In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere.
Home! Home!
Sweet, sweet home!
There's no place like home
There's no place like home! ............lyrics from a 19th century song
Allah Almighty calls human home a place of comfort and peace, the highest qualification on human home.
... وَاللَّـهُ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّن بُيُوتِكُمْ سَكَنًا[Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:80]
And Allah has made for you from your homes a place of comfort...
By this, it is evident that the real purpose of our homes is to have comfort of the body and peace of the heart. Peace is really the peace of mind and heart, something one finds in one's home only, and peace is the greatest need indeed.
The world of today is at the height of its building craze. Limitless expenditure is incurred on their superficial finishing. But, there are very few homes among them which would provide peace of mind and heart. In fact, the artificially imposed additions in them become the very agents which destroy comfort and peace, and even in the absence of such material extravagance, the kind of people one confronts in the house is a misfortune which sucks that peace away. When such elegant houses are compared with a modest hut, the dweller of the hut who is blessed with comfort and peace for his body and heart is certainly living in a better place.
Similarly, the real purpose of marital life was also determined to be peace as Allah Almighty says,
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴿٢١[Qur'an, Ar-Rum 30:21]
And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. (21)
A married life which fails to achieve this purpose remains deprived of the real benefit destined for it. Life in our day is infested with so many customs and formalities reaching the limits of absurdity in showing what you have through all sorts of artificial veneers. To compound the problem further, the outpourings of Western cultural and social norms and products have provided everything one needs to embellish personal surroundings with artificial decor - but, it has certainly made human beings become all deprived of what would be real comfort for their bodies and peace for their hearts.
Many of our homes are full of shortcomings and neglect of Islam, so it’s time to take action.
Our home plays a vital role in this life and especially the next. It is the main place to protect yourself and your family from the fire of Hell by making your house a place of worship and encouragement of doing good deeds.
Allah Almighty says,
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَائِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَّا يَعْصُونَ اللَّـهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ ﴿٦[Qur'an, At-Tahrim 66:6]
O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded. (6)
There is a great responsibility for the head of the household on the Day of Judgement.
The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Allah will ask every shepherd about that which was entrusted to his care, whether he took care of it or neglected it, and He will even ask a man about his family. [Ibn Hibbaan, Saheeh]
The home is a way to protect yourself and keep your evil away from people. Uqbah ibn Amir asked the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: How can salvation be achieved? He replied: Control your tongue, keep to your house, and weep over your sins. [At-Tirmidhi]
A reflection point is to connect the controlling of your tongue to keeping to your house; the home is not only a place to protect yourself from the fitan (tribulations) of the outside world, but also a way to keep your own evil away from others.
How To Bring True Peace and Tranquility Into Your Home?
1. Establish prayer in your home
Prayer is the first thing you will be asked about on the Day of Judgement and the first thing you should establish in your house for yourself and your family.
The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said:
The house in which remembrance of Allah is made and the house in which Allah is not remembered are like the living and the dead. [Muslim]
Is your house a place where the angels are writing down backbiting, swearing, heated arguments, violence, display between relatives or neighbors who are not mahram, where music and indecent TV programs are being played, where each family with their own gadget/electronic playing games or idling? The first step is to make your house a qiblah — a place of prayer.
The Sahabaah (Companions) used to be keen to pray at home, apart from the fard (obligatory) prayers (which they prayed in congregation in the masjid). With regard to men the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: The best of prayer is a man’s prayer in his house – apart from the prescribed prayers. [Al-Bukhaari] And: A man’s voluntary prayers in his house will bring more reward than his voluntary prayers at other people’s places, just as his obligatory prayers with the people are better than his obligatory prayers alone. [Ibn Abi Shaybah, saheeh al-Jaami’]
For women it is even better to pray in her house than in the masjid. Umm Humayd, may Allah be pleased with her, came to the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and said: O Messenger of Allah, I love to pray with you. He said: I know that you love to pray with me, but praying in your house is better for you than praying in your courtyard, and praying in your courtyard is better for you than praying in the mosque of your people, and praying in the masjid of your people is better for you than praying in my masjid. So she ordered that a prayer-place be built for her in the furthest and darkest part of her house, and she always prayed there until she met Allah (i.e., until she died). [Ahmad, Saheeh]
“Her house” refers to the room in which the woman is and “her courtyard” to the central part of the house to which all the doors are open, like the hallway. What a blessing that your house gives you the opportunity to fulfil this beautiful advice of the Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam himself.
