Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 326
! ! 326 sword, which resulted in him cut ting his arm due to improper use of the sword. A t this the King scolded him and the prince incurred his displeasure. Similarly, Muslim women are unaware of how to use their rights. Consider how Islam instructs that even weaning a child off his mother’s milk should be done after mutual consultation [ i. e. , women should not be forced to wean the child off from their mother’s milk]. Islam says the mehr is the woman’s property and they can use it as they wish. However, people began making the mistake of setting the m e hr too high, i. e. , a million rupees or even more. What is the purpose of setting a m e hr at one or two hundred thousand rupees, if his [the husband’s] income is n ot even a penny? He is then un able to pay it. T his is not a matter of pride or display of wealth. People have created such grave problems for themselves by refusing to learn to correctly exercise their rights. At any rate , Allah has bestowed Muslim women with all sorts of rights and now they must learn to use those ri ghts correctly. If a person owns a n excellent horse but does not know how to ride the horse , the horse is useless. Along with the correct utilization , one requires a strong determination. Even if a person has knowledge and capability but has no determination, the ability is of no use. Some people are capable and knowledgeable, but they do not possess determ ination, therefore they are in capa ble of performing any work. R esolve should be firm and acted upon. When they resolve to do something, they should follow through. Some people have knowledge, capability , and strong determination, but they do not take an y action. Their example is that of an old woman , who i nstalled a door in her house but did not close it to keep the dogs out. The women of o ur country mistakenly believe that men have usurped their rights. Thus, Muslim women should remember that if they do not learn to implement the rights Islam has granted them , grievances are of no use. If you want to learn about the rights given to you by Islam , study the Holy Qur’ān and the Hadith , and th e proper interpretation can be found in the Promised Messiah ’s as books. Once Maulv i Abdul