The latest issue of ISIS’ Rumiyah magazine, which in the past has included how-to articles on terror tactics and calls to attack Western sites, wades into relationship advice with a new article warning husbands and wives against talking about their marriage behind their spouse’s back.
“Some spouses – be they men or women – are not careful when it comes to exposing their homes to gossip and idle talk. We often find husbands talking about the problems that happen between them and their wives in both private and public gatherings, and also find that wives do so as well. Each of them might mention the other, in the latter’s absence, with displeasing terms,” states the article titled “The Flesh of Your Spouse Is Poisonous.”
“Backbiting is a disease of the tongue that only incurs ruin and loss,” argues the terror group, adding that neither spouse “is allowed to backbite the other – even when one is right concerning his claims.”
The ISIS advice heaps particular scorn upon women backbiting “their husband and their co-wife” and wistfully noted “if some of them were to only limit themselves to listening!”
“When one woman complains against her husband, some of her friends react with incitement and provocation. Worse still, some women even guide their sister to the court and explain the procedure for divorce,” the terror group continued.
“…The same applies regarding one’s co-wife. Many women do not refrain from speaking ill of their co-wives. Instead, among them is she who would go as far as to insult her co-wife and curse her in her absence due to excessive jealousy. This happens during a meeting of women or in the presence of the husband, who often has no clue as to what he can do! Should he fight off the hostility of this sharp-tongued woman against himself or against his absent wife? Indeed, Allah’s help must be sought!”
They reserve some criticism for men, declaring that “even worse than this woman who wrongs herself is finding an otherwise intelligent man speaking about the secrets of his home to others”
“Indeed, this is evidence of a lack of manliness,” the ISIS piece states. “Only one who makes a fool of himself does such a thing.” They advised saving such complaints for the ears of a “counselor who is trusted with regards to his religion and morals, and who safeguards the secrets of those of his brothers who speak to him.”
“Spouses who speak about each other should know that every secret of their home that is revealed and every ill-spoken word is akin to tears in their clothes. The more the number of holes and the larger the holes are, the more the fabric of matrimony will inevitably decay, and no amount of patchwork will help after that.”
The ISIS writer acknowledged that “the human psyche can sometimes reach its bearable capacity” and sometimes people just need to “breathe and vent.”
“But when a person wakes up in the morning and recounts to everyone he meets the things that took place between the walls of his home, even to the point that the smallest details of his life become the talk of the town and the merchandise of narrators, this in fact is a scandal,” concluded the “Sisters” column.
Accompanying the piece is a photo of a curly-haired blonde child in a pint-size camouflage uniform, with the caption, “Success in marriage is granted by Allah through patience with one’s spouse.”
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