Rifqan bil-Qawarir - Nasa'ih lil-Azwaj
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- Rifqan bil-Qawarir - Nasa'ih lil-Azwaj
Rifqan bil-Qawarir: Nasa'ih lil-Azwaj (Gentleness with Glass Vessels: Advice for Husbands) is an Islamic marital guide compiled and edited by Amat Allah bint Abd al-Muttalib, focusing on spousal harmony, marital rights, and counsel for husbands in light of the Quran and the Sunnah .
Background and Purpose
The work was prepared as the first installment in a series titled Silsilat al-Sa'adah al-Zawjiyyah 'ala Manhaj Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (The Marital Happiness Series According to the Methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah) . Amat Allah bint Abd al-Muttalib, who served as the supervisor of the women's forums on the website of the Prophet's Mosque Library, compiled the treatise to address rising rates of divorce, marital discord, and social fragmentation . The book seeks to guide Muslim families toward stability and righteousness by drawing upon Islamic texts and the practices of the early Muslim community (the salaf) .
Contents and Themes
The treatise addresses practical, ethical, and legal aspects of marital life, emphasizing that marital stability is foundational to a sound society . Key topics covered in the work include:
- Foundations of Marriage: The spiritual purposes of marriage as an act of worship, mutual comfort, and social preservation .
- Criteria for Selecting a Spouse: Standards for choosing a wife, including religious commitment, character, affection, fertility, and beauty, alongside warnings against deceptive practices or forcing marriages against a woman's consent .
- Causes of Marital Discord: Disobedience to God, neglect of mutual rights, destructive comparisons fueled by media imagery, improper interference by relatives, and the abuse or misunderstanding of marital guardianship (qiwamah) .
- Cultivating Domestic Virtue: Essential virtues such as patience, overlooking minor faults, mutual respect, and adhering to prophetic manners in treatment of wives .
Methodology and Sources
The book consists of compiled and revised essays and lectures drawn from Sunni Islamic platforms, including material adapted from sermons delivered by contemporary scholars such as Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid or Salih Al Talib at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, as well as writings by Majid ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Faryan .
In editing the material, the compiler established several methodological parameters:
- Eliminating weak (da'if) hadiths and substituting them with authentic (sahih) narrations .
- Providing precise citations for Quranic verses by surah name and verse number .
- Documenting hadiths and scholarly reports by referencing primary compendiums—primarily Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, and the four Sunan collections—along with hadith numbers .
- Adding textual evidence in footnotes for claims and advice presented in the source articles without initial citations .
Distribution
The work was made available in a single volume in electronic format via the website of the Prophet's Mosque Library (Al-Masjid an-Nabawi), with the compiler granting unrestricted rights for non-commercial printing and distribution to all Muslims .
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