THE ROLE OF WOMEN

Unfortunately, not even a single scholar gave any clarity on the Islamic position on the issue. I stopped questioning and prayed to God for guidance. In efforts to stand up for God’s mission, whenever I met scholars and people associated with Muslim organizations, I requested them to give me an opportunity, even at an assistant level, to serve Islam. When I found that an organization was publishing an English translation of the Quran, I offered my services as a proofreader. But I did not find any opportunity. In time, I realized that there was no real scope for women in Islamic circles and organizations. I continued to read material on Islam and I would spend hours in prayer. My prayer was only one: God, guide me to the purpose of and role in life! How were you introduced to Maulana? Kindly describe your first meeting? I realized there were others like me who wanted to find answers to questions and learn about Islam. Finding no place to go, we decided to set up a library where we could get together and interact to find our answers. With this thought, in May 2004 a friend of mine and I decided to set up a library and interaction platform and named it ClearLight. To ask for support for the same we visited some people, one of whom was Dr Saniyasnain Khan, whose bookstore I often used to visit. Patiently listening to our plans, he recommended Maulana Wahiduddin Khan as the scholar, donated a set of books to set up our library and gave us contacts for our endeavours. He also sent his daughter Sadia Khan to join us. During the summer of 2004, ClearLight received a tremendous response. Thereafter we realized the need for a scholar to guide us further in our search. I decided to visit Maulana to request him to provide guidance. Through Sadia, we contacted Prof Farida Khanam to arrange a meeting with Maulana. I then found out that he was a world-renowned scholar who had written more than a hundred books. I had read his book The True Jihad till then and thought that this book gave a completely different picture of jihad from other books. I was very intrigued to meet him and understand his thoughts better. This is how I was introduced to Maulana. As arranged, a colleague of mine and I from ClearLight went to Maulana’s office at C-29. I remember as we sat in the small office on the ground floor when Maulana came down the stairs. My first impression of Maulana was that he was different from all the other scholars I had