(g)Thereisalsoaprobabilitythathehadbeenoutwithhis beloved.
Butthis case isfar more remotethan the previousones andtherefore
shouldnot betakenveryseriously.Atleastoneshouldnotregarditas
firm evidence of guilt while forgetting about the other possibilities.
Ifyourhusbandcomesbackhomelate,hemighthavebeendoingex-
trawork;ormighthavebeenathisfriend'shouse;ormighthaveatten-
dedaseminarorareligiousmeeting;orhemightevenhavewalkedback
home.
Ifawomanthinksofhimasahandsomeman,itisnothisfault.Being
well-behavedisnotaproofofbeingguilty!Wouldyoupreferhimtobe
abad-temperedmanfromwhomeveryonewould berepulsed?Ifyour
husbandattendstotheneedsofawidowandherchildren,regardhimas
a charitable person who is doing this for the sake of Allah.
Ifyourhusbandhasaprivatedeskorasafe;andifhedoesnotletyou
readhisletters,donotthinkofhimashavingamistress.Mengenerally
haveasense ofsecrecyandmodesty. Theydonot likeothersto be in-
formedof theiraffairs,perhapstheypossesssecretmaterialswhichare
relatedtotheirwork.Perhapshedoesnotregardyouasapersonwho
couldkeepasecret.Anyway,apossibilityisjustthat,anditshouldnot
be considered as a firm proof.
Second:
Wheneveryou suspectanything, youshould discussitwith your hus-
bandinsuchamannerastofindthetruthofthematteroutandnotina
wayofprotest.Befrankwithhimandaskhimtoexplainthesubjectof
yoursuspicioninordertoclearyourmindandsetitatpeace.Thenlisten
tohimcarefully.Thinkabouthisexplanation.Ifyouaresatisfiedwithit
thenthe matterisover. Butifyouare stillsuspicious,theninvestigate
thematteryourselffullythetruthisrevealed.If,whileinvestigating,you
comeacrossa pointthatyour husbandhadlied about,thendonot re-
gard it as a proof of his guilt.
Thisisbecausedespitehisinnocence,hemighthavedeliberatelynot
beentellingthewholetruthlestyoubecomemoresuspicious.Againitis
better to go to him and ask why he did not tell the whole truth. Of
course,itisnotgoodforonetolie,butifyourhusbandmadethismis-
take,thenyoushouldnot,in turn,actfoolishly.Askhimfirmlyto tell
youthetruth.Hisinabilityinexplainingthesubjectofyoursuspicionis