Making home a peaceful abode

Strong family ties built on the teachings of Qur’an and Sunnah provide the necessary foundation for a happy and joyous household and in turn contribute to the overall health of a society. On the other hand, members of troubled families struggle to maintain calm within and watch helplessly as day to day troubles tarnish and strain their relationships, and as a result grapple with daily stress in their lives. In extreme cases, this might result in corrupting the very foundations of societies at large. As family members, therefore, everyone has the obligation to take the necessary measures to strengthen these foundations.
Having a family is a blessing and its members must work to make family life at home peaceful and joyful. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And Allah has made for you in your homes an abode …” (Qur’an, 16:80)
A home is also a place of protection from the fitnah (corruption) of the outside world. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The safety of a man at times of fitnah is in his staying home.”
Islamic teachings based on the foundation of the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) provide us with those guidelines. To benefit from those guidelines, we ought to “live” Islam within our families. We do not become Muslims simply by being born into a Muslim family. Rather, Islamic character is formed from a combination of parental efforts, personal struggle, prayers and supplications.
The necessity to enliven Islam within our families is underscored by Allah telling us in the Qur’an to protect ourselves and our family members from the fire. He says: “O you who believe! Protect yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not the commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.” (Qur’an, 66:6)
Protecting one’s family from the fire refers to fostering a guiding environment for our families. The Prophet (peace be upon him), too, stressed that we all actively help lead our families in the right direction. He said: “Allah 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.”
We know that the walls of a home have little to do with the building of healthy dynamics within family members.
That usually comes from living our lives according to the principles of Islam. So, how do we live Islam within our families and nurture a good home? This post reviews six principles that families can use to live Islam within their families. This in turn can help in building the foundations of a joyous family.

Make home a place for the family to worship Allah
Let us start with the basics. Allah clearly tells that He created us to worship Him. That involves following His commands in our daily lives as well as remembering Him through various Ibadah such as prayers, Qur’an recitation and so on.
Within a family, we need to ensure all that are needed to fulfill our minimum responsibilities of worshiping Him along with helping others to perform theirs. For example, Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah used to pray qiyam at night, and at the time of witr he would wake her up to pray witr. (Reported by Muslim, Sharh al-Nawawi, 6/23)
The importance of family members frequently engaging in Allah’s worship at home is evident through other Hadiths as well as the Qur’an. Allah says in the Qur’an: “And We inspired Moses and his brother (saying): ‘Take dwellings for your people in Egypt, and make your dwellings as places for your worship, and perform Al-Salah, and give glad tidings to the believers’.” (Qur’an, 10:87) In a Hadith, the Messenger of Allah said: “Do not turn your houses into graves …” (Reported by Muslim, 1/539)
One of the signs of a home that is filled with Allah’s remembrance is for it to become lively at tahajjud, fajr, and other prayers. This habit alone can bring tremendous peace to one’s household.
The importance of this habit is obvious from a Hadith where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The likeness of a house in which Allah is remembered and the house in which Allah is not remembered is that of the living and the dead, respectively.”
With regard to men, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The best prayer is a man’s prayer in his house, apart from the prescribed prayers (which should be in a masjid).”(Reported by Al-Bukhari, Al-Fath) With regard to women, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The best prayer for women is (that offered) in the furthest (innermost) part of their houses.” (Al-Tabaraani, Sahih Al-Jami)
A home filled with the remembrance of the Lord will no doubt find an aura of peace and tranquility in its midst that it may not otherwise find possible.

Keep Satan out of the house
Allah has told us in the Qur’an that Satan is our enemy and we should do everything to keep Satan out of our lives. Satan hurts us by misguiding us toward evil deeds, making the bad look acceptable, bringing misfortune in our lives and families, and so on.
The more we succeed in keeping Satan’s tactics and curses away from our lives and our homes, the fewer will be the fights, arguments, misunderstandings, etc., and the more will we enjoy Allah’s peace and blessings.
Both Allah and the Prophet (peace be upon him) have told us how to ward off Satan’s whispers and other evil tactics. For example, welcoming anybody entering one’s house by greetings of “Assalamualaikum.”
The Messenger of Allah said: “When any one of you enters home and mentions the name of Allah while entering or eating, Shaitan says (to himself): ‘You have no place to stay and nothing to eat here.’ If someone enters and does not mention the name of Allah (the Shaitan) says (to himself), ‘You have a place to stay.’ If he does not mention the name of Allah when he eats, (the Shaitan says), ‘You have a place to stay and something to eat’.”(Imam Ahmad, Al-Musnad, Muslim)
The Messenger of Allah said: “If a man goes out of his house and says, ‘Bismillah, tawakkaltu ‘ala Allah, la hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah (In the name of Allah, I put my trust in Allah, there is no help and no strength except in Allah),’ it will be said to him, ‘This will take care of you, you are guided, you have what you need and you are protected.’ The Shaitan will stay away from him, and another Shaitan will say (to himself), ‘What can you do with a man who is guided, provided for and protected?’” (Abu Dawood and Al-Tirmidhi, Sahih Al-Jaami)
Another tactic to keep Satan away from the house is for family members to recite Surah Al-Baqarah regularly. As this surah is long, family members can alternate in the recitation of the surah. The Messenger of Allah said: “Do not make your houses into graves. The Satan flees from a house in which Surah Al-Baqarah is recited.” (Muslim).
He (peace be upon him) also said: “Allah wrote a document 2,000 years before He created the heavens and the earth, which is kept near the Throne, and He revealed two verses of it with which He concluded Surah Al-Baqarah. If they are recited in a house for three consecutive nights, the Satan will not approach it.” (Imam Ahmad in Al-Musnad and others, Sahih Al-Jami)
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Courtesy: iqrasense.com