A WOMAN’S REFLECTION

A WOMAN’S REFLECTION

And that He (Allâh) creates the pairs, male and female.
Quran 53:45


   

   
A Woman who wants to be a Woman... 
Written By : A Muslim Woman.
   

   

'Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade 

Myself by trying to be something I'm not!

And in all honesty--don't want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.'

On March 18, 2005 Amina Wadud led the first female-led Jumuah (Friday)

prayer,, in the History of Islam and the universe ( in a Church)!!

 

Where some women prayed without their Hijab and others prayed 
with their tight jeans; stuck shoulder to shoulder with men!!  

Abu Hurairah observed that the Holy Prophet said:" In the latter days there will be imposters, liars, who will come to you with stories which you have never heard, neither you nor your forefathers. Beware then, beware!! Let them NOT lead you astray, nor let them put you into trouble" (Muslim)

On that day women took a huge step towards being more like men.

But, did we come closer to actualizing our God given liberation? 

I Don't think So!

What we so often forget is that God has honored the woman by giving her value in relation to God not in relation to men. But as western feminism erases God from the scene, there are no standard left but men. 

As a result the western feminist is forced to find her value in relation to a man. And in so doing she has accepted a faulty assumption. She has accepted that man is the standard, and thus a woman can never be a full human being until she becomes just like a man-the standard.

When a man cut his hair short, she wanted to cut her hair short. 

When a man joined the army, she wanted to join the army. She wanted

these things for no other reason than because the 'standard' had it.

What she didn't recognize was that God dignifies both men 

and women in their distinctiveness—not their sameness. 

And on March 18, Some Muslim women made the very same mistake.

For 1400 years there has been a consensus of the scholars that men are to lead prayer. As a Muslim woman, why does this matter? The one who leads prayer is not spiritually superior in any way. 

Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember-- Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward. 

Quran 33:35

Something is not better just because a man does it.

And leading prayer is not better, just because it's leading!!

Had it been the role of women or had it been more divine, why wouldn't the Holy Prophet have asked Khadija or Fatima, or Ayesha may Allah be pleased with all - the greatest women of all time- to lead?

Let those beware who go against his orders (the Messenger's order),

lest some trial befall them, or a grievous penalty be inflicted on them. 

Quran 24:63

These women were promised heaven-and yet they never lead prayer.

But now for the first time in 1400 years, we look at a man leading prayer and we think, 'That's not fair.' We think so although God has given no special privilege to the one who leads. The imam is no higher in the eyes of God than the one who prays behind.

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is  the most righteous of you. Verily, Allâh is All-Knowing, All-Aware.

Quran 49:13

On the other hand, only a woman can be a mother. And God has given special privilege to a mother. The Holy Prophet taught us that heaven lies at the feet of mothers. But no matter what a man does he can never be a mother. So why is that not unfair?

A Women is a reason to be protected from hell and to enter heaven! 
The Holy Prophet said:“Whoever has three daughters or sisters, or two daughters of two sisters, and lives along with them in a good manner, and has patience with them, and fears Allah with regard to them will enter Paradise.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, Al-Tirmidhee and others)

 Respect of women is Not an Option but a Must! The Holy Prophet

said: "I urge you to treat women well" - (Sahih Al Bukhari)

 

When asked who is most deserving of our kind treatment? The Holy Prophet replied 'your mother' three times before saying 'your father' only once.Isn't that sexist? No matter what a man does he will never be able to have the status of a mother.

And yet even when God honors us with something uniquely feminine, we are too busy trying to find our worth in reference to men, to value it-or even notice. We too have accepted men as the standard; so anything uniquely feminine is, by definition, inferior. Being sensitive is an insult, becoming a mother- a degradation.

In the battle between stoic rationality (considered masculine) and self-less compassion (considered feminine), rationality reigns supreme. As soon as we accept that everything a man has and does is better, all that follows is just a knee jerk reaction: if men have it-we want it too. If men pray in the front rows, we assume this is better, so we want to pray in the front rows too. If men lead prayer, we assume the imam is closer to God, so we want to lead prayer too. Somewhere along the line we've accepted the notion that having a position of worldly leadership is some indication of one's position with God!!

And not your wealth nor your children, are the things which bring you near Us in station, but whoever believes and does good, these it is for whom is a double reward for what they do, and they shall be secure in the highest places. 

Quran 34:37

A Muslim woman does not need to degrade herself in this way. She has God 

as a standard.. She has God to give her value; she doesn't need a man.

In fact, in our crusade to follow men, we, as women, never even stopped to examine the possibility that what we have is better for us. In some cases we even gave up what was higher only to be like men.

Fifty years ago, society told us that men were superior because they left the home to work in factories. We were mothers. And yet, we were told that it was women's liberation to abandon the raising of another human being in order to work on a machine. We accepted that working in a factory was superior to raising the Foundation of society - just because a man did it.

Then after working, we were expected to be superhuman-the perfect mother, 

the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker -and have the perfect career. 

And while there is nothing wrong, by definition, with a woman having a career, we soon came to realize what we had sacrificed by blindly mimicking men.We watched as our children became strangers and soon recognized the privilege we'd given up. And so only now-given the choice-women in the West are choosing to stay home to raise their children.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 31 percent of mothers with babies, and 18 percent of mothers with two or more children, are working full-time.

And of those working mothers, a survey conducted by Parenting Magazine in 2000, found that 93% of them say they would rather be home with their kids, but are compelled to work due to 'financial obligations'. These 'obligations' are imposed on women by the gender sameness of the modern West, and removed from women by the gender distinctiveness of Islam.

It took women in the West almost a century of experimentation to realize a privilege given to Muslim women 1400 years ago. Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I'm not--and in all honesty--don't want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.

If given a choice between stoic justice 

and compassion, I choose compassion!

And if given a choice between worldly leadership

and heaven at my feet - I choose Heaven!

They intend to put out the Light of Allâh with their mouths. But Allâh 
will bring His Light to perfection even though the disbelievers hate (it).
Quran 61:8