Advice to the Women

Lecture by Aboo Ismaa’eel Jamal Jackson al-Amreekee
From the lecture series in California, August 2003


Aboo Ismaa’eel mentioned that this dars is a naseehah to the women and he apologized for not being properly prepared for this naseehah for the women, as it is something from the Sunnah to give classes to the women. It comes in the authentic ahaadeeth that the Prophet (sallahu 'alayhi wasallam) would assign a special day to give duroos to the women. And this is something that is very important as the women of Islaam are the first school for the children of al-Islaam.

It is important that the women are taught what is their religion and it is important for the sisters to seek to learn what is from their religion, since if a person doesn’t have, he is not able to give. So what is it that she will be able to teach their child? What ends up happening is that the TV becomes the educator of the child if the parent does not educate their child. So it is important that the sisters seek knowledge and that the husbands and brothers of the sisters give them from what is the beneficial knowledge of Islaam.

And there is benefit for you in this child you are teaching as it comes in the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (sallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) that when a person dies his actions are cut off except for three things. The first being a sadaqah that continues to bring benefit. For example, if he helped to establish a masjid or something similar to this, since in his helping to establish the masjid he not only benefits from it, but the Muslims also benefit from it. So he receives the reward of the Muslims benefiting from it.

The second is knowledge which is benefited from after his death. So maybe he has taught someone something and it could possibly be his child or another person, and then he receives the reward from this in his grave. This doesn’t decrease from the reward of the person who is actually doing the action, as it comes in another hadeeth from the Prophet (sallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam):

“There is a person that points to a good and he receives the reward of the one that does the good and it doesn’t decrease of the reward of the one who has done the good.”

And the third is a righteous child who supplicates for him. So how will the child be righteous except that he receives the correct tasfiyah wat-tarbiyah in the home. So the parent removes from him whatever is from bad behaviour and akhlaaq and shows him what is from the proper behaviour and akhlaaq in the home and he educates him regarding the religion of Islaam. So then the child makes du’aa for his parent, and we see an example of this in the du’aa of Nooh (‘alayhi salaam) when he said: “O my Lord, forgive me and also my parents.”

This is the du’aa of the righteous child for his parents because he understands the rights of his parents over him. He also understands the benefit that he has received from his parents, from his mother and from his father, his mother being the closest of the two to him and this is why she has the most rights over him. But the child will not understand this right if she doesn’t first give him his haqq and his right, which is educating him and nurturing him on the correct Islaam. So we see in the example of Nooh (‘alayhi salaam) that he made du’aa for his parents and we see that which is from the tarbiyah of the Prophets upon their children, when Allaah says:

“Were you present when the moat came to Ya’qoob and he said: ‘O my children, what is it that you will worship after me.’ ”

So we look at the care that Ya’qoob had over his children in that he was on his death bed and was concerned about his children being upright on the religion.

A benefit from this aayaah is that he is asking them about that which is the most important thing in Islaam, from ibaadah. He said: “What is it that you are going to worship after me?” And they said: “We will worship your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, Ibraaheem and Ishaaq (‘alayhimus salaam) and He is one Lord and we submit to Him.” So we look at the tarbiyah that Ya’qoob (‘alayhi salaam) is giving to his children and the diligence he had upon his children, even when he was dying.

Also we look at the reverse of it, that the child has gained that which is from correct knowledge. So in our time it may be that the child takes what is from correct knowledge and he has to give that da’wah to his parents or family. In the time of our parents it may be that Islaam was not so clear and what is correct is not so clear, as is in the example of Ibraaheem (‘alayhi salaam) when he asked his father: “Why is it that you worship that which does not benefit you and that which does not harm you.”

So he (‘alayhi salaam) was giving da’wah to his father who had the most right for him to give da’wah to because he is upon that which was not correct in joining partners with Allaah (Azzawajall).

So there is a pool of brothers and a pool of sisters and they must teach their children and their immediate family as Allaah has ordered us:

“Save yourselves and your family from the Hellfire whose fuel is men and stones.”

