When real-life questions meet authentic Islamic scholarship, the answers cut through confusion in ways that abstract theology alone cannot. In this special Q&A session, Dr. Sheikh Waleed Basyouni — Vice President of AlMaghrib Institute and a scholar with the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America (AMJA) — addresses questions that strike at the heart of Muslim family life: a husband struggling to guide his wife toward hijab, the transformative power of the night prayer, navigating marriage through its natural emotional cycles, and the deeper question of why we are here at all. These are not classroom debates; they are the lived realities of Muslims striving in the West to align their daily lives with faith, purpose, and the eternal guidance of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala.
Hijab, Family Pressure, and the Choice That Belongs to Allah Alone
One of the most emotionally resonant questions of the session comes from a husband whose wife — a practising Muslim who prays — has not yet worn hijab, largely out of fear of upsetting her family. Dr. Basyouni’s response is a model of Islamic wisdom: compassion before command, relationship before religion, and complete trust in Allah’s power to change hearts. He was clear that the husband does not carry the sin of his wife’s choice — everyone is accountable for their own actions before Allah — but urged him to remain consistent, loving, and gently persistent. To the wife, the scholar’s message was equally direct: the most important question in life is not how your family sees you, but whether Allah is pleased with you. “Whoever Allah is pleased with, He causes others to be pleased with them too” — and so pleasing Allah is not a risk but the surest path to every form of acceptance.
- Lead with love, not lectures: A husband’s warmth and patience is among the most powerful tools for spiritual influence within a marriage.
- Make du’a consistently: Ask Allah night and day to open your wife’s heart — true guidance comes from Him alone, not from argument.
- Strengthen her relationship with Allah: When iman deepens naturally, obedience follows. Three women in Dr. Basyouni’s own Chicago class decided to wear hijab after two weekends of learning — not through pressure, but because something “struck their hearts.”
- Family approval follows Allah’s approval: Even if the family initially reacts strangely, they will eventually respect a decision rooted in sincere obedience to the Creator.
- The grave is yours alone: The family members we fear disappointing will not be in our graves with us — we face that moment in solitude, accountable only to Allah.
- Wearing hijab is a declaration of faith: It is not a cultural statement but a public submission — saying, “I am doing this because my Lord commands it.”
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known as free respectable women so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” — Al-Ahzab 33:59 (interpretation of the meaning)
The Night Prayer, Answered Du’a, and the Purpose Behind Our Existence
The session moves into the luminous territory of Qiyam al-Layl — the voluntary night prayer — before closing with a profound reflection on human purpose that Dr. Basyouni illustrated through an unforgettable real-life story. The night prayer begins after Isha and runs until the Fajr adhan; the optimal time is the final third of the night, calculated by dividing the hours between sunset and sunrise into three equal parts. The minimum is a single rak’ah, but three is preferred — two followed by one witr. There is no requirement to sleep first; if a believer is already awake at midnight, they may pray immediately. The scholar shared a vivid account of a Russian Muslim woman who refused, under official pressure in a passport office, to remove her hijab for her photo. She woke her husband during the night to pray together, found a Quranic verse promising Allah will provide an exit for those who are conscious of Him — and the very next morning, a general processed her passport with her hijab intact. This is what the night prayer does: it is, in Dr. Basyouni’s words, “an antidote” to life’s difficulties, a direct line to the One who holds every solution.
- Timing: Begins after Isha, ends at Fajr; the last third of the night is the most blessed window.
- Format: Pray in pairs of two rak’ahs, then close with one witr; even a single rak’ah is valid and rewarded.
- No sleep required: Being awake late at night is sufficient — there is no obligation to sleep before offering the night prayer.
- The reward is beyond imagination: Allah says in Surah As-Sajdah that no soul can comprehend what has been hidden for those who leave their beds to call upon their Lord.
- Purpose of existence: Like a hunting dog restless in a backyard — because it was made for open fields — humans feel the hollowness of the “rat race” because they were created for something far greater: the worship and submission to Allah.
- When life changes: The moment a person begins fulfilling their true purpose, life “tastes different” — a deep contentment no worldly pursuit can replicate.
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: “The best of you are those who are best to their families.” And Allah says in the Quran: “No soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort and delight of the eyes as a reward for what they used to do.” — Sahih al-Tirmidhi; As-Sajdah 32:17 (interpretation of the meaning)
Islam does not leave its followers to navigate life’s most personal struggles alone. Whether a Muslim is wrestling with family dynamics, yearning for a deeper spiritual practice, managing the natural tensions of married life, or searching for the very meaning of their existence, the Quran and the authentic Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ hold answers that are as alive and relevant today as they were fourteen centuries ago. Dr. Basyouni’s Q&A session is a reminder that Islamic guidance is not reserved for scholars in lecture halls — it is practical, compassionate, and profoundly human. The wisdom distilled across these questions points toward a single truth: align yourself with your Creator before anyone else, trust His wisdom enough to take the first step, and watch how He arranges the rest. That is the essence of faith, the heart of spirituality, and the only guidance that endures.
