Aslam

Praise be to Allah.Undoubtedly the temptations in this life are many, and the ways in which

the Shaytaan deceives the sons of Adam are many and varied. So the husband has to take

precautions. Allaah has entrusted him with an important task, which is to take care of his

wife and children; He has made him responsible for educating and protecting them. The

Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Each of you is a shepherd

and each of you is responsible for his flock… a man is the shepherd of his family and

is responsible for those under his care; a woman is the shepherd in her husband’s

house and she is responsible for her those under her care.” (Narrated by

al-Bukhaari, 893)

The wife is a human of flesh and blood, and is affected by what she sees

and hears from the people of evil and fitnah (temptation). So the husband should take this

into account, so he can protect her from bad influences and stop her from going to bad

places.

The Muslim husband should not live only for worldly purposes and work

like a dumb machine. Wealth is tempting, but that which is with Allaah is better and more

lasting. He should try to find work with shorter hours, even if the pay is less, as long

as it is sufficient to meet his needs. This will give him more time to take care of his

family and educate his children.

It is not right to leave his wife alone for this length of time, unless

there is something to compensate the wife for the absence of her husband, such as studying

sharee’ah or meeting with people who fear Allaah and can teach her something good,

and so on. But if she is just being left alone, or is being left with the TV and its bad

shows, or with bad neighbours and evil companions, then this is neglect and is to be

condemned. Those who are neglectful often get their punishment in this world, before they

even meet their Lord.

With regard to a woman going out of her house, according to

sharee’ah it is not conditional upon her being accompanied by her husband or mahram

as long as she is trustworthy and she goes to places where there is no fear for her, and

the route she takes is safe. The presence of a mahram is a condition when she is

travelling, but she does not have to be accompanied by a mahram everywhere she goes in the

city – unless there is some evil or fitnah (temptation, tribulation) involved in her

going even a short distance, in which case a woman should not go out on her own. Then it

is better to be on the safe side and not go out unless she is with her husband or someone

who can protect her and take care of her.

When a Muslim lives in a kaafir country, he has to make extra efforts to

protect his family, such as getting together with other Muslim families and renting an

apartment building together, or moving to live next to one another, so that this will

offer a kind of protection and create a good environment for families and children. At the

same time, the Muslim woman should find good, righteous women with whom she can fill her

time when her husband is absent.

“Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring the

comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders of the Muttaqoon (the pious)”

[al-Furqaan 25:74 – interpretation of the meaning]. May Allaah bless our Prophet

Muhammad.