Book: You Can Be The Happiest Woman in the World : A Treasure Chest of Reminders
By: Dr. A'id al-Qarni
publisher: International Islamic Publishing House
Price: Rs 675
 One of my friends Aeman Majeed had given me a book on Simple Wisdom by Maulana Waheeduddin Khan and I had fallen in love with its format so much so that I wanted to buy a book with a similar format except that it should be more women specific.
What I had in mind was that the book should have small inspirational excerpts relating to woman that can be read on an on an off basis. I am not a bookmark fan when it comes to reading books because it is difficult to remember where I was since the intervals I take in between are usually of days and weeks.

Co-incidentally, I was at Gulf (Clifton, Karachi) with my sister and although I knew there were shops that solely dealt with Islamic material such as books, audios, videos, etc I was still surprised to see a very good collection of books there. After having told the shopkeeper the kind of book I was looking for, the shopkeeper took out three or four from the shelf and I chose this book probably because the title was SO appealing. It has a hard cover and I am not sure if it is available in other covers as well.

The book has very inspirational short passages taken from the life of Prophet S.A.W as well as prominent personalities in Islamic history and written in a very casual style. I love the font size used to, since it very well aids the reading. 

One of my favourite excerpt from the book is an advice to a bride on her marriage by her mother! I am sharing that here so you can have a taste of what kind of material the book has although there are wide variety of topics discussed such as mother's love for children and so on.

Final word: Provides good value for money and is also very good travel companion!
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One of the excerpt mentioned in the book...

‘Abd al-Malik (RA) said: “When ‘Awf ibn Muhallim al-Shaybani, one of the most highly respected leaders of the Arab nobility during the jahiliyyah, married his daughter Umm Iyas to al-Harith ibn ‘Amr al-Kindi, she was made ready to be taken to the groom, then her mother, Umamah came into her, to advise her and said:


‘O my daughter, if it were deemed unnecessary to give you this advice because of good manners and noble descent, then it would have been unnecessary for you, because you posses these qualities, but it will serve as a reminder to those who are forgetful, and will help those who are wise.
‘O my daughter, if a woman were able to do without a husband by virtue of her father’s wealth and her need for her father, then you of all people would be most able to do without a husband, but women were created for men just as men were created for them.

‘O my daughter, you are about to leave the home in which you grew up, where you first learned to walk, to go to a place you do not know, to a companion to whom you are unfamiliar. By marrying you, he has become a master over you, so be like a servant to him, and he will become like a servant to you.

‘Take from me ten qualities, which will be a provision and a reminder for you.
‘The first and second of them are: be content in his company, and listen to and obey him, for contentment brings peace of mind, and listening to and obeying one’s husband pleases Allah.

‘The third and fourth of them are: make sure that you smell good and look good; he should not see anything ugly in you, and he should not smell anything but a pleasant smell from you. Kohl is the best kind of beautification to be found, and water is better than the rarest perfume.
‘The fifth and sixth of them are: prepare his food on time, and keep quiet when he is asleep, for raging hunger is like a burning flame, and disturbing his sleep will make him angry.

‘The seventh and eighth of them are: take care of his servants (or employees) and children, and take care of his wealth, for taking care of his wealth shows that you appreciate him, and taking care of his children and servants shows good management.

‘The ninth and tenth of them are: never disclose any of his secrets, and never disobey any of his orders, for if you disclose any of his secrets you will never feel safe from his possible betrayal, and if you disobey him, his heart will be filled with hatred towards you.

‘Be careful, O my daughter, of showing joy in front of him when he is upset, and do not show sorrow in front of him when he is happy, because the former shows a lack of judgment whilst the latter will make him unhappy.

‘Show him as much honor and respect as you can, and agree with him as much as you can, so that he will enjoy your companionship and conversation.

‘Know, O my daughter, that you will not achieve what you would like to until you put his pleasure before your own, and his wishes before yours, in whatever you like and dislike. And may Allah choose what is best for you and protect you.”

Jamharah Khutah al-‘Arab, 1/145