"I am Just a Housewife"

Written by: Sister Soukaina Belahcen

Nowadays if you ask housewives, "What are you doing in your life?" The reply that is usually given is, "Nothing…I am just a house wife."

The hardships that she endures in the house and of taking care of her family, this has been made to seem like "nothing" to her in the contemporary world because she does not get paid and she does not clock in and clock out.

The idea of success and achievement of oneself with many women nowadays has become such that she is not considered successful unless she leaves her home and leaves behind her traditional role as a woman, which is taking care of her family, raising her children with correct Islamic upbringing, and managing the internal affairs of the home. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock…A woman is the guardian of her husband’s home and his children and she is responsible for them…" [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 7138]

The analogy of success and achievement of the self in the materialistic western world is destruction. A Muslim woman should understand that feminist ideas (in this case being that: a housewife is not as successful as a working woman) have no weight in the Islamic religion at all. This topic does not need to be debated because the truth is clear for those of insight (Ashab al-Basira) and sound disposition (al-Fitra as-Salima).

Only those who understand the true meaning of the Qur'an and Sunnah concerning the difference between a man and a woman, the differences between their roles and responsibilities, and the woman's duty of staying home, the proper Islamic hijab, and the prohibition of mixing between the sexes, only for them will the veil of falsehood drop and the desire of fitting into modern societal standards fade away.

Let's recognise, praise, and show gratitude to housewives and stay-at-home mothers. You are successful and you are doing a lot! May Allah bless you all!