I had put on some weight, we raced again and he won. Then he said, ‘this cancels that [previous] race.’” The Prophet would sometimes address his wife ‘A`ishah (R.A) with names which denoted love and affection such as `A`ish (short-form of her name) and Humairaa (for her exceptionally fair skin).
Loyal and Faithful
Even after the death of Khadijah (RA), the Prophet (peace be upon him) would send some food to her friends whenever he would slaughter a sheep, saying, “Send this to Khadijah`s friend … indeed I was nourished by her (i.e. Khadijah`s) love.”
Appreciative
He never criticised food. If he liked it, he ate it, and if he did not like it, he simply left it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) once asked his family for something to eat with bread. They responded, “We have nothing apart from vinegar.” He asked them to bring it and commented, “How good a simple food is vinegar, how good a simple food is vinegar.”
Considerate
The Prophet (peace be upon him) stood at the door while some Abyssinian children were playing some sports outside. The Prophet said, “O `A`ishah, come and see!” She placed her cheek on his shoulders and the Prophet screened her with his cloak so that she could watch them play over his shoulders. Then the Prophet said, “O `A`ishah, have you had enough?” A`isha (RA) replied, “No”, just to see how much she was valued by the Prophet. The Prophet kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other (i.e. he was tired, but he was prepared to stand as long as she wanted to watch the spectacle).
Supportive and Accommodating
He was very supportive of his wives in their spirituality and worldly-matters. Upon waking up early in the morning, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would engage in worship and during the last third of the night, he would wake his wife and they would then observe the witr prayer. Anas (RA) narrates, “I saw the Prophet, making for her (i.e. Safiyya) a kind of cushion with his cloak behind him (on his camel). He then sat beside his camel and put his knee for Safiyyah to place her foot on, in order to embark (on the camel).”
Thoughtful and Caring
The Prophet (peace be upon him) listened attentively to `A`ishah (RA) tell the tale of eleven women [famously recorded in the books of Hadith] and then he, at the end, said something which filled her heart with peace, love and happiness. The Prophet once commented to `A`ishah that he would know when she was pleased with him and when not. She asked how he knew that. He replied, “When you are pleased with me, you say: By the Lord of Muhammad; but when you are unpleased, you say “By the Lord of Ibrahim”. `A`ishah then replied, “Yes … I do not abandon anything except your name [i.e. no change comes to my unwavering love for you].” The Prophet never once struck his servant or any of his wives.
Romantic
The Prophet (peace be upon him) would take the same cup `Ai`ishah (RA) would have drank from. He would search for the place which touched the lips of `A`ishah. He would then place his lips also on the very same place and drink from there. The Prophet would recite the Qur`an while leaning on his wife`s lap even when she was in her menses. He would apply perfume and kiss his wife regularly. He and his wife would bathe together from the same vessel. He also instructed `to lift a morsel to your wife`s mouth` is also rewarding.
Family Man
The Prophet (peace be upon him) would engage in talks with his wife at night, and help his family during the day in patching clothes, milking goats, repairing sandals and other housework. After observing Asr prayer in the congregation, the Prophet would make his evening round, visiting the apartments of each of his wives, enquiring their welfare, and staying with each of them for a short while. The Prophet would spend this time to relax with his family.
Humble
The Prophet (peace be upon him) would also seek the advice of his wives. At Hudaybiyah, the Prophet had repeatedly commanded his companions to abandon their ihram but they were all reluctant and did not move at all. He thereafter went to his wife Umm Salamah (RA) and related his concern and great distress. She soothed him and advised him to something which the companions would automatically comply with. As per her advice, the Prophet did not utter a word but took off his pilgrim`s garb and got his head shaved. All the companions immediately did the same.
Understanding
Safiyyah (RA) was once called, “You Jew!” This made Safiyya cry and, while she was crying, the Prophet came. The Prophet said to her, “You are a daughter of a prophet (Aaron), your uncle (Moses) was a prophet, and now you are the wife of a Prophet. You have much to be proud of.” Then he said to Hafsa, “Fear Allah, O Hafsah.”
Once on the Hajj journey, the camel of Safiyya knelt down and overthrew her which made her cry inconsolably. The Prophet wiped her tears with his own hands and tried to soothe her and commanded the caravans to stop and dismount, although he himself did not want to, but for the sake of his wife.
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Posted in Uncategorised on 11th Feb 2016 by Our Imam | 1938 Views
