Mahrukh Arif-Tayyeb, Newcastle
(Editor’s note: His Holiness Khalifatul Masih V has delivered two inspirational addresses to Ahmadi Muslim women in the last few months. We reflect over these through a series of blogs as we learn from the guidance contained within.)
As women, sadly, we have all heard or seen some men talking about women in a derogatory manner. Many a time, we witness men speaking about the status of women in Islam and make a glorious list of rights but unfortunately not quite grant those same rights to the women of their own household. Many a time, women find themselves in such situations where everyone, including members of their family, seem to contest the rights they claim for themselves. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that women have suffered a great deal at the hands of men but they have also suffered at their own hands when they have let the cultural shackles and societal pressures burden their soul. It is quite clear that women are still suffering, even in the most developed countries and subject to abuse and violence. The frequency of sexual abuse, violence and crime targeting women is enough to send chills down anyone’s spine. Listening to such news produces a certain restlessness towards the society and world in which we live and are offering to our children.
And yet, I can say with complete and firm conviction, that if you are a woman from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, you are bound to find peace. The last couple of addresses of His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, worldwide head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, may Allah be his Helper, on women’s rights granted by Islam and other guidance have left me overwhelmed. When I listen to him, I praise and thank Allah for giving us a spiritual leader who has the ability to calm our anxieties and worries by gently reminding our souls to find real and lasting peace in the One true God. During the addresses of His Holiness to women, my heart feels immense pride and gratitude towards the Almighty for granting us such a gloriously feminist Muslim leader.
When was the last time you heard a Muslim leader addressing the men of his community saying, ‘How grand is this statement, that in favour of women, if men do not have a good relationship with women, then it is not possible to be at one with God either. Man is compelled in that to please the Almighty Allah, he must fulfil the rights of women.’[i] He has been addressing women’s rights by reminding men of their responsibilities to honour the rights of women. A long list of rights that many women, including me, were unaware of before his speech. A Muslim woman has the right to put a clause in her Nikkah (marriage) contract that she does not give consent to her husband to marry another woman. A Muslim woman has the right to ask for a separate house and choose, without guilt or shame, not to live with her in-laws or in a joint family set up. A Muslim man has no right to claim and ask for the money a Muslim woman earns while it is the responsibility of a man to earn and spend on his wife and children. By reminding Muslim women of their rights and Muslim men of their responsibilities, His Holiness has put a definite silence to all the criticism and prejudice regarding women’s status in Islam.
He has given voice to the women who have been divorced and mistreated as a result of it, warning men that the prayer of a woman who has been unjustly treated and hurt by the actions of a man during and after the process of a divorce is certainly heard. He has not only silenced those men who have the illusion of having a higher status than women in Islam but also those critics of Islam who constantly picture Muslim women being oppressed, silenced and abused.
He made it clear, that men and women have the same intellectual abilities, the same spiritual capacities and should therefore be consulted and included in matters of faith. As a matter of fact, no woman in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community can claim being a passive attendee of the mosque. She has as many responsibilities and possibilities of leadership within the women’s auxiliary as men without being overshadowed by them and thus enjoys a great deal of independence.
Listening to His Holiness, sometimes I had the impression of listening to a lawyer defending Muslim women’s rights with the most perfect conviction. Sometimes, I had the impression of listening to a father, talking with such compassion for the daughters of his community.
Most of the time though, he reminded me of my beloved, and I couldn’t hold my tears back. Indeed, watching His Holiness defending women’s rights by going against all the cultural and social odds women are subjected to, so eloquently reminded me of the one to whom we owe it all, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be on him.
[i] https://www.alhakam.org/true-emancipation-through-the-everlasting-teachings-of-islam-english-translation-of-huzoors-address-in-ladies-session-of-jalsa-salana-uk-2021/
Voice of British Muslim Women 
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