By Mawlānā Khalīl-ur-Raḥmān Sajjād Nu’mānī

Translated by Mufti Abdullah Moolla

I want to touch on a number of essential points for practical implementation. I am requesting my sisters to note down these points. The issues faced by the nation cannot be solved by emotional outbursts. It is necessary to gain inspiration but it must be carried out in an organized manner. One step at a time. In this way, it is necessary for us to learn the way to proceed and reach the desired destination.

At the moment, the entire world finds itself at a crossroad. It is basically at a turning point in history. I have been studying the history of the world for the last fifty years. With full confidence, I can tell you that the world order is about to change. The world is going to receive a new system. Before the world gets a justice and peace-based system, the world will be filled with oppression. This has been prophesized by Sayyidunā Muḥammad Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Our country, i.e., India, is a part of the world, and a new era of oppression has commenced within our country. It is not that the oppression has only been occurring for these past two and a half years and there was no oppression before this. This is not the case. To say this is simply being overly simplistic. The history of oppression in this country and the world is a very old one. It will increase and advance. The parties that would oppress in earlier times before have handed power over to the new ruling party, telling them:

‘You can complete and finish off the oppression’.

Now, there is a major challenge in front of every weak and oppressed nation of the world. Very challenging circumstances and conditions have already appeared before us. There is no exaggeration in saying this.

History bears testimony; O my sisters, I want that you listen to the following with the ears of the heart. Your presence here bears testimony to your feelings, emotions, and desire to understand. History bears testimony that in history, it was never the men alone that acquired success when faced with challenges. When the women had played an equal part and role in facing the challenges, then the oppressed nations were successful in overcoming the challenges they had before them. If time and health permitted, I would have given you many examples from history to back this statement.

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The story of the great Messenger and special friend of Allāh Ta’ālā, Sayyidunā Ibrāhīm ‘alayhi as-salām—the founder of perfect human civilization—cannot be mentioned in totality without discussing the sacrifice made by his spouse: Sayyidah Hājar raḍiyallāhu ‘anhā. May peace and salutations be upon her resolve, courage, loyalty, conviction, reliance in Allāh Ta’ālā, and her fear of Allāh Ta’ālā. At a very delicate and critical moment, she was alone in a barren valley with her breastfeeding child. Her husband, Sayyidunā Ibrāhīm ‘alayhi as-salām, began to move upon the command of Allāh Ta’ālā. The position and strong and firm viewpoint she adopted at the time resulted in the blessings of the Ka’bah Musharrafah and the well of Zam Zam. The circuits done between Mount Ṣafa and Mount Marwa are in remembrance of her actions. The sacrifices of this woman were so greatly appreciated by Allāh Ta’ālā that, until the Last Day, it has been made compulsory upon everyone to walk and run between these two Mounts. Whether a Nabī, a Walī, or a common person, no person’s ḥajj and ‘umrah will be complete without walking in the footsteps of this loyal woman with their head lowered. This is the rank of the sacrifice of this special woman in the sight of Allāh Ta’ālā. If you become loyal to Islām, if you do your duty in guarding and protecting Islām, then I say with full conviction, that Allāh Ta’ālā will look upon you with the same level of value and appreciation with which He looks upon Sayyidah Hājar raḍiyallāhu ‘anhā.

Let us look towards the incident of Sayyidunā Mūsā ‘alayhi as-salām. Can his life story be complete without mentioning his great, brave, courageous, faithful, and believing mother? This was the mother of Sayyidunā Mūsā ‘alayhi as-salām. She was living under a very oppressive and repressive system. You cannot imagine the type of system it was. The right to a new-born baby boy was snatched by the government, no matter what kind of house the child was born into. The government order was to immediately kill any baby boy that was born to the Banī Isrā’īl. Incidents of our youth being killed and the strange circumstances of what they face are but a small example of what the Banī Isrā’īl had to endure. History bears testimony that a baby boy did not have the right to live. He would be snatched from the lap of the mother and his life would be taken. Under such conditions, within this very same nation, the Creator and Controller had given a message to this particular mother. I congratulate the women upon this. In relation to presenting this message to her, Allāh Ta’ālā utilizes the word which denotes revelation, i.e., waḥī. This word is used [for her] in the Noble Qur’ān. This is a very significant form of honour and respect. A sign was given to her that she should not fear and that she should continue feeding her child with ease and comfort. She was told that, when she becomes apprehensive of the government forces coming to her home to snatch the child, she should prepare a wooden box, place the child in it and secretly place it in the river.

Allāh Ta’ālā promised her two things: one was that He would return the child to her and the second was that Allāh Ta’ālā would make him the Messenger of that era. I send peace and salutations upon this great woman. Was this something easy? I ask all the women here to think of your child and reflect. Was it easy for this mother to remove her child from her lap and hand it over to the rippling water of the river? Are the waves a more safe and protective place? This is īmān (faith). This is courage. When īmān takes root firmly within the heart, it makes every form of sacrifice easy.

After this, both promises of Allāh Ta’ālā were fulfilled. The complete incident is mentioned in the Noble Qur’ān. She got her child back. Then, Allāh Ta’ālā arranged for the nurturing of the child under the eye of the oppressor of the time and at his expense.

‘Mūsā was born in the house of Fir’awn’.

This became an Urdu proverb.

He became the Nabī of the time and thus the second promise was also fulfilled.

If only I could explain the details of the revolution that was caused by Sayyidunā Mūsā ‘alayhi as-salām; how he turned the page of human history. No Nabī has been mentioned in the Noble Qur’ān with such frequency as Sayyidunā Mūsā ‘alayhi as-salām is. A new era of human history began with the era of Sayyidunā Mūsā ‘alayhi as-salām. Should his blessed mother not be credited for all of this?

I say again, whatever challenges came, the men did not face them alone. History shows that the women played an equal role in overcoming the challenges of every era.

Why is there a need to go so far back? Look at the life of Sayyidah Khadījah raḍiyallāhu ‘anhā. Was it some coincidence? Nothing happens in the universe by coincidence. Everything is well-planned. Everything is well-programmed.

ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

« That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing»^[1]

It was not a coincidence that in terms of becoming Muslim, of believing and accepting īmān, this particular virtue and honour was acquired first by a female. Once again, I mention the honour and share given to the women. I remind you of your responsibility. I remind you of your position. Allāh Ta’ālā could have allowed a man to accept īmān first, but no—in order to demonstrate the status of women until the Day of Qiyāmah, He decreed that the honour of being the first to accept Sayyidunā Muḥammad Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam as the Messenger of Allāh was granted to a woman. What words left her mouth? How much intelligence was behind her words? How much foresight did she have? How much unseen aid and force was contained within her words, for there were so many things which were to happen in the world after this? She said:

“Muḥammad, my husband, you help the poor; you provide for the underprivileged; you bear the burdens of the weak on your shoulders. I can never believe that Allāh Ta’ālā will allow you to be destroyed. It can never be.”

O my mothers. O my sisters. O my daughters. You can make and mould the future of the Muslim Ummah. Build this within yourselves and do these kinds of deeds. Do the same for your children.

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The bestower of honor and disgrace is not the government of the time. These are within the [sole] control of Allāh Ta’ālā.

Was it some coincidence that the first martyr in Islām was a female? This is not a coincidence. The old lady that came from Yemen, Sayyidah Sumayyah raḍiyallāhu ‘anhā was tortured using two camels which she was tied to. The oppressive polytheists of Makkah Mukarramah took an arrow and then threatened her saying:

‘If you do not say that Muḥammad is a liar, then the arrow will leave our bow and pierce your body’.

The hungry Sumayyah tried to give strength to her fading voice and attempted to call out:

‘I testify that there is none worthy of worship but Allāh and Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allāh’.

She could not complete the testimony of faith, and the arrow left the bow, piercing her body. This was the first blessed corpse that fell upon the land of Makkah Mukarramah; the first blood that fell upon the land of Makkah Mukarramah in the path of īmān. I congratulate you. This was not the body of any male. It was the body of a female.

Recognize your position and status. Recognize and understand your responsibility. What is your position, and what you can do? What contribution you can make? What role you can play?

I make du’ā’, but what is the status of my du’ā’. There is a list of thirty to forty pious friends of Allāh Ta’ālā throughout the world. I send word to them to make du’ā’ in Makkah Mukarramah; in Madīnah Munawwarah; in Masjid An-Nabawī. I ask them to sit by the green dome and make du’ā’ for the sisters who have come out for the protection of Islām. You can be assured, you are fortunate, there are many people in this country and in other parts of the world that are engaged in du’ā’ for a change in the future of this country.

With great humility, love, and respect, I request the following from you.

One, make a firm resolution to practice upon the entire sharī’ah completely. Say, in your lowered voice:

‘In shā Allāh’.

The entire sharī’ah. Practice upon the entire sharī’ah. If I could, I would have gone door-to-door, calling like a poor man, saying:

‘Your parents have named you A’isha, Zaynab, and Khawla. Do you know? Do you recall the history [and significance] of these women in Islām?’

It should not become the case that on the Day of Qiyāmah these blessed women ask before Allāh Ta’ālā, while seeking a response from the people:

‘They named their children after us, but they have adopted the shameless western way of life?’

I salute the gathering of women in ḥijāb. I request all the sisters, please convince your children, your daughters, and those who share your oppression—explain to them lovingly that honor, peace, progress, protection, and salvation all lie in being an ardent and devoted follower of Sayyidunā Muḥammad Rasūlullāh ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam. There is not a single person in human history who has afforded women their true status like him.

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Two, resolve to practice upon the sharī’ah. It is quite clear that there are many details related to practicing upon the sharī’ah. I shall indicate towards just a few. You seek a spouse for your son. So, the instruction within the sharī’ah is to seek someone who is chaste, pure, has a good record and way of life, someone who is kind and soft, who has good character, someone who is tolerant and loyal. Look for these qualities first. Once you do this, and a match is found, your home will have a heavenly environment. Otherwise, there will be arguments and fights between the boy and his mother-in-law; the daughter-in-law will be oppressed. Who oppresses the daughter-in-law? Men do not do this. It is the women that do this. There is no man that stands in-between when these kinds of fights and arguments arise.

It is very strange to see, after just a few days, the very girl you had welcomed in with such hope, falls so drastically from your good graces. Although I am not involved in politics, I understand what this is. It is a power struggle within the house. The mother feels like she was in control until now, but now that this wretched one has come along, she will share the power in my house. The home is destroyed in this way.

Give due importance to practicing upon all these aspects of the sharī’ah. Love your daughter-in-law the same way you show love to your own daughter. I ask the daughter-in-law to consider the mother-in-law to be like her mother. Then see how much love and harmony will be found in this house. Whatever energy was being wasted on arguments and fights, will now be used in learning and teaching, and in protecting the sharī’ah.

Three, acquire knowledge of Islām. I am an optimistic and positive person. There has been so much talk of divorce (ṭalāq) and triple divorce, that people are greatly enthusiastic about learning their details. What does this mean? It means that whatever we would say and encourage—such as if we were to tell you to learn about Islām—you would not listen. The males would not listen and the females would not listen either. This resulted in Allāh Ta’ālā sending someone else for our guidance as He witnessed them not listening and obeying their scholars.

This is a unique system: the system of Allāh Ta’ālā.

I say and I make du’ā’ in my heart for the government to be changed quickly. However, my mind is not yet ready to say ‘āmīn’ because I fear that the moment the government falls, our hands will fail us and our unity will break. Then, we will excommunicate each other. Then we will engage in ‘non-issues.’ Hence, as long as our nurturing has not been done, I cannot complete the rest of my sentence.

I repeat, I cannot complete the rest of my sentence until our nurturing is not done.

Use your intellect. Use your minds. What are we arguing and fighting about? Acquire knowledge of Islām. Acquire knowledge of Islām from the reliable and authentic sources. You go to seek counsel when there is a case. When you seek medical advice, you ask someone who is qualified, experienced, and authorised. You do not go to just anyone. In the same way, there are scholars and ‘Ulamā’ that have exhausted decades of their lives towards understanding Islām. They understand from the direct sources. Acquire [your] knowledge of Islām through them.

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As we speak, there are many people spreading ‘knowledge’ of Islām who cannot even recite Sūrah Al-Fātiḥa properly. This is a sign of the proximity of Qiyāmah. Acquire knowledge of Islām. Practice upon Islām. Be happy and rejoice in practicing Islām. When you acquire proper knowledge of Islām, the realization will be created within you that Islām is the best and most ideal system and way. It is the best way of life. In light of this knowledge, and with the power of īmān, you will not be affected by propaganda. You will be able to save hundreds and thousands of others from being affected by propaganda too. Organize workshops towards this end. I urge the scholars to deliver lectures on the topic of the rights of women in Islām and the proper way of separation.

We go about saying that we will not allow the laws of the sharī’ah to be changed, whereas we are not even aware of its details ourselves, nor are we truly convinced that it is the best way. This is not sufficient.”

Notes

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH64IsWC5M4

1. Sūrah Yāsīn: 38 ↑

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