Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 14
14 their work and set out for j ihad [fighting in self defen s e against an enemy]. The time they spen t in j ihad can be estimated from the fact that they fought four or five battles ea ch year and each battle lasted two to three weeks or more, including the actual fighting and travel time. Now you may all estimate how little time they had left to fulfil l their worldly responsibilities. They also had families an d wives and children. In spite of the time th ey were compelled to spend [ in jihad ] , they were still very regular in performing their Sal ā t and fasting. Regardless of what they did, I say to Ahmadi women that you have pledged anew to bring Islam back to life. If this pledge is sincere and not hypocritical , then y ou will have to shape your whole life in accordance to your pledge. Islam is already heavily criticized by its enemies. Islam is already the target o f our enem y’s arrows. Islam is already the target of thousands of taunts and criticisms, s o if you show any weakness [at this stage ] , you will bring Islam into further disrepute. If you trul y cannot act upon Islam ic teachings, then it is better for you to leave this m ovement (Ahmadiyya Jama ‘ at), rather than be the cause for damaging the reputation of Islam. However, if you truly and sincerely believe that the m ovement is truthful and you genuinely, not superficially, believe that you have recognized the truth sent by God Almighty and believ e it necessary for your salvation, then it is your duty never to be a ny cause for dishonor to the Jama ‘ at. It is essential that you present yourself as such an example of Islam ic life through your faith, actions, sacrifices , and devotion to God tha t everyone around you is forced to accept the fact , that even in this materi alistic world, one can give precedence to faith over worldly matters and that Islam ic practices can be implemented and there is no command which imposes a burden up on people. I am astonished to see that some Ahmadis who have been part of the Jama ‘ at for years are indolent in practicing Islamic commands and t here is an aura of listlessness in their spirituality. In contrast, there are some European Ahmadis who have joined the Jama ‘ at for only a short time, yet t hey practice Islam with such sincerity and zeal that they are a delight to behol d. Although, Ahmadis in India or Pakistan liv e in a very different environment from the European Ahmadis ; a European Ahmadi lives in an atmosphere that l acks the spirit of religion , but still they harbor a passion to carry out Islam ic teachings.