"Correctness of opinion goes along with changes of the times; it comes with them and it goes with them."
LIVING AND DYING WITH GRACE (Counsels of Hadzrat Ali)
During my recent travel through India and Pakistan I could'nt help noticing the headlines of both country's newspapers, that laws were being passed for security and safety of women. Pakistani laws (may have already been passed and signed by the President) were for the rapists and zina and "hudood" were modified , which to my thinking as a Muslim cannot be changed or modified because Hudood are divine in origin and 33rd sura's 36th verse clearly says, "Now whenever God and His Apostle have decided upon a matter it is not for the believing man or a believing woman to claim freedom of choice in so far as they themselves are concerned....". Not being an Islamic scholar I cant say anything more May Allah forgive me if say something wrong due to my ignorance. I have been learning from Qur'a and will stick to its teachings only. I read (and heard) Justice M. Taqi Usmani a well-known and respected Judge and Islamic scholar of Pakistan, who says that these laws are against the teachings of Qur'an.
How women are treated in both these countries is very similar. May be Muslim women fare a shade better than Hindu women who have come a long way from "sati". However,coming back to America, I think that Muslim women should be allowed to go to Masjid, not only for Jumah but also for attending other Islamic teachings. They should, in fact be encouraged to learn more and more for they are the first teachers of the children, our most valuable investment here. "Give me a good mother and I'll give you a good Nation", is attributed to Napoleon. The author is not important but the statement is, with its profound meaning and it is very relevant. I dont want mothers of Muslim children at least in this country to have limited knowledge.
As a child I remember two things were given to a bride as gifts, Qur'an Majid and (another bible) Bahishti Zaiver" which is a good "Islam made easy book for women of India" but only the less educated women who can only read it (Like reciting Qur'an without gaining any knowledge) but cannot comprehend it. I think it served a purpose in the Indian subcontinent at the time it was written by that erudite scholar Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi but today it appears to me somewhat debasing the Muslim Female Intelligentsia. We need more Female "maulavis" or Islamic scholars (like Maulavi Koonj). I dont care myself much whether they are wearing Naqab (Like Dr. Farhat Hashmi who is said to be good but I am not convinced Naqab wearing is applicable in the west) and Jalbab or they wear only "Hijab" or even if they dont wear it as long as their dress is appropriate and modest.
May be I hurt some readers feelings for which I am sorry and apologise. I certainly feel I may have done injustice to the author of Bahishti Zaiver but my intention was to make a point and definitely not to injure his authority as scholar for I am nobody and He is a Giant scholar and I do have great respect for him
I shall wait for the day when in the whole Muslim world the women will start attending Masajid when they have time and opportunity (I know it is not fardh for them and I also know it is so for the men)
LIVING AND DYING WITH GRACE (Counsels of Hadzrat Ali)
During my recent travel through India and Pakistan I could'nt help noticing the headlines of both country's newspapers, that laws were being passed for security and safety of women. Pakistani laws (may have already been passed and signed by the President) were for the rapists and zina and "hudood" were modified , which to my thinking as a Muslim cannot be changed or modified because Hudood are divine in origin and 33rd sura's 36th verse clearly says, "Now whenever God and His Apostle have decided upon a matter it is not for the believing man or a believing woman to claim freedom of choice in so far as they themselves are concerned....". Not being an Islamic scholar I cant say anything more May Allah forgive me if say something wrong due to my ignorance. I have been learning from Qur'a and will stick to its teachings only. I read (and heard) Justice M. Taqi Usmani a well-known and respected Judge and Islamic scholar of Pakistan, who says that these laws are against the teachings of Qur'an.
How women are treated in both these countries is very similar. May be Muslim women fare a shade better than Hindu women who have come a long way from "sati". However,coming back to America, I think that Muslim women should be allowed to go to Masjid, not only for Jumah but also for attending other Islamic teachings. They should, in fact be encouraged to learn more and more for they are the first teachers of the children, our most valuable investment here. "Give me a good mother and I'll give you a good Nation", is attributed to Napoleon. The author is not important but the statement is, with its profound meaning and it is very relevant. I dont want mothers of Muslim children at least in this country to have limited knowledge.
As a child I remember two things were given to a bride as gifts, Qur'an Majid and (another bible) Bahishti Zaiver" which is a good "Islam made easy book for women of India" but only the less educated women who can only read it (Like reciting Qur'an without gaining any knowledge) but cannot comprehend it. I think it served a purpose in the Indian subcontinent at the time it was written by that erudite scholar Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanawi but today it appears to me somewhat debasing the Muslim Female Intelligentsia. We need more Female "maulavis" or Islamic scholars (like Maulavi Koonj). I dont care myself much whether they are wearing Naqab (Like Dr. Farhat Hashmi who is said to be good but I am not convinced Naqab wearing is applicable in the west) and Jalbab or they wear only "Hijab" or even if they dont wear it as long as their dress is appropriate and modest.
May be I hurt some readers feelings for which I am sorry and apologise. I certainly feel I may have done injustice to the author of Bahishti Zaiver but my intention was to make a point and definitely not to injure his authority as scholar for I am nobody and He is a Giant scholar and I do have great respect for him
I shall wait for the day when in the whole Muslim world the women will start attending Masajid when they have time and opportunity (I know it is not fardh for them and I also know it is so for the men)
4 comments:
Personally, I agree "bahesti zaver' is no more applicable in recent times.
it's been so long since i've been to pakistan, i don't know what it is like now, so it is fascinating to hear about this from your experience. i had the impression that the hudood laws in pakistan were problematic as implemented, not being problematic in and of themselves? like for example, a girl reporting rape, if she could not produce four witnesses then she would be punished for zina instead, which seems a clear injustice (in this day of medical testing and other evidence it is possible to prove rape without having any witnesses). however, there are also people who want to do away entirely with hudood punishments however they are determined. anyway that seems to me to be the problem "balkanizing" the ummah now - the different groups who believe that you can't change anything even if new methods are available, or the groups who believe that Allah's word does not change but how you interpret it can change, or those who think even Allah's word itself needs to "modernize"... some choices are very clear but others are more murky and difficult to navigate.
It is not so simple and that is why I avoided saying what they have sctually done. They were wrong in '79 and they are wrong in 2006.
Nobody can 'do away' with hudood' but to promulgate as law you need a shariah-observing Government which does not exist so far.
very true. i worry though if we DO get a shariah-observing government, who will determine what it looks like? who determines what Allah and His messenger meant when they said any particular thing? that's the part that confuses me...
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