Janab e Zainab s.a. ke Khutbe ka iqtebaas

Woman in western society

 

If in Muslim countries they try to cover the woman, in America they try to make them look like a piece of meat. “
–Marjane Satrapi, The New York Times. October 21, 2007

THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN IN SOCIETY

THE RIGHTS OF WOMAN IN SOCIETY:

Based on these principles, Islam grants woman equal rights with man,

except where there are natural differences connected to the physical,

psychological and sexual constitution as well as social position.

Islam grants woman the following rights:

1. The Right to Learn:

Actually Islam commands both men and women to learn. A Tradition

says:

“Seeking knowledge is a duty imposed on all Muslim males and

females.”

2. The Right to Work:

Both man and woman are given the right to work. All religiously

lawful works are open to woman as they are open to man. The married

woman, however is not allowed to work without her husband’s

permission, because matrimonial rights and family system come first in

Islam. It is obligatory for the wife to protect family life and take

care of household duties.

3. The Political Rights:

In Islam the Woman enjoys full political rights, except nomination to

the post of the Head of the State and a Judge which are exclusively

reserved for a man. She participates in all political and social

activities like electing the Head of the State, the nation’s

representatives in the parliament, etc. She may be member of all kinds

of establishments, organizations and parties. She may even be a

minister, a parliament deputy and may manage other diverse political

posts.

The Qur’an speaks about women’s allegiance to the Messenger of Allah

(s.a.w.); and history is a witness that women did take the oath

accepting the sovereignty of the Prophet and his successors:

“O Prophet! If believing women come to you, taking oath of

allegiance to you that they will ascribe nothing as partner to Allah,

and will neither steal nor commit adultery nor kill their children,

nor produce any lie that they have devised between their hands and

feet (forged) nor disobey you in what is right,* then accept their

allegiance and ask Allah to forgive them. Surely Allah is Forgiving,

Merciful.”                             Holy Qur’an (60:12)

Actually, this oath of allegiance is obligatory on women as it is on

men, since it is the acceptance of the religious guardianship of the

Head or the “Imam” of the Islamic nation.

 

4. The Civil Rights:

Woman, like man enjoys full legal rights, She may inherit, buy, sell,

give, take, conclude contracts, etc. In Islam, the woman has legally

an independent personality, and her obligations are independent from

those of her father, husband or brothers. Thus, the woman in Islam

enjoys all rights and is treated equally to man in this respect.

No Women in the World Enjoy Perhaps a Better Status Than the Women of Iran

No Women in the World Enjoy Perhaps a Better Status Than the Women of Iran

By Dr Javed Jamil

 

When I landed on Ayatollah Khomeini Airport , Tehran , I already anticipated I was entering a country which was different from most of the other countries. As I was taken out of the Airport by the staff of the Government of Iran and taken to Laleh International Hotel, the difference started unfolding itself. What attracted my first attention were the hoardings on the roadside. They were beautifully decorated with written messages in Iranian Nastalikh, but unlike India and Western countries, there were no pictures of naked women selling commercial items. There were of course no casinos and bars, no evidence of any night life. The road was full of long cars, and I was told that most of them had been manufactured domestically. By the time I checked in the hotel I was convinced that I was in Khomeini’s Iran which had a beautiful blend of Islam, Persian culture and modernity.

I stayed in Iran for 8 days. Right on the first day, I was introduced to the participants from 19 countries. I was told that I was the only Indian to have been invited, and only second one in the last fifteen years’ history of Qur’an exhibition. The other one was some calligrapher from Hyderabad who attended the exhibition several years back. The participants belonged to two categories: artists and Quranic scholars. I obviously belonged to the second category. The countries that had their representatives included Britain, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Georgia, Turkey, Palestine and Rumania.