So that which is from the first things that the sister should seek knowledge in is what Islaam is based upon, and it is the statement “La ilaaha illa Allaah Muhammadur RasoolAllaah”, that you are bearing witness that there is none that has the right to be worshipped except Allaah and Muhammad (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) is His Messenger and His servant.

This is what you begin with and what you begin the education of the children with. And the first of the books available in English so the sisters can begin reading and understanding and teaching to their children and families, and should be demanding their husband to get them this book, is Usooluth-Thalaathah.

It is not a book which is hard to memorize, even for the person that doesn’t understand Arabic. And if one cannot memorize it in Arabic since Allaah (tabaaraka wa ta’ala) has placed every person on a level, then as Shaykh al-Fawzaan (hafidhahullaah) has stated: “Allaah has mercy on the person that he knows the limitations of their own soul and knows his capability.”

So for the one who is not able to memorize it in Arabic then he should memorize it in the language that he is able to memorize because memorization is not the sole important thing, as knowledge is not solely memorization but rather it is about understanding and implementing. As the author of Usooluth-Thalaathah, Shaykhul-Islaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) said:

“Know, may Allaah have mercy on you, that it is obligatory upon you to know the following four matters. The first: Knowledge, and it is knowledge and awareness of Allaah, and knowledge of His Prophet and knowledge of the Religion of Islaam, with the proofs. The second: Acting upon that.”

So we look at what is from the diligence of the author and we see that the Shaykh (rahimahullaah) has used a special mannerism which is a mannerism from the ‘ulema, in that he is commanding the reader to “know”. With this commanding, it grabs the attention of the reader so that the person will look at it and pay attention.

So know, and look at the care that the author has taken in this and take from the benefits of the care he has taken in it. He has chosen his words carefully, and as Shaykh al-‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullaah) mentioned, the “rahimakullaah” involves two things: may Allaah have mercy on you for what you committed in the past and may he forgive you for the future.

This is care that the author has taken in using this wording since he could have used any other wording, but this is from the hikmah of the ‘ulema since they use that which will benefit the reader and the one being called. So he says: “Know it is obligatory that it is upon us to know four issues.” And no one is free from knowing these four issues.

The people of the Sunnah are not like the people of Soofiyyah who believe that after a person has reached a certain level they don’t have to do some of the ordinary actions but have reached a secret Islaam. Ahlus-Sunnah is not like that. It is upon all of us to perform the salaah and all of us to know that which is from the obligatory knowledge upon us. So if a person exceeds this there is barakah in it for him. However, if a person doesn’t exceed this but reaches it then there is no sin upon him, but it is upon him to return to Ahlul-‘Ilm when he reaches a certain situation.

So it is upon the Muslim woman and Muslim man, freed or slave, to know these four issues. And the first of these four issues is to have knowledge of Allaah, and knowledge of His Prophet and knowledge of the deen of Islaam with his proofs. Ahlus-Sunnah are the people of proofs and we have more right to these proofs than Ahlul-Bid’ah as we have the correct understanding of these proofs.

As one of the Salaf has said: “Any proof that a person of innovation uses in that same proof is a proof for the falseness of his statement.”

For example, the Ashaa’irah and those upon their methodology negate the Names and Attributes of Allaah. We of Ahlus-Sunnah affirm the attributes and don’t negate them, and we don’t’ ask the kayfiyyah (how) of them or make tamtheel or ta’teel. So they seek to use the aayaah:

“And there is nothing like unto Him.”

They say, though this aayaah, that they don’t affirm the Names and Attributes and that the Names and Attributes don’t mean what Ahlus-Sunnah has affirmed for him. So instead they say al-Istiwaa means Istawlaa (he conquered something), or they leave the meaning unknown.

But as Shaykh al-‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullaah) said: “Allaah has ordered us to reflect and ponder over the Qur’aan, so He will not make you ponder over something that He has not made clear.”

He has made His Names and Attributes clear in the Qur’aan, and it is clear in the Sunnah of the Prophet and the understanding of the Sahaabah. However, in this same aayaah is a proof against them:
“And He is all-Hearing all-Seeing.” So in the same aayaah Allaah (Azzawajall) mentions His Attributes.

And you’ll notice the people of the Ashaa’irah stop at the point: “There is nothing like unto Him.” But there is a continuation of the aayaah which is a negation and an affirmation. This is the same form that Allaah (subhanuhu wa ta’ala) uses in the shahaadah. So there is no deity except Allaah, negating the worship of all deities and affirming the worship of Allaah alone.

It is upon Ahlus-Sunnah to understand these things so they can cultivate their children on this ‘ilm and the children can be upright in the Religion. The child will not be upright upon Islaam if he doesn’t receive the proper tarbiyah. If you leave him on that which is from his ‘asl (foundation), his ‘asl is ignorance and oppression, and if you leave the child upon his origin he will not be upright and upon Islaam. He will only be upright from that which you show him in the house and that which you teach him in the house and expose him to, especially in the land of the Kuffaar since the traps of Shaytaan are abundant in the land of the Kuffaar.

So the author Shaykh Muhammad ibn “Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) has explained to us that it is upon us to know who is our Lord, who is our Messenger and know the deen of Islaam with the proofs. So we see the hikmah of why we should learn this and know this and it is because these are the three questions that a person will be asked in his grave.

When a person is in his grave and the people have left and the angels come to him and ask him who is your Lord, what is your religion, and what do you say about this man Muhammad, it is not going to be for one who is ignorant to answer correctly. The Kuffaar know that the Lord of the dunyaa is Allaah and they know the Messenger of Allaah is Muhammad (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and they know the religion of Islaam is the haqq, but yet they still lie.

So it is not enough for a person to have a mere acquaintance with this thing, and it doesn’t benefit him in the grave, except for the person who bears witness to the truth and he knows and has that which is from certainty and not merely acquaintance. There is a difference between a person having certainty in something compared to having mere acquaintance. Acquaintance is the step after the person is ignorant, and then he moves on to that which is from knowledge.

So it is upon us to have understanding of this Religion of Islaam so we may answer these three questions correctly in the grave. As for the person who starts off wrongly in the grave and he doesn’t answer them correctly in the grave, and he is being punished in his grave and then is accountable before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection, then what does he believe his account will be with Allaah, and the account of his children?

It is natural that if you have something that poses a potential harm in the house you protect your child from it. So you wouldn’t leave an iron plugged in with a child around unless you are a heedless parent. A mother wouldn’t do this out of caring for her child. So there is more right that you educate your child, but the education begins with ourselves.

So we must educate ourselves in order that we can educate our child and safeguard our child from that which is from the traps of the dunyaa. A mother wouldn’t leave a stove on or leave her child in a full tub of water out of fear, and a mother has a natural feeling to protect her child from any type of harm even if it means to sacrifice something from herself.

For example, breastfeeding the child by the mother takes energy from the mother, and this is why a mother shouldn’t breastfeed her child while she is fasting because there is a harm in it. The child is taking energy from the woman, even through the carrying of the child this takes energy from her and causes her to become sick, but she is still diligent over her child. She makes sure she eats the right things and doesn’t inhale anything that could cause harm to the child in her stomach.

This is from the natural inclination of Allaah, and from this natural inclination she should move toward protecting her child in this dunyaa also, and this is from the greatest shields of this dunyaa in educating ourselves and our child. It may be on Yawmul-Qiyaamah that he takes his haqq from us because we did not educate him, because it was upon us when he didn’t have the ability to educate himself and was dependant upon us to give him shelter, food and education, and yet we didn’t educate him.

It is for the woman to demand from the men and their families to educate them and give them the tools of education, whether books, tapes, or the computer, even though there is harm in the computer but the benefit can be greater.

After Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (rahimahullaah) mentioned that the person gains knowledge of these three things, then he says to act by it. So he implements this knowledge in his everyday life. It is not just sufficient for the person to have ‘ilm and not use it. So this ‘ilm will not benefit him but it will be a proof for him on the Day of Judgement, just as the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:
“The Qur’aan will be a proof for you or against you.”

So a person has read the Qur’aan but doesn’t implement that which he has read. So Allaah has ordered him to do something or to stay away from something but he has not implemented it. So the Qur’aan will be a hujjah (proof) in that you have not followed the guidance of Allaah, or it can be a hujjah for you in that you’ve read it and implemented it. So it is a hujjah for you, and you will be rewarded for implementing what you know.

