Khidmat as Understanding: Muslim Women, Marriage, and Ethics of Care in Muslim Households

The present ethnographic research falls within the field of cultural anthropology; it delves into the concept of khidmat among newly married Muslim women in Patna, Bihar, and its impact on their daily lives and family relationships. Rooted in Islamic theology, khidmat encompasses labor, service, devotion, and care, and thus endows household duties with spiritual meaning. Highlighting these spiritual epistemologies of ordinary caregiving, I emphasize that khidmat is not merely a chore, but a sacred responsibility intertwined with religious meaning. Seen as a means of securing divine blessings, such ordinary care practices at home foster mutual understanding (apsī samajhdārī) among spouses and in-laws, aiding in the prevention and resolution of household and marital conflicts. Through khidmat, women infuse their everyday lives with spiritual depth, transforming the mundane into the sacred. In doing so, this study challenges conventional approaches to ordinary ethics that divide the everyday from the transcendental; instead, it situates khidmat within Islamic ethics as a framework for piety in which relationality is central. Aligning with contemporary scholarship on the anthropology of care and ethics, this ethnography reveals how khidmat operates as a complex ontological concept, offering new perspectives on ordinary acts of care in gendered Muslim households in contemporary India.