Praying in the masjid should not be a norm for women and if a woman should go to the masjid, she should properly and modestly cover herself and behave modestly so as not to cause fitnah upon herself and others.
Play the adhaan in your house if you live in a place where there is no public adhaan. It will greatly enhance an atmosphere of emaan in your house, help you to pray on time, and have a great effect on the children.
2. Revive the sunan of the house
Incorporating the Prophetic examples and supplications in our daily lives will bring blessings into our homes. The sunan of eating, drinking, sleeping, waking up, before entering the toilet, after leaving the toilet,waking up, purifying yourself, and getting dressed all take place in your house.
a) Sunnah of leaving your house
The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: If a man goes out of his house and says:
بِسْمِ اللهِ ، تَوَكَّلْـتُ عَلى اللهِ وَلا حَوْلَ وَلا قُـوَّةَ إِلاّ بِالله[Abu Dawood, At-Tirmidhi]
Bismillaahi, tawakkaltu `alaa-llaahi, wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illaa billaah
In the name of Allah, I put my trust in Allah, and there is no help and no strength except in Allah.
It will be said to him: this will take care of you, you are guided, you have what you need and you are protected. The shaytan will stay away from him, and another shaytan will say to him: what can you do with a man who is guided, provided for and protected?
الَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أَضِلَّ، أّوْ أُضَلَّ، أَوْ أَزِلَّ، أَوْ أُزَلَّ، أَوْ أَظْلِمَ، أَوْ أُظْلَمَ، أَوْ أَجْهَلَ، أَوْ يُجْهَلَ عَلَيَّ".[Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, An-Nasa'i, At-Tirmidhi]
Allaahumma 'innee 'a'oothu bika 'an 'adhilla, 'aw 'udhalla, 'aw 'azilla, 'aw 'uzalla, 'aw 'adhlima, 'aw 'udhlama, 'aw 'ajhala 'aw yujhala 'alayya.
O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I misguide others , or I am misguided by others , lest I cause others to err or I am caused to err , lest I abuse others or be abused, and lest I behave foolishly or meet with the foolishness of others.
b) Sunnah of entering your house
When you enter your house say:
بِسْـمِ اللهِ وَلَجْنـا، وَبِسْـمِ اللهِ خَـرَجْنـا، وَعَلـى رَبِّنـا تَوَكّلْـنا.[Abu Dawud 4/325.]
Bismillaahi walajnaa, wa bismillaahi kharajnaa, wa ‘alaa rabbinaa tawakkalnaa
In the Name of Allah we enter , in the Name of Allah we leave , and upon our Lord we depend.
Then say As-Salaamu 'Alaykum.
Muslim [Hadith no. 2018] says that one should mention the Name of Allah when entering the home and when beginning to eat; and that the devil, hearing this, says: "There is no shelter for us here tonight and no food."
c) Bless your household by saying salaam
Saying the salaam when you enter your house is mustahabb (recommended).
Anas ibn Malik said: The Messenger of Allah salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to me: O my son, when you enter upon your family and say salaam, it will be a blessing for you and the members of your household. [At-Tirmidhi, hasan]
Allah Almighty says,
فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُم بُيُوتًا فَسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ تَحِيَّةً مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّـهِ مُبَارَكَةً طَيِّبَةً ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللَّـهُ لَكُمُ الْآيَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿٦١ ...[Quran, An-Nur 24:61]
... But when you enter houses, give greetings of peace upon each other - a greeting from Allah (i.e. say: As-Salaamu ‘Alaykum — peace be on you), blessed and good. Thus does Allah make clear to you the verses [of ordinance] that you may understand. (61)
d) Use the siwaak (tooth stick) when you enter your house
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: When the Messenger of Allah entered his house, the first thing he would do was use siwaak. [Muslim]
e) Recite Surah al-Baqarah in your house
The Messenger of Allah salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Do not make your houses into graves. The shaytan flees from (and in another variation: does not enter) a house in which surah al-Baqarah is recited. [Muslim, Al-Haakim]
f) Recite the last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah for three nights
The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said: Allah wrote a document two thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, which is kept near the Throne, and He revealed two verses of it with which He concluded Surah al-Baqarah. If they are recited in a house for three consecutive nights, the shaytan will not approach it. [Ahmad]
May Allah bless our homes and protect them from evil. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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