The exhibition was just unbelievable. The decoration was fabulous, and the calligraphy, books and paintings related to Qur’an were too beautiful to believe. People in large numbers thronged to see the exhibition. I think nowhere else such a Qur’an exhibition was organized at this big level. I was particularly pleased to see that the emphasis in Iran has shifted to the Qur’an in a big way. Qur’anic centers are burgeoning all over Tehran . Of course, Iranians have huge faith in Ahl- e-Bait but they do not make issue of it the way some Indian Shia tend to do. However, I felt that the exhibition would have served the purpose better if the emphasis was on the content of the Qur’an rather than simply the Qur’anic arts. I told this to Mr. Hashmi, the chief organizer of the conference, and I have been requested to submit my plan for the next exhibition. I will Insha Allah prepare a format that will enable the visitors to understand the messages of the Holy Book.

The International Conference on Qur’an that was earlier planned was cancelled due to unknown reasons but I had the opportunity to explain my ideas of Applied Studies of Qur’an to several small groups. I explained to them that we have had been studying Tafsir of Quran for a long time, but now we must concentrate on the application of Quranic knowledge and guidance in various fields. We must endeavor to pursue Qur’anic commands at the world level in a way that the whole mankind benefits from the great social, economic and moral values of Islam.

There is a lot of propaganda in West about the status of women in Iran . What I found was a different picture altogether. I can say it for sure that no women in the world enjoy perhaps a better status than the women of Iran . Women are everywhere to see. They are in almost all the offices and the business centers. They form more than half of the population of the universities. They can be seen moving with aplomb and dignity. They are most elegantly dressed, with long shirts and Jeans and the headscarves covering all or part of the head. They are of course arguably the most beautiful women of the world. They confidently talk with men wherever required. There are no evidences of their commercial exploitation. The crimes against women are negligible compared to West. There are a very few cases of rapes, there are no teenage pregnancies (if there are any at all, they are hardly known). Most of the girls marry boys of their own choice and the government of Iran helps them marry as soon as they want to. I had a discussion with a woman who seemed to be Western minded in her approach, and criticized Islamic republic for not giving women freedom to dress. When I told her that if there was a curb on women’s dress, it was in fact a curb on men, she ultimately seemed to agree. If women wear revealing dresses, I asked her, who enjoys this site most. Men, obviously. I saw in Iran Empowerment of Women with Security. And this is what Islam prescribes. Not the Western style empowerment which has become only a tool for exploiting women by the forces of bazaar. Empowerment without security has no meaning at all.

The most wonderful spectacle of the trip to Iran was reserved for the last day of my stay in Tehran . It was the Juma Prayer at Tehran university. A gathering of about 1.5 million was there. We had the honor to get the place just behind the Imam. Ayatollah Jannati discussed the world situation in some length in his 45 minute long Khutba in Farsi. The fervor and enthusiasm of the people was worth watching. And the credit goes to the administration that it made extraordinary arrangements to handle such a big crowd.

I returned back hugely satisfied with the trip. The only negative thing I noticed was the extraordinary feeling of Persian nationalism in the minds of Iranian people. This can prove counterproductive in the long run.

“If I were not a Muslim, I would have contracted AIDS”

How To Lower Our Gaze
“A big curtain is not my intention, but a big iman and befitting Islamic manners is “

“If I were not a Muslim, I would have contracted AIDS”, proclaimed my friend.

“The ayats in Sura Nur about lowering our gazes doesn’t affect me anymore,” expressed another youth, talking about the intense temptations felt by today’s young. Difficulty in lowering the gaze by both the young and old is readily perceived on the street, weddings, parties and even in the mosques.

What has gone wrong? How can Muslims, called by Allah, our Creator the model community, the custodians of Truth and the upholders of morality behave this way? Why are we adopting the attitudes and routes of the kuffar? How can we rectify ourselves? What follows is a series of practical, though graphic advises which can work for us and set us free from Satan’s stronghold, Insha`Allah.

Prophet Muhamad (saww), by way of warning and as a reminder said, “There is nothing left after I go more dangerous to men than the temptations of women”.

