Jacaylbaro Posted August 16, 2007 Somali women can regularly and constantly exert effort on for the sake of their nation and religion; without disrupting their main mission of raising their children as good Muslims, and providing a dwelling place in which her husband finds calmness and rest. Today we test the ability of this rule to solve another problem. The problem today is liken to a blind man walking in a busy road. Big trucks and reckless cars are traveling across this road. He has no one to take him by his hand and guide him to safety from all the dangers on his right and left. All the possibilities of this poor man's situation seem to be very disrupting and miserable. Standing still is not safe; walking forward or backward is very risky. Going left or right involves dangers that are clear for anyone who is in the same situation. This blind person has no way out except by two ways. One way is surgery performed by a clever surgeon whom Allah chooses as a way to cure this man. The second is that someone with vision and kindness would go and guide him to safety. Any solution other than those two will lead this blind man to death. I think that we all agree on this. This situation is an analogy; the blind man is anyone who is deprived of the light and guidance of the Qur’an and Sunnah. This is what the Qur'an expressed in the following verse, that can be translated as, "Is he who was dead then We raised him to life and made for him a light by which he walks among the people, like him whose likeness is that of one in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth? Thus what they did was made fair seeming to the unbelievers." (TMQ, 6:122)[1]. The Light mentioned in this verse is the light of the Holy Qur’an. The question in this verse is not a question that requires answer; the answer is already clear. Rather the question is for admonishment. As for the big trucks and cars mentioned in our example, they represent life with all its problems that surround everyone. A Muslim, and even a Non-Muslim, who tries to pass through life without The Qur’an and Sunnah will be overpowered and crushed by the daily problems of this life. This is simply because he just got rid of his main source of guidance that can solve all of his problems. Lets examine some of these problems and see how they have affected people who have dealt with them without the Qur'an and Sunnah. Divorce: Lets begin by a problem like the problem of divorce. The average cases of divorce in our Somali society in the first year of marriage reached 33%. Do you know what is the reason behind this? The cause is that the very basic reason that Islam provides for getting married is not in the mind of the bride and groom. The foundations and criteria of this marriage by which a man chooses his wife and a woman accepts a marriage proposal were actually corrupt and rejected by Islam. The nature of the relation between a man and a woman was unclear with no clear boundaries, like letters with no dots. Everything in it was distorted. The concept of Qawama (protectors and maintainers) has no clear meaning or boundaries to be kept within this marriage. For a man, this concept represents the illusion of control and subjection. While for a woman, it represents a chain that she seeks to break and run away from. Both of those matters are not what the Qur'an and Sunnah orders or commands. Surely this is the atmosphere in which trivial problems inflate and stubbornness takes control. It is the atmosphere of which mercy diminishes, the firm bonds become untied and the value of the covenant that Islam prescribes as a title for the relation between a man and a woman is reduced. Marriage: Marriage is a matter of life that has the goal of providing stillness, mercy and love between the man and the woman. This has been made clear in the Qur'an in the following verse, that can be translated as, "And one of His signs is that He created mates for you from yourselves that you may find rest in them, and He put between you love and compassion; most surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect." (TMQ, 30:21). This goal will not be established except with the foundations, ways and principles that Islam provides for building this relation. Trying to deal with this matter in any other way can turn things into a nightmare and a disastrous clash that destroys everyone, from the woman, the man and finally; the children. The person who insists to be blind and rejects the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah is forcing himself to be in the situation of the blind man that we discussed in our previous analogy. What is the relation between the Somali woman applying the one-hour rule and this problem? A Somali woman concerned with serving her nation and religion is capable, with the will of Allah, of greatly reducing this problem that is destructive for individuals and for the entire community as well. How? By using this one-hour to talk with women like her. Whether they are about to get married or they are already married. She can guide them to the purpose and understanding of the Fiqh of marriage as Islam outlined in the Qur’an and Sunnah. The Fiqh of marriage is everything that has to do with getting married: Purpose, conditions, mandatory acts and rights, manners to be observed in all the stages of getting to know one another starting from the first meeting, engagement, acceptance, the marriage contract as well as the building of life together. Similarly, all matters concern the duties of each side and the nature of relation between them and how to prevent and solve problems. Such a discussion can be done in a mosque in the form of a circle of knowledge or at home. It can be done even over the phone. The important thing is that it should be based on Qur'an and Sunnah. A woman might object to this and say, "I don't know such matters enough to convey them to others!" That is fine; learn it! Use three hours of the seven hours you have in the week to learn from a scholar, a book, a tape or any other way that suits you. Then use the other four hours of the week to discuss what you learned with others. You can choose any other way to partition your time in accordance with what suits your situation the best. The important thing is that at the end, you have helped in providing light that shows the way and helps solve this problem. The problem of divorce is a problem that is widely spreading in a rate that is pointing to another disaster that might afflict us on top of the problems that our nation is living in nowadays. Surely divorce, especially if it is caused by violent problems and arguments that caused it to happen in a bad way will lead to many ugly outcomes. Children that complain from restlessness, anxiety, fear, feeling alienated or hatred toward the society, extremism in manners and ideas and other problems that psychology points out. I do not want to be harsh; harshness is one of the most hated things to me. I do not want to be harsh with my words against the child that passed through such an experience, but it is a reality. A reality that we need to contain and ask our women to exert their efforts to treat. What I mentioned from the effects of divorce on the child is not far from that of the parents, especially the woman whose life has become complicated. Unfortunately, the society and people around her start fearing her and avoiding her and even oppressing her by the way they think of her. This decreases her chances of starting a new life. What I mentioned about the woman also applies to a certain degree (although in a lesser extent) on the man as well. The result of this is men, women and children that complain. Surely the women we are addressing should be concerned with protecting the children, men and women of her nation from such an adversity. With the will of Allah. M.A.Adaweh United Kingdom-Bristol Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chubacka Posted August 18, 2007 JB! This is sooooo long...plz summerise, something to do wid marriage and somali women? :confused: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites