Q:

Al Salam Alkium,

I am a new muslim

I saw the following which some say that the Prophet (saw) said it, “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man were covered from head to foot with weeping sores oozing pus, and his wife were to come to him and lick his sores, this would not fulfil the rights he has over her”. Is this true or fabricated?

Because the wording makes me very uncomfortable.

Is something like that considered as shahih or a made up one?

Regards,

Fiona

A:

Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.

No Muslim should consider such statements as coming from the Prophet of mercy; it is at once opposed to common sense, rationality, and the principles of the Quran and Sunnah.

These are the type of traditions we need to purge from our sources; men have been invented as tools to dominate women, reducing them to the status of slaves serving egotistic men.

Islam considers men and women as equal partners in marriage; so, they should act altruistically and ought to care for each other; so even as a wife has to care for her husband, it is the duty of a husband to care for his wife the same way. That is the purpose of marriage as we are taught in the Qur’an:

“Among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves for  you to attain relate to them in peace and He implanted in your hearts love, and mercy; verily, in these are signs for people who reflect.” (Qur’an:30: 21).

I pray to Allah to help us understand Islam’s beauty, as reflected in the authentic sources.

Almighty Allah knows best.