Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 306
! ! 306 Instill Courage and Bravery in Women Excerpt from Friday Sermon Delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashir - ud - D in Mahmud Ahmad , Khalifat - ul - Masih II ra The Holy Prophet Muhamma d’s sa Practical Example Even during peacetime, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa would encourage friendly competition among h is companion s, which would include archery and other skills of war and demonstrations of strength and vigor. It is stated in a Hadith that the Holy Prophet sa would arrange these types of contests in the mosque as well. He said to Haz rat A’isha h ra , “If you wish to watch, you may stand behind me and look over m y shoulder. ” Ignorant people allege this Hadith to be false , because it contends that the Holy Prophet sa wou l d watch contests despite the fact that it i s this quality that Muslims have abandoned which has led them t o their ruin. Islam enjoins vigilance and a readiness to face the enemy at any time, and alongside this , it has endeavor ed to save women from cowardice. A Reason for the Fall of t he Mughal Empire The downfall of the Mughal empire in India was due in large part to women’s cowardliness and men harboring an excessive love for women. At the time of mutiny, the British allies saw that the rebels were strategically placed so that the British troops w ould be in the line of fire and would thus be defeated. They sent a message to Zeena t Mahal (s he was the King’s favorite wife , who c onspired with the British in the hopes that h er son would inherit the throne. Al though at that time, the throne and m onarchy existed in name only, she still desired it for her son ). The message said that it would be to her advantage if she had the cannons removed, for their location c ould prove to be extremely dangerous for the British troops. It is thought that if the cannons had not been removed from that locat ion, the outcome of the mutiny w ould have been the exact opposite. Zeenat Mahal said to the K ing, “My heart beats too fast