A wife’s sacrifice to change her husband’s arrogant behaviour
Nakeela and Fatadon story
“Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah (swt) Almighty: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah (swt) do hearts find satisfaction. 013:028
As the ayah states: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah (swt) Almighty do hearts find satisfaction.
To those whose hearts when Allah (swt) Almighty is mentioned, are filled with fear, who show patient perseverance over their afflictions, keep up regular prayer, and spend (in charity) out of what We have bestowed upon them. 022:035
Allah (swt) provides guidance for the people who are sincerely and constantly doing his Zikr, after many trials they are blessed with patience, strength, faith, and courage to face the hardest task that life sometimes has to offer. Through the Zikr of Allah (swt) the signs and the miracles that come from the Zikr is not something external, it is internal. It is something internal, something in one’s mind, heart and soul. It also depends on the righteous person’s spiritual experience. With constant remembrance of Allah (swt) one will be able to experience the blessings of Allah (swt). This internal joy and satisfaction is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in several places.
The passport to attain nearness to Allah (swt) can be obtained through the great love for His Zikr and through obedience to our beloved Holy Prophet (owbp).
Nakeela was a very sincere lover of Allah (swt), and His Rasool she was constantly doing Zikr of Allah (swt), and reciting Naats, Darood and Salaam for the beloved Holy Prophet (owbp). She also loved and respected all the Prophets and Angel’s and Allah’s (swt) creations. Her husband’s name was Fatadoon; they had two son’s named Hassan and Faizul. Fatadoon was very cross, and arrogant. He was a very wealthy man, and even though he loved his family very much, he could be very cruel to them. He had some very bad habits, such as drinking heavily, and Nakeela was very afraid for her boys growing up under his influence. He was also very proud of his wealth, and he loved when the poor beggars comes to him. He would taunt them by using hurtful words. Sometimes he would throw a mere penny their way and say to them: “Beggars cannot be choosers, so take it or leave it!” Nakeela used to grieve over her husband’s arrogant behaviour, and she would say to him “Everyone of us are beggars in the sight of Allah (swt), and one day might come when you yourself will have to turn around and beg Allah (swt) for something.” Fatadoon laughed at his wife and said to her that day would never come. Nakeela replied, No one knows what Allah (swt) has in store for them, except for the righteous and the pious people who are always engaged in the remembrance of Allah (swt), and in sending Darood and Salaam on our beloved Prophet (owbp), for they are the ones who are blessed with spiritual knowledge and right guidance. It is in their hands that Allah (swt) will place His instrument of revelation and inspiration. This in turn will help them to weigh all moral issues, all questions of right and wrong. This instrument can enable the righteous knowledge as to what the positive or negative consequences of their actions or those close to them will be ahead of time. Fatadoon said: “You are constantly doing the Zikr of Allah (swt) and reciting Naat’s and Salaam on the beloved Prophet Muhammad (owbp), how come you are not blessed with this powerful instrument?” Nakeela said, “Very soon you will be able to see the result from this powerful instrument, if you decided to change your behaviour and repent for your wrong doings, but for right now I do not expect that someone as arrogant as you, who cannot see further than your nose, to read and understand the signs of Allah (swt) Almighty, I feel very sorry for you!”
One week later Fatadoon took his sons out for a horseback ride, he left the two boys to go after a big black bear, and when he came back the two boys were gone, and all he found were their shirts which were full of blood. He cried and searched in agony for hours calling out his son’s names, but yet he could not find them. When he went home and told Nakeela what happened she replied, “Are you now prepared to become a beggar?” He said, “Yes, if Allah (swt) would listen to me and give me back my sons, I would happily become his slave.” Nakeela told her husband to first seek Allah’s (swt) forgiveness, then invite over all the destitute people from the village whom he treated badly and give them a good meal, and place some money into their hands, Fatadoon interrupted Nakeela and said “But some of their hands are filthy, and covered with sores!” Nakeela said “Would you rather lose your sons just because you don’t want to touch these people?” He replied “My two sons are my joy and pride, and I would go through anything, so long as Allah (swt) would give them back to me.” Nakeela said “Alright then do as I say” Fatadoon said that he would need some time in order to do what Nakeela requested of him so in the meantime he would hire some men to look for his two sons.
After a couple of days passed and there was still no trace of the two boys Fatadoon decided to do as his wife advised him, so he invited all the destitute people to his house, he fed them, gave them money and clothing and invited them to sit with him in his supplication for forgiveness and for his sons to return to him. Days upon days passed and the only thing that Fatadoon would do was to engage in the Zikr of Allah (swt). He would plead with Allah (swt) to bring his sons back to him, but yet there was no sign of them. Five long years passed, Nakeela became very ill, and for all this time she kept all her grief inside of her, because she did not want her husband to see her weakness. She tried to be strong, and brave just to help him change, and now that he became a strong soldier of Islam, she was breaking down, she desperately wanted to confess to him, that she was the one responsible with the plan for her sons to disappear, in order to teach him a lesson and for him to turn to Allah (swt) and change his arrogant behaviour. Also she feared that her two sons might turn out like their father.
