Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 28
! ! 28 Bangani [eggplant] religion. Once , a certain king highly praised eggplant in his court. One of his courtiers , who was given to flattery , also began to praise it , saying that the eggplant look ed like a mystic wearing a robe. I t s green stem wa s comparable to a green turban , which wraps around the head. I ts green leaves appeared to be a saint rapt in worship. However, a few days later , when the king suffered some discomfort because of it [the eggplant] , he mentioned in his court that eggplant was a terrible thing. Upon hearing this, the same courtier said, “Sir, is eggp lant even worthy of being called a vegetable ? It would be folly to count it is as one of the vegetables. It is indeed an unpleas ant and harmful thing. ” Someone asked him why he was disparaging it now, when a few days earlier, he had prais ed it. He replied, “I am the king ’s servant , not the eggplant ’s. W hen the king praised it , so did I. N ow that h e scorns it, I also scorn it. ” The religion of women is a Bangani faith, which is why we find so many women accepting their husband ’ s religion in this fashion , Illa Ma S h a’ Allah [ Except what Allah has wi ll ed ]. Women’s Need for Faith The Holy Qur’ān teaches that faith can only be beneficial through sincerity and understanding of the truth. Some say that women have been created merely for the pleasure and comfort of men, but this is not what Islam says. On the contrary, it explains that women are as bound by Shariah as men are and it is just as necessary for men to comply with the rules of Shariah as it is for women to comply with them. Women are not like sheep and cattle, meant for the convenience of mankind with no independent purpose behind their creation. Thus, the Holy Qur’ān is for women , just as it is f or men. A pious woman who follows its edicts, is promised Heaven and whoso goes against it , will receive the punishment of H ell. Therefore, the first requirement is to convince women that religion is just as essential for them as for men, in order that they un derstand the essence of Islam. When one needs something, t he y learn the method for attaining it; and when t he y understand its truth , t he y then m ake an effort to achieve it. Thus , women have the same right as men to acquire religion , because it is just as harmful for them to break the rules of religion , as it is for men. Hence , why should women not learn religion in the same manner as men?