House Work
CHAPTER SIXTY
SUNNAH OF HOUSEHOLD CHORES
O Allah (The Exalted) bless our lord and master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as many times as those who remember him do so.
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would gladly take part in the housework. Clean the house out, he would feed the animals, milk the goats, put patches on his clothes, bring water from the well and if need arose he would mend his shoes too. If anything were required for the home the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would get it. He would take part in helping the servants to grain the flour. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not have any problem in doing the housework and would take part in doing as much work as possible.
‘Aisha, al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri and others (may Allah be pleased them all) described him that he would work in the house with his family. He would delouse his clothes, mend his sandals, serve himself, sweep the house and hobble the camel. He would take the camels to graze and eat with the servants. He would knead bread with them and carry his own goods from the market. i
Doing the housework
Abu Sa’eed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) states that, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would do the housework with his own blessed hands. He would sit with his servants and eat with them and would assist the servants with their jobs.” ii
Amrah (may Allah be pleased with her) reports that someone asked ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that, “What was the usual practise of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) at home?” She replied: “He was a human from among other humans. He himself removed the lice from his clothing, milked his goats, and did all his work himself.” iii
Lice were not found in the clothing of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). It is evident that lice appears from dirt of the body and multiplies with perspiration. The whole body of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was noor (light). There can be no questions of dirt in the same manner his perspiration was like rose that is used as a scent. How can it be possible for lice to live in the essence of rose. Therefore here it will mean that he looked for lice suspecting it from another person to have crept onto his clothing.
The broken strap of his shoe
‘Abd-Allah bin Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) states that, “Once the Messenger of Allah’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) strap broke off his blessed shoes and he was repairing it with his own hands. I requested, ‘O Prophet of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) give it to me I will repair it.’ On my request he said, ‘Of course you will repair it but I do not like to show my status by getting my jobs done by you.’
The companions would request the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) time and time to let them carry out the jobs, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would say, “I do not like to live amongst you as a great person.” iv
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) never thought of himself above others or any job below his dignity. When out with the companions he insisted in doing his share of the job in spite of their protests.
The Prophet takes part
Once on a journey a few companions indented slaughtering a goat. They distributed the work amongst themselves. One took the responsibility of slaughtering the animal, the other of removing the skin, one of cooking it. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “I am responsible for collecting the wood needed for cooking.” The companions said, “O Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) we will do all the work.” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant 2 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
i Ash-Shifa, Chapter two, The Prophet’s perfect Qualities of Character. Section 19, His humility, p. 68
ii Ash-Shifa
iii Shamail-e-Tirmidhi, p. 352
iv Zurqaani
v Shamail-e-Tirmidhi, p. 342
vi Bukhari
vii Musnad Imam Ahmad & Madarij-un-Nabuwah
him peace) said, “I also understand that you will gladly do all the work, but, I do not like my being the most distinguished in this group, and Allah (The Exalted) also does not like it.” v
Abu Musa Al Ashari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “On every Muslim there is enjoined (a compulsory) Sadaqa (alms).” They (the people) said, “If one has nothing?” He said, “He should work with his hands so that he may benefit himself and give in charity.” They said, “If he cannot work or does not work?” He said, “Then he should help the oppressed unhappy person (by word or action or both).” They said, “If he does not do it?” He said, “Then he should enjoin what is good (or said what is reasonable).” They said, “If he does not do that?” He said, “Then he should refrain from doing evil, for that will be considered for Him as a Sadaqa (charity).” vi
Supplication when feeling tired
Umme Salma (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that, “Fatima (may Allah be pleased with her) came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to ask for a slave to assist her. Her hands had turned red due to grinding and drawing water. The colour of her face had also changed due to cooking and sweeping. She came and found that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was not present. When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) arrived he enquired, ‘Why did my daughter come?’ He was told, to ask for a slave. Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) went to her house and asked her, ‘You wanted a slave? There is no helper at the moment, however, when one is present then you will get one.’ He then said, ‘The worldly work is easy perform it whichever way you can. Be a good servant of Allah (The Exalted), fear him and look after your husband. I will show you such a deed that is better then a slave, before sleeping recite Subhanallah (All purity belongs to Allah) 33 times, Alhamdulillah (All praise be to Allah) 33 times, and 34 times Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest).’” vii
This is the reason this tasbih is also known as Tasbih-e-Fatima. Many people to rid their tiredness turn to massage parlours and get massaged by the opposite gender which is strictly forbidden. Even if people get massaged by the same gender their bodies are not covered according to the Shari’ah (Islamic law). When a person recites the Tasbih given by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) it will rid you of tiredness as well as give you spiritual benefit. May Allah (The Exalted) save us from using forbidden methods of ridding tiredness and give us the ability to perform the remembrance of Allah (The Exalted), Ameen.
Respected brother/sister in Islam! We should also take part in the housework and if we do it with the intention that doing the housework is the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) then the work will become worship and we will be rewarded for it. Subhanallah!
Manners of Household chores
1. Keep your rooms tidy.
2. Put your clothes away.
3. Try to iron your own clothes.
4. Assist in shopping.
5. Help in preparing the food.
6. Take the food out yourselves.
7. Wash the dishes yourselves.
8. The women in the house are not slaves.
May Allah (The Exalted) give us the ability to take part in the house work and gain reward for it too, Ameen.