In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
ROLE OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN RECONSTRUCTION
OF UMMAH
There is a surge of feminine leadership around the world in countries where secularism has been adopted as the cult of life. The fair sex is contesting the men at equal footings in every field of life including political arena. During the last fifty years, in the wake of the Second Great war of 1938-45, secular societies of Europe and Americas and elsewhere in the world broadly opened up, becoming more and more liberal, tolerant, educative and conscious of equality in gender. This phenomenon helped the western women to be involved actively in social, economic and political activities, emerging as entrepreneur in every field of education, adventure, art, science and technology and the political field was also no exception to it. They have played marvel too in it. If the trend continues, soon they may outfit and overcome men and may emerge as “superwoman” of this millennium. This has been possible because of their advancement in education and technical know-how and utilizing the opportunities that advanced societies offered them to avail.
From Philippine to Chilies and
from Scandinavian countries to Liberia, women have been and are emerging one
after another as head, presidents and prime ministers, of the state and run the
affairs of their respective nations in different countries at different times. This
surge is spectacular and reminds the Muslim world that how far they will let
their womenfolk secluded, surrounded within the four walls of their houses,
deprived of modern education, science and technologies, trade and businesses
and denied them the rights and privileges that Allah and His Prophet (S) have
ordained for them meticulously in the Qur’an and Sunnah? How long they will be denied to have equal
opportunities to “compete” with men on merit to the extent possible within the
limits prescribed by the Shariah? How long the Muslim Ummah will keep about its
fifty percent creative and constructive hands bogged down simply as housewives?
When the Ummah and its leadership will realize that an “enlightened” Muslim mother,
living under the reality of ever-consciousness of Allah’s presence in and
around her and constantly feeling accountable to Him, is a fountain of
The developing phenomenon around the world shows that women by nature have been endowed with equal amount of talents, energies, initiative powers, stamina and the will to progress and prosper through their own efforts and undertakings. As such, there should not be any discrimination on account of color, sex, faith, religion or physical capacities in the name of gender. God-given differences and distinctions in one another are there. They are natural and they will remain there. But these womenfolk when energized with indomitable Iman in their hearts and minds, the Muslim women become different. They then can play miracles in the annals of modern history as recently did Sister Zainab Ghazali in Egypt and Dr Ezra Batool in Pakistan The attribute of Iman gives them extra-strength of character, courage and determination, Sabr and Azima to do something that the ordinary women feel “impossible”. Unfortunately, the Muslim Ummah is not using this “latent” energy lying “closed” within our homes and hearths and looking “foolishly” towards the western societies for help and guidance. It reminds me a verse from Iqbal:
“Apni Ummat per Qayas aqwamey Maghrib ka Na kar <> Khas hai tarkeeb mein Qawmey Rasuley Hashmi” [Translation: Don’t treat your Ummah on the pattern of western nations. The constitution and make-up of the Ummah of Rasulullah (S) is unique]
Everywhere everyday Muslims are talking and crying about their precarious plight but they don’t care to think that the solution is in our home. If our sisters and daughters, the future mothers, are properly groomed as truthful Muslimah at home right from childhood, proper education upto the highest possible stage is imparted to them as per their respective inclination and natural urge in Islamic environment, opportunities are opened and are available to the qualified ones in the broader spectrum of field works, the society and its law and order situation guarantees their free movement with constant vigilance all around, there is no reason to conceive that Muslim womenfolk would not be able to do much better and par excellence job than what the women are doing in the Western societies? The glimpses of Muslim history prove that Ummah could survive only at those periods when its mothers were producing giant men of genius and extraordinary talents through the Tarbiyah and Tazkiyah of their children right from their birth and onward. Those glorious examples can still be repeated provided the Ummah devotes its maximum time, talents, energies and resources on this front.
If Muslim leadership in stead of
fighting together for the worldly gains-fame-name and power politics devote
their time and energies in building new nation around their mothers sisters and
daughters, we can reconstruct afresh the Muslim Ummah with greater achievements
and distinction at every step. Only then the Revival of Ummah will be possible
here in
The responsibility of our
womenfolk is great in this respect. It is they who individually and
collectively through their Associations and family groups will have to
undertake this giant responsibility of reviving their fate to reconstruct the
Ummah afresh first in
Shamim Siddiqi