Women’s Reward!

(Women’s status, women’s position, Women’s rank, women’s social status, women’s role, women’s duties)

    Men and Women are inherently different. While Man was created from clay, Woman was created from his rib, as the following verse demonstrates:

  قال الله عز وجل: { يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً}  سورة النساء، 1.

    God the Al-Mighty says: { O mankind, fear your Lord, Who created you from a single soul (Adam) and created from it its mate (Eve), and from them both He created many men and women} (Surah 3, verse 1).

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   Consequently, Men and Women have different natures and dispositions. Since women were created from a rib, which is crooked a bit and not straight, this was reflected in their nature, as the following hadith shows:

    عن أبي هريرة رضي اللَّه عنه قال: قال رسولُ اللَّه صَلّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّم: « اسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّساءِ خيْراً، فَإِنَّ المَرْأَةَ خُلِقَتْ مِنْ ضِلَعٍ، وَإِنَّ أَعْوجَ ما فِي الضِّلِعِ أَعْلاهُ، فَإِنْ ذَهَبْتَ تُقِيمُهُ كَسَرْتَهُ، وإِنْ تَرَكْتَهُ لمْ يَزَلْ أَعْوَجَ، فَاسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّسَاءِ» .  متفقٌ عليه .

خُلِقَتْ مِنْ ضِلَعٍ: أحد عظام الصدر بفتح اللام أو بكسرها، و‏فيه إشارة إلى أن حواء خلقت من ضلع آدم الأيسر وقيل من ضلعه القصير، أي أن في خلقهن وفكرهن عوجا من أصل الخِلقة.  فإن ذهبت تقيمه: أي تجعله مستقيما، كسرته: أي وكذلك المرأة إن أردت منها الاستقامة التامة، ‏قيل هو ضرب مثل للطلاق؛ أي إن أردت منها أن تترك اعوجاجها أفضى الأمر إلى فراقها.  

   Narrated Abu Hurairah -may Allah be pleased with him- that the Messenger of Allah -prayer and peace be upon him- said: “I commend you to be kind to women, for they have been created from a rib, and the most curved portion of the rib is its upper part; so if you straighten it, you will break it, and if you leave it, it will remain curved, so I commend you to be kind to women.”  Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

 ‘They have been created from a rib’: Refers to the fact that Eve was created from Adam’s left rib, and it was said from his shortest rib. Thus, there is crookedness in their mannerism and thoughts due to their origin. ‘So if you straighten it, you will break it’: Meaning, just like trying to straighten a rib would break it, so is the case with women. If someone tries to straighten this crookedness and tries to perfect the woman’s mannerism, then he will not succeed, rather will break it and end up divorcing her.

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Women’s natures and inherent traits are more suited to their role at home and within society. While men tend to have greater physical strength and are more practical in temperament, women have a gentler physical build and are more emotional in disposition. Therefore, in Islam men are responsible for physical labor and getting provision, while women are responsible for household duties and bearing children first then doing other things, as the following hadith illustrates:

عَنْ ضَمْرَةَ بْنِ حَبِيبٍ ، قَالَ: ( قَضَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى ابْنَتِهِ فَاطِمَةَ بِخِدْمَةِ الْبَيْتِ، وَقَضَى عَلَى عَلِيٍّ بِمَا كَانَ خَارِجًا مِنَ الْبَيْتِ مِنَ الْخِدْمَةِ). رواه أبوبكر بن أبي شيبة في مصنفه.

   Narrated Damrah Ibn Habib said: “God’s Messenger -prayer and peace be upon him- ruled that his daughter Fatimah should handle the indoor housework, and he ruled that Ali (her husband) should handle the outdoor service and work outside the house.” Related by Abu Bakr Ibn Abi Sheibeh.

   The Prophet -prayer and peace be upon him- also stated that women are lacking in judgement and religion. A wise woman asked why that was. He replied because the testimony of two women equals the testimony of one man (as stated in Qur’an), and because women leave the prayer and fasting every month during menses (Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

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  So women may then ask: How can a believing woman achieve a high state of faith (Iman) if she is thus lacking?

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  There are five ways in which women can gain great reward and achieve higher degrees both in this world and the Hereafter.  They are as follows:

1. Following the Right Path and Adhering to Religion.
2. Guarding Chastity (iffah) and having Modesty (Haya’).
3. Obeying the Husband
4. Having Righteous, Beneficial Children.
5. Praying and Supplicating God (Du’a).

  These are the five aspects that raise by the will of God the status of the believing woman like nothing else, such that she can even surpass the status of some men!  Here is a brief description of these five aspects:

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1) Following the Right Path and Adhering to Religion:

    Following the Right Path and adhering to religion is the greatest good deed after the Testimony (Shahadah).  The Al-Mighty God has set certain rules and limits and said: obey Me and don’t violate these rules. The more the believing woman abides by these rules, and the more she abandons what God has prohibited, the greater her reward and the higher her degree.

There are three areas to focus on:

I. Doing obligatory deeds and avoiding sins:

1. The believing woman must obey God’s command in everything, both in religion and worldly matters. Religion includes the Five Daily Prayers, fasting the month of Ramadan, Paying the obligatory charity, and Hajj. Other things include food and drink, clothes, money and income, relations and dealings with people, and in all of her living.  
2. The believing woman must avoid all major sins including: shirk (associating others in the worship of God), magic, killing, injustice, usury (riba), adultery (zina), drinking alcohol and addictive drugs, listening to music, disobeying parents, stealing,  and others.
3. She must try to avoid other sins too, including: calling bad names, harming others, lack of proper ablution (purification), lack of hijab and proper clothes, cross-dressing, backbiting, lying, false accusation, slander, and others.
4. The believer must repent of all sins as soon as possible and ask God’s forgiveness.  God -the Exalted- is the Most Merciful, and accepts the slave’s repentance if it is sincere, so she should always repent to God and ask His forgiveness. 

II. Doing voluntary good deeds and avoiding doubtful things:

1. The believing woman should also offer voluntary good deeds to get greater reward and higher status with God.  Voluntary good deeds include: Praying and supplicating to God (Du’a), mentioning God (Dhikr), praying Sunnah and night prayers (Tahajjud), fasting Monday and Thursday, giving in charity, helping the poor and needy, reciting and memorizing the Qur’an, giving good advice, etc.  
2. The believing woman should also stay away from doubtful and detestable deeds, like wasting food and water, wasting time, wasting money, swearing, asking for divorce, smoking, gossiping, etc.
3. The more the believing woman does obligatory and voluntary good deeds, the higher her status with God. And the more she avoids sins and doubtful things, the greater her reward.

قال الله عز وجل: { وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ}. سورة العنكبوت 69.       

God the Exalted- says: { And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our paths.  And verily, Allah is with the good-doers} (Surah 29, verse 69).

III. Having Good morals and avoiding bad morals:

1. The believing woman must strive to have good morals (akhlaq). The Muslim must have patience, forbearance, sidq or truth, honesty, shame and shyness, generosity, mercy and forgiveness, kindness and compassion, modesty, justice, contentment, bright countenance and smiling face, and all other good morals. She must obey her parents, keep relation with relatives, and be kind to neighbors, guests and the poor.  
2. The believer must avoid bad akhlaq like: pride, hypocrisy (riya’), conceit, anger, jealousy, lying, miserliness, greediness, hatred, mistrust, dishonesty, injustice, and others.
3. Having Good morals raise the believer to the highest degrees, and avoiding bad morals purifies the heart and brings the believer closer to the Lord.
   •    وعن أبي الدرداء رضي الله عنه أن النبيَّ صَلّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّم قال: « مَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَثْقَلُ في مِيزَانِ المُؤْمِنِ يَوْمَ القِيَامَة مِنْ حُسْنِ الخُلُقِ، وإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُبغِضُ الفَاحِشَ البَذِيءَ» .  رواه الترمذي وابن حبان بإسناد صحيح.   
   • Narrated Abu Ad-Darda’ -may God be pleased with him- that the Prophet -prayer and peace be upon him- said: “There is nothing heavier in the Scale of the faithful (Mu’min) on the Day of Judgment than good morals (Husn Al-khuluq).  And God dislikes the indecent, foul mouthed.”  Related by Al-Tirmithi and Ibn Hibban with right narration. 

  Indeed, by her piety and devotion to religion, a Muslim woman can easily surpass the level of many men less devoted.  A Muslim woman can thus easily attain higher levels!  

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2) Guarding Chastity (iffah) and having Modesty:

  The believing woman should be very careful about her chastity (iffah).  She should be shy; she should avoid mixing with non-mehram men, talking with men, going to the market freely, wearing immodest clothes, putting on perfumes when going out, or behaving shamelessly.  She should be modest, and should only please her husband. When she leaves home, then she must wear full hijab, and accompany a mahram man if she could. 

  The believing woman should look up to ideal women like Mary, Fatimah, and Aisha, may God be pleased with them.

    Among the best women of Paradise is Mary, Jesus’ mother -peace be upon her. Mary, was righteous and virtuous. She was shy and chaste and her status with God is high with the Truthful and Righteous.

Another example is Fatimah Al-Zahra (the Prophet’s daughter), and one of her greatest virtues was her chastity.  She was very shy and very observant of hijab, and this elevated her degree.

  So we see that guarding chastity raised the levels of the chaste and virtuous women above many men! 

