A very interesting article by Hadiza Hamza !
http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/smilies/ok.gif
The Role of Muslim Women in Nation Building
Posted to the web February 25, 2002
It is said that when you educate a man, you educate one person. But when you educate a woman, you have educated a nation. Essentially this is because the woman is the family’s first instructor and the family is the first unit of the community. Then it’s no wonder that there is so much pressure on the Muslim women to care and educate their children well; for if the family structure is strong and upright, the children will be responsible and righteous citizens. This consequently rubs off on the large society. Hence, the need for women to be educated and play their role well in nation building.
The term role implies a duty or an act to be performed by one.
Who is the Muslim woman? She is the woman who submits to the will of the Almighty Allah, accepting Islam as away of life. And nation building here implies actual participation in national projects development or harnessing human resources for such programs or contributing towards enlightenment campaigns in areas of finance, health and education, for the upliftment of the society .
Education here is very vital because before any meaningful development can occur, the populace have to be moved by the desire to change; the feeling of inadequacy comes only when the people are educated. Hence the Rasul (SAW) says: “it is binding upon every Muslim to acquire knowledge”
Knowledge being a prerequisite for serving Allah. In Islam, every aspect of life is prescribed for man; as such one has to learn these rules for proper implementation. In the light of the above, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said. “The world is a provision and the best object of the world is the pious woman”(sahih Muslim, 3465, narrated by Abdullahi ban Amri ban el As).
He further said “Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a pious wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her” {Sunan Abu Dauda, 1660, narrated by Abdullahi bn Abbas} the key word in this hadith is pious (piety). How is this achieved? It is achieved through a good education in Islam, good morals and firm taqwa. Therefore, to say that a woman must be educated in order to be properly equipped to play her role in the society is not an overstatement. Hence Allah S.W.T. says: “Allah will raise up to (suitable) ranks and (degrees) those of you who believe and who have been granted knowledge” Q. 58: 11
Thus the most important role for a woman is to be a good Muslim, living totally in conformity with the tenants of Islam. This consequently makes her obedient to Allah his messenger and her leaders, Islam demands truthfulness and sincerity from her; she shuns malicious gossips and all forms of corruption and minds her business. Therefore, making the woman acquire a beautiful character that influences everyone she comes in contact with. A tradition of the messenger of Allah SAW says: “A sign of ones excellence in his Islam is to ignore what does not concern him” {Ahmad}
Gossiping, backbiting, and slander are forbidden. Hence Allah warns in the Qur’an surah el Ma’un: “Woe unto every slanderer and backbiter”.
It is the duty of the Muslim women to stand by the truth, shunning dishonesty and falsehood. Keeping promises made, being chaste and wearing hijab is all part of her duties and character. Furthermore, she should be trustworthy. When a woman marries, the trust in her care becomes greater . Aside from maintaining her chastity, she is also entrusted with her husband’s house. The up bringing of children is another uphill task. Hence the Rasul SAW said: “Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock . . . a woman is a