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Woman’s Value and Role

Woman’s Value and Role0%

Woman’s Value and Role Author:
Publisher: Al-Maaref Islamic Cultural Association
Category: Woman

Woman’s Value and Role

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Author: Al-Maaref Islamic Cultural Association
Publisher: Al-Maaref Islamic Cultural Association
Category:

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Woman


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Woman’s Value and Role

Woman’s Value and Role

Author:
Publisher: Al-Maaref Islamic Cultural Association

Book library ›

Family and Community ›

Woman


English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought


Comprehension Questions


1
-What
must
the
human
being
be
ashamed
of?


2
-
To
what
extent
does
ashamedness
influence
the
societies?


3
-
What
is
chastity? What
are
the
issues
related
to
it?


4- What
are
the
impacts
of
chastity?


5-
What
are
the
opposites
of
chastity?



For Reading



From the Attitudes of Sayyda Zeinab (God’s peace bestowed upon her)


The eloquent inheritance which Sayyda Zeinab(God’s peace bestowed upon her)

bequeathed to us in addition to her attitudes which the history has immortalized deserve to be engraved in the hearts of all of the people who want to adopt the attitude of the truth and virtuousness.


We are going to mention a part of her speech with which she addressed the people of Al-Kufa and which left a great imprint in their hearts.


Basher ibn Kha’zeem Al-Asadi relates, “On that day, I looked at Zeinab ibnat Ali(God’s peace bestowed upon her)

and saw no fear. And God sent the words from her as if they were branching from the tongue of The Prince of the Believers Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb(God’s peace bestowed upon him)

. She made a sign for the people, thus asking them to be silent; so the breaths drew back, and the bells stopped ringing. Then, she(God’s peace bestowed upon her)

said,


“Praise be to God. And God’s prayers be bestowed upon my father Mohammad and upon his virtuous good Household.”


“O People of Kufa! O People of deceit and betrayal! Are you crying? ! May your tears stop not and may your cry ease not! You are like the woman who undoes the thread which she has spun after it has become strong, by taking your oaths a means of deception among yourselves. You are characterized by none but by boastfulness, being stained by evils, detest, adulation, betrayal of the enemies: you are like a dead animal which is laid in a grave.”


“Evil is what your souls have offered you: God’s wrath fell upon you and you are going to be immortalized in the torture. Are you crying and weeping? By God! Cry a lot, and laugh a little, for you will never be able to wash the shame and disgrace you did. How can you wash your killing of the descendant of The Concluding Prophecy, the spring of the message, the master of the youths of Heaven, the shelter for your confusion, the refuge for your crisis, the light for your aim, and the leading person for your religious norm? !”


“Verily! Evil is the burden you are carrying! Away with you! And woe to you! Your attempt was frustrated. Your hands were broken down. The bargain was lost. You were afflicted with a wrath from God. And you were stricken by disgrace and shame!!”


“O People of Al-Kufa! Are you aware what a son for God’s prophecy you did kill? What a daughter for him you did uncover? What a blood for him you did shed? What a sacredness for him you did violate? Your deed was cunning, ignominious, tremendous, violent, and as much disgraceful as much as the whole earth and the whole sky are huge!”


“Wonder not if the sky rains blood. And the torture of the hereafter is going to be much more disgraceful, and you are not going to be helped. Be not comfortable because you are granted a delay. Hastiness does not drive Him [The Most High God]. And it is not feared that the revenge be missed. And your God is in wait for you!!”

	

	
	



	

		

Lesson Seven: Marriage -1-



The Importance of the Establishment of the Family


It is ascribed to God’s prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

that he said, “Nothing established in Islam is more liked by The Most High God than marriage is.”[81]


There are many narratives which spur on marriage and which refer to that small nest where the family lives within a legal and social frame which guarantees the care, security, and completeness for the family. The family is that small society which Islam stresses its importance, spurs on establishing it, and lies the bases for the relationship among its members on the level of the prevailing environments and the behaviors before the level of the rights and duties.


-
What
are
the
aims
of
this
establishment?


