Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 522
! ! 522 the greatness of the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. Hence, your fath er and your brother have authority over you until and unless they become a hindrance in your path towards attaining faith. However, if they stop you from partici pating in religious works and you obey them instead of God, then you have taken your brother or your husband as your God. Rather than attaining righteousness, you have committed a sin and instead of becoming a good believer , you have become a disbeliever. Yo ur faith should be that which you hold dearest to you and when fighting for your faith , you should care for no one else. Syed Ahmed Sahib Barelvi rh was a Mujjadid [ reformer ] before the Promised Messiah as. When he went to perform Hajj , among his caravan were nearly a hundred women who had never stepped out of their ho mes uncovered. When they did go out, a doli would be taken to their room and they would leave their home sitting inside of it. If they had to walk from one street to the other, a rrangements for p u rdah were made be fore they could pass. When t hese hundred women went for Hajj to M ecc a and the time came to circuit the Holy Ka‘bah , Syed Sahib said, “O S isters! The One God who has ordered you to cover yourself is now the same God who forbids you to cover yourself while circuiting the Holy Ka‘bah. ” History tells us that with out uttering a single word, all the women unveiled their faces. Such was the faith of the women in the thirteenth century , who did not have the means to enlighten themselves as you have. They had not witnessed as many signs and miracles as you have. Why then, can you not rid yourself of indolence ? If you will not do tabligh , then who else will? Men cannot preach to women because of p u rdah and if you will also not preach to them, then how will Ahmadiyyat spread amongst women? W omen who have abandoned their p u rdah have no more interest in religion. T hey have become disbelievers, and they are even unwilling to listen to religious discussions. Women who observe p u rdah will speak of religion and it is only you who can reach others.