Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume I — Page 78
! ! 78 Address to the Ladies at Jalsa Salana Qadian Delivered by Hazrat Mirz a Bashir - ud - D in Mahmud Ahmad , Khalifat - ul - Masih II ra December 1922 Respect for Women i n Islam The religions which existed before Islam paid more attention to the re formation of men, with some of the m of the opinion that women had no souls and they merely existed as a reward for men’s comfort and thus would not be held accountable. This point of view can be found in m any religions , with even the Jewish and Christian scriptures indicating that God created men for Himself and women for the sake of men. A s the final religious teaching , Islam is the first to recognize that men and women are equal beings. As women were created for men, so were men created for women. If a woman takes care of a man, he al so works to take care of her. Therefore, the old r eligious thinking was incorrect and was not revealed in the Holy Books, but was written by men at the time, according to their preferences. The Holy Prophet sa was the first to teach equality, completely revolutionizing the status of women. The Status of Women in Arabia Before the Advent of t he Holy Prophet sa In those times , Arabs held the view that women had no intelligen ce and no right to interfere in their affairs. If a woman did try to give her opini on o n their affairs, the [men] were greatly offended. Once, Ha z rat ‘ Umar ra was considering a difficulty. His wife said, “It’s quite easy. D o it this way. ” He said, “Who are you to meddle in my affairs?” She answered, “The wives of the Holy Prophet sa give him advice. W hat is the harm if I do so?” Immediately , Ha z rat ‘Umar ra rushed to his daughter , who was married to the Holy Prophet sa , and asked her if she advised the Holy Prophet sa in his affairs. She said, “Yes. ” Ha z rat ‘Umar ra scolded her and said, “That is