Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 253
! ! 253 humiliated ? ’ Other nations pose the question , ‘I f Muslims are truthful , why are they so humiliated ? ’ Ultimately , the whole responsibility lies up on the Muslims. Muslims deserted Islam and therefore they have been humiliated. Amongst the affluent Muslims, there are those who believe the purpose of their lives is simply to sit idly at home , eat and manage their servan ts even though Islam forbids indolence. Asking others to do work is akin to begging. Once, a c ompanion ra was traveling by horse when his whip fell to the ground. A man behind him wished to pick it up, but the c ompanion s aid , “ I s wear by God , do not pick up the whip. ” The c ompanion ra got off his horse and picked up the whip himself , so he could avoid begging. The teachings of the Holy Prophet sa are not intended to create defects or idleness, but Muslim women are often idle. This is in the sense that they do not perform any useful and productive work. They believe that their sole work is housework , cooking food, making the bed, washing their children’s clothes, and cleaning up their children’s waste. Yet even a cat provid es for herself and her children. What then distinguishes man from an animal? You must spare some time for the benefit of o thers. Do your household chores, but also do something for the welfare of others. Ask yourself, what have you done in your life to benefit the world ? If no thing , then do it now. The only job affluent ladies do is to exercise authority over their servants and still they continue to complain about the amount of work they do. In England, women work quite a bit. T hey are clerks in offices, they work as nurses and doctors, etc. Last year, I offered women the opportunity to learn to do tabligh here and t hat we w ould make arrangement s for them. At dars , m en were [similarly] encouraged to come , and fiv e hundred men attended, however among the women , we received only one letter expressing any interest. Last year, wom en were urged to establish Lajna all over [India] and to teach handicraft. Yet , except for a few women, nobody paid attention. By learning handicraft skills, you should assist the poor.