Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 473
! ! 473 of the household. Clearly, both these names are full of meaning. It is not certain whether the person we call Adam was actually named Adam, or whether he was called Adam because of the qualities he possessed. [Similarly] , we cannot say for sure that the woman mentioned in the Hadith , was truly Hawwa , or if she was named Hawwa simply to illustrate the qualities she possessed. Whatever the case , if these were truly their names, their names reflected the truth; and if these were their attributes , then these [names] were simply their attributes. Accordingly, Adam means one who works and toils in the fields, ploughs the fields , and makes the land habitable. Likewise, Hawwa means she who stays inside the home and cares for her children and is known as the queen of her ho usehold. Thus, every woman who still retains these qualities today, or takes care of her household [and] tends to the moral training of her children, is known as Hawwa. A decent man who works hard, is industrious , and makes this earth habitable, is an ā d a mī in the truest sense. The ignorant, who sit at home , batting flies and refusing to work hard; or certain wealthy men and those addicted to luxury , who live off their father’s and grandfather’s earnings and do not hing else, are men only in name. They are not men o f worth. For the meaning of Adam is he who goes out to work and makes this world a satisfactory place to live. Similarly, women who do not take due care of their household, who do not attend to the upbringing of their children, do not organize all household necessities, and do not train their children in such a way that the future generation should become pious, righteous, brave, fearless, ready to offer every sacrifice for the sake of their faith, and acquire religious knowledge , are something else entirely. They are daughters of Hawwa in name only, not in practice. For they did not gather their children around themselves, nor did they prove themselves to be the true master of the household. And they did not fulfill the obligation upon them as the head of the household, which was to watch out for the best interests of their child ren and their moral training. They did not discharge their duty of supervising their children, as was made incumbent upon them. Thus, the woman who does not gather her children around herself to provide the means for their betterment and their upbringing, nor does she supervise the