Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 13
! ! 13 Address to the Ladies Delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashir - ud - D in Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifat - ul - Masih II ra July 8, 1915 , in Lahore The Division of Human Beings God Almighty has created man in two forms: male and female. All human beings are divided into these two categories. Hence, the various Shariah s that have been sent by God Almighty address e d not only men , but also women. However, when ignorance and waywardness spread throughout the world, many people wish to release themselves from the obligations of Shariah. J ust as a wild bull and a headstrong horse are eager to escape their harness by slipping their necks from it , so too do people as ignorance increases, attempt to free themselves from the commands of Shariah by hiding behind any possible excuse. In time s such as this, when Islam faces difficulty , Muslims have forgotten the Holy Qur’ān and God Almighty ’s commandments. Wherever men have generally begun to liberate themselves from the Shariah , nearly all women, with very few exceptions, have followed suit. The underlying reason for this i s that such women never fully comprehend ed the philosophy of the Shariah , and having stumbled, they strayed onto a d ifferent path. Yet, the Word of God was revealed for women , just as it was for men. The Rights of Men and Women If an ignorant person, due to lack of knowledge , makes a statement to the effect that, “ m en possess absolut e rights” or that “women hold all rights,” th is is indicat ive of that indiv i dual’s narrow - mindedness and shortsightedness. This is because in the sight of God Almighty, m e n and wom e n are both equal. He has created both and i f a man breaks His rules and a woman remains obedient, then that woman is far superior to the man in the sight of God Almighty. Similarly, i f a woman disobeys the commands of God Almighty in some way, and the man remains obedient, then that man is far superior