The Muslim Home and Modern Technology

Faatimah and Ruqayyah are sisters. Faatimah is the elder one and is seven years older than her sister. Allah The Exalted has granted her a sound mind and an eloquent tongue. Hence, her younger sister Ruqayyah discusses life’s affairs with her and asks for her opinion on issues or problems that she encounters or any of the various manifestations of contemporary life.

One evening, they decided to buy a new iron, as the one that they had was broken. Because Faatimah was busy doing some housework, Ruqayyah went to buy the iron alone from a large store that sells household goods and electrical equipment.

When she returned, Ruqayyah said to Faatimah, “I managed to buy a new iron for a reasonable price, but something strange happened at the store.”

Faatimah asked, “What happened?”

Ruqayyah replied, “While I was buying the iron and checking the different types and prices, I unintentionally overheard an argument between a husband and his wife who were standing by my side and buying some electric equipment.

“The wife said to her husband, ‘I want to buy a new electric meat mincer to make cooking easier for me.’ Her husband objected saying, ‘Why do you want to buy it if you have the manual mincer that both of our mothers used to use. Besides, the minced meat that comes out of the manual mincer has a special taste that I like and I think that the electric mincer will not give the same taste. Moreover, you are a housewife and have enough time that would make it possible to use the manual mincer and you will not need to use the electric one that is used by working women because they do not have enough time. Thus, I totally refuse to buy this electric mincer.’ Here, the wife looked sad and distressed. She did not reply and walked on helplessly with her husband.”

Faatimah said, “Allah The Exalted has granted man a mind and honored him among all creatures. Allah The Almighty inspired man to use his mind in inventing useful things that would make life easier. In the course of progress, man invented many things that made his life easier on earth and saved his time and effort. Therefore, our grandmothers and mothers used the manual mincer and considered it at that time to be an amazing invention as they used to mince meat and beans with a mortar or a grinder that were common at that time. Thus, using the manual mincer at that time was considered great progress and I think that if the electric mincer had been invented at their time, they would have hastened to buy it. Therefore, why should we stick to an old invention that does not save time or effort?

“Is it because the husband likes to waste his wife’s time in something useless or has he other logical reasons like not having enough money to buy it? If this is the reason, he should have persuaded his wife gently to postpone purchasing it until he can afford it. Furthermore, using modern and safe inventions at home is something important as it saves time and effort for both the working woman and the housewife who should not spend all day in the kitchen in order to prepare lunch by using a manual mincer for instance. If she uses an electric mincer, she will save effort and time that she can use in doing more important things like looking after her children, educating them and teaching them the Qur'an. Also, she can have enough time to learn new things, read, learn matters pertaining to religion, attend religious lessons and other useful things.”

Ruqayyah said, “The contemporary Muslim, whether male or female, has important tasks that he should do. Thus, he should save his time and effort. If he is able to save the time and effort that he spends in his daily activities, why does he not do so by using modern equipment that helps him to achieve his aims and saves his time and effort in order to achieve what is more beneficial and important?”