(Saintly Women around Siddeeq [Part Eight] – Wife of Qari Siddeeq [rahimahullah] #5)
The wife of Qari Siddeeq (rahimahullah) truly possessed the qualities of submission and humility. Hence the manner in which she served and obeyed her husband was nothing less than outstanding.
Despite hailing from a very affluent family and being raised in the lap of comfort, after marrying Qari Siddeeq (rahimahullah), she adapted to the conditions prevalent in his home and went out of her way to see to his needs and comfort, even sacrificing her own comfort in the process.
Qari Siddeeq (rahimahullah) would often receive guests. His wife would prepare the food for the guests and when possible, she would prepare more than one dish. For many years, she saw to the needs of the guests entirely on her own. It was only later, when her daughters were old enough to assist her, that she would get them to help her in the kitchen, thereby training them as well.
Seeing to the needs of guests is no easy task, and in their case the stream of guests was continuous. Together with male guests, there would sometimes be female guests as well. They would often arrive unexpectedly or at an odd or inconvenient time. Despite this, she went out of her way in seeing to their comfort. In this regard, she could not tolerate receiving a guest without having food prepared and thus always ensured that some food was kept aside for the unexpected guest.
On one occasion, she asked a child to bring her some newspaper which she wished to place in the cupboard to line the shelf. Qari Siddeeq (rahimahullah) merely mentioned that this action could amount to disrespect, as the name of Allah Ta‘ala and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) are sometimes printed in Urdu newspapers. Hence, to use such a newspaper as a lining in the cupboard would amount to disrespect, as items would be placed on top of it. When she heard her husband express his concern, she removed all the newspapers from the cupboards and further vowed to never line the cupboards with such newspapers again.
She was once dressed and on the verge of departing for a wedding in another village. Precisely at that moment, she learnt that her husband was not happy for her to attend. She cancelled her plans and did not attend that wedding.
(Hayaat-e-Siddeeq pg. 238 and Tazkiratus Siddeeq vol. 1, pg. 613)
Lessons:
1. Honouring and entertaining the guest to the best of one’s ability is a basic teaching of Islam. The ideal is that we always keep some food, baking, etc., aside so that guests will always be welcome and well entertained in our home. By the same token, not having anything lavish to present should not become an excuse for us to avoid inviting guests to our home. Nabi (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) has taught us that guests are a source of immense barakah (blessings) entering one’s home.
2. The wife of Qari Siddeeq (rahimahullah) was so particular about her husband’s happiness that she did not wait for him to expressly tell her to avoid something. Rather, when she somehow came to know that something was going to displease him, she immediately left it out.
3. The pious friends of Allah Ta‘ala have the highest degree of respect for all things related to Deen. Hence, if a newspaper contained the name of Allah Ta‘ala and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), they would show it respect.