Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 139
! ! 139 will speak the same words as the lone female and just as some commandments are specifically directed to men, so are some commandments specifically directed to women. This does not signify that only the male gender is addressed , but rather that if some commandments are directed towards men , then others are only directed towards women. Then there are those commandments , which apply equally to both men and women, e. g. , the Friday sermon and the two Eid sermons are made obligatory for both men and women. Typically, m en and women sit separately , or women sit on the other side of a curtain or in a separate tent. Women attend dars , wearing a burqa [ outer garment , covering according to Islamic Purdah ]. Likewise, they can listen to the Friday sermon while seated in a marquee or behind a curtain. Si nce the man delivers the sermon , men are seated in the front, and women sit separately behind a curtain even though the speaker addresses them both equally. If women sit separately or behind a curtain, it does not mean that the s peaker is not addressing them. Just as men are addressed in the sermon, so are women. Therefore, my sermon is addressed not only to men , but also to women. What I am now about to relate i s very appropriate according to the time and location. After much thought and deliberation, I have decided that the mosque, which is to be built in Germany , should be built with funds collected from women. There is no doubt that women might not personally own any property, but there is also no doubt that the foundation of their wealth is their jewelry. Undoubtedly, men are involved in bringing home the main source of income, although they do not always have savings due to their financial responsibilities, whereas women do have something in the form of jewelry. Therefore , during the time of famine, men borrow from women to get by. Men should not think, ‘H ow will women acquire the money , for after all , they receive it from us. ’ Women can donate their jewelry to give chanda. S ome women may own more , and others may have less. However, in God’s sight it is not the amount but the sincerity of the heart which truly matters.