Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 395
! ! 395 relation to the injunctions , but women are inferred wherever men are mentioned. The truth is that the Holy Qur’ān is the one and only perfect book, which has established the rights of women. Prior to it , neither the book of [ Haz rat ] Moses as include d the complete rights of women , nor did the teachings of [ Haz rat ] Jesus as propose such complete teachings; nor did Haz rat Noah as , Haz rat Abraham as , or other prophets mention these subjects in any great detail. O nly the Holy Qur’ān has declared to the world that women also harbor the same yearning to progress as men do, and have the same aspi rations, the same feelings, that same spirit of sacrifice and same aims as men. It was the Holy Qur’ān , through which the following declaration res ounded throughout the world : َﻋ َﻠ ۡﻴ ِﻬ َّﻦ ا +َِّ ۡی ِﻣ ۡﺜ ُﻞ َو َﻟ ُﻬ َّﻦ “ A nd they (the women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them … ” (Holy Qur’ān , Ch. 2: V. 229) In other words [the Holy Qur’an is stating that], ‘ O men! You, w ho have been exploiting women’s rights w e now declare that just as you have certain rights over women, women also possess some rights over you. Just as men have the authority, so do women. [If it recognize s this ] , the world today would take advantage of th i s knowledge and would not be sli ding down the path towards sin. This responsibility falls on you. If you had taught your sons that Islam ic Shariah has established rights for women and to violate them is a gr ave sin, then you would currently not be shackled by the chains of slavery. Thus , this is the teaching of the Holy Qur’ān, and it is the duty of every believer to act upon it and to persuade others to act up on it. It is not a courtesy an d I assure you that regard ing this issue, there must be no ne gligence on our part. As long as there exists even one individual who [truly] believes in God Almighty, h is effort towards uphold ing the pro gress and organization of women will certainly continue because if he is negligent in this regard , then his transgression is not against you [women] , but it is against God.