Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 82
82 Excellent Example of Muslim W omen This incident is from the time of Ha z rat ‘ Umar ra. Hind , a woman who had fought against the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa all her life, she [later] became Muslim at the time of the victory of M ecca. In one battle, both her husband , Abu Sufyān ra and her son , Mua’via ra participated. The enemy attack ed in such a way that the Muslims could not stand their ground and retreated from the battlefield. When Hind saw that the Muslims were running back from the battlefield , she said to the women, “ Look , the Muslims are running from the battlefield. Come, let us stop the m. ” After saying this , they took out the stakes from the tents and beat the horses and camels with the wood, saying , “ Go back right now or take our place and cook food. We will go and fight the enemy ourselves. ” There is a famous, historical phrase which Abu Sufyān ra spoke at this occasion. He looked at his son Mua’via ra and said, “ Mua’via ra ! Turn back the horses. The attacks of the enemy are not as painful as the se words from the women. ” So, they returned [to the battlefield] and gained victory over the enemy. Thus , I warn you that your men are failing this test. They are afraid and anxious about going to battle. There is no dou bt that we have raised people ready to mak e sacrifices. But there are a good number of people who are afraid of stepping in to this field. You will be surprised to know that from the city of Lahore, where five thousand Ahmadis live , even after calling their attention and even though I was present there and personally called for their attention , in an [entire] year, not even on e man joined the army. In compa rison , from my own home, my seven sons have served [in the army]. One of my sons is in Qadian , he is an Indian citizen , and according to the [country’s] law and Sharia h, he is loyal to the government of India. Two are studying in college, and the rest are not of age. In other words, as many as could have served, have all served [in the military] , b ut out of the five thousand Ahmadis i n Lahore, not a single person volunteered. Th e same is true of other cities, f or instance, Gujrat, Sialkot, etc. There are many places within these areas which at the time of the British, served t he military very well for the sake of money, but do not serve in the same way anymore after the creation of Pakistan. P erhaps because now they do not receive that kind of salary and facilities.