Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 199
! ! 199 doctor’s statement that while he is on guard duty, he should not stay awake all night. Or that he has been unfairly court marshaled for sleeping at night. In this case, even the doctor would say that he should have stayed awake , because the army offic er had ordered him to stay awake and keep guard. A similar incident occurred in America. A man, who was his parent s’ only son, was appointed as a guard at an extremely dangero us juncture. The soldier who was supposed to relieve him, never arrive d and it became very late. Since he was exhausted from standing guard, he leaned aga inst something and fell asleep. The officer found him in this condition , arrested and prosecuted him. The judges acquiesced that this soldier fell asleep out of exhaustion , and the person who was supposed to relieve him was at fault, but if the enemy had attacked in this situation and found him negligent, thousands of lives would have been lost. Therefore, even though he was his parent ’ s only son , he was shot dead. Now, if the entire incident is not related, he is said to be a victim of injustice. H as sleeping ever been considered an offense? Particularly, when a person is extremely fatigued. It would be considered a mistake. One should always consider the nature of the question. Some questions are of a moral nature , the specific character of which should be looked at because circumstances and situations vary. Some questions are more concrete, and the potency of the question is considered rather than its nat ure. A person can hide any number of moral issues and their co nditions are subject to change, h owever , certai n concrete and obvious commands cannot be concealed. For example, the hair on one’s head can be seen by all. Actually, one may be able to conceal his head under a cap, but no one can hide a clean - shaven chin. I am sorry to say that some seniors also shave their beards, and by seniors , I mean older men. If someone stops them , they ask whether wearing a b eard is an Islam ic principle. Although at home, if they ask ed their wives to cook rice for them or to wear a certain type of dress and the wives d id not comply but instead questioned them as to whether it was a principle of Islam , the husbands would not like their answer. Therefore, when the same point is applied to them, how can they ask if this is a principle of Islam? Consequently , I for one wish my students to fully obey these