Family

by Ruhudeen Ali
June 14th, 2006

Marriage is a blessing, full of lessons that we should heed.
It is a lesson, dear friends, in tawhid.
Shocking it seems that marriage and the Lord should compare
but God is One, while we are pairs.
We need consultation with our partners, while He needs none in His affairs.
We bicker and argue over each matter and decision
While alone He executes them with exact precision.
We grow together as one through love in affection
while He knew that the path to unity lies in this direction.
The woman covers the faults of men, while he covers the faults of women.
The Lord forgives our sins so long as we forgive our brethren.
Man and woman are day and night, together replete.
Lord and servant are together complete.
Marriage is duality, while Lordship is unity
but in principle, marriage is the same in all its purity.

Parenting is a gift from the Almighty.
It surely is a lesson in divinity.
From its fruit begins the first stage of civility.
Parents toil after their child ceaselessly
while the Lord loves His creatures unconditionally.
The child is a rascal - forever ungrateful for each of his parents' sacrifices
while in return, for the parent, a warm smile will suffice.
How similar is the matter with our Lord, while He gives us everything
when in return He only asks us for a few simple things?
The child is designed to drive the parents crazy
only to illustrate that to our Lord we are rebellious and savy.
The child is a resemblance of his parents when born
just as Adam was created upon His Lord's Form.
Seeds are like a man's deeds my friend,
at first you toil them with hardwork, 
to have them benefit you or bring you ruin in the end.

Siblings are a treasury
they reflect the community.
With parents acting as governing lords,
their children seek to either comply or deny their words.
The righteous friend is like the faithful sister or brother,
they will teach you the meaning of service to your father and mother.
Through their good example, you can also attain your parents' pleasure
only to obtain rewards without measure.
Together we should help each other in seeing
that through the family we can see our reason for being.
So you see, all of these lessons are hidden within the beautiful shell
known as the story of marriage; for each its left to tell.
Now you should better understand what the Prophet (saw) means
when he says that "marriage is half your deen."