Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: ‘When Allah wills some good towards the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.'” (Musnad Ahmad, 6/71; Sahih Al-Jami', 303) According to another report: “When Allah loves the people of a household, He introduces kindness among them.” (Ibn Abi Al-Dunya and others; Sahih al-Jami', no. 1704) In other words, they start to be kind to one another. This is one of the means of attaining happiness in the home, for kindness is very beneficial between the spouses, and with the children, and brings results that cannot be achieved through harshness, as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah loves kindness and rewards it in such a way that He does not reward for harshness or for anything else.” (Sahih Muslim, no. 2592) Many men think that housework is beneath them, and some of them think that it will undermine their status and position if they help their wives with this work. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), however, used to “sew his own clothes, mend his own shoes and do whatever other work men do in their homes.” (Musnad Ahmad, 6/121; Sahih Al-Jami', 4927) This was narrated by his wife Ayesha (may Allah be pleased with her), when she was asked about what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to do in his house; her response described what she herself had seen. According to another report, she said: “He was like any other human being: he would clean his clothes, milk his ewe and serve himself.” (Musnad Ahmad, 6/256; Al-Silsilat Al-Sahihah, no. 671) She was also asked about what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to do in his house, and she said, “He used to serve his family, then when the time for prayer came, he would go out to pray.” (Al-Bukhari) If we were to do likewise nowadays, we would achieve three things: We would be following the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him); we would be helping our wives; we would feel more humble, not arrogant. Some men demand food instantly from their wives, when the pot is on the stove and the baby is screaming to be fed; they do not pick up the child or wait a little while for the food. Let these Hadith be a reminder and a lesson. Being affectionate towards and joking with the members of the family is a praiseworthy trait. Showing affection towards one's wife and children is one of the things that leads to creating an atmosphere of happiness and friendliness in the home. The ways in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed affection towards young children are too well-known to need mentioning. He often used to show his affection towards his grandchildren – Hasan and Hussain (may Allah be pleased with them). This is probably one of the reasons why the children used to rejoice when he would come back from traveling; they would rush to welcome him, as reported in a Sahih Hadith: “Whenever he came back from a journey, the children of his household would be taken out to meet him.”
