Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 152
152 more attention towards paying chanda f or it. In this area I feel that wo men have again surpassed us [men]. T he building of the men’s offices have not advanced beyond the foundation, [even though] the funds have been approved for one or two years. T he building materials have been procured , and the officers have been designated, and engineers are available. But they have still not been able to pass the initial stages , w hereas by the grace of God Almighty, the women’s office has been completed. The officer has only been slightly careless in constructin g the enclosure/boundary wall. If the enclosure had been made , the women could have started all their work here in a very effective manner. Another point is that women take great advantage of their vision and sight. God Almighty has put a certain quality in a woman that when she sees something attractive , s he becomes infatuated with it. There is gold, and there is jewelry, and she will give her life for this jewelry. She can imagine how the necklace will look around her neck , [but] all her pleasure comes from imagining how people will stare at the necklace around her neck. Thus, I told the Lajna that it wa s not necessary for me to propose a sch eme , for when the ladies see their office built, they will say, “ Subhan a llah ! Take our donations at once and complete it. ” I have heard this anecdote f rom Ha z rat M a sih - e - Mau‘ud as [The Promised Messiah as ] several times , that there was a woman who had this same trait but she was poor. With great anticipation, s he had a very nice ring made and imagined the other women prais ing it and ask ing her , “ Lady , w here did you get this made? How much did it cost to make? What a nice design! We also wish to get a ring made just like this for ou rselves! ” However, it happened that no one n oticed the ring nor inquire d abou t it. Finally, she began saying, “Well, such and such is like this and such and such is like that,” all the while gesturing with her hand so that the ring was visible. But , still no one took notice. Finally, she set fire to her house in frustration. The people who lived nearby gathered around. The women came and began to sympathize with her and ask ed her what happened and if anything had bee n saved from the fire ? She said , “N othing is left. Only this ring remains. ” Finally, one of the women asked, “ Sister, when did you have this ring made? ” The woman replied tearfully , “ Had you asked this earlier , my house [need] not have been burn ed to the ground. ” The Promised Messiah as told this anecdote on several occasions and said that God Almighty ha s instilled in women ’s nature an element of show ing off.