Book Review Thursday: Winning the Heart of your Husband.

As a way of staying active on my blog I have decided to start a book review every Thursday (at least for the time being). I go through books like a mad woman and just LOVE reading so what better way to express myself on here? The first book I will review, Winning the Heart of your Husband, was a free down loadable book from Kalamullah. If you are interested in reading it as well, click here. Also, this site has LOTS and LOTS of great Islamic sources!! I encourage everyone to check it out!
Okay, so here goes!

The title of this short book caught my attention immediately. There can only be benefits from pleasing our husbands in an Islamic manner, right? I was a little disappointed, though, at one point at the beginning of the book. The author clearly states "I have prepared this paper with the belief that most marital problems are caused by women." Ummmm, seriously? This actually made me a bit upset. How can he think this way? What a male chauvinist! Anyway, even though I was very discouraged by the authors statement I decided to continue on and keep reading. After all, maybe there would be some beneficial knowledge I can put into practice to please my husband even more.
Throughout the book, the author talks about women obeying their husbands. I, too, agree that a woman should obey her husband, but with conditions. Of course, obeying the husband means obeying Allah so anything a husband wants his wife to do that would disobey Allah is not okay and the husband should NOT be obeyed. Also, I believe that if a man wants his wife to obey him, he should be sure that he shows her all the respect and love she deserves rather than being harsh and hurtful. If he acts like the latter, a woman will only feel anger and negativity towards her husband, which is also going against the way Allah wants us to live.
The chapter titled The Curse of Sins upon Marital Happiness was great. I couldn't agree more with the majority of it. From personal experience, I know how sins can really deteriorate a marriage. Whether it's large or small, there should be no room for sin in life. It will only cause problems and should be avoided at all costs. I know when I sin it makes me feel like a disgusting person and in not liking myself, I get angry with those around me (at times the innocent victim was my husband).
Greeting the Husband when He Comes Back Home was a great chapter! I feel it is only right for a wife to make sure her husband has a welcoming place to come to each day. Make sure the home is in good order, smelling nice and stocked with good food your husband can enjoy. If you have children, make sure they are clean and well behaved too. As for yourself, look presentable. Even if you're like me and can't stand wearing anything but pajamas in the home, make sure they are nice pajamas! Nothing with holes or stains in them (only for when you may be sick and can get away with it LoL). This is something my mother actually taught me growing up. She always said that a man can easily lose interest so make sure you are presentable to your husband every day. So true!
The book goes on to give many example of "good" wives and "bad" wives. A list of questions with answers are also included. I encourage my sisters to read this even if parts of it makes you shake your head in annoyance. I do think you need to go into it with an open mind though. Maybe it's just me, but the Western upbringing makes it more difficult to accept the terms "obey" and "husband" put together. LoL I can understand it for the better though.
Happy Reading!