Home Sweet Home Sakinah

I was listening to this lecture on the Rights and Responsibilities of Marriage by Shaikh Hamza Yusuf and he mentions in the beginning of the lecture that in Arabic the word for home is “maskan”, which is the place of “sakina”. He goes onto explain that you have “harakat” (movement) and “sakanat” (stillness), therefore sakinah is about stillness and tranquillity. What we look for in the world is the sakinah or stillness , what we find on entering paradise is sakinah, hence the utterance of the dwellers of paradise of “salam” (peace) again and again. As men and women we are separated and incomplete, on coming together we find wholeness.

Parts of this lecture did make me blush I have to say, but it made home seem like such a wonderful place. I have always maintained that my home is my sanctuary, the place that I find freedom from the stresses of the world and the place where I can do and be whatever I want. As a Muslim it is the place where I am the lady of the house and where having the status of mother, I am given a rank by Allah (SWT) far higher than I often feel I deserve.

We have the power to make our homes whatever we want; a place of pain and sadness or a place of tranquillity and comfort. We can make our homes hell or heaven for our husbands and a place of happiness and learning children or somewhere they are desperate to get away from.

Alhamdulillah as Muslims we are so lucky that the day to day tasks we undertake are the same as everyone else, yet in our homes they become acts of worship. The mother waking in the night to tend to her child, the pregnant women patiently bearing her discomfort – both are mujahidah (warriors) in the sight of Islam. The lady of the house who prepares a meal for her family with love and care is in a state of ibadah (worship). The person who cleans their home and remembers Allah (SWT) at the same time is engaged in worship. Even the smallest act done for the sake of pleasing Allah (SWT) is ibadah.

If this is the blessing Allah (SWT) has showered on us, that even our smallest acts are worship and are imbued with purpose and good intention, is it any wonder that the home of Muslims who remember Allah (SWT) become places of sakeenah? What positive actions can you undertake today to make your home a place of peace and comfort for others?