Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 414
! ! 414 command to give charity applies equally to both. Thus, the articles of faith are the same and the deeds are the same [for both men and women]. Reflecting upon this, if someone says tha t women are a different species, how could we believe them? It is asto nishing t hat although Islam came to establish women’s lofty status , today those women who follow this faith regard themselves as worthless and deprive themselves from serving their faith in the best way. Likewise, m en ar e negligent of this crucial responsibility. In a way, both are destroying the human race and bringing disgrace to them selves. The Holy Qur’ān says : § ُﺳ mِ َﻠ ۡﺖ ا ۡﻟ َﻤ ۡﻮ ٗء َد ُۃ ِا َذ ا َو “ And when the girl - child buried alive is questioned about. ” (Holy Qur’ān , Ch. 81: V. 9) In other words, they will be asked why they buried their women alive. This suggests that neither men alone nor women alone are responsible for the debasement of women, but b oth are to blame for it. Today, whe n almost every woman considers herself unable to accomplish any great success in life , not only does she bury herself alive , but she buries alive the entire progeny of womankind , just as men used to bury her alive. These are th os e women whose eyes are open , yet they cannot see. They still breathe , but their hearts are dead. It is t he parents - those who gave birth to her - who are primarily responsible for this death. Next, i t is her elder brothers and sisters who are to blame for this dea th. Thirdly, it is the husband, who takes responsibility for her demise , and f inally, it is the sons who bring about her end. Together, they have collectively sla in her. If you cultivate a zeal within yourselves , then you will realize that there is no difference whatsoever between man and woman with respect to belief and conduct. There is only one area where men and women differ and that is in the field of jihad. Even then , a woman is allowed to give water, dress the wounds , and serve the injured. Once , when Haz rat Bilal ’s ra sister asked the Holy Prophet sa about this, he ra