Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 29
! ! 29 I f one understands the benefit religion can offer , then such a person will believe in God and will abide by His commands. However, if a person is unaware of this [benefit], th en why should t he y trust God? I t would b e better to not believe. A s long as a person remains ignorant of the advantages or disadvantages of accepting or rejecting the prophets, then why would t he y believe in them ? Thus, it is necessary to be aware of the value and truth of these matters, and women should acquire religious education in the same manner as men. Righteous Women Mentioned i n the Holy Qur’ān We find mention of two pious women in the Holy Qur’ān , one of them being the wife of Pharaoh. I t was not to be Pharaoh’s lot, but his wife chose righteousness , and she understood the n eed for religion and accepted Ha z rat M oses as. God Almighty has mentioned her in the Holy Qur’ān as an example. What greater honor can there be , than to have the honor of be ing mentioned in a Book that will last for all eternity ? The reason for this is that she had recognize d that women had the same responsibilities concerning religion as men did. The second example is that of Ha z rat Mary. She was the mother of Ha z rat Jesus as. In a time when waywardness was at its height, she exhibited such restraint that her son attained prophethood. The world not only owes a great debt to Ha z rat Jesus as , but also owes a great debt to Ha z rat Mary. For it was her training which produced the man who conferred great favors up on mankind. The Holy Qur’ān states that she was a very pious and chaste woman. Her child learned righteousness from her. Thus , it should be noted that where the Holy Qur’ān mentions Hazrat Jesus as , it also mentions Hazrat Mary. Women ’s Service to Islam Next, we see that when darkness had reached its height during the time of our Holy Prophet sa , women served their religion tremendously, for they understood that they could serve their religion, just as men did. Some of you may not be aware that the first person to believe in the Holy Prophet sa was a woman. The Holy Prophet sa would worship in the cave of Hira, and it was there that the Angel Gabriel descended upon him an d recited the Word of God. As the Holy