This is from the beneficial knowledge, in learning from the Qur’aan and the Sunnah and the Salaf, and anything other than it is not beneficial knowledge. This is also da’wah to our children, since when a child sees his mother in the house performing the salaah, he mimics the action from his natural inclination, especially when his mother goes into sujood. This is the natural inclination, and it is natural for the child that they favour the sujood since this is also the position where the servant is closest to Allaah, their Lord.

The children favour this action and this is how they learn the salaah and the recitation of the Qur’aan and this is from the tarbiyah of the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam), as there were Sahaabah who learned the Qur’aan not through recitation but rather through hearing and listening to the Prophet recite it in salaah.

So it is possible for the child to pick up Soorah al-Faatihah just form hearing you recite it in the salaah or from hearing it being recited in the house, because a child in his early stages, his brain is like a sponge. He memorizes and mimics everything he hears and sees, and this is why you find that it was placed on the ‘ulema to memorize the Qur’aan in their early years and you find them having memorized the Qur’aan at the age of 9 or 8, and so on.

They memorized the book of Allaah because they had the ability to absorb what was being relayed to them, even though they may not have understood it. However, everything is step by step. So after you memorize the Qur’aan you teach them the meanings of the Qur’aan and we don’t just leave them as a memorizer of the Qur’aan but not acting upon it.

For example, you will see in Egypt, which is a country that is known for its memorizers of the Qur’aan, that very few of them work by what they know from the Qur’aan, because they don’t know the meanings of the words of the Qur’aan. So you find a person who’s a memorizer of the Qur’aan smoking or who is not religious. This is because he has not learned or reflected on the meanings of what he has memorized. So this Qur’aan is a proof on us, because we memorize the Book of Allaah and are not implementing what we memorized or thinking about the meanings of this glorious Book.

So it is upon the Muslim sisters to implement this firstly in their homes so their children can take from their good example and not take from their bad example. So if a sister is sitting in the house smoking or reading non-beneficial magazines and does nothing that is Islaamic throughout the day, it doesn’t push the child to do that which is Islaamic. So when you try to sit the child down and teach him what is in Islaam, he rebels and goes against you because he hasn’t seen the example in his parents.

We are the only ones who will teach our child Islaam, and it is not upon anyone else but only upon ourselves. This is the third step, which is giving da’wah to that which you know. So after you work by it, you give da’wah to it, and it is not befitting for a person to give da’wah to something he himself doesn’t work by. So from the Sunnah of the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) is that he wouldn’t order the people to do something except that he would be the first one to do it and he wouldn’t order the people to leave something except that he would be the first one to leave it. He was an example for the Sahaabah.

A person will not accept advice from one who tells him to do something and he himself does it. Do you order the people with good and forget your own souls, and you recite the book. Do you not ponder that you are ordering the people to do something that you yourself are not doing. So you order your child to perform the salaah when you yourself do not perform the salaah or you order them to perform it on time while you yourself are lazy in it, and perform ‘Asr midway between ‘Asr and Maghrib.

As for the women, then she shouldn’t work or attend school so she is the one spending the most time with the child and she is the one he will take the most examples from. This is where the connection comes between the child and the woman, from those trips that the child takes with the woman to the grocery store or to the park or to see their grandmother and so on. The child bonds with his mother and takes from her example. It is upon the mother to put forth a good example for the child and work by what she knows and call her child verbally and physically to that which is good.

And the last principle that the Shaykh brings is that the person has patience upon this da’wah from the hardships that he incurs and experiences in giving this da’wah. Some of the ‘ulema have stated that the more a person gives da’wah, the more hardship a person is going to receive and the more harms he will face from the people. This is the same with the children. You will face harms and obstacles from them, and there will be times when they do not want to study, they can’t understand why everyone else gets to go out but they have to stay inside with their mother and study.

