Ways to Enrich your Spouse’s Faith

By Amina Salau

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

The bond that exists between couples is emotional, physical and spiritual. Your spouse’s level of faith should always be as important to you as your own, because our hope is to be reunited in Jannah (paradise) with them. You can help your spouse increase his or her faith with the following tips.

Share beneficial resources with them

If you’ve read a book or an article that taught you a thing or two about Islam, why don’t you share it with your spouse and help improve his or her faith too? Unless it is a topic that your spouse is well-versed in, I’m sure he or she will benefit from the knowledge as much as you did. Share links to blog posts, video lectures and Qur’an recitations as well as authentic books on different topics in Islam.

Invite them to perform good deeds

A lot of reward is earned from charity and good deeds, if Allah (swt) wills. Involve your spouse in whatever good deed you want to do. People worry that talking about their good deeds may invalidate the reward, but remember that Prophet Muhammad (sa) said: “He who calls others to follow the right guidance will have a reward equal to the reward of those who follow him, without their reward being diminished in any respect on that account.” (Muslim)

Be supportive

So your spouse has decided to do some charity to benefit the Ummah? Masha’Allah. Help them achieve success in it. Promote the endeavour through online and offline means, make contributions, and get people to do the same. Give them all the support necessary so that they are more motivated to keep going.

Do obligatory acts of worship together

I’ve sometimes found mistakes in my way of praying by observing how my husband performed his salah. This, and some other lessons I picked while praying with him has taught me that couples can improve their faith by worshipping together. Your spouse may think that he or she has perfected some part of the acts of worship, but doing it together with you may show them a different way to do it.

The bonus part of worshipping together is that it brings you closer to one another spiritually, letting you grow in faith at the same pace. It also sets a good example for any kids that you may have and bring you closer to being the ideal Muslim family.

Also, if your spouse is experiencing a dip in their faith, engaging in acts of worship together can be a source of morale booster for them. For example, if your husband is tempted to hit the snooze button on the call to prayer in the morning, remind him that he needs to observe the morning prayers in congregation.

Discuss faith-based topics

Take sharing of resources further by discussing what you have read with your spouse. It doesn’t have to be everything you read, but simply make a habit of talking about Islam as often as possible. This is the way we transfer knowledge to each other, and who better to benefit from what we have learned than our spouse?

You can chose the times when you both are spending some time together, and put it to good use by picking a topic, or even a chapter of the Qur’an, and talk about it.

Be a source of reminder for them

Even if you think that your spouse is more grounded in faith than you, I bet that there are certain positive attributes of a Muslim in you that your spouse can emulate. If you see that your spouse needs improvement in some parts of faith that comes easily to you, let them see you do those things, and hopefully it give them the boost that they need to do similar activities.

Correct their mistakes

A good way to help your spouse enrich his or her faith is also by correcting his or her errors, if any, in different aspects of worship. We improve by learning, and when you bring someone’s attention to what they may be doing wrong, you are helping them improve themselves. Remember to be supportive and not judgemental, and to correct in a manner that will not embarrass them or put them off trying to improve themselves. Show them what it is that you think they are doing wrong, and how it can be done in a better way.

Amina Salau is a freelance writer who is passionate about women’s issues in Islam