Questioning the Violence Against Women

“And when people are brought together,

And when the girl-child buried alive is questioned about,

‘For what crime was she killed?’

And when books are spread abroad,”

              -The Holy Qur’an [Ch: 81, v. 8-11]

The great Qur’anic prophecies regarding the Signs of the Latter Days certainly seem to have come to fruition in our age. A question to ponder: When the signs are apparent and obvious, wouldn’t Allah raise His Messenger as well? As the Qur’an tells us: “There are lessons for those endowed with reasoning”.

Reflective and discerning individuals would be awestruck by the stunning, literal fulfilment of Divine prophecies in our times. Consider this: the single most important fact of our times is the unprecedented and extraordinary phenomena of globalization. The great prophecy of the Holy Qur’an “when people are brought together” is magnificently fulfilled, literally in our times, in several, different ways thanks to the explosion in communication technologies and transportation mechanisms. Likewise, no age before ours has witnessed the transnational exchange of books and ideas as much as we do today: in the age of Internet, the virtual world of cyberspace fosters an information revolution of unimaginable proportions.

It is also of particular interest to note that in our times, at a time when even in Muslim societies, the equality of legal protection offered by Islam to women had been subverted by the misogynist, traditional interpretations, the assertion of women’s dignity and rights, identity and choices have begun to gain legitimacy and recognition in the public sphere. In any case, no age before ours has witnessed as much concern for the protection and dignity and rights of women and girls as much as our own age. 

Meeting on the heels of high profile violence cases against women in India and elsewhere that fuelled global outrage and rising demands for justice, the 57^th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, March 04- 15, 2013, adopted a forward-looking Agreed Conclusions. The document strongly emphasizes that violence against women is a human rights violation and calls special attention to the need for women’s and girls’ safety in public spaces, and for attitudinal changes through challenging gender stereotypes. It highlights the need to strengthen legal and policy frameworks, with important provisions on ending impunity, and ensuring accountability and access to justice, as well as addressing domestic violence. 

Reproduced below is extracts from a Speech delivered on March 08, 2013- International Women’s Day- by the distinguished Executive Director of UN Women, Madame Michelle Bachelet on “Gender-Motivated Killings of Women, Including Femicide”:

Holy Qur'an at Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School, one of the most prestigious institutions of its kind in the world, has recently posted a verse of the Holy Qur’an at the entrance of its Faculty Library, describing the verse as one of the greatest expressions of justice in history. Verse 135 of Surah Al Nisa (The Women) has been posted at a wall facing the faculty’s main entrance, dedicated to the best phrases articulating justice: 

“O you who believe!

Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses 

To Allah, even as against 

Yourselves or your parents, 

Or your kin, and whether

It be (against) rich or poor; 

For Allah can best protect both". 

Established in 1817, Harvard is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. Among its alumni is US President Barack Hussein Obama and a host of influential journalists, writers, media and business leaders and even professional athletes. According to its official website, The Words of Justice exhibition is a testimony of the endurance of humanity’s yearning for fairness and dignity through law. “The words on these walls affirm the power and irrepressibility of the idea of justice.”

We reproduce below an insightful explanation of this particular verse provided by the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius as part of his forthcoming Commentary on the Holy Qur’an:

Abolition of Slavery: Islamic Ethics

In the dark chapters of human history, social relations were characterized by exploitation, oppression, subjugation, domination and hegemony. Perhaps slavery represents the worst example of this social order. On the other hand, Islam seeks to create an egalitarian social order where traditional practices that unjustly discriminate against fellow beings will be contained and eventually abolished. Islamic teachings are, thus, designed to reduce and abolish the class differences and the institutional vestiges of inequality in society. Islam imagines a social space where diversities lead to creative ensemble and the flowering of the human spirit and not to oppression and injustice and the unjust enrichment for a few over the many. [Inset: Watercolor by unidentified artist, depicting plantation slaves dancing and playing musical instruments; banjo player and a percussion player (possibily playing a gourd) at right.  Image courtesy of The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record  ]

In his Friday Sermon of 01 February 2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius explained the Islamic attitude towards the ancient problem of slavery. Drawing upon the express verses of the Holy Qur’an and the traditions of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Messenger of Allah of our times demonstrates the spirit of human equality and empathy for the victims of slavery apparent in the teachings of Islam. In a world characterized by neo-slavery mind-set of modern men who consider women as chattels and sexual trafficking of women and girl children are everyday occurrences, the Islamic teachings are a reminder to the oft-blaming conscience of man.  

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

The year 2013 marks the 178^th year since the abolition of slavery in Mauritius. Thus, every 1^st February is a public holiday in Mauritius. A section of the Mauritian population is made of African originated slaves, thus the appellation of these types of people, Creoles. But as a generality, every Mauritian is known as Creole despite his or her religious or cultural background and beliefs, and our mother tongue is Creole.

Prophet Muhammad (sa) and His Marriages

Both anti-Islam elements and mindlessly ignorant critics have long called attention to the multiple marriages of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa), in an effort to tarnish the sublime spiritual life of the father of Muslims and to decry that Islam has no space for women’s dignity and rights. Nothing can be further from the truth. For history and traditions of the Muslims testify that the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) elevated the status of women in society through his precepts and practices. If one cares to examine the historical record in its entirety and the material circumstances of the events of the Prophet’s marriages and the times in which such marriages happened, one could come to an intelligent conclusion-that Islam and the Holy Prophet (sa) upheld the dignity and rights and status of women in society. 

In his Friday Sermon of 25 January 2013, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius continued his exposition on some important aspects of the life of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa), a theme he began in the previous week. The Sermon especially provides profound insights on the attitude of the Holy Prophet (sa) towards women and the circumstances of his many marriages. In a fractured and divided tribal society, where women’s lives were considered cheap and disposable, the Prophet’s marriages brought dignity to vulnerable, widowed women and protection to their young children, mend the faultiness of tribal discord, raised the status of slave women, provided unique opportunities for the training of the Ummah on religious values and norms, points out the Messenger of Allah of our times.

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

Islam has over the centuries been both commended and criticised concerning the rights of women in society. The modern westerners flaunt the so-called liberty of their women folk before the world, and in their ignorance falsely allege that Islam reserves an inferior place to woman and that she is more of a slave than a person of equal status to man. Whilst the world before Islam casted women as a lowly thing, with the advent of Islam the woman regain her true identity as excellent servant of God, and man’s great treasure, help and equal. 

Islamic Family Values

In his special sermon of October 05, 2012 on the occasion of the Annual Conference [“JALSA SALANA”] of the Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International, the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius reflected on the fundamental values and structural norms on which the edifice of human society is constituted. The speech explains, in simple and eloquent manner, the Islamic family values which are designed to address all the vagaries of human nature and the complex contingencies of   man-woman relationships in society.

Read the Extracts from the Sermon:

Another infrastructural unit for human society is the family. To constitute a family, the most important part is the relationship between man and woman. Just as Islam has laid down certain rules for the honour and responsibility of man, it has placed woman also on the same footing with respect to man. The Holy Quran says: “They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them.” (2: 188)

Besides, the Quran has placed both man and woman on the same status of equality so far as their rights are concerned by declaring: “O you who believe! It is not lawful for you to inherit a woman against their will; nor should you detain them wrongfully that you may take away part of that which you have given them, except they be guilty of a flagrant evil; and consort with them in kindness, and if you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing wherein Allah has placed much good.” (4: 20)

Moreover, the following verse of the Holy Quran shows the basis of the relationship between men and women: “And one of His signs is this, that He has created wives for you from among yourselves that you may find peace of mind in them, and He has put love and tenderness between you. In that surely are signs for a people who reflect.” (30: 22)

The only means of creating a relationship between man and woman is marriage. In today’s world the choice of a partner is made on the following consideration: beauty, wealth and social standing. That’s the reason why difficulties arise and multiply, in social life. Our Holy Prophet (saw) has said: “The first thing to consider when a partner is sought for is virtue and moral standing.”

Islam and Polygamy

Polygamy as an institution has been discredited the world over in our times. Unlike in the medieval times, the patriarchal practice is now seen as an affront/insult to the dignity of women. In an age of increasing consciousness about human dignity and the basic rights of women, polygamy has gone against the grain of societal acceptance as an indulgence by men and worse. Critics of Islam always frown upon Islam for the perceived/alleged legitimacy it extends to men through the institution of polygamy. They argue that it militates against the notions of equality and women’s rights.

The Mujaddid of the Fourteenth Century, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) of Qadian engaged with the arguments of the critics of Islam in several of his writings and even defended the practice from the point of view of individual liberty and human rights. While Islam recognizes the practice of polygamy and allows men to take more than one wife at a time, as the Promised Massih (as) points out, Islam has not made it a compulsory institution or an obligatory practice on the men.

Marriage is a bilateral agreement/contract under the Law of Islam. Hence, the parties are perfectly entitled to design the conditions of agreement/rules of engagement as well. Muslim women can, if they so wish, certainly determine the conditions of their marriage and not powerless, as is generally being thought of. In the search within the Islamic tradition for the empowerment of Muslim women against the abuse of religious doctrines by the men, the viewpoint of the Promised Massih (as) has been found to be singularly useful. It is pertinent to note that in the century that followed since these observations were made by the Promised Massih (as), the family law reforms in most Islamic countries have moved in this direction as well.

The Other Half of Women’s ‘Freedom’

That sexual permissiveness is morally unacceptable may have been a part of the long-standing common sense in most societies. But, increasingly, such views are being challenged by people who brazenly and wantonly, ‘celebrate’ the cause of individual 'preferences' and identity 'orientations' by arguing that there is nothing deviant in being a homosexual or a lesbian for that matter. The fact is, world over, sexual permissiveness is increasingly gaining societal acceptance and public legitimacy. The language of human rights and basic freedoms are increasingly being deployed for the recognition and in the service of homosexual, bisexual, transgender and lesbian communities and also for legalising abortion and even prostitution. In this twisted world of legality,  the heinous practice of abortion is projected as a mere question of a woman’s basic right to reproductive choice.  Any perceived 'interference' by the society through regulatory laws/rules would be seen as a grotesque invasion of the right to privacy and self- determination in the private sphere!

In his Friday Sermon of June 08, 2012 Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius took note of these larger societal trends in the backdrop of the recent policy debates in Mauritius on the issue of legalizing abortion.  The Divine Messenger of our times points out that all of these have profoundly negative implications for the orderly development and long-term health of societies and the human civilization's onward march.

Read the Extracts from the Friday Sermon:

Brothers and sisters, you know that since Friday 04 May 2012, in the Mauritian Parliament and even before this, the government has taken the decision to legalise abortion, but after debates on the question, they (that is, the government) persisted to go forward with the legalisation of abortion in specific cases and this has been published in the newspapers here in Mauritius. Each time that the government has gone against religion and the religious leaders, and each time that the subject of abortion has become the talk of the day, as the Khalifatullah of this era, like in the past, I shall continue to rise against all things which are against the divine teachings and which are encouraging all the more the spread of sins.

Immorality is annihilating our youth, be it in Mauritius and the world as a whole. Due to the fact that some 20% of women do not want children, therefore accordingly (people of modern times or government) seem to think that abortion must be legalised. I warn you: Do not invite the punishment of Allah on this small island, and I warn also the other countries who have legalised (or in the process of legalising) abortion.

Nizaam-e-Jamaat: Evolving a Parallel ‘Culture’

‘‘Within a century after the departure of a Mujaddid, his followers lose their spiritual self. They become creatures of the earth, lusting after material riches and vain pursuits’. 

This prescient observation of the Promised Massih (as) is today staring the Jamaat-e- Ahmadiyya in its face- the same Jamaat that he established to revive the faith of Islam more than a century back in India. 

While Ahmadis continue to delude themselves that they remain in the right path, a parallel ‘culture’ has developed within the Jamaat that has corroded and subverted its inner core of sublime spirituality. The empty shell of Khilafat as it exists today is virtually incapable of stopping the eroding ground beneath its feat. Forget about reversing the tide altogether! 

In his Friday Sermon of January 06, 2012 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius confirms what thoughtful Ahmadis have feared for years- the development of a parallel ‘culture’ within. The sermon contains a searing critique of the gross mismanagement and the resultant disarray within the rank and file of the Nizaam-e-Jamaat. It describes the apparent features of this parallel ‘culture’ that has eaten into the vitals of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya's value systems, corroded the ethics of its members and has come to define their ill-informed decisions and wrong choices today.

Read the Extracts from the Sermon:

“The fifth Caliph is not taking care of the Jamaat of the Promised Messiah (as) like the latter had established the management of the Jamaat. The Caliph is basing himself on false reports of his amirs and mullahs. It is his so-called mullahs and amirs who are leading the Jamaat astray and the caliph is not taking the right decisions for the cause of Allah and according to the precepts of Islam. It is those around him who are taking the major decisions, especially about whom the Ahmadis should greet salaam or not, and boycott.

The Ethics of Islamic Veil

In his Friday Sermon of 20 May 2011, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (atba) of Mauritius spoke at length about the question of gender equality in the social order. Based on his deep insight, the Khalifatullah rejects the western notion that Islamic veil seeks to seclude women at the cost of her individual freedom and spiritual identity. He explains the profound moral precepts of Islam that seeks to promote family values and maintain a complex balance in gender relations in society- while restraining unhindered mixing of men and women, it does promote healthy interactions across the gender divide by observing the Islamic norms. He calls for abundant caution in the pursuit of addressing “any weakness (or) immoderation in the system” and asserts that the system is essentially rooted on the principles of “justice and equity, balance and proportion”.

Read the extracts from the Friday Sermon:

Islam on Women’s Rights

Gender relations and women’s space, rights and status in Islam have been a perennial source of debate in the recent times. In a series of sermons in May 2011, Hadhrat Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib has now reflected on various aspects of this wide-ranging issue. Reproduced below are extracts from the Friday Sermon of May 20, 2011.

“As a fundamental of its system, Islam holds that the woman is a human being; and she has a soul similar to that of man. The Holy Quran says: “O people! Be careful of (your duty to) your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind) and spread from these two, many men and women; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (to) the ties of relationship; surely Allah ever watches over you.” (4:2)

Thus, men and women are quite equal to each other in their origin, their abode as well as in their place of return and are as such entitled to similar and equal rights. Islam gave her the right to life, to honour, and to property like men. She is an honourable being and it is not permissible for anyone to find fault with her or backbite her. No one is permitted to spy on her or hold her in contempt due to her functions as a woman. These are the rights that both men and women enjoy, there being no differentiation against either of them.

So, none can deny the fact that as human beings, man and woman are equal. Both make up the human race together as its equal constituent parts. Both are equal partners in building up community life, creating and bringing about civilisation, and thus serving humanity. Both have been endowed with hearts, brain and reasoning power and both possess feelings, desires and the other human instincts. Both stand in need of mental and intellectual training and education so that they may duly contribute to the happiness and welfare of society.