Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 246
246 Quran says that a wife is raiment for the husband, and the husband is raiment for the wife (2:188). A garment provides protection, comfort, and ornament. It is also the closest thing to a person outside his or her own self. A husband and wife bound together by the “love and tenderness” that God has put between them are surely garments for each other. The Quran says that the best garment is the garment of righteousness (7:27), so that a husband and wife should be such a garment for each other. Women have rights vis-à-vis men corresponding to those that men have vis-à-vis women on a basis of fairness and equity (2:229). Men are exhorted to consort with their wives in kindness and are reminded: “If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike something wherein Allah has placed much good” (4:20). The Prophet, as noted earlier, said: “The best among you is he who treats the members of his family best. ” He was himself always most careful and considerate in respect of all that concerned women. On one occasion he was on a journey when women were also of the party. At one stage the camel drivers, fearing they were late, began to drive the camels fast. The Prophet admonished them: “Mind the crystal,” meaning that they should have due regard to the comfort of the women. His reference to the women as “crystal” implied that woman is delicate and sensitive,