Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 275
! ! 275 them for direction s, they told him, “W ait, let us drink our opium. ” Haz rat Jibra ’ il ra [the angel Gabriel] and the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa were in a hurry , ye t the beggars took their time and continued to drink bhang [an opium derivative]. Finally, they squeezed the opium leaves and made a ball out of its residue. They t hrew it towards the mountain , exclaiming , “Ya ‘Ali ra. ” The mountain exploded and a path was created for them. Upon hearing such absurd stories, some women still say, Subhan a llah. Ignorant and foolish people believe that such tales are true. They do not realize that such tales defame God, the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa and Haz rat ‘Ali ra as well. Haz rat ‘Ali ra acquired his statu s due to the Holy Prophet Muham m a d sa. W hen he is dishono red , then how can Haz rat Ali’s ra honor be maint ained? Just look at our nation. No one captured us and taught us Islam ; rather , our forefathers conquered Islam ic countries and accepted Islam after being i mpressed by its good qualities. Why do we respect Haz rat ‘Ali ra today? It is purely due to the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa. If we had not beli eved in the Holy Prophet Muhamma d sa , we would have respected Ha z rat ‘Ali ra merely as one among many chiefs. In short, one ’s faith should not be so ignorant. This type of faith is like that of an infant , who is always under an other’s control. He [Promised Messiah as ] says the second type of faith is that of the philosophers , who are skeptical of every concept. It is like the faith of older boys, who run and fall. The third type of faith is the faith of saints, which is the faith of the mature and wise. T hey are not controlled by others, and they are not hampered in their actions. When they act, they do not fall or become injured , rather they act while stay ing safe from injury. So, remember that women can advise other women much better , which is why the existence of Lajna is so vital. They will understand other women’s needs and their advice will accordingly leave a deeper i mpact upon them. Duties o f Lajna The following should be the duties of Lajna: