/* */

PDA

View Full Version : Woman's Cause



Protected_Diamond
04-11-2006, 12:10 PM
:sl:

All praise is due to Allâh, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger, his household and companions.

Fellow Muslims! Allâh has made man and woman the foundation of mankind. No one can live without the other. If not, there would not have been procreation. That is why Allâh reminds us of this blessings when He says,

“It is He Who has created you from a single person (Adam), and (then) He has created from him his wife (Hawwâ' (Eve)) in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her.” (Al-A‘râf 7:189)

Woman is undoubtedly, the source of stability for man and the family, not to talk of her being the half of the society. It is she that also gives birth to the other half. It is as if she is the entire society.

Dear brethren! The cause of woman is an all-important topic that is inevitable for the contemporary Muslim society. It is at the same time, a very delicate topic that is prone to errors, desires, strong environmental impacts and objective differences.

It is actually unfair to discuss woman and all matters relating to her in this short khutbah. But it is better than not saying anything at all about her.

We are saying this at a time that the woman issue has become the sole preoccupation of many especially in this time that the Ummah is facing kinds of injustices, oppression, poverty, ideological perversion and suppression from the enemies. Yet no tangible solution to this myriad of problems is seen in sight.

We are hereby calling on all those who are talking about woman’s cause to take the following factors into consideration in order to avoid going astray and innovating what Allâh has not permitted and what none of our righteous successors had not done.

One: It should be firmly borne in mind that the only source of determining the identity of both and female and deciding things they share in common and things in which they differ and the responsibilities of each of them is the Book of Allâh and the Sunnah of His Messenger, and not men’s opinions and their desires. It should also be remembered that contradicting anything from the Qur’ân and the Sunnah is tantamount to challenging the One Who revealed Islâm. Allâh says,

“Do they then seek the judgement of (the Days of) Ignorance? And who is better in judgement than Allâh for a people who have firm Faith.” (Al-Mâidah 5:50)


Therefore, there should be no way for a vicious twisting of Islamic criteria and giving them other names, like calling woman’s modesty, bashfulness and covering an obsolete and unjustifiable tradition by which woman is repressed.

Two: All sincere and true followers of the religion of Islâm should stop those writers whose only intention is to attack the values of this Ummah or turn them into an object of derision at the hand of lust worshippers or those who hate what Allâh revealed. Those who use their pens and tongues to drown the ship of this Ummah and deceive the Muslims into believing that the only way to scientific, industrial and cultural progress lies in adopting Western experiment on women. The fact of the matter is that the no-Muslim countries who clamour for the so-called liberation of Muslim women and those who mimic them among other nations have, in reality, very little to show for what they clamour for. Realities in their own countries are a stark contradiction of the huge noise they make about the Muslim world. The highest achievement they achieved in their own countries regarding women liberation did not exceed electing few women into parliaments or appointing one or two as ministers, while deceiving the simple-minded people into a belief that the woman has achieved a lot in their own societies.

More surprising is the fact that, in the constitutions of some of these so-called developed countries, woman is forbidden from being head of state. What moral right do these countries then have to call for women liberation?

This should not however be surprising, for it seems that these infidel countries understood the following Prophetic statement more than the so-called Muslim advocates of women liberation. The Prophet said,

“Any nation that appoints a woman as its leader will not succeed.” (Al-Bukhârî)

In a version reported by Ahmad, the Messenger of Allâh said,

“The men are ruined whenever they follow the women.”

Dear brethren! What the reality shows is that the greatest achievement of those countries in which women have been ‘liberated’ is that she has been turned into a humiliated commodity in brothels or images in musical clips or mere bodies displayed to advertise goods.

Three: Using the word ‘freedom’ or ‘liberation’ in every issue relating to women have become an instrument in the hands of ignorant, deluded and evil-intentioned people who seek to disintegrate the Muslims’ social cohesion. It has actually becomes a door through which the enemy throws his time bomb, because to the term ‘freedom’ has a magical way of deluding the masses especially the teenagers. The strangest thing is the three phases that the advocates of so-called women liberation want to use to liberate the woman from her self-enslavement through adherence to the teachings of Islâm.

The first phase is exemplified by their assertion that they are responsible for treating the problems that occur among the Muslims, and that no view would be accepted if it contradicts their own way of reasoning. Their proof for this is the wide intellectual and cultural difference that is between them and ordinary citizens.

In the second phase, they claim that their write-ups and essays indicate their sincerity to and sense of compassion for the Ummah, in that they are calling for truth and knowledge. They assert that knowledge is a product of freedom and that if there is no freedom from previous ideologies, the desired goal cannot be achieved.

In the third phase, these self-styled intellectuals establish that that everything should be subjected to free scientific research; and their word ‘everything’ exclude nothing, even our belief, teachings and our virtuous heritage.

These phases undoubtedly seem attractive to simple-minded individuals. But the sooner they know that they are like smoke released by the enemy to disguise their invasion the better.

Four: There is no society that toyed with the issue of woman and her values and cast doubt on the Islamic regulations laid down for her protection and sought to undermine those qualities with which she is distinguished from and qualities with which man is distinguished from her except that the society incurred on itself evils and woes and Allâh afflicted it with what it is trying to escape from. The Messenger of Allâh was right when he said,

“I have not left a fitnah for the men of my Ummah greater than women.” (Al-Bukhârî and Muslim)


He also said,

“Beware of this worldly life and beware of women, for the first fitnah faced by the children of Israel was in women.” (Muslim)

Brethren in faith! Let us recall the incidence of the famous Dhî Qâr Battle, which is one of the fiercest battles of pre-Islamic period. This battle was initiated because of a woman whom Chosroe wanted to marry and Nu‘mân refused to let him marry her. Another example was the Jewish conspiracy to remove hijâb from the head of a Muslim woman in the market of Banû Qaynuqâ during the time of Allâh’s Messenger.

Five: The Islamic religion will never accept extremism in matters relating to woman. Never will Islâm condone the woman being humiliated or relegated to the margins of life. Neither will it accept her being led to moral degeneration. Both paths are extreme. The Ummah should not tolerate the pessimistic bigots nor should it give a chance to those who toy with religious values.

The Muslim Ummah is not a nation that suppresses woman and deny her her rights, though some bigots may support their negative attitude to women with spurious hadîths like, “Obeying a woman brings about a regret.” On the other hand, it should not allow those who seek to lure woman out of her nature through deceit and lies. These elements also support their deviated ideology with fake narrations like, “Take your religion from this humayrâ [meaning: ‘آishah].”

The proper thing is to maintain a moderate stand, which is just and fair. Whatever has a proof from the Qur’ân and the Sunnah is the truth even if it followed by a single person, and whatever contradicts them is falsehood even if it followed by the vast majority.

It is also a big error to claim that conciliation could made between those who call woman to observe the proper Islâmic covering and those who call her to abandon the hijâb, to shamelessly expose herself and to do away with modesty. Allâh says about those who try to reconcile between these two groups,

“(They are) swaying between this and that, belonging neither to these nor to those; and he whom Allâh sends astray, you will not find for him a way (to the truth - Islâm).” (An-Nisâ 4:143)


Fellow Muslims! Fear Allâh and beware of innovations for every innovation is heresy and every heresy is misguidance. Allâh says,

“O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allâh, but do that which they are commanded.” (At-Tahrîm 66:6)

Brethren in Islâm! The sixth factor is specially related to woman. Her job in this life and in the society is not based on enslaving her or exploiting her body. The woman rather has rights in the society and family. She has right to attend mosques, she has right to eliminate illiteracy, she has right to give and receive admonition and in receiving and imparting knowledge and education. She has right to enjoin virtues and forbid vices. She has right to improve herself whenever she has a job that is suitable for her naturally and religiously like in the fields of useful knowledge and righteous deeds. For the Ummah is in dire need of female Muslim teachers, Muslim female nurses and doctors and Muslim female writers. The woman herself needs to fill her head with knowledge and righteous sciences and not to strip her head and her body naked and to regard her religion with displeasure.

The job of the woman in the society shall remain critical and delicate, and no negligence or bitter experiment shall be tolerated on her. The entire society is also required to maintain honours and not to toy with them. The successful nation is the one capable of striking a balance between these noble goals for woman and the society’s needs. It does not put in a guilty cage nor does it leave her free to become prey to sins and immoralities.