After Nakeela became sick, Fatadoon turned to her and said “I never acknowledged your kindness and faithfulness towards me. I was always so selfish in my grief; I never really asked you how you were doing. Maybe this is why Allah (swt) is still suffering me by not leading me to my sons. Nakeela was too weak to answer her husband so she just closed her eyes, and a few teardrops fell into her husbands hands, and to Fatadoon’s surprise he saw a vision of his two sons through the tears of his wife. This is the first experience of the blessed instrument of inspiration through the Zikr of Allah (swt) which they argued about earlier. The knowledge that his wife knew of the whereabouts of his son’s came to him right away. Fatadoon grabbed hold of his wife and kissed her on the forehead and told her “You are indeed one of Allah’s (swt) true and sincere servants! And a true Umma of our beloved Holy Prophet (owbp) and I am nothing more than a slave, and I could not have been more proud to be your husband as I am right now! Please forgive me for my arrogant behaviour for it is my terrible attitude that has caused our family so much pain. I know now that you know and have known all this time the whereabouts of our sons, so please tell me and I will go and bring them home.”
Nakeela smiled with great relief and thanked Allah (swt) for helping her husband with the knowledge of her plan, to move their children far away from under his evil influences, in order for them to grow up as faithful servants of Allah (swt) and sincere followers of our beloved Holy Prophet (owbp). Nakeela paid a couple to take her two sons very far away to live in a very small village, and she also paid them to teach her sons to recite Qur’an, and to do the Zikr of Allah (swt), and to send darood and salaam on the beloved Prophet (owbp). Nakeela was extremely afraid to tell Fatadoon that she set up the whole thing, because she wanted him to change, and she did not want her two sons to fall into his footsteps, so she plot and plan to move her sons far away from him while they were still young. She did what she felt she had to do to benefit her sons and her husband. Fatadoon and Nakeela made the happy trip together to bring their boys home.
A message to all men from Fatadoon, My Brothers! I was blind to Allah’s (swt) gifts like a good wife, for a good wife in a home is like a good engine in one’s vehicle. A vehicle with a very good engine can take us through all kinds of terrain. No man should turn their backs from this prayer, they should recite it always. It is a good prayer to teach to your male children at a very young age. Parents can also recite it for their male children as well, until they become the age where they are able to learn it by themselves. It is from Surah Al-Furqan (25) Verse 74:
Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wathurriyyatina qurrata aAAyunin waijAAalna lilmuttaqeena imaman
Meaning: Our Lord! Grant unto us wives and offspring who will be the comfort of our eyes, and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous.
Those are the ones who will be rewarded with the highest place in heaven, because of their patience and constancy.
Some comments from Fatadoon:
- When I saw the bright vision of my two sons through my wife’s tears, I knew right away that my wife was a very pious woman, and I also knew how lucky I was to be blessed with such a good, faithful wife.
- When I was pondering over these thoughts I realized that my mother use to recite this prayer for me all the time, so I know that it was through my mother’s prayers that Allah (swt) has blessed me with such a pious and faithful wife.
- We should always bear in mind that wealth can fix our material possessions that are broken, but it cannot fix broken hearts. Being humble and kind can help repair broken hearts, and through the Zikr of Allah (swt) we can achieve these two spiritual tools.
- I was wrong to taunt my wife of Allah (swt) blessed instrument of revelation and inspiration. These beautiful tools were indeed placed into her hands, but I was too arrogant and blind to see when my wife was explaining to me.
- If it wasn’t for the Zikr of Allah (swt) that my wife Nakeela was constantly engaged in, where she was given the faith, courage and the guidance to make the sacrifices to help me with the help that I needed to discipline myself into becoming a better person and also a better way of conducting my life style, to help my sons to grow up away from my evil influences, then most surely our lives as a family would not have had any peace, and happiness because I would have still be an ignorant blind man. What a terrible waste of life that would have been. May Allah (swt) bless my dear wife for the great sacrifice she made and may He bless us all and change the evil in us and make us better Muslims
- Praises and thanks be to Allah (swt) for His kind favours of answering my mother’s supplication, who used to pray on my behalf when I was too young to understand way of life. Through her prayers Allah (swt) blessed me with the most kind and faithful wife and two loving sons.
- My gratitude are to Allah (swt) for granting me with a new and better life for me and my family. Ameen.
Comments are closed.