It’s hard to see your child disappointed and crying and having to teach them while he is crying and is stubborn, which is from their natural characteristics. So for example if we are trying to teach the child something and we say it clearly for him but in repetition he just mumbles it out of spite, this disheartens the parent because they are trying to teach him something from good. So Shaytaan whispers to them to give up and just let the child go outside to avoid frustration and anger.

However, what is from the hikmah of the mother is that it is better to keep him in and continue to make him learn until he does it properly and this teaches him patience and that which is from proper akhlaaq and mannerisms, and that he should honour his parents and obey their commandments. Later in life he will realize the hikmah of it, as it is stated that a person doesn’t realize the hikmah until he has his own children and he goes through those same trials.

And this is when the child will make more du’aa for you because then he will see that you not only prepared him for an Islamic life but you also prepared him to be a parent. And he realizes the trials he put you through and he asks Allaah to forgive you and make you firm on the Religion. This is a benefit for you because if he is sincere then you have the du’aa of this righteous child and also the reward for teaching him.

This is knowledge that benefits and it benefits others, and you are reaping the fruits of all of this knowledge. So it is upon the sisters to seek this righteous knowledge and command their husbands to teach them and their brothers to teach them and gain education for themselves. And if they have questions they should ask those questions, as the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “The cure for ignorance is the question.”

And look how the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) described ignorance. He described it as a disease, because you don’t give a cure to something except that it is a disease. So don’t be afraid to ask questions that will benefit you in your religion. And gaining ‘ilm removes some of the defections that a Muslim faces in life such as gheebah and nameemah, which are of the biggest of the fitan that affect the Muslim communities all across the West.

So when a person is upon yaqeen and knows this gheebah will take from his reward and that it is like eating the back of his brother, he will leave this sickness and this tale-carrying. Some of the ‘ulema have said:
“The tale carrier is worse than the magician and this is because the tale-carrier does in one hour what a magician cannot do in a year.”

So he causes separation among the Muslims, between a husband and a wife, and spreads tales between this sister and that sister and it causes separation between the families of the Muslims. This separating of the Muslims is something which a magician cannot do in a year. This gheebah and nameemah causes us to split in the ranks of the Muslims. How many false narrations have caused people to leave a masjid and form their own, and if you go back to person who narrated it you will find it has no ‘asl.

So the people of Ahlus-Sunnah are a people of narrations, and the isnaad is from the Religion. The hikmah behind this statement as one has said:
“If it wasn’t for the chain of narrations, then anyone who wanted to say something could say whatever they wanted to say.”

So when there are chains, it prevents this nameemah and causing separation between two people. This is not from hikmah, rather what is from hikmah is to go to the person and say from khayr what you heard said about them and cause the connection to remain between them if they have separated for some type of worldly reason. It is upon you to go to them and make the clarification so that the situation doesn’t become worse.

With a lot of the fitnah, you find that a woman is involved in it or in the narration or some of the action. So it is for the Muslim sister to practice what is from the best of Islaam, and the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said in a hadeeth regarding the best of Islaam:
“…for that person that the Muslims are free from his hand and his tongue.”

So don’t harm you brother Muslim or sister Muslim by spreading what will cause dissension amongst the Muslims, because at the end of the day, as it says in the Qur’aan, Allaah (Azzawajall) has sent down the angels to record what you do. We should remember this before we say anything of gheebah or nameemah.







Question & Answers

Q: Why is TV haraam?

TV, as the ‘ulema have stated from many angles, is haraam because of that which is contained in it as it has gotten worse with time. In it is men and women not being covered properly and music being played on the TV. Also, the majority of that which is on TV is dramas or comedies or soap operas and so on, and this is from a person acting as if he is someone else and this is haraam. Even in telling a joke it is not permissible for a person to joke with that which is a lie.

Even with the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam), he would joke but he would not joke in that which was a lie, he would joke with that which was the truth. So it is haraam for a person to do this and is haraam for a person to witness this or look at it and find pleasure in it or finding pleasure in a person pretending to be someone else and telling lies to make people laugh. Also, it contains evil as you find with some people them imitating what they see on TV and desiring to be like the people they see on TV. So for this reason TV is haraam.

Q: Why is music haraam?