When Allah created humans with all our desires and urges, he also revealed to us sufficient and complete guidance to properly channel these desires, both in the midst of Dar-ul-Kufr or Dar-ul-Islam. All we need to do is seek it, contemplate on it and pursue it. “This day I have perfected your deen for you, completed my favors upon you and chosen Islam as your deen.” (Maida 4)

We should realize that the fact the great sahabas were human beings also. Biologically there were no different from us. They had desires and temptations but yet, they controlled themselves in the best of ways. We can do the same, Insha`Allah. To possess sensual passions is human, to control them is Muslim.

When confronted with an alluring situation like passing by a non-mahram on the street, office or school, Satan is constantly tempting us to glare at her/him with evil thoughts. Satan is probably excitingly saying, with a big smile, ‘yes, yes, yes,’ when we steer into the bait he is setting. During these situations, immediately and consciously realize that when we give a second or following glances, we are obeying Satan. “O you who believe, follow not the footsteps of the devil”. (24:21). By immediately averting our gazes and disobeying Satan, we are giving him a one-two punch in the face and leaving him frustrated and accursed.

Satan rebelled and was expelled by Allah, so let’s all rebel against Satan and expel him from our hearts. Satan intends to fight a war against Muslims, so let’s gather our forces behind the Qur`an and the Sunnah and defeat him. Remember that even if no human eye is watching us, the Ever-Watchful Allah is constantly monitoring the innermost regions of our hearts. Our eyes, limbs, tongue and private parts will be witnesses on the Judgment Day and not an atom’s worth of deed will remain unexamined.

Our minds are conditioned to associate thoughts of stealing clothes from a store to being in handcuffs and hauled into a police van. Likewise we should condition our minds to bring the verses of Surah Nur in front of our eyes during any tempting situations and imagine that Allah is speaking to us directly “Say to the believing, men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. O you believers! Turn you all together towards Allah that you may attain success” (24:30-31). If the Qur`an contained only these two ayats, it would be enough to convince me that it is the book of Allah.

With practice, these associations and the remembrance of Allah during tempting situations will prevent us from getting stuck by devilish arrows. Successfully controlling our gazes also deadens our avoidance of sinful situations. An Islamic idiom says, “Anything that leads to haram is haram in itself.” To do a pious deed is a reward; to avoid a sin is a reward too.

One of the biggest culprits in this class is movies. In the name of entertainment, to please our peers and children and an excuse to do something together as a family, we astonishingly allow un-Islamic pictures and dialogues in front of our eyes and ears. Can we ever imagine the Prophet or our Imams (aozubillah) renting the latest hit from Blockbuster Videos, or listening to music with alluring lyrics at high volume?

Likewise we watch news on TV and stare at the anchor women, adorned in heavy make-up, scanty clothing and seductive smile. Prophet Muhammad (saww), was once approached by a woman with a proposal for marriage. He took a single glance at her face and turned his face away. Jabir bin Abdullah (radhiyallahu anhu) reported: “I asked Allah’s messenger about the sudden glance on the face of a non-mahram. He commanded me that I should turn away my eyes.” Thus, we are not supposed to stare at faces of non-mahrams, be they are our fellow students, our elders, saleswomen or someone on TV.

Pious ladies of the prophet’s household were ordered to observe purdah (separation) in front of a blind sahabah. Asking the curious questions as to why cover/separate when the blind sahabah could not see them, the prophet (saww) wisely answered, “But you could see him.”

In our wedding ceremonies and parties and even in many Islamic fundraising dinners, there is heavy free-mixing between brothers and sisters. Often the chairs of males and females are arranged facing each other, knowing that about 90 percent of our sisters do no wear hijab. It is often noticeable to see males and females peeking glances at each other from the opposite ends of the hall. A big curtain is not my intention, but a big and befitting Islamic manners is.

It comes in a hadith that: “A woman who applies perfumes and goes to a gathering is like an adulteress”. Compare this with our sisters who clad themselves with expensive perfume, one kilogram of makeup, and then come to mixed gatherings. Will this not attract the attention of males? Let’s be real. We have lowered our moral guards so low that a humble word of truth often seems so awfully strange.

Let us contemplate the above humble advices and constantly make the supplication, “O Allah help us control our sensual desires until we get married, and even after we marry, let our desires be only towards our spouses.”

By Sabeel Ahmed