READING the life story of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gives us a lot of insights into the different aspects of his character. One really needs years and years to study each aspect of his exalted conduct. In this article, I shall focus on his role as a husband ending up with the conclusion that he was the best of all husbands. Reading about the life of Prophet Muhammad as a husband will make us realize that his marital life was based on faith, love, respect, understanding, generosity, mercy…etc The Prophet would never hold back to share some fun with his wives. One of his wives, ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who was particularly dear to him, said that whenever he came home, he always wore a smile on his face and whenever he saw one of his wives doing any household chore such as cleaning, cooking or anything related to housework, he never hesitated to give a hand setting an example of cooperativeness, interaction and respect for his wives. It is narrated that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) took part in running a race with his wife, ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), at the beginning of their marriage and on that occasion she won the race. On another occasion, they had another race and the Prophet, (peace be upon him) won that time and said to her “once a loser, once a winner.” He never complained about any kind of food, he never said that he hated any kind of food, and whenever there was no food at home, he would observe voluntary fasting. In other words, the Prophet (peace be upon him), was a husband of easy-going nature, who never caused his wives any problems or overburdened them with his demands. His presence was always like a refreshing breeze in hot summer days. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to lend an attentive ear to whatever his wives told him and never hesitated to accept their points of view when he got convinced. He had a deep understanding of the women's personality with all its different details. This was clearly shown when his wives' jealousy was aroused, he always dealt with this jealousy with compassion and understanding as he knew very well that it is an innate quality of women, particularly if these women happened to be co-wives. When his wives told him a story, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would share with them their feelings and opinions even if when they had a point of view different from his. Books of Hadith are replete with events in which his wives –– especially ‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) –– told him a lot of stories and anecdotes and the Prophet, (peace be upon him) used to listen attentively to what they said and never interrupted them. __