Allaah (Azzawajall) says in Soorah Luqmaan:
“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talk to mislead people from the path of Allaah without knowledge to take it to mockery.”

As it is understood from the mufassiroon of the Qur’aan, and from them is ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ood (radiAllaahu anhu), that this is music and he has sworn by Allaah on this. And it is music which misleads people from the path of Allaah and this music and singing is from evil as they sing about that which is from zinaa, adultery and disobedience to Allaah. Also, they sing about it boastfully and it causes the heart to be inclined towards these actions.

For this reason, music is haraam, and one of the Salaf has said that music is the Qur’aan of the Shaytaan, so it is better for the person to stay away from this music as the Qur’aan is better than this music. It is better and more beneficial as music is a waste of time. There is no benefit gained from music, but the Qur’aan when it is recited it sounds better and it is of benefit for you. It may be that while you are listening to Qur’aan you hear the recitation of an aayaah you have never heard before and it benefits you and causes an effect in your heart and causes you to be upon baseerah. This is more beneficial for the Muslims.

With regards to Islamic songs, there is no Sunnah for this action, and you don’t find this action among the Sunnah or the Sahaabah in cultivating the children on this, where they are singing about Islamic themes and so on. It is better that you cultivate them on listening to the Qur’aan being recited and hadeeth being read.

As far as a person using poetry with no musical background, then this is permissible and is found in Islaam, but it not like the Islaamic anaasheed. These nasheed tapes have singing and musical instruments and this is not the way of poetry since poetry is read by one person even if it is in a reciting manner. So it is better to listen to the Qur’aan or the ahaadeeth being recited. In the time of the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) he had a poet who would defend him from the Arab poets through poetry. Also Shaykh Muqbil (rahimahullaah) had a poet in his camp who would defend him through poetry. This is recommended in place of those things and this is better than the Islamic songs.

Q: What is the age for breastfeeding and is breastfeeding after 2 years haraam?

As for the exact age, Allaah knows best, but one of the Shuyookh mentioned that it is not haraam after two years, and Allaah knows best.

Q: How important is segregation of the sexes in Islaam and what ages should this be taught to the children?

The importance of segregation of the sexes is a very important thing and the lack of it is a cause of a lot of the harm in the Islaamic communities because it leads to that which is haraam. And if something is a waseelah to something else then that thing in itself takes the hukm. So if this mixing can lead to something else which is haraam then that thing in itself becomes haraam.

So it is not for the men and women who are not mahram for eachother to intermingle in this manner, even if it is in public, because it is possible that the Shaytaan comes and whispers between them (as he is the third party amongst them) to meet in private or say what is not appropriate. So it is upon them to stay away from this intermingling and this should be taught to the children around the age of 7 when they should be separated in their beds and rooms to prevent the fitnah.

They should also see this in their parent’s actions. So they should not see their father conversating and mingling with women who are not mahram for him, or their mother speaking to man on a phone who is not mahram for her, speaking to him in a forlorn conversation and not out of necessity. You will see in some communities women who are well known amongst the community so that every brother knows the sister. This is not proper and not upright as it leads to that which is from fitnah which is apparent for everyone to see.

Q: When working for a company or organization is it necessary to avoid a company which deals a lot with interest even though the job is not directly related.

Shaykh ‘Ubayd (hafidhahullaah) has stated that ribaa is haraam in Islaam and this is clear from the aayaat of Allaah (Azzawajall). So if a person’s position in this company has nothing to do with the ribaa it is permissible for him to work for them, even if it is for a bank and he has nothing to do with signing the loan or issuing it or nothing else to do with any type of interest then it is permissible for him to work in this place. But he should not participate at all in the haraam acts, whether it is interest or any other haraam act. If his job involves this then it is not permissible for him to do it.



Q: Are credit cards permissible?

A person should not deal with credit cards because in them is a contract from ribaa, and you are agreeing to pay interest and a person should avoid this to the best of his ability. Some credit cards allow the person that if they pay within a certain amount of time there will be no interest but the person should be as careful as possible as this can be a grey area that a person can enter into and it can lead him to what is haraam.

