Garments for Each Other — Page 61
61 There is a tradition related by Hazrat Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Holy Prophet (saw) said to treat women kindly. Woman has been created from a rib and the most crooked part of the rib is the uppermost. If you try to straighten it, you will break it and if you leave it alone it will remain crooked. So treat women kindly. Another narration states that a woman is like a rib. If you try to straighten it, you will break it. If you want to gain benefit from it, you can do so despite its crookedness. 17 The angle of the rib, or the curvature, is the reason for its strength, and the most delicate part of the body is protected by it i. e. the heart, and some other organs. Man is taking advantage of Allah ’s creation. You can see in buildings and bridges, wherever they have to make them strong, they give them curvature. If you want to get benefit from the strong character of women, then do not try to change them according to your liking. Otherwise, they will be no good for you. It is proven that women are given a virtue of sacrifice. If you treat them well, they will always be ready to sacrifice themselves for your desires. You cannot gain any benefit by being tough or harsh, but with love and kindness. Allah told the Promised Messiah (as) in a revelation, “This way is not good; stop the leader of the Muslims, Abdul Karim, from this. Be polite. Be polite because kindness is the key of virtues” …. H e said, “ The first duty of the faithful is to treat everyone kindly. Sometimes using a few bitter words is okay. ” 18 In the footnote to this revelation, the Promised Messiah (as) has said: “ This revelation is a lesson for the entire Jama’at on treating your wives with love and kindness. They are not your maids. In fact, marriage is a contract between a man and a woman. Thus, try not to betray this contract. Allah instructs us in the Holy Qur ’an to treat our wives in a good manner, and a Hadith states: “ One