Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 318
! ! 318 and as we , who live in rural areas , are not accustomed to eating the substandard cooking oil used in the cities , I often come down with a sore throat after eating my very first meal in Lahore. However, this time the malady s tart ed after my third meal. Moreover, I am to deliver anothe r speech later this evening. I will thus end my speech by briefly menti oning that oftentimes women f eel they have no worth. This thought is completely baseless and should be dismissed from the heart a s soon as possible. The Sialkot Lajna have proven that women work just as well. Women should remember that men and wome n are equal in the sight of God Almighty and women can advance through the same levels of progress as men. The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa said concerning one of his wives : ُﺧ ُﺬ ْو ا ِﻧ ْﺼ َﻒ ِد ْﻳ ِﻨ t ْﻢ ِﻣ ْﻦ M ِﺬ ِە ا ﻟ r ُﺤ َﻤ َْ ا ِء Which meant l earn half of the religion from Haz rat A’isha h ra. We have witnessed Haz rat A’isha h ra guide men in such important matters , that one is left amazed. She had attained perfection in understanding the sayings of the Holy Prophet sa. At times, men’s intellect could not grasp what her own mind could comprehend. Ther e is a well - known anecdote that once the re was a death in the Holy Prophet ’s sa family ; perhaps it was Haz rat ‘ Ali ’s ra brother who had been martyred in battle. T he women were greatly aggrieved , and they began to wail. S ince wailing was forbidden, someone mentioned this t o the Holy Prophet sa. The Holy Prophet sa told him to go and stop them. The man forbade them from continuing , yet they did not stop. At the time, Islam was in its initial stages, and the training of women was not yet complete. The man came back and told the Holy Prophet sa that they had not stop ped. He said : َﻓ ﺎ ْﺣ ُﺚ ِ أ ` ْﻓ َﻮ ا Mِ ِﻬ ﻦ ﱠ ا ﻟ v َﱡ ا َب [Cast dust in their faces] In other words, put dirt on their faces. The man went and literally picked up dirt and began to throw it up on their mouths. When Haz rat