Seeking knowledge and acting upon it
A Muslim home is founded on the principle of seeking knowledge and acting upon it; its occupants teach and advise one another. A father is endowed with knowledge and piety, and he instructs his children and urges them to follow the Shareeah etiquette. He edifies them on the rulings pertaining to ritual purity and prayer and the Islamic etiquette of seeking permission, and he teaches them what is lawful and what is unlawful. He directs, teaches, and advises his household members constantly, and thus the home would be founded on learning about the truth and acting upon it.
Hayaa (bashfulness and modesty)
The Muslim home is founded on Hayaa, a trait that incorporates all goodness and yields nothing but good outcomes. It is a home that is free of whatever offends Hayaa and human dignity or promotes vice and bad morals.
A manifestation of Hayaa is that the household secrets are honored and the disagreements are kept private and concealed from others, especially the private relationship between a man and his wife, as the Prophet said: Among those who will have the worst position in the Sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection is a man who has intimate relations with his wife and then divulges her secret. [Muslim]
Cooperation in righteousness and piety
In the Muslim home, the occupants cooperate in performing acts of righteousness and upholding Taqwa (cautious piety) and obedience to Allah, the Exalted and His Messenger . If there is a weakness in a womans religiosity or shortcomings in her conduct, a husband who is righteous would try to rectify such weakness and exert effort to instruct her and guide her away from whatever contravenes the Shareeah.
Likewise, a Muslim woman cooperates with her husband in fostering his religiosity; whenever she notices any shortcomings or faults on his part, she offers her sincere advice and guidance, adheres to patience and endurance, and strives to save her husband from the punishment of Allah, The Almighty. Thus, a Muslim home is founded on mutual solidarity, support, cooperation, exchange of sincere advice, and devotion to good doing and Tawqa. It was narrated on the authority of Aaishah that the Messenger of Allah used to perform Witr prayer (voluntary night prayer) while she would be sleeping; and when the Witr prayer was yet to be observed, he would say: Wake up Aaishah to perform the Witr prayer. [Muslim] He also said: May Allah have mercy upon a man who wakes up at night, prays, and wakes his wife to pray; and if she refuses, he sprinkles water on her face, and may Allah have mercy upon a woman who wakes up at night, prays, and wakes her husband to pray; and if he refuses, she sprinkles water on his face. [Abu Dawood and others]
Honoring the neighbor and showing hospitality to the guest
Another distinct characteristic of the Muslim home is that it is founded on honoring neighbors and showing hospitality to guests. Therefore, the Prophet said: Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day let him honor his neighbor, and whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day let him be hospitable to his guest as due (one day and one night). [Al-Bukhari] He also said: By Allah, he is not a (true) believer! By Allah, he is not a (true) believer! By Allah, he is not a (true) believer! He was asked, Who is he, O Messenger of Allah? He said: The one whose neighbor does not feel safe from his evil. [Al-Bukhari]
Among the rights of a neighbor over a Muslim are the following: Support him when he seeks your support, help him when he asks for your help, lend him when he asks to borrow from you, visit him when he is sick, and follow his funeral when he dies. All of those are among the rights of the neighbor.
Preservation of sound fitrah (natural disposition)
A Muslim home keenly maintains and preserves the sound Fitrah of its members; a man guards his manhood, and a woman guards her femininity. Accordingly, boys are protected from imitating women, and girls from imitating men. The imitation of the opposite sex is a manifestation of permissiveness and westernization. It is a source of evil and a means of promoting dissoluteness and depravity in the society, and it opens the doors of corruption. It was narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah cursed women who imitate men and men who imitate women. [Al-Bukhari]
Our homes are a trust, our wives are a trust therein, and our sons and daughters are a trust therein, and we shall be held accountable before Allah, the Exalted for everything that happens in our homes and for whomever He placed under our care and guardianship. He shall ask every guardian about those under his care, as whether he fulfilled their due rights over him or fell short in that?
Oh Allah, preserve the homes of Muslims and help us build them on the foundations that You love and are pleased with. Ameen.
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