Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 282
! ! 282 must pay special attention to their clothes , thus requiring them to make new clothes. However , new clothes are not necessary to attend. I am present here but have not made any new clothes. The clothes I am wearing are those which I already owned. Thus , an attempt to hinder participation based solely upo n the requirement that new clothes be made will result in people within the Jama ‘ at viewing such participation as improper. Grad ually, a feeling will arise within the Jama ‘ at, that there is a lack of cooperation on such occasions. That w omen and men would all stay at home , is also incorrect. It is necessary to abolish the notion that new clothes are required to participate in such functions , regardless of whether one can afford it , as opposed to completely opting out of participating. Reforming the Customs o f Jah ez a nd Bari There is no doubt that the customs of the Jahez [dowry giv en by the girl’s family] and B ari [a gift given by the groom’s family] are not good [as it is currently practiced] , therefore an effort should be made to reform these customs as soon as possible. I n this matter , I fully support Mir Sahib’s view. A plague and hardship which destroys homes such as this, should be wiped out immediately. I have seen very good households deeply involved in this custom, and I am not embarrassed to reveal that in our own household , the women are wholly involved in this. I have heard them say they should do something , no matter how minimal. Usually, people do not consider their financial condition. There is no doubt that not only Jahez , but Bari is a bad custom. Giving Jahez according to one ’ s means is somewhat justifiable; however, to date , I have found no precedence for the giving of Bari , especially in the way it is now practiced. However, this does not mean that those who can afford to give a Jahez , should not do so. On such occasions, the Promised Messiah ’s as conduct should be an example for us. The Holy Qur’ān is the foremost [authority], and on those issues where it is silent, it is permissible to check the Hadith. Yet, the narrators of the Hadith are not present among us, and we personally have no knowledge of their morals and truthfulness. It is possible that among them , were those who fabric ated [the Hadith ]. It is also possible that there are so - called Hadith , which hold no more value than a piece of rubbish ; and there are Hadith , which deserve to be discarded as rubbish , but are