Q: Is it permissible to put money in savings accounts

A person shouldn’t put his money into savings accounts because they accumulate interest. What is better is that he puts his money into chequing accounts since they don’t accumulate interest at all, and this is the safer of the two. If a person has accumulated this interest he should give it away as sadaqah as it is not permissible for him to use it. So he should give it away to someone and not tell them where the money is coming from as this can make it haraam for that person. So donate it somewhere so they may benefit from the money and you remove that harm from yourself.

Q: Is it required to wear a cloak or abaya or is it sufficient to wear a khimaar and loose fitting clothes of the women.

In the aayaah where Allaah (Azzawajall) ordered the women to cover themselves, it is understood from this aayaah that the women should wear the Islaaamic jilbaab or abaya, which is a loose fitting outergarment over their regular clothes they wear in the house. It is waajib upon them to wear this and cover what is from their modesty so those people who are not mahram for them don’t see what is from their modesty and cause fitnah for them.

This is from the fitnah of the women, that their awrah is uncovered for the world to see. It is from modesty that the women be shy about what she allows to be seen from herself and she shouldn’t be seen by someone who is a strange man to her. One of the Sahaabiyyaat was asked about which thing she disliked the most and she said: “To see a strange man or to be seen by a strange man.” This is from shyness.

So the Muslim women should cover herself with a jilbaab which is loose fitting and it is not designed with what we find in our time, since this defeats the purpose of the jilbaab. So you are wearing an outergarment which is to cover what is from beauty and on this outergarment you have that which is from beauty, it causes the eye to be attracted to you and draws attention to you when you wear this.

Q: Is it allowed for the woman to wear trousers or shirts under the abaya even if it is men’s clothes?

As far as men’s clothes then they should not wear what is from men’s clothes just as men should not wear women’s clothes. The difference between the two is clear and it is not for one to imitate the other. As for shirts they are permissible, but as for trousers, Allaahu aalim.

Q: What is the awrah of the women?

There is difference of opinion in this and I have not studied this issue properly, but it seems what is closest to the truth is the statement that the awrah of the woman is everything except for her hands and her face. Some of the ‘ulema say her whole body is awrah and it should all be covered, but what comes in the hadeeth of ‘Asmaa (radiAllaahu anhaa) is that everything of the woman is supposed to be covered except her hands and her face, so this seems to be the closest to the haqq.

But just like Shaykh al-Albaanee (rahimahullaah) brought the argument that it is not obligatory on her to cover her face, he has also said that it is better in the times of fitnah, and what is it that we are living in the West except for fitnah? So it’s better for her to wear niqaab, and Allaah knows best.

Q: Regarding the statement that men and women should not dress alike, what about men wearing the thawb which resembles the women’s abaya?

There is a clear difference between the thawb and the abaya since the women’s abaya is below her ankles and the man’s thawb is above his ankles and both have the purpose of covering the awrah. So there is a distinct difference between the two, one being the dress of the woman and the other being the dress of the man. And it is not only that the man must wear the thawb as he can also wear the izaar which is also from the Sunnah, and this izaar is just the bottom piece while the abaya is from the top to the bottom. And Allaah knows best.

Q: There is an elderly woman and her husband has died and she has three children. Should she seek education now for the supporting of her children, since she’s older in age and may not be appealing to one of the brothers?

There are numerous issues in this. The first is that the brothers need to look at what is from the beauty of the sister, physically. The most important of the four characteristics to marry a sister is her religion, as the other three can leave her. So its possible that her beauty can leave her at any time, or it can even be an evil for the brother or the sister, or her wealth can leave her, and her lineage can be lost.

The important thing is for one to look at a sister’s deen and the benefit of taking her on as a wife and aiding her as it is a sadaqah for him in taking on this sister and her children so she doesn’t find herself working or in a situation where she has to ‘do what she has to do’ and do what she may not want for herself. She may only want to be a wife and raise her children in peace. So the men need to step up and take this responsibility.

