> Muslim Women - What Happened to them?

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

There are certain characteristics within the Muslimah that acts as the demarcation between a believer and disbeliever. This is not to say that all non-Muslim women have no sense of dignity, shame and above all haya. But individual cases do not mount up to much. Generally speaking Muslim women who adhere to the teachings of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and command of Allah are superior to non-Muslim women. Unfortunately the plague of the Kuffar has reached the Muslim women from every corner. Left and right they are bombard with ideologies and standards and those who are ignorant of the Divine law set follow such guidelines.

Western women believe they are free and independent individuals who are not oppressed nor dictated to dress or conform to a certain standard. And as we often hear if they will something they can do it. And in return they look down up Muslim women as repressed and backward for covering up simply because a mere piece of cloth does not necessitate modesty yet at the same time acknowledge an individual’s free-will to dress as they please. However realistically speaking most women wake up every morning and slap make-up on not because they want to but feel as though they have to live up to the standards of looking beautiful and sizzling.

Muslim women need to be able to recognize that make-up is not the mark of beauty, because no matter how much of it you put on you will still wake up with the same face every morning. Some women put so much makeup on that if you see them without makeup you would be unable to recognize them. You don’t look beautiful with your makeup. You look oppressed and enslaved, shackled by standards set by a bunch of homosexuals in the fashion industry.

Your haya acts as an exemplification of your beauty and not your makeup. Because with makeup you can put it on and off but your haya is not as straightforward as that. It is a shame that Muslim women have fallen victim to the trap of the fashion industry so much so that they even attempt to follow it. Dressing presentably is one thing, dressing provocatively is another. So when you wake up every morning and wash your face with clean and clear’s sensitive skin’s daily scrub remind yourself of the most important characteristics which a Muslim should have and for whose sake you dress the way you do. Because if you think of this life as a means of transportation to your destination then by default you are at a disadvantage, try thinking of it logically.

1. A practicing Muslim prays for at least 4 hours a day [including Sunnah prayers.]

2. A Practicing Muslim says Assalamu3alaikum, Jazakhum Allah khayran, Baraka llah feek[i] etc at least 10 days a day.

3. A Practicing Muslim does not lie, lowers their gaze, guards their modesty etc

Logically, those all add up to about 5 hours I’d say. What about the other 19 hours? What are they spent doing, shopping, calling your mother/brother/sister/father etc or are they also spent in worship. The term “worship” is obviously not limited to prayer but if we keep our intentions in check and our aim in perspective then those 19 hours can be used to gain the pleasure of Allah [Subhanahu wa ta'ala].

The main problem and concern for the women of this Ummah is that our elders are not setting the right example for the young ones to follow. The little Muslim girls look at the standard of the older Muslimahs and they are failing the younger generation through their dress style, action and speech. The Sisterhood has been severely damaged by the western propaganda and lies and deceitful standards of beauty and conformity to such standard will lead to the loss of Muslim women.

I find the situation of Muslim women stressing. Alhamdulelah My friends share with me a genuine interest in seeing Islam become Victorious and prevail above all falsehood. But I have seen countless Muslim women negligent of many things. And it just is so stressful especially when you can’t take the sisters to the side and hug them as tightly as you can and then tell them that they are far more beautiful than any kaffir women and help her realize that the fag at the fashion industry which she is trying to conform to is indirectly attacking her intellect as well as dignity.

I was thinking of writing an article for the MSA sisters, I'm not sure where to begin. Any ideas?

[salman]

^Wa'alaykum As-Salam

you may begin your article with a reminder as Allah Ta'ala tells us in the Qur'aan that good reminders are good for the believers. So remind people about their obligations, taqwa and Sharee'ah ruling; i.e. makeup is only meant to beautify herself for her husband. Then you may talk about some of the noble women in Islaam, their role in the society and how they stuck to the deen purely.

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

Jazakah Allah khayran for the reply,

Which women should i cite as examples?

[salman]

^it depends which issue you specifically want to focus on. if it is hijab and covering properly then i can recall the well known historical incident of a sahabiyyah (radiallahu anha - May Allah be pleased with her) who were forced to take off her niqaab and as a result she shouted "my Islaam".

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

My main problem with them is “carelessness” for the situation of the Ummah globally. It’s not even just the Sisters but since I converse with them mostly I'm aware of their situation and their perspective on matters.

