WOMEN IN ISLAM

Once, Mulla Abdun Nabi, Akbar’s teacher, insulted the emperor in the court. Akbar was enraged and wanted to punish him, which could even have been a death sentence. However, his mother, Maryam Zamani, intervened and calmed him down. She told him his pardon would go down in history in these words. “An emperor having all the power at his disposal forgave the offender.” Such incidents abound in history, but usually, these are related to either a ‘mother’ like Maryam Zamani, a ‘daughter’ like Jahan Ara, or a wife like Noor Jahan. This is why people fail to see these roles beyond this framework. They could not extend their roles to general situations in society. Studies in biology and history show that women have been specially gifted with the qualities required for normalizing situations in times of crisis. The need of the hour is for more women to recognize their spiritual abilities to perform their roles far more effectively and on a far grander scale. Once this feminine potential is realized, the world will be a better place for all to live in. PARADISE LIES AT THE FEET OF THE MOTHER The Prophet of Islam said, “Paradise lies at the feet of the mother.” (Musnad Al-Shihab, Hadith No. 119) The above Hadith is generally understood in a way that is opposite to its actual meaning. It is taken as a Hadith