The problem of a wife being left alone because the husband works long hours

Praise be to Allah.

Undoubtedly the temptations in this life are many, and the ways in which the Shaytaan deceives the sons of Adam are many and varied. So the husband has to take precautions. Allaah has entrusted him with an important task, which is to take care of his wife and children; He has made him responsible for educating and protecting them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock… a man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for those under his care; a woman is the shepherd in her husband’s house and she is responsible for her those under her care.”

The wife is a human of flesh and blood, and is affected by what she sees and hears from the people of evil and fitnah (temptation). So the husband should take this into account, so he can protect her from bad influences and stop her from going to bad places.

The Muslim husband should not live only for worldly purposes and work like a dumb machine. Wealth is tempting, but that which is with Allaah is better and more lasting. He should try to find work with shorter hours, even if the pay is less, as long as it is sufficient to meet his needs. This will give him more time to take care of his family and educate his children.

It is not right to leave his wife alone for this length of time, unless there is something to compensate the wife for the absence of her husband, such as studying sharee’ah or meeting with people who fear Allaah and can teach her something good, and so on. But if she is just being left alone, or is being left with the TV and its bad shows, or with bad neighbours and evil companions, then this is neglect and is to be condemned. Those who are neglectful often get their punishment in this world, before they even meet their Lord.

With regard to a woman going out of her house, according to sharee’ah it is not conditional upon her being accompanied by her husband or mahram as long as she is trustworthy and she goes to places where there is no fear for her, and the route she takes is safe. The presence of a mahram is a condition when she is travelling, but she does not have to be accompanied by a mahram everywhere she goes in the city – unless there is some evil or fitnah (temptation, tribulation) involved in her going even a short distance, in which case a woman should not go out on her own. Then it is better to be on the safe side and not go out unless she is with her husband or someone who can protect her and take care of her.

When a Muslim lives in a kaafir country, he has to make extra efforts to protect his family, such as getting together with other Muslim families and renting an apartment building together, or moving to live next to one another, so that this will offer a kind of protection and create a good environment for families and children. At the same time, the Muslim woman should find good, righteous women with whom she can fill her time when her husband is absent.

“Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring the comfort of our eyes, and make us leaders of the Muttaqoon (the pious)” [al-Furqaan 25:74 – interpretation of the meaning]. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.