WOMEN IN ISLAM

DIVORCE IN ISLAM the United States when the police caught up with him. He was taken to jail on a charge of murder. Manu was not careless in selecting her partner. She travelled from America to find a suitable match in her birthplace. But all that glitters is not gold. Our human limitations make it impossible to understand every facet of a person’s character before entering into a relationship with him. The question arises whether, after such revelations, one should feel forced to respect a marriage bond even at the cost of one’s life. When society considers separation taboo, or the laws on this show no human leniency, the only alternative left for such incompatible couples is either to commit suicide or waste away the whole of their lives in the “darkest despair.” Even when one dares to surmount the hurdle of divorce, it is challenging to get remarried in societies where divorcees are looked down upon. One can, at best, marry someone beneath one’s social status. But in Islam, remarriage is not a taboo: the Prophet himself married a widow. The provisions of Islam are, thus, a great blessing to couples who realize only too late that they have erred in choosing a partner. Islam provides them with a way to separate amicably in a spirit of goodwill. SATAN’S GREATEST WEAPON According to Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah, the Prophet once observed: ‘The throne of Iblis (Satan), the chief of the devils, is situated above the seas, whence he sends his bands to lead human beings astray. To Iblis, the worthiest of the