Ideal Muslimah

As Salamu Alaikum wa rahmatullah

Dear sisters,

Here's an extract from a book - Ideal Muslimah. I guess most of us must have read it many a times. Though we may not possess all the qualities {as none of us can gain perfection } but atleast can try to near perfection by adorning ourselves with these qualities in our character. Here it goes

It is abundantly clear that the Muslim woman who is guided by Islam is pure, constructive, productive, alert aware , educated and refined. She fully understands her duties towards Allah swt and towards herself, her parents , her husband, her children, her relatives, her neighbours, her friends and sisters in Islam and her society as a whole, with all the different types of people, events and transactions it includes.

She believes in Allah swt and the Last day ; She is alert to the trials of this life and the traps of Shaytaan ; She worships Allah obeys His commands , heeds His prohibition , accepts His Will and Decree, returns to His protection and seeks his forgiveness when she stumbles or becomes negligent ; she is aware of her responsibility before Allah towards the members of her family ; She is keen to please Him by whatever she does ; she understands the true meaning of being a servant of Allah and supports His true religion ; she enjoins what is good and forbids what is evil as much as she is able.

She is aware of her obligations towards herself, understanding that she is human being composed of a body , mind and soul, each of which has its own needs and requirements. Hence she is careful to strike the right balance between her body , mind and spirit ; She does not devote attention to one at the expense of the others, rather . she devotes to each of them the attention that is needed to form a balanced personality , always guided by the wise teachings of Islam as seen in the Qur'an , the sunnah and example of the righteous salaf {predecessors } who followed in the footstpes of the Prophet with all sincerity.

She takes care of her outward appearance without going to extremes of excess or showing off, and she takes care of her inner nature in a manner that befits the human being whom Allah has honoured by making the angels prostrate to him and subjugating all that is in heaven and earth for his benefit. In this way , she develops a balanced , likeable character, one that is attractive both in appearance and in her thinking, reasoning , behaviour and reactions

She does not allow ger care of her body and mind to distract her from spiritual matters ; she devotes just as much attention to her spiritual development and polishes her soul thru worship , dhikr and reading Qur'an . Her guideline in all of this is to maintain a precise balance between all aspects of her personality.
She treats her parents with kindness and respect. She knows their status and her duties towards them, and she is very cautious not to disobey them. She never spares any effort to find the best way to treat then properly, and she surrounds them with every type of care, honour and respect.

With her husband , she is an ideal wife, intelligent, respectful, obedient, tolerant and loving, eager to please him and to respect and honour his family. She conceals his secrets and helps him to be righteous, to fear Allah and to do good deeds. She fills his heart with happiness, peace and tranquility.

With her children, she is loving, compassionate mother who wisely understands the great importance of her motherly role in bringing them up. She makes them aware of her love and care for them, and never withholds right guidance from them if they need it, so that they will grow up with an ideal Islamic upbringing that will cultivate in them the best morals and attitudes and a love for the highest things.

With her daughter-in-laws and Son-in-laws, she is kind , fair and wise and offers them sincere advice. She does not interfere in their private matters. She treats them well and strives to strengthen the bonds o flove and to ward off the evils of disputes.

With her relatives, she upholds the ties of love and does not neglect to keep in touch and treat them well. She is keen to maintain the relationship even if they do not uphold ties, acting in obedience to the teachings of Islam , which urge the upholding of the ties of kinship with love and affection.

She treats her neighbours well and is concerned about them. She knows the great rights they have, which Jibreel emphasised to the Prophet { PHUH} so strongly that the Prophet thought he was going to make them his heirs. So she likes for them what she likes for herself. She treats them well, respects their feelings, puts up with their insults , turns a blind eye to their faults and mistales, and is careful not to mistreat them or to fall short in her treatment of them.

With her friends and sisters in Islam, she is distinguished from other women byway in which she builds her relationship with them on a basis of love for the sake of Allah swt, which is the highest and purest love that exists among human beings, as it is free from any impurity pr ulterior motive and its purity is derived from the light of Revelation and Prophetic guidance. Therefore , the muslim woman is sincere and tolerant in her feelings with hostile arguments and disputes , bear grudges or withhold any favour she cud do for them, and she always greets them with a cheerful , smiling face

In her relationship with her society , she is a social being of the highest class, because of what she learned of the wise teachings of Islam concerning social dealings and high morals. From the rish spring of Islam she derives her customs , habits and behaviour and the ethics and values which purify her soul and form her distinct social character.

She is of good character { has a good attitude towards others } and is sincere and straighforward with all people.

She does not cheat , deceive or stab in the back. She is not a hypocrite, She does not speak falsely { or bear false witness }. She offers sincere advice and guides others to good deeds. She keeps her promises. She has the characteristics of modesty and respect.

She does not interfere in that which does not concern her. She avoids slandering the honour of others and seeking out their faults. She does not show off. She is fair in her judgements of others. SHe does not oppress others. SHE is fair even to those whom she does not like. She not rejoices on the misfortune of others. She avoids suspicion. SHe restrains her tongue from malicious gossip. She avoids cursing and obscene speech. She does not make fun of anybody. She is gentle with people. She is compasisonate.She tries to benefit others and protect them from harm. She eases hardhip of one who is suffering. She is generous. She is tolerant.

She does not bear grudges or harbour resentment. She is easy -going , not harsh. She is not envious. She avoids boasting and show-off. She does not speak in an exaggerating manner. She has a likeable personality. She is friendly and likeable. She keeps secrets. She is of cheerful countenace. She has a sense of humour. SHe tries to make people happy. She is not over-strict. She is not arrogant. She is humble. She is modest in her appearance and dress. She pursues noble things. She is concerned about the affairs of muslims. She honours her guest. She prefers others to herself, She measures her habits and customs against standards of Muslims. She uses greetings of Islam.

She does not enter any house except her own, without permission. She sits wherever she finds space in a gathering. She does not converse privately with another women when a third women is present. She respect elders and distinguished people. She chooses work that suits her feminine nature. She does not imitate men. She calls others to truth. She enjoins what id good and forbids bad. SHe is wise and eloquent in her dawah. She mixes with righteous women.She hastens to reconcile between muslim women. She appreciates favours from Allah and is grateful for them. She visits sick . She does not attend funeral procession { i.e follow bier }

This is the personality of a muslim woman as defined by the teachings of Islam.No doubt the Muslim woman is the most refined example womanhood ever known in any human society. Along with all the qualities listed above , a muslim woman also possesses wisdom, purity of soul , a high level of spirituality, a sound concept of life, the universe and humanity and a deep awareness of her important role in life.

Surely women 's reaching such a high level of intellectual , psychological , spiritual and moral development is a great human blessing, which is unequalled by any of the many blessings that human beings enjoy.

The great hopes that are pinned on the Muslim woman , who is aware of her role , require her to be even stronger in proving her Islamic identity, wherever she may live and whatever her circumstances may be. By reinforcing her Islamic identity , she clearly demonstrates her awareness, high aims , sincerity and devotion to Islam and its distictive culture. This is also indicative of her ability to contribute to the revival of the ummah to which she belongs and the development of the country she lives in.

May Allah swt, help and guide every Muslimah to possess these qualities and overcome any weaknesses of hers. Do remember me in your duas