Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.......Thanks alot for helping in my problrem of chose between father and husband  but i got ur  mail a little late ....but then also it was important for me to know tht i did the right decison or not and by readng ur mail i got relaxed tht i did right........thanx alot for tht.....but now i hav one more problem ...my problem is my husband do not pray  do not fast i always tell him to pray had fast in the HOLY month of RAMADAN but he sometimes ignore and sometimes he just shout on me tht y i always interept him......and in new business also he is not serious he just waste his money on frnds ......and the most thing  i dont like in him is he smoke alottttt.............plz Burhan bhai help me wht should i do to stop him from alll these thingsss.......plz answer me soon i'll be waiting for ur reply desperately......may GOD BLESS U

ALLAH HAFIZ

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Check character before marriage

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question:...my problem is my husband do not pray  do not fast i always tell him to pray had fast

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 3090 Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said, 'When someone with whose (practice of) religion and character you are satisfied asks your daughter in marriage, accede to his request. If you do not do so, there will be temptation on earth and extensive corruption.'

Respected sister in Islam, the time to check and verify the character and practice of religion of one’s husband is not after one has married him….but before one agrees to marry him!

If one has chosen to marry someone who obviously neither fears Allah nor the Last Day, and is thus negligent in fulfilling his obligatory duties towards his Lord Creator…..one should not be too surprised if the person does not fulfill his duties unto his family….for it would be no more than ‘wishful thinking’ to assume that one who is negligent in fulfilling his obligatory duties unto his Lord Who Created him to fulfill his duties unto His creation!

Beloved Sister in Islam, because you chose to put yourself in this trial by not verifying the practice of religion of your husband before you decided to marry him….your options under the given conditions are very limited indeed….there is not much you can do now except bear the conditions and the trial you have brought upon yourself with patience, earnestly supplicate Allah Subhanah to have Mercy upon your husband, and strive your utmost with patience and with wisdom to instill the fear of Allah Subhanah into him.

If after your very best efforts, your husband refuses to fulfill his obligatory duties unto his Lord Creator….and you reach a stage whereby you have absolutely lost hope that your husband will ever turn to his Lord Creator and seek His Forgiveness, you are obviously well within your rights to initiate divorce proceedings against such an impious person and there would be absolutely no sin or blame upon you.

But my beloved sister, regardless of whether your husband chooses to fulfill his obligatory duties unto His Creator or unto his family….as long as you chose to remain married to him, you as a woman who sincerely fears Allah and the Last Day must make absolutely sure that you fulfill all the rights that are due from a pious and God-fearing wife unto her husband in a marriage.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan