Islamic Home

KHUTBAH ABOUT AN ISLAMIC HOME

I derived most of the content for this khutbah from islam-qa.com

inshaAllah the topic of the khutbah is “Islamic Home”. Alhamdulillah all of us are muslims, so naturally all our homes are Islamic homes. Then why do we have this discussion regarding an Islamic home. Its because there are certain injunctions in the shariah which need to be implemented in our homes for it to be qualified as a truly Islamic home. I tried to prepare a list of a few of these and may Allah SWT give us the ability to implement these in our homes. Then Allah SWTs mercy and barakah will descend onto our homes.

There are many motives for the believer to pay attention to putting his house in order.

Firstly: protecting himself and his family from the Fire of Hell, and keeping them safe from the burning punishment:

O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allaah, but do that which they are commanded.? [al-Tahreem 66:6 ? interpretation of the meaning].

Secondly: the great responsibility borne by the head of the household on the Day of Reckoning.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ?Allaah will ask every shepherd (or responsible person) about his flock (those for whom he was responsible), whether he took care of it or neglected it, until He asks a man about his household.?

Thirdly: the home is a place to protect oneself, to keep away from evil and to keep one's own evil away from people. It is the refuge prescribed by Islam at times of fitnah (strife, tribulation).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ?The safety of a man at times of fitnah is in his staying home.?

The Muslim can see the benefit of this advice when he is residing in a foreign land where he is unable to change much of the evil around him. Then he will have a refuge which, when he enters it, will protect him from doing haraam things or looking at haraam things, and will protect his wife from wanton display and unveiling, and will protect his children from bad company.

Fourthly: people usually spend most of their time at home, especially when it is very hot or very cold, when it is raining, early or late in the day, and after finishing work or school, so this time should be spent in worship and halaal pursuits, otherwise it will be spent in wrongdoing.

Fifthly and most importantly, paying attention to the home is the most important means of building a Muslim society, because the society is formed of the households and families that form its building blocks. Households form neighbourhoods, and neighbourhoods form societies. If the building blocks are sound, the society will be based on the laws of Allaah filled with goodness that evil cannot penetrate. Then Muslim homes will produce pillars of society who will reform and guide it aright, such as exemplary daiyahs, seekers of knowledge, righteous wives, caring mothers and all other types of reformers.

The following are a few suggestions to make our homes truly Islamic. May Allah SWT give us the ability to implement them.

1) Choosing the right spouse: Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: A woman may be married for four reasons: for her property, her status. her beauty and her religion, so try to get one who is religious, may your hand be besmeared with dust. – meaning may you prosper.

2) Guiding the spouse: It is important that the husband and wife know what are each other’s rights and try their best to fulfill them. They should treat each other with kindness and compassion. Also they should strive to guide each other in fulfilling the religious duties. These duties include the strengthening of Imaan, correcting the worship, encouraging each other to pray at night, read and understand the Quran, do zikr, give charity, helping to choose pious friends, enjoining good and forbidding evil.

3) The home should be a place for remembrance of Allah: "The example of a home in which Allah is remembered and the example of a home in which Allah is not remembered, is like comparing the living and the dead." (Muslim).

The home should be a place of worship: This means that salah is established within the home at its required time and that members of the family pray in congregation when several are present. The family may also designate a specific area for prayer and maintain its uniqueness and cleanliness. For women, it is better to pray each prayer within the home. For men, it is recommended to pray voluntary prayers at home after having prayed obligatory prayers in the masjid. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said: "The voluntary prayer in the home is better than the voluntary prayer with the people. It is like the obligatory prayer of the man in congregation being better than praying the obligatory by himself." (Sahih al-Jaami). This is to ensure that homes are made places of worship just as the masajids. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ?May Allaah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays, then he wakes up his wife to pray, and if she refuses he throws water in her face.? (Reported by Ahmad and Abu Dawood. Saheeh al-Jaami?, 3488).

4) Reciting Surah Baqarah and Ayatul Kursi: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said: "Recite Surat Al-Baqarah in your houses, for the Satan does not enter a house in which Surat Al-Baqarah is recited." (Sahih al-Jaami). He also said: "When you go to your bed, recite Ayatul Kursi: 'Allah! There is no god but Him, the Ever-Living, the One Who Sustains and Protects all that exists', to the end, for then there will remain over you a guardian from Allah, and Satan will not come near you until morning." (Bukhari).

5) The home should be a place for teaching and learning: It is the responsibility of the head of the household to make sure his family members get the religious knowledge required and build the imaan. For this purpose, a fixed time can be set aside daily in which all the members of the household gather together and read from the tafsir of Quran or the books of hadith. The children will be very much benefited by these halaqahs as they build a strong foundation of Deen which will make them strong muslims inshaAllah in the future.

6) Having an Islamic Library at home: This may include having books, cassettes and CDs. Books may include, Quran, Tafsir of Quran, Books on the biography of Rasoolullah (SAS), Riyadh-us-Saliheen etc.

7) Inviting good and righteous people to the house: When righteous people enter the house, they bring many benefits in that their conversations are always filled with beneficial talks of Deen. We should always make dua that Allah Taala grant us righteous friends. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhe wasallam, said: "Keep company with a believer only, and let your food be eaten only by the righteous." (Abu Dawud, Tirmithi).

8) Keeping evils away from the home: Unfortunately today many evils have crept into the houses of muslims thereby corrupting our societies and leading to the fall of this Ummah. Some of them are Television (inshaAllah a separate khutbah is needed to highlight the evil effects of TV), where hours and hours are spent in front of it doing nothing. Music - The messenger of Allah said: "A people of my ummah will drink wine, calling it by other than its real name. Merriment will be made for them through the playing of musical instruments and the singing of lady singers. Allah will cleave the earth under them and turn others into apes and swine." There should be no statues or pictures of animate objects for angels do not enter such a home. The telephone should be used for beneficial purposes and not for backbiting. Also there should not intermixing of non mahram men and women in the houses and arrangement should be made so that the men and women sit separately.