Also, the sisters need to look at the hikmah of plural marriages and not frown upon it even though there is a natural inclination for her to frown upon it and not be happy with her husband taking more than one wife. But it is not for you to go past that natural inclination and begin opposing it and placing it as a condition and speaking out against it. It is from the jealousy of the woman that she doesn’t desire for her husband to be with another sister. This is from her natural jealousy and you find it even in the wives of the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) who would compete for the attention of the Prophet, but they didn’t go to the extremes that the sisters go to today. The sisters should not go overboard in this disliking of plural marriages because you’re disliking something in the religion of Allaah and it is possible that you go too far in this disliking it may take you outside of the religion of Islaam.

And the Prophet (salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:

“None of you had truly believes until you desire for your brother what you desire for yourself.”

The same goes for the sisters. You desire for yourself a husband who is upright and provides for you, so would you not desire the same thing for your sister in Islaam, and that she’s provided for and has a righteous husband? You should not be selfish in the religion so that you keep your husband solely to yourself and cause the suffering of a sister he potentially wants to marry to aid her.

As far as seeking education for the women, the ‘asl of this is permissibility. So it is permissible for the woman to seek education whether it’s in the deen or in the dunyaa as you find from the Sahaabiyaat that ‘Aa’ishah was from the ‘ulema of the Sahaabah and she has narrated numerous ahaadeeth on the Prophet. And how many ahaadeeth are there where a Companion came to Aaishah to seek a religious verdict from her because she was from amongst the ‘ulema?

This shows the permissibility of seeking knowledge. She sought knowledge and excelled in it. And you will find with Shaykhul-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, Taymiyyah was his grandmother and she was a scholar herself.

Likewise, there is a story mentioned of one of the scholars of the past and he had a daughter and there were people of prestige who wanted to marry his daughter because he was a scholar, but he had this poor student who wasn’t married so he married his student to his daughter. So they got married and he spent some time with her, and after he spent this time with her he continued to seek knowledge from the scholar, and he went to leave the home one day and she said: “Where are you going?” He said: “I’m going to your father to seek knowledge.” She said: “No, sit. Everything you will get from my father I’ll teach you.” And he didn’t attend the lessons of her father for months because he was taking lessons from his wife.

So the ‘asl of the women is to seek knowledge, but the prohibition in that is the mixing of sexes that you find in these universities in America. But if the sister feels as though she has to seek knowledge such as medicine or gynecology, for the purpose of aiding Muslim women so they don’t have to go to the Kuffaar for these things, then it is permissible for her to seek it in a permissible manner, whether she goes to an all women university that is taught by women or she does it from her home, doing the work at home and turning it into the university.

This is better for her than the mixing of the sexes in these universities and sitting in the lectures with men who are sitting close to you and looking at you. Allaah has allowed it to become easy for the women to seek knowledge in this day and time, where they can sit at home and take courses and they are not seen by anyone but are just on the computer doing the work and getting the degree. And in this way they stay within the obedience of Allaah (Azza wajall).

So the first thing in this situation is that you depend on Allaah (Azzawajall) and know that He will not burden you more than you can bear and will not place you in a situation you can’t handle as this is from the tests of Allaah on his servants to see which of them will be patient. And Allaah has said that the people of believe that they will not be left alone and will be tried and tested, just as the people that have come before them, to distinguish between the one who is truthful and the one who is a liar.

So it is upon the Muslim to depend on their Lord, and to know that after their hardship there will come two eases. And Ibn Katheer (rahimahullaah) has mentioned regarding the aayaah: “After every hardship there comes ease” that in this aayaah Allaah (Azzawajall) has placed the definite particle ‘al’ on the hardship, so after every hardship meaning one hardship, but he has made the ease indefinite. So there is only one hardship but he has mentioned ease twice. So after every hardship there are two eases.

And the Salaf used to look forward to the tests of Allaah because He tests the servants that He wants khayr for. So the servant should look forward for these tests and shouldn’t prepare for them but should be patient in them, and through these tests he will remain upon the obedience of Allaah. And he should not run from these tests and think he will live a life of ease. And some of the Salaf used to fear living a life of ease out of fear it would take away from their reward in Yawmul-Qiyaamah.


Audio available at http://www.twtpubs.com/audio/abuismaeel/index.php

Transcription courtesy of Umm Sumayyah