-
What
are
the
environments
which
prevail
in
this
establishment?


-
What
are
the
rights
and
the
duties?



From the Aims of the Family


There are many doctrinal texts which reflect upon the aims of the family building. Here we mention these aims in the following points.



1- Chastity and Purity


Marriage represents the natural satisfaction for the instinct which The Most High God made in the human being and through which reproduction and preservation of the human species are maintained. By means of marriage, this instinct is satisfied and silenced. In addition, the human being guarantees not to slip after this instinct in a fault way. Marriage, therefore, maintains chastity and purity. It is ascribed to God’s prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

that he said, “Let the man who likes to meet God pure and purified to meet Him with a wife.”[82]


The address of this call to the human being starts since the age of youth because the human being may weaken in front of the demand and insistence of the instinct if he/she does not satisfy it correctly, properly, and in a religiously permissible way. It is ascribed to God’s prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

that he said, “Whenever a youth man gets married while being in the stage of youthfulness, his devil uproars, ‘Alas! Alas! He guarded from me two thirds of his religion.’ Then, let the human being be devout as regards the remaining third.”

[83]




2- Fortification of the Morals


Turning away from marriage results in a lot of psychological struggles inside the human being which in turn lead to a lot of psychological complexes and problems which come out in the form of ill nature. From here, marriage puts an end to such disturbances and brings about good nature. It is ascribed to The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

that he said, “Marry off your male servants, so that God will improve their natures, increase their livings, and add to their vitalities.”[84]In addition, it results in the spiritual repose at which The Noble Qur’an points out. The Most High and Glorified God says, (And among His signs is this, that He created for you your wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge)[85].



3- Complementarity between the Wife and the Husband and Fulfillment of the Needs of Each One of Them:


Both the man and the woman have gaps in their characters, so each one of them is in need for the other one in order to fill in these gaps. The Noble Qur’an indicates this in the Saying of The Most High God,(…They are libas [i. e. body cover, or screen, or sakan (i. e. you enjoy living with her)] for you and you are libas for them…)

[86]



4- Occupation of Time with Obedience


Marriage involves a direct responsibility as regards the providing for the needs of the family after establishing and maintaining it. Therefore, certain daily duties and deeds become requisite, and this in turn presents for the human being daily aims and programs. As a result, this serves in preventing the occurrence of the social evils which originate from vacancy and from the state of having neither an aim nor a responsibility.



Increasing the Believing Progeny and Maintaining the Continuity of Life


It is ascribed to The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

that he said, “What prevents the believer from getting married? Perhaps God will grant him a child who will fill the earth with, ‘There is no god but God. ’”[87]


The religious texts, therefore, direct the wife and the husband on the basis of these aims and cast on the family specific environments which help in a substantial way in the achievement of these aims. What are the environments which must be available in the family and which ensure the achievement of these divine aims?



The Environments Prevailing in the Family Relationship


The woman must bear in mind that her relationship with her husband has a religious priority and that it comes at the head of everything else as long as this relationship is included within the frame of the religious standards. Such an importance is attached to the woman’s relationship with her husband to the extent that it is considered to be a basis for the woman’s struggle for God’s sake. It is related in the narrative ascribed to The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

that he said, “Woman’s struggle for God’s sake is fulfilled by her being a good wife.”[88]i. e. her good relationship with her husband. There are many details concerning this relationship which the doctrine reflects upon.


2- Mercy: It
is
the
other
point
to
which
the
just
mentioned
verse
points
out. Next
to
affection
comes
mercy
which
means
tenderness
and
gentleness. The
Most
High
God
did
not
settle
it
for
the
affection
and
love
relationship
between
the
wife
and
the
husband
but
He
added
to
it
the
gentleness
and
tenderness
which
appear
through
the
behaviors
which
manifest
the
act
of
giving
that
expects
nothing
in
return.


It is related in the discourse, “Offering her husband [even] a gulp of water will be better for every woman than the worship of a whole year during which she fasts all the days and stays up all the nights [i. e. in praying and supplication].”