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3) Obeying the Husband:

    One of the great things by which a believing woman can gain great reward is obeying her husband and being nice to him. Pleasing the husband in permissible matters has great reward through which the believing woman can attain a high degree. The Prophet -prayer and peace be upon him- promised Paradise for the woman who serves and pleases her husband, as the following hadith shows:

وعن ‏حُصَيْنِ بنِ مِحْصَنٍ: ( أَنَّ عَمَّةً لَهُ أَتَتِ النَّبِيَّ صَلّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّم‏ ‏في حَاجَةٍ، فَفَرَغَتْ مِنْ حَاجَتِهَا، فَقَالَ لَهَا: ‏« ‏أَذَاتُ زَوْجٍ أَنْتِ؟»، قالتْ: نَعَمْ، قالَ: « فَأَيْنَ أَنْتِ مِنْهُ؟» ‏‏( قَالَ ‏يَعْلَى: ‏فَكَيْفَ أَنْتِ لَهُ؟)‏، ‏قالتْ: مَا ‏آلُوهُ إِلَّا مَا عَجَزْتُ عَنْهُ، قالَ: «انْظُرِي أَيْنَ أَنْتِ مِنْهُ، فَإِنَّهُ جَنَّتُكِ وَنَارُكِ») .  رواه أحمد والنسائي والحاكم بإسناد صحيح.

          Narrated Husain Ibn Mihsan said: “A paternal aunt of his went to the Prophet -prayer and peace be upon him- seeking his help for a certain need. When she had finished, he asked: ‘Do you have a husband?’ She replied: ‘Yes.’  He asked: ‘How are you toward your husband?’ She answered: ‘I do not fail in serving and obeying him, except in things beyond my capacity.’ The Prophet -prayer and peace be upon him- then said: ‘See where you stand with him, for he is indeed your Paradise and your Hell-fire.’” Related by Ahmad, Al-Nasa’i, and al-Hakim with an authentic narration.

   On the other hand, disobeying the husband leads to punishment and hell as the following hadith shows:

    عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: « إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ الْجَنَّةَ، فَتَنَاوَلْتُ عُنْقُودًا وَلَوْ أَصَبْتُهُ لأَكَلْتُمْ مِنْهُ مَا بَقِيَتِ الدُّنْيَا، وَأُرِيتُ النَّارَ، فَلَمْ أَرَ مَنْظَرًا كَالْيَوْمِ قَطُّ أَفْظَعَ، وَرَأَيْتُ أَكْثَرَ أَهْلِهَا النِّسَاءَ»‏‏.‏ قَالُو:ا بِمَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: « بِكُفْرِهِنَّ»‏‏.‏ قِيلَ: يَكْفُرْنَ بِاللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: ‏« يَكْفُرْنَ الْعَشِيرَ، وَيَكْفُرْنَ الإِحْسَانَ، لَوْ أَحْسَنْتَ إِلَى إِحْدَاهُنَّ الدَّهْرَ كُلَّهُ، ثُمَّ رَأَتْ مِنْكَ شَيْئًا قَالَتْ مَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْكَ خَيْرًا قَطُّ».  رواهُ البخاري ومسلم.

   Thus, the believing woman must pay attention to this aspect of religion, that is, obedience to the husband, and understand that pleasing him brings great reward while displeasing him brings punishment and hell. Then, the wise woman chooses to sacrifice some of her time and comfort to achieve greater success in both lives.

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4) Having Righteous, Beneficial Children:

    Another great way by which a believing woman can gain great reward and status is through bearing children and bringing them up to be righteous men and women. Bearing children has great reward as it propagates the Prophet’s nation, and having righteous children is even greater in reward.

   وعن أَبِي أُمَامَةَ، قَالَ: ( أَتَتِ النَّبِيَّ صَلّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّم امْرَأَةٌ مَعَهَا صَبِيَّانِ لَهَا قَدْ حَمَلَتْ أَحَدَهُمَا وَهِيَ تَقُودُ الْآخَرَ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّم: « حَامِلَاتٌ، وَالِدَاتٌ، رَحِيمَاتٌ، لَوْلَا مَا يَأْتِينَ إِلَى أَزْوَاجِهِنَّ دَخَلَ مُصَلِّيَاتُهُنَّ الْجَنَّةَ») . رواه ابن ماجه وأحمد والطبراني والحاكم.

       Narrated Abu Umamah said: “A woman came to the Prophet -prayer and peace be upon him- accompanied by two sons, carrying one of them and leading the other with his hand.  So the Messenger of Allah -prayer and peace be upon him- said: “Carrying mothers, breastfeeding, merciful to their children, except how they treat their husbands the ones who pray among them shall enter Paradise.”  Related by Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Al-Tabarani, and Al-Hakim.

