Answer
Wa`alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
The most important characteristic of a Muslim family is worshiping Almighty Allah and serving His religion in order to gain His satisfaction in this life and the life to come. A true Muslim family implements love, cooperation, respect and mutual understanding between each other.
In responding to your question, Dr. Hatem Al-Hajj, Dean of the College of Islamic Studies at Mishkah University and a member of the Permanent Fatwa Committee for the Assembly of Muslim Jurists in America (AMJA), states;
Muslim family and seeking Allah’s pleasure
The Muslim family is a family that is conscious of Almighty Allah at all times, and works to gain His pleasure. This gives them a common purpose, and binds them together. If there is no common purpose, it is like having two passengers in a car, but one intends to head east while the other wants to head in the opposite direction.
There is nothing that unites people more than sharing the common goal of seeking the pleasure of Almighty Allah.
Muslim family and the imperfection of man
A true Muslim family recognizes the imperfection of man, and works to make the best out of what they have. Almighty Allah says what means, {And if you dislike them, you may dislike a thing and Allah makes therein much good.} (An-Nisa’ 4:19)
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “No believing man should ever hate a believing woman; if he disliked some of her qualities, he must like others”. (Muslim)
Muslim family and seeking tranquility
A Muslim family has compassion when their conditions are good and they retain mercy even when there is a dispute. They seek to preserve tranquility and serenity at all times. Almighty Allah says what means, {And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who give thought.} (Ar-Rum 30:22)
A successful Muslim family thinks about their duties before they ask for their rights. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “Do that which is upon you and then ask Allah for that which is yours.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Muslim family and offering acts of worship together
A pious Muslim family prays and plays together. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “May Allah have mercy upon the man who wakes up to pray during the night and wakes his wife to pray, and if she does not wake up he splashes water on her face. May Allah have mercy upon the woman who wakes up to pray during the night and wakes her husband to pray, and if he does not wake up she splashes water on his face.” (Abu-Dawud)
Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) used to race with the Prophet (PBUH), and one time she beat him, and then after she gained some weight, they raced again, and he won. Then he said: “This time makes up for the other one.” (Abu-Dawud)
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.