Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 340
! ! 340 Address to the Ladies at Jalsa Salana Delivered by Hazrat Mirza Bashir - ud - D in Mahmud Ahmad, Khalifat - ul - Masih II ra 1934 After reciting Tashahhud and Surah Al - Fatihah , Haz rat Khalifa t - ul - Masih II ra said: In our country, and in fact in all other nations , there is a widespread notion that women are naturally and inherently incapable of accomplishing anything significant. In order to prove this notion incorrect, w omen should have accomplished great things, rather than a c ceding to it. A re they truly incapable of accomplishing anything great? And is it largely due to the Holy Prophet sa stat ing in a Hadith that he saw a large number of women in hell because they were ungrateful, deficient in understanding , and imperfect in their faith? The Holy Prophet as r elated this to us to make women aware of their condition and warn them that these shortcomings could lead them to hell. Ingratitude is not an innate quality. It is an [ acquired ] habit. I f a thief steals , it is not because stealing is in his nature , but because he has acquired the h abit of doing so. If women have acquired the habit of being ungrateful, it can be altered. However, instead of instructing women to rid themselves of this bad habit , today’s ignorant m aulv i s tell them it is women’s n ature [to be ungrateful] and they cannot change themselves. The women readily agree to this consensus. Thus , when the doctor does not prescribe treatment and the patient is content, th en death is the surest outcome. Whereas, by pointing out t hat women will go to hell for being ungrateful , being inadequate in their faith , and weak in understanding, the Holy Prophet sa challenged their sense of honor and urged them to give up such habits and thereby enter paradise. Just as he sa once light heartedly mentioned to his wet - nurse that old peopl e would not enter paradise.