Our Mother ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her.
"O ‘Aishah, get up and pray the Witr."
The night prayer (qiyam al-layl) is among the most noble of voluntary acts of worship by which a servant draws near to their Lord.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said regarding it:
"And know that the honor of the believer is their standing in prayer at night."
Just as the Prophet, peace be upon him, informed us about it:
That it was the habit of the righteous before us.
It is the Muslim’s private retreat with their Lord, Glorified and Exalted be He.
In it, they whisper to Him and pour out their complaints.
It is an individual act of worship between the servant and their Lord.
However, in Ramadan, it is performed in congregation.
Thus, the Muslim trains themselves to perform the night prayer for the duration of one month.
Perhaps it will continue with them thereafter,
having tasted its delight and sweetness during this blessed month.
The minimum of the night prayer
is for the Muslim to maintain the Witr prayer.
They may pray it immediately after the Isha prayer,
or delay it until the end of the night before they sleep.
As for the Witr prayer, the least that can be said is that it is a confirmed Sunnah.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, never abandoned it, whether traveling or at home.
He urged the Muslims to maintain it.
For this reason, the scholars disliked for a Muslim to abandon the Witr prayer,
praying it only during Ramadan.
It was part of the upbringing provided by the Prophet, peace be upon him,
to ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
that he would wake her to pray Witr at the end of the night.
‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, says:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, would pray at night,
and when he reached the Witr, he would say, 'Get up and pray Witr, O ‘Aishah.'"
Narrated by Muslim.
Educating one’s spouse to perform acts of obedience through voluntary worship
is among the husband’s responsibilities,
especially if Allah has guided him and granted him success
in such righteous deeds,
and he has preceded his spouse in that regard.
This is among her rights upon him.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, has commanded the Muslims
to protect themselves and their families from the Fire.
He, the Exalted, said:
"O you who have believed, protect yourselves..."
"...protect yourselves and your families from a Fire..."
"...whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded."
Part of a man’s protection of his spouse from the Fire is to nurture her in the obedience of Allah.
Maintaining the performance of the rituals of Allah is something that is obligatory upon the Muslims,
or it is an act of devotion by which Muslims draw near to Allah, the Exalted.
In the action of the Prophet, peace be upon him, with ‘Aishah in this hadith,
there is an education for us, the community of Muslim husbands, in several aspects.
First:
If Allah has granted a husband success in a righteous deed and he has excelled in it,
it is not appropriate for him to demand that his spouse reach the same level he has attained.
For the wife is a human soul;
she may be predisposed to a different righteous deed than the one in which the husband excels.
Therefore, the husband should not demand that she perform the same righteous deeds he does,
such as if he is granted success in frequent fasting,
or long standing in prayer,
or frequent charity,
or frequent recitation of the Qur’an.
It is not appropriate here for the husband to demand that his wife reach the same level he maintains in such deeds.
Second:
That the husband, in nurturing his wife toward righteous deeds,
must encourage and assist her in performing these good works,
at a minimum level, as much as possible.
Third:
That the husband should consider his wife’s inclinations toward righteous deeds
and assist her in them.
For human souls have different temperaments and inclinations.
Some people are inclined toward a deed other than what others are inclined toward,
and both are upon goodness.
Fourth:
That cooperation between spouses in righteous deeds
has been indicated by many hadiths.
Among them is his saying, peace be upon him:
"May Allah have mercy on a man who gets up at night and prays,
and wakes his wife;
and if she refuses,
he sprinkles water on her face.
May Allah have mercy on a woman who gets up at night and prays,
and wakes her husband;
and if he refuses,
she sprinkles water on his face."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
This cooperation in the night prayer
was praised by the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
for whichever spouse initiates it,
and he prayed for mercy upon them.
Fifth:
The righteous wife
is the one who responds to her husband
when he calls her to that which is for her benefit and righteousness.
This response will leave its mark on the husband,
just as it leaves its mark on herself.
As for its effect on the husband:
When the husband finds responsiveness from his wife,
it encourages him to continue assisting her in righteous deeds
and to diversify these deeds for her,
and the wife’s status in his heart increases.
As for its effect on herself:
This is a preparation for her to persevere in righteous deeds
and to increase in them,
just as it happened for our Mother ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
for she became one who would consistently perform the night prayer
and prolong her standing.
Sixth:
We also benefit from this story regarding
the humanity of the Companions, both men and women.
For ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
was a human who would get tired, exhausted, and sleep,
and she needed someone to wake her for prayer.
So, it should not be imagined that we can create a righteous society devoid of human characteristics.
A husband might strive to wake his wife for the night prayer,
but she may be unable and apologize to him,
or he may invite her to fast on a certain day,
and she may apologize to him due to her inability and weakness.
It is not appropriate in such a situation
for the man to be annoyed with his wife because she did not respond to him.
Finally:
We are in a time where trials and pressures on the family to corrupt it have multiplied,
and pressures on the man to break him before the woman have multiplied,
and pressures on the woman to rebel against the husband in particular,
and against men in general, have multiplied.
Nothing saves one from these pressures
except holding fast to Allah and His firm rope.
If a husband is granted a righteous wife who assists him in the obedience of Allah,
then he is the successful one,
and the world has been gathered for him.
And if a woman is granted a righteous husband who assists her in the obedience of Allah,
then she is the successful one.
So, let them cooperate and obey one another in the obedience of Allah;
otherwise, this is a loss of an opportunity presented to them on a silver platter,
in a time when such opportunities have become scarce.
O Allah, rectify our souls and rectify our spouses for us.
We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Our Mother ‘Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her.