Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 271
! ! 271 indifferent. Now , I would like you to take a step towards practical implementation. The assigned books are Kashti - e - N u h and Shahadat - ul - Qur’ān. Make an effort to read them. T hose who are unable to read , ask your Association’s secretary to arrange for you to listen to them. I will phrase the questions in such a way that even illiterate women will be able to answer them. For examp le, I will ask whether a particular point is mentioned in a certain book. Each one of you will either stand up or sit down, and I will say to you, “Whoever believes that this book contains issues related to this question , they should stand up. ” T his way , I will discover whether you have read the book because whoever stands up when a point has not been mentioned in the book, will reveal that she has not read the book. There is a story of an individual , who became a self - proclaimed Haj j i [the name used for those who have performed the Hajj , pilgrimage] and would use hearsay to narrate tales of Hajj. Hajr - e - Aswad is a stone which [pilgrims] have been commanded to touch, kiss , or point towards while performing the circuit of the Ka ‘ ba h. This Haj j i was unaware of this. A wise man came there and as a test, inquired after the well - being of a few inhabitants of M ecc a. In the course of asking these questions , he i nquired, “How is Mr. Hajr - e - Aswad doing?” Th e Haj j i responded , “He is doing well, but now has grown old. ” Thus , his lie was exposed. In the same way, I will be able to discover if you have read those books or not. For example, is there or is there not a mention of Jesus as in K i shti - e - N u h ? Or is Salāt mentioned in Shahadat - ul - Qur’ān or is it not? Even the least educated of women can do this. You should read these books thoroughly , so that you are not embarrassed at that time. Women from our Jama'at should be ahead of other women in the field of religious knowledge. In the days of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa , there was not one single man or woman who was illiterate. This is evidence of their great sincerity , for attaining an education was not customary in Arab society. Today , we should take advantage of all available facilities for education. Read General Newspapers a s Well The most convenient source of knowledge is a book or a