In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most
Merciful
By Hanîfah Ashawe
At a time when Islam is Faced with hostile media coverage
particularly where the status of men in Islam is concerned, it may be quite
surprising to learn that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world,
and even more ironic to is that the statistics show the majority of converts to
Islam are Women!
The status of women in society is neither a new issue nor
is it a fully settled one, and where Islâm is mentioned, for many the term
'Muslim Woman' prompts images of exhausted mothers chained to the stove,
'victims' suppressed in a life of indoctrination, frantic to be westernized and
so on. Others will go to great lengths to explain how the hijâb is
an obstacle, clouding the mind, and comment that female converts are either
brainwashed, stupid or traitors to their sex. I reject such accusations and
pose to them the following question: why is it that so many women who have been
born and brought up in the so-called "civilized" societies of Europe
and America are willing to reject their "liberty" and "independence"
to embrace a religion that supposedly oppresses them and is widely assumed to
be prejudicial to them?
As a Christian convert to Islâm, I can only present my
personal experience and reasons for rejecting the "freedom" that
women claim to have in this society in favour of the only Religion that truly
liberates women by giving us a status and position which is completely unique
when compared with that of our non-Muslim counterparts.
Before coming to Islâm, I had strong feminist tendencies
and recognized that where the woman was concerned, a lot of shuffling around
had been going on, yet without being able to pin her on the social map. The
problem was ongoing new 'women's issues' being raised without the previous ones
being satisfactorily resolved. Like the many women who shared my background. I
would accuse Islâm of being a sexist religion, discriminating, oppressing and
giving men the greater privileges. All this coming from a person who didn't
even know Islâm, one who had been blinded due to ignorance and had accepted
this deliberately distorted definition of Islâm.
However, despite my criticism of Islâm, inwardly I wasn't
satisfied with my own status as a woman in this society. It seemed to me that
society would define the terms such as "liberty" and "freedom"
and then these definitions were accepted by women without us even attempting to
question or challenge them. There was clearly a great contradiction between
what women are told in theory and what actually happens in practice.
The more I pondered, the greater emptiness I fell within. I
was slowly beginning to reach a stage where my dissatisfaction with my status
as a woman in this society, was really a reflection of my greater
dissatisfaction with society itself. Everything seemed to be degenerating backwards,
despite all the claims that the 1990 was going to be a decade of success and
prosperity. Something vital seemed to be missing from my life and nothing would
fill this vacuum. Being a Christian didn't do anything for me, and I began to
question the validity of only remembering God one day a week - Sundays! As with
many other Christians too, I had become disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the
Church and was becoming increasingly unhappy with the concept of the Trinity
and the deification of Jesus. Eventually, I began to look in Islâm. At first I
was only interested in looking into those issues which specifically dealt with
women. I was surprised. What I read and learned taught me a lot about myself as
a woman, and also about the real oppression of women lies: in every other
system and way of life outside Islâm. Muslim women have been given their rights
in every aspect with clear definitions of their role in society - as had men -
with no injustices against either of them. As Allâh says: "Whoever
does deeds of righteousness, by the male or female, and have faith, they will
enter Paradise and not the least injustice will be done to them." [an-Nisâ'
(4):124]
So having amended my misconceptions about the true status
of women in Islâm, I was now looking further. I wanted to find that thing which
was going to fill the vacuum in my life. My attention was drawn towards the
beliefs and practices of Islâm. It was only through establishing the
fundamentals that I would understand where to turn and what to prioritize.
These are often areas which receive little attention or controversy in society,
and when studying Islâmic creed, it becomes clear why this is the case: such
concise, faultless and widely comprehensive details cannot be found elsewhere.
The fundamental belief of Islâm is Tawhîd which
is a simple message 'lâ ilâha illallâh'. It is recognise that Allâh
alone is to be worshipped and then to direct all worship towards Him - the root
message which strikes at all false worship and it is the place where any person
who seriously wants to learn about Islâm should start.
By this time I had begun to meet practising Muslim women
and how I felt so secure and welcome in their company! There was a sense of tranquility
and humility about them and I wanted to share in that. These sisters, I
regarded not only as friends, but advisors, and supporters too, and the beauty
of their companionship was that every person was attracted due to the same
reason: to help each other in worshipping Allâh. This is what united their hearts
together. Allâh says: "And He has united their [i.e. the
believers] hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not
have united their hearts, but Allâh has united them. Certainly He is
All-Mighty, All-Wise." [al-Anfâl (8):63]
Alhamdulillâh, I accepted Islâm willingly.
Through my reading, researching and attending lectures, I
have come to know my Rabb(Lord). I have come closer to acquainting
myself with some of His Names (Asmâ') and Attributes (Sifât) of
Beauty and Perfection. I have found this a great help in understanding the
whole Religion. To know, for example, that among Allâh's Names is that He is
the Most Wise (al-Hakîm) and the Most Just (al-'Adl), and
therefore that He commands only that which is wise and just, would completely
relieve a person from seeking to find justifications for Allâh's Laws, or from
having having doubts about the fairness of Allâh's Laws. Now,alhamdulillâh,
I can appreciate much more why the true Muslim scholars emphasise so strong for
Muslims to learn about Allâh - His Asmâ' and Sifât -
before trying to reason with Allâh's Laws. Unfortunate I would have been, had I
taken the stance that "Islâm gives the best deal to women" and made
this my reason for embracing Islâm because then my faith would have been without
a firm ground and sooner or later I would have come across some laws ordained
by Allâh that I couldn't logically / rationally understand or see the wisdom
behind. Had I not studied the foundation of belief, namely Tawhîd and
looked at how Allâh describes Himself in His Book, perhaps I would still be in
darkness. And all praise and thanks is for Allâh who guided me to the truth -
It is as He says: "Wherewith Allâh guides all those who seek His
good pleasure, to ways of peace, and He brings them out of darkness, by His
will, into light and guides them to a Straight Path." [al-Mâ'idah
(5):16]
The reason why women are turning to Islâm must certainly
have something to do with the honour that Islâm gives them and the equality
with which it deals with people, not only in terms of gender, but also in terms
of race, nationality, class, etc. However, the overriding reason why I and so
many others like me were attracted to Islâm was because Islâm answered the most
important question which I had ever asked: "Why am I here on this
earth?" So I crossed the divide and managed to see what lies on the other
side ...alhamdulillâh, I chose Islâm.
Courtesy Of: SunnahOnline.com
Source: ad-Da'wah illa Allâh & kalamullah.com
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