The final factor, dear brethren, is that, it has to be made clear that a call for equality between male and female in all aspects of life is like a call for impossibility. The true Muslim believes that Allâh created both man and woman and created for each, peculiar qualities. He only made man excelled over woman with a degree. He says,

“And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to what is reasonable, but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them. And Allâh is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” (Al-Baqarah 2:228)


Allâh distinguished man with prophethood, political leadership, administration of the law, leadership in prayer, fighting in the way of Allâh, marrying without a guardian, power of divorce, having double of what woman has in some cases of inheritance, the fact that the child carries man’s name, permission to marry up to four wives and the fact that his testimony equals that of two women.

Imâm Ahmad reported that Umm Salamah asked the Messenger of Allâh, “O Allâh’s Messenger, why do men engage in jihad and we [women] do not? Why are we apportioned the half of [of a male’s share] in inheritance?” Thereupon, Allâh revealed the verse:

“And wish not for the things in which Allâh has made some of you to excel others. For men there is reward for what they have earned, (and likewise) for women there is reward for what they have earned, and ask Allâh of His Bounty. Surely, Allâh is Ever All-Knower of everything.” (An-Nisâ 4:32)


Al-Qurtubî said, “Man’s virtue over woman is clear for every wise person. Had there been no evidence for this besides a fact that she is created from man and that he is her origin and she is prevented from undertaking anything without his permission that would have been enough.”

Dear brethren! The excellence of man does not, however, mean looking down upon woman and discriminating against her. Nor does this mean that every man is better every woman. It is an established principle that declaring a thing as better than another does not mean degrading the latter. The Qur’ân is entirely the word of Allâh, yet the Messenger of Allâh said that ‘آyah al-Kursiyy’ is the best verse in the Qur’ân, as reported by Muslim. Also the Messengers and Prophets also excelled one another. Allâh says,

“We have preferred some of the Prophets above others.” (Al-Isrâ 17:55)


This verse does not however mean that the status of the Messengers and the Prophets above whom others are preferred.

Fellow Muslims! Having mentioned evidences on men’s excellences over women, we are also asserting, in the light of the evidences of the Qur’ân and the Sunnah, that women are halves of men. They are equal to men in matters of belief and morals. They are equal to them in their entitlement to reward and punishment.

We are also asserting the falsehood and injustice of a statement being a male augments one’s scale of good deeds and that being a female decreases one’s scale of good deeds. This statement vividly contradicts the saying of Allâh,

“Verily, the most honourable of you with Allâh is most pious. Verily, Allâh is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” (Al-Hujurât 49:13)

Real life experiences have shown that woman can be better than many men as in the case of the mothers of the faithful and those who were after them. Being a male or female is not a criterion for weighing deeds on the Day of Resurrection. As femininity is not an imperfection for the sun so does masculinity is not a source of pride for the moon. And as the saying goes, a lioness in her jungle is better and stronger than a cock among the fowl.

Therefore, the fundamental rule in this matter lies in Allâh’s word that goes says,

“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allâh has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to Allâh and to their husbands), and guard in the husband's absence what Allâh orders them to guard (e.g. their chastity, their husband's property).” (An-Nisâ 4:34)

by Imâm al-Haramain Sa'ûd ash-Shuraim

:w:
Reply

Login/Register to hide ads. Scroll down for more posts
hidaayah
04-11-2006, 12:39 PM
:sl:
jazakallah khairun for the article sis..:)
Reply

Kittygyal
04-11-2006, 01:11 PM
thanks sis for sharing it :)

take care
Reply

M H Kahn
04-15-2006, 05:28 AM
A large write-up ! Allah permits, I'll read it and contribute.
Reply

Welcome, Guest!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up
renak
04-15-2006, 05:43 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Ninjaress
:sl:

In the third phase, these self-styled intellectuals establish that that everything should be subjected to free scientific research; and their word ‘everything’ exclude nothing, even our belief, teachings and our virtuous heritage.

:w:
Thanks for posting this article. The article is written well enough, and seems rather convincing. I strongly encourage the women who read this article to do so many times, and reflect upon what is being outlined. I for one will not accept such suggestions until I can verify their accuracy within the Quran. If you look at the comment above it appears to be an insult to any free thinking woman.

I will comment in more detail at a later date.
Reply

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 3
    Last Post: 08-09-2009, 12:44 PM
  2. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 05-19-2008, 06:10 PM
  3. Replies: 19
    Last Post: 02-08-2006, 06:58 PM
British Wholesales - Certified Wholesale Linen & Towels | Holiday in the Maldives

IslamicBoard

Experience a richer experience on our mobile app!