This honorable association is manifested in various behaviors which the narratives indicate. It is ascribed to The Noblest Prophet(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

that he said, “…The best woman among you… is the easy coming, the soft, and the obedient. She is the one who does not sleep while her husband is still angry till he is pleased, and the one who preserves her husband while he is away from her. She is one of God’s workers, and God’s worker is not disappointed.”[89]


Moreover, it is ascribed to Imam Al-Sadik(God’s peace bestowed upon him)

that he said, “One man came to God’s prophet

(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

and said to him, ‘I have a wife who welcomes me when I enter the house. She accompanies me to the door when I leave. And she says to me when she notices that I am worried, ‘What worries you? If you are worried about your living, then it is undertaken by somebody [wanting God] rather than you. And if you are worried about your hereafter, then may God increase your worry. ’’ Then, God’s prophet

(God’s prayers and peace bestowed upon him and his Household)

said to that man, ‘Harbinger her with Heaven, and tell her, ‘You are one of God’s workers, and you are every day granted the reward which seventy martyrs are granted. ’’”

[90]



-
She
was
the
first
woman
next
to
Khadija(


May


God


be


pleased


with


her

)

who
adopted
Islam.


-
She
was
the
first
woman
to
immigrate
to
Al-
Madina
on
foot
and
bare
footed.


-
She
was
the
first
woman
to
pledge
allegiance
to
God’
s
prophet(


God

’

s


prayers


and


peace


bestowed


upon


him


and


his


Household

)

in
the
day
of
Allegiance
Pledge.


6- The
size
of
the
man’
s
brain
is
bigger
than
the
size
of
the
woman’
s
brain, taking
in
consideration
the
brain’
s
proportion
to
the
whole
body.


says, (Allah
burdens
not
a
person
beyond
his
scope. )[91]. As
long
as
the
man
is
responsible
for
spending
on
the
family, it
is
natural
that
this
be
recognized
in
the
distribution
of
the
finances, so
that
the
distribution
will
be
in
consistent
with
the
responsibilities
which
are
assigned
to
each
one
of
them. From
here, it
is
not
weird
that
the
man
inherits
double
what
the
woman
inherits.


1-
Sayyda
Fatima
Tabtabaei
said,“
The
Imam
used
to
be
hurt
so
much
when
he
realized
that
someone
was
disobeying
the
doctrine, and
his
composure
used
to
change
clearly. He, for
example, used
to
caution
us
as
regards
the
complete
abidance
to
the
veil
if
a
part
of
the
hand
of
one
of
us
was
apparent, more
than
the
permitted
religious
extent, while
we
were
sitting
to
the
table
of
food.”[92]


2- Sayyda
Ateefa
Al-
Ishraki
said,“
From
the
issues
which
The
Imam
used
to
be
so
concerned
in
is
the
marriageable
persons’
being
at
the
same
place. I
remember
that
he
called
me
once
when
I
was
not
more
than
ten
years
old. I
was
playing
hide
and
seek
with
my
brothers
and
my
cousin. Even
though
I
was
putting
on
the
veil, he
said
to
me,‘
There
is
no
difference
between
you
and
your
elder
sister. So, how
is
that
you
are
playing
with
the
boys
while
she
is
not
doing
so?’”
[93]


3- Sayyda
Fatima
Tabtabaei
said,“
The
Imam
used
to
find
no
necessity
in
the
talk
to
the
marriageable
men, so
we
used
not
to
sit
in
The
Imam’
s
house
in
one
room
with
any
of
his
grandsons
if
he
had
reached
the
age
of
religious
responsibility. The
rare
point
while
we
used
to
be
sitting
with
The
Imam
is
that
if
one
of
his
grandsons
entered
his
room, he
used
to
ask
his
grandson, and
not
us, to
get
out. Also, when
I
used
to
be
sitting
with The
Imam
and
one
of
his
grandsons
who
had
reached
the
age
of
religious
responsibility
wanted
to
enter, The
Imam
used
to
prevent
him
to
enter
because
of
my
being
there, in
spite
of
the
fact
the
this
grandson
was
of
my
son’
s
age.”[94]