  The Muslim woman should teach her children to respect and love Islam, to always follow Islam, and to have good morals and manners (akhlaq and adab).  Moreover, the Muslim mother should raise her children to be productive members of the Muslim nation, leaders of this nation who benefit their family and the whole Muslim nation.

  Indeed, who raises men to be great scholars and great inventors by the will of God except mothers?  The teaching of great scholars started in their homes by their mothers. 

  Imam Malik Ibn Anas said: ‘My mother used to tie a turban (‘umamah) around my head and then ask me to go and learn from the scholars.’

  Imam Al-Shafi’s mother used to encourage him to learn ilm deen, and used to collect papers for him to write on.  Al-Shafi’i was an orphan and his mother brought him up to be a great scholar. 

  Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said: ‘My mother used to wake me up before dawn when I was ten, heat water for my ablution (wudu’), then take me to the mosque herself because it was far and the road was dark!’

    Indeed, the mothers of the great scholars who brought them up to be that way, get the SAME REWARD as their sons!  So their levels are raised by their righteous sons and daughters.  Indeed, whenever the righteous son or daughter does a good deed, the parents get the same reward if they brought up their child that way.

    So the Muslim woman can have great reward and higher status if she takes care of children, and brings them up to be righteous children, who obey the command of God in their daily life, and moreover are helpful members of this nation, leaders of this nation, not only in religion but in all fields that may benefit others, like doctors, engineers, teachers, etc.    

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5) Praying and Supplicating God (Du’a):

    This is one of the greatest ways a woman can achieve great reward and high rank. Praying and supplicating God is an endless treasure that has no limit or bound. The human cannot function or survive in this life without the help of God. The believer needs God in all of his matters and must pray and supplicate Him to achieve his goals. The believing woman must seek God’s help in everything, both religious and worldly. Through prayer and supplication, the believing woman can gain success and high status with God.  

  One example is the story of the wife of Imran, the mother of Mary (Jesus’ mother). Her name was Hannah, and she was the wife of a righteous man among the Israelites called Imran. She was barren, so she prayed God to grant her a son. Her prayer was accepted and she became pregnant, so she pledged to devote the child to the service of God. When she gave birth to Mary, she kept her promise and dedicated her daughter to holy service. As a result of this great supplication, Mary became righteous, received God’s provisions, and then gave birth to Prophet Jesus. God the Almighty describes her story in Qur’an:

       قال الله عز وجل: { إِذْ قَالَتِ امْرَأَتُ عِمْرَانَ رَبِّ إِنِّي نَذَرْتُ لَكَ مَا فِي بَطْنِي مُحَرَّرًا فَتَقَبَّلْ مِنِّي إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ * فَلَمَّا وَضَعَتْهَا قَالَتْ رَبِّ إِنِّي وَضَعْتُهَا أُنثَىٰ وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا وَضَعَتْ وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالْأُنثَىٰ وَإِنِّي سَمَّيْتُهَا مَرْيَمَ وَإِنِّي أُعِيذُهَا بِكَ وَذُرِّيَّتَهَا مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ * فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ وَأَنبَتَهَا نَبَاتًا حَسَنًا وَكَفَّلَهَا زَكَرِيَّا كُلَّمَا دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا زَكَرِيَّا الْمِحْرَابَ وَجَدَ عِندَهَا رِزْقًا قَالَ يَا مَرْيَمُ أَنَّىٰ لَكِ هَٰذَا قَالَتْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ} سورة آل عمران 35-37.

Thus, the believing woman should always pray for guidance and for success in both lives.

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    Thus, instead of claiming that women are weaker and are unable to do great achievements, the wise believing woman should try her best to gain great reward and attain high status in religion. 

  First, the wise believing woman tries to follow the Right Path, to obey the rules of God in all of her matters, in her prayer, in her fasting, in doing acts of goodness, and in staying away from sins.  In short, in her piety.

   Second, the wise believing woman tries to guard her chastity, paying special attention to her hijab, avoiding going out unnecessarily, avoiding attracting the attention of other men in any form, and always maintains her shyness and modesty, like a persevered pearl.

   Third, the wise believing woman tries to please her husband, to obey him in permissible things, to take care of his needs, to keep a happy and bright home, and to expect the great reward promised for doing that.

   Fourth, the wise believing woman tries to raise righteous children, who fear God and obey His rules in all aspects of life.  Moreover, she tries to raise great men and women, leaders of this nation, both in religion and other fields that may benefit other people.

   And fifth, the wise believing woman always prays her Lord, she asks God to fulfill her wishes, to grant her from His bounty, to give her success in both lives, and to grant her great reward and Paradise.

  If the Muslim woman did the above five things, then her level will rise by the will of God, and may even surpass the levels of some men!  And God knows best.

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