There is a group of sisters that I see and I have been persistent in inviting them to Islamic lectures and saying “ how’s it going etc” but in return they are persist in their ignorance and non-Islamic behaviour. It annoys me I think I'm going to write a mini newspaper and give it to all the Muslims. If they don’t turn up to the Islamic lectures ( which we pay for) then BOOO! I'm going to call their mothers.

It’s just really annoying when the Sisterhood is not strong. They just dont care.

[Qatada]

asalaam alaikum


sis ruwaydah, listen to this talk;

::Kalamullah.Com::


its original, unique and u'll like it insha Allah.. it covers different muslim women in history for their goods in all fields [i.e. fighting, love, confidence etc etc.], and the speaker [hesham al awadi] addresses issues which other talkers may not even attempt to discuss [i.e. stories of love before marriage etc] but he has an islamic twist to it all which is really good and neutralises what he says (usually relating it to the youth of today).



also check;
http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/...am%2FDIELayout

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

Jazakah Allah Khayran;

I saved the CD's and uploaded it on my iPod. InshAllah it will be of benefit.

[salman]

Originally Posted by Ruwayda Mustafah

My main problem with them is “carelessness” for the situation of the Ummah globally. It’s not even just the Sisters but since I converse with them mostly I'm aware of their situation and their perspective on matters.

There is a group of sisters that I see and I have been persistent in inviting them to Islamic lectures and saying “ how’s it going etc” but in return they are persist in their ignorance and non-Islamic behaviour. It annoys me I think I'm going to write a mini newspaper and give it to all the Muslims. If they don’t turn up to the Islamic lectures ( which we pay for) then BOOO! I'm going to call their mothers.

It’s just really annoying when the Sisterhood is not strong. They just dont care.

sister, you've to remember that kindness is the key to da'wah. We're humans and we fall into sins. Sometime, it is hard to give up something all at once; so, let's take the small steps and invite them kindly to the deen and remind them of the Sharee'ah rulings. Invite the sisters to remain in good company.

I don't think that telling their mothers will help anyone. It may make them stubborn and further weaken your relationship with them.

[Umm Marwa Mustafa]

Word to that!

Obviously change takes time. In fact one of the biggest factors of change is time. And people can change. It is not lack of patience or lack of respect for that matter. These sisters just don’t seem interested and to be honest I don’t know about sister Ifrah but I’m running out of ideas as to how to get them interested.

I have good news, And I want you all to make dua for this sister. Because she is the last person I expected to change, she was the last person that I thought would come up to me one day and give me such a great news.

I was writing our MSA FAQ when this sister came and sat next to me (wearing Abaya and a Hijab which covered her neck and etc for the first time, Allah is my witness she has never looked more respectable and presentable!) She asked about what’s happening to our MSA and how its going etc. afterwards she explained how she wants to practice and start praying. I was going to hug her but I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable… This sister shocked me and I was so happy.

She wanted to learn more about The punishment of the hellfire, and the importance of prayer. (Sister Ifrah is going to get her some books on that inshAllah) I gave her the book of Tawheed and today she told me she read 40 pages already ( Alhamdulelah).

Point being, it’s not impossible for them to change. I don’t know how this Sister made a U turn but I’ve decided I’m going to be paly-paly with those sisters that always promise me to come to our lectures but never turn up.

Harshness and rudeness does not invite these sisters. And I’m not willing to give them some form of justification for their activities. Da’wah has to be gentle and it takes time to gradually plant the seeds of Islam within someone’s heart. Which is why I want to write some short articles… like a Mini-Muslim newspaper which these sisters can identify with. And perhaps invite them to write or correct some of the material.

[Exquisite]

Assalamu alaykum sis

Just wanted to make a pointer in regards to the first post, we must remember it's not just the sisters, brothers are also becoming more "fashion conscious" etc, so lets not just generalise to sisters inshaAllah.

Also remember many sisters actually have the basic foundations of Islam rooted in them, its just maybe they aren't applying themselves in the right way. i.e. they know the hijab is fard, but maybe they don't wear it for various other reasons.

Regarding the article, maybe give two sides of the story, an example of a "practicing Muslimah" and an example of a "non-practicing" one.