قرة العين - الحلقة 5

[Music] Often at weddings or graduation parties or the like, I don't usually look at the bride or the graduate, but rather I look at the father or mother, because the joy that appears in their eyes, glory be to God, is very special. A picture with my parents after discussing my PhD thesis. Whenever someone sees it, they say, "He looks happier than you." And the most distinguished of these looks is the father's look at his son as he sees him performing acts of obedience, doing the work that will be the cause of his eternal happiness, to an endless extent in the Hereafter. God Almighty said, "And those who say, 'Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and our offspring comfort to our eyes and make us for the righteous an example.'" "Qurratu 'ayn" (comfort to the eyes) is what pleases the eye when looking at it and rejoices in it. And the meaning of the verse is: "Make our wives and our offspring righteous, that our eyes may be comforted by that, and we may rejoice in that." So, "Qurratu 'ayn" in spouses and offspring is for a person to see them obedient to God Almighty. Therefore, this was from the supplication of the prophets, peace be upon them. God informed us about our master Abraham that he said in his supplication, "My Lord, make this city safe, and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols." He also said, "My Lord, make me an establish-er of prayer, and [also] from my offspring. Our Lord, and accept my supplication." And this is Zechariah, peace be upon him, saying, "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication." If someone has a commercial project and sees it flourishing, or plants an orchard and the time for the fruit to appear and be harvested arrives, he rejoices in that because he benefits in this world from the success of his work. So, how about someone who succeeded in reforming his home, himself, his family, and his children, and looks at righteous Muslims who learned righteousness from him? They are dutiful to him in this world, and he hopes to benefit from them after his death, just as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "When the son of Adam dies, his deeds are cut off except for three," and he mentioned among them, "a righteous child who prays for him." And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Shall I not inform you of the best that a person can hoard? The best that a person can have is a righteous wife. When he looks at her, she pleases him, and he rejoices in looking at her." And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Indeed, among the fortunes is a righteous wife." However, just as the success of a project requires planning and work, and a tree needs care and follow-up until it bears fruit, reforming people requires more work, as they struggle against their own desires, the whispers of Satan, and are tempted by pleasures and desires. Reforming them requires diligent, organized work based on sound principles. And at the beginning of this path is to choose someone who is prepared to lay these foundations with you. Yes, you are not perfect, and I am not telling you not to choose except someone who is perfect. We are all deficient, and we all have flaws. But if you want to plant, there is land, even if it has flaws, but you hope that with some reform it will produce good fruit. And the barren desert land is far from producing fruit. Therefore, the Prophet, peace be upon him, warned about this concerning both parties, the man and the woman, saying, peace be upon him, "If there comes to you one whose religion and character you are pleased with, then marry him." And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "A woman is married for four reasons." People usually seek marriage with a woman for four things: for her wealth, her lineage, and her beauty. All these things are sought by some people in marrying a woman. But what is the characteristic that the Prophet, peace be upon him, warned about and urged to seek? He said, peace be upon him, "And for her religion, so may your hands be rubbed with dust." "So may your hands be rubbed with dust" is an expression used by Arabs to urge something. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "So marry the one who is religious, and may your hands be rubbed with dust." If this happens, the matter between them, God willing, will be based on cooperation, mutual advice, and reminding each other of good. Yes, they live their lives, work, and take care of children, food, drink, housing, and clothing. Yes, the spouses in the house are not like those in the mosque, whose only concern is prayer. But while they are busy with worldly matters, they have consideration for religious matters and strive to invest this relationship between them in whatever brings them happiness, God willing, in this life and after death. And religion has drawn for us a bright picture of a couple in whom that was found. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "May God have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, and wakes his wife, so she prays." Our talk is not about obligatory prayer, but rather about voluntary prayers. He gets up at night and prays, and wakes his wife, so she prays. If she refuses to wake up, he sprinkles water on her face. Water is gently sprinkled on her face until she wakes up. The intention is to be gentle with her and strive for her to rise for the worship of her Lord, acting upon the saying of God Almighty, "And cooperate in righteousness and piety." He, peace be upon him, said, "May God have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays, and wakes her husband, so he prays. If he refuses, she sprinkles water on his face." When this happens, imagine with me, it is a normal matter between spouses that they get up at night to pray. This indicates a high level of understanding, cooperation, and tranquility between them. It indicates a shared understanding of the purpose of human life in this world and the wisdom in spending time in it. But to reach such a beautiful and radiant picture, there are many things that precede and pave the way for this matter. If there are disputes between the man and the woman all day long, and the conclusion is a problem before sleep, and the matter ends with each of them turning their back to the other in bed, do you think that these two, after a few hours, will get up to pray at night together? If you expect your wife to sleep so that you can rest from her constant complaining, and she expects you to sleep so that she can rest from your continuous shouting, do you think you will wake up together at night to pray? And this does not mean that Muslim spouses have nothing between them but prayer and the remembrance of God. It does not mean that their hearts are not attached to each other, and all their talk is "God said," "The Messenger of God said." It does not mean that Muslim spouses have no feelings except the fear of God Almighty, and they think of nothing but the Hereafter. It is not like that. Rather, there is a special affection between them. Look with me at what Aisha, may God be pleased with her, narrated, where she said that Halah bint Khuwaylid, the sister of Khadijah, may God be pleased with her, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him, asked for permission to enter upon the Messenger of God, peace be upon him. Aisha said, "I recognized the permission of Khadijah when I heard Halah's voice. It reminded him of Khadijah, so he felt at ease and rejoiced, and said, 'O God, this is it.'" The Prophet, peace be upon him, his movement was a reminder of Khadijah, may God be pleased with her, who supported him and helped him in his noble call and eased his burden. God Almighty said, "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." So, congratulations to whoever made a good choice and was happy in this world and the Hereafter. And praise be to God, and may God Almighty bless and grant peace to His Messenger. Ramadan is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a light in the expanse of time, and it flows like the gentleness of a river. In it is the Night of Decree, a light in our evenings, and it erases our sorrows and flows in our eyes. And from it is the splendor of dawn.