Message for Friday - Taking care of family is a sacred trust

كفى بالمرء إثما أن يضيع من يقوت
The Prophet Muhammad (SAAS) said, “It’s enough of a sin for a man to waste away those he is entrusted to care for.”

خيركم خيركم لأهله
He (SAAS) also stated, "The best of you are those who are best to their family."

Family is a sacred institution in the Islamic faith. Within this sacred space called family, the male is charged with being the maintainer and protector of his wife and children. This relationship is more than a mere aspect of the Islamic creed that has been elaborated upon in books; it is a natural relationship that transcends formalized religious creeds.

Conversely, it is completely unnatural to see what is currently taking place in American society. The perversity of the "baby daddy" model that does not take care of his children and the man, who spends no time with his children is steadily becoming the norm. In the African-American community for instance, this problem has become an epidemic where 70% of the children are born out of wedlock. How can American society be healthy and productive when a large percentage of its children lack healthy male role models?

Sadly, even some Blackamerican Muslims believe that they are being pious by leaving their families to "go study abroad under the scholars" or to "go out in the path of ALLAH to give da'wah" at the expensive to taking care of their own children. Obviously, these Muslim brothers with this warped understanding cannot obtain any in-depth benefit from the knowledge that they have obtained when they have neglected their primary responsibility of taking care of their families.

The best thing that we could do to stregthen our society is to begin to encourage men to take care of their responsibilities and to constantly remind them what those responsibilities are.

And surely G'd knows best.