Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 494
! ! 494 brother to the left. The g eneral stood straight before the elephant. When the g eneral attacked from the front, the elephant would turn his head to the right or left. Whenever it turned to the right, the brother on the right side would attempt to attack its trunk with his sword. The elephant would lift him up with his trunk and throw him to the ground. Once the elephant turned to the left, the brother on the left attempted to attack it s trunk with his sword. The elephant would then lift him up with his trunk and slam him to the ground. However, this did not deter the two brothers from the elephant’s sides. [They continued] until they had badly injured it. Finally, t he elephant took fright and began to retreat. When this elephant began to retreat, the other elephants in the formation also took fright, and they too turned back in retreat. Due to the stampede of elephants, a panic arose i n the opposing army and the whole Iranian army r a n away. T hus, t he Islam ic army achieved victory. Therefore, there have lived such women as these , who preferred their children to be martyred in the battlefield , rather tha n see them alive having been defeated. Resting aside the training of their children to sacrifice their lives, t oday, we see women who even discourage the ir children from dedicating their lives for the cause of faith. The truth of the matter is that women are predominantly led by t heir emotions. I f you appeal to their emotions, they can achieve great heights of virtue ! In one battle, Haz rat Sa’ad ra was a commander , and he received a complaint concerning a new Muslim , who was found to be dri nking alcohol. Hazr at Sa’ad ra had the man imprisoned. At that time , Haz rat Sa ’ ad ra , had a wound on his back side , so he was unable to ride. Eventually, a high seat was made for him and Hazr at Sa ’ ad ra could give out commands while half stretched out on the seat. Haz rat Sa’ad ’s ra tent was close to where the new Muslim soldier was imprisoned. Whenever he heard a slogan raised or a mournful cry from the battleground , the new Muslim would pul l at his chains in anger and cry out , “If only I could have been part of today’s battle. Is there any Muslim who will free me? Even though I am sinful, I have no less anguish in my heart for Islam than any other. ” Yet, the other Muslim soldiers were not ready to free him because they were afraid of angering Haz rat Sa ’ ad ra. At last, Haz rat Sa’ad’s wife ra said, “Let pass what will. I am going to unlock his chains , as I cannot watch him suffer like this. ” She opened the prisoner’s chains and set him free.