Imam Zaid and Saliha Shakir

Saliha Shakir and Imam Zaid Shakir | Image captured at Zaytuna College (Berkeley, CA)

بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Imam Zaid Shakir: Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem, Al-hamdu lillahi Rabb il-'alamin, wa salat wa salaam, ala saïd'Mursalīn, Saïdina Muhammad wa’ala lihi wasah’bihi, wa salaam [With G-d’s name, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, praise be to G-d, Lord of the universe(s) and peace and prayers on the esteemed messengers, our leader Muhammad, and peace upon his family and and his companions].

This is Imam Zaid Shakir, and I'm here with my lovely wife...

Saliha Shakir: Saliha Shakir, as salaam alaikum [peace be upon you].

Imam Zaid Shakir: Wa Rahmatullahi wa barakathu [And mercy and blessings of G-d be with you].

We're here to talk about the wonderful institution of marriage and its importance, particularly in the African-American Muslim community. Marriage is a journey my dear brothers and sisters and, as the Arabs say, "[Quote in Arabic] Search and seek out the companion for the journey before you search out the path." And so one has to have an excellent companion if one's journey is to be fruitful and fulfilling.

And in then the journey of marriage, I've had the companionship of my wife every step of the way. A lot of times you take little things for granted, the little things that constitute, in reality, great great markers and great great evidence of support. We have to be cognizant of that. And the little things that my wife does to make my journey easier are innumerable. Everything from the obvious things of making sure I'm well fed, making sure I take all of my vitamins, make sure that I use all of my dōTERRA essential oil products [Saliha Shakir laughing in the background] to keep me strong and vibrant and healthy and well so that I can do the things that I do.

And you know, I say that with a bit of humor, but it's absolutely true. From from those things to the not so obvious things that a lot of people don't see. Sometimes you have questions. Sometimes you might be bothered by certain things and having someone right there accessible, to bounce those things off, is extremely important. So, I think Allah'ta'ala [G-d almighty] for her companionship as I've made this journey through down the road of life, but also down the road of Islam.

So, I'll let her speak for herself in terms of the importance of marriage and the point and the importance of a good spouse. Our Prophet [Muhammad] sallallahu alayhi wa sallam [peace and blessings of G-d be upon him] eloquently was seldom mentioned in that regard, "[Quote in Arabic] The entire world is a source of benefit if we use it wisely in the way of Allah, and the most beneficial thing in it is a virtuous spouse."

Saliha Shakir: As Salaam'alikum [peace be upon you], and that being said, no pun intended, my name is Saliha*, [giggling] so that's a tall order. Alhamdulillah [praise be to G-d]. I just like to say as well. It's been a very beautiful journey with my husband, Imam Zaid Shakir, because he's very has been very understanding. You know, I am a strong personality, and he always accepted that, I never let that be a stumbling block in our relationship. Also, I feel that I my obligation is to serve Allah first and uppermost and then to serve my husband and family. And I feel that it's my obligation, but not so much because of the obligation as well, is that want to, and I felt that I this was my duty and I felt that it was it was understood and accepted, like he mentioned. And we had we had our ups and downs over the years in marriage. We had roadblocks, but we always worked it out. And a lot of times because just having faith in Allah, and putting Allah uppermost, and we didn't always have our family there to help us. We traveled the world, we worked in the community and we sacrificed in our marriage. Excuse me. We sacrifice in our marriage and may Allah make it easy for all of those coming behind us. And we pray that this message radiates. Jazak'Allah Khair [may Allah reward you [with] goodness]. As Salaam'alikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu [may peace, mercy and blessings of G-d be upon you].

Imam Zaid Shakir: In conclusion, let me say, in the African-American Muslim context during the slavery period, as we know it was very difficult and challenging to establish families. That wasn't the objective of slavery. Breeding was the objective of slavery, especially when the importation of [those enslaved] from Africa was prohibited during the beginning of the 19th century. So it was about breeding. Families were broken up. It was difficult to establish families and now that we are free, Islam gives us an opportunity to exercise our freedom and building strong families on the foundation of Islam. So, may Allah bless us to take advantage of that foundation, to seek our roots and deep into the soil of Islam and may our families prosper and bring forth a lot of righteous fruits. As salaam'alikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu [may peace, mercy and blessings of G-d be upon you], this is Imam Zaid Shakir, with my wife Saliha, as Salaam'alikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathu [may peace, mercy and blessings of G-d be upon you].

*The meaning of Saliha is 'virtuous' and the name is of Arabic origin. Saliha also means 'pious', 'G-d fearing', 'devoted to G-d' and 'good deeds'.

Imam Zaid Shakir is a co-founder, and senior Faculty Member of Zaytuna College located in Berkeley, California. He is amongst the most respected and influential Islamic scholars in the West. As an American Muslim who came of age during the civil rights struggles, he has brought both sensitivity about race and poverty issues and scholarly discipline to his faith-based work. Learn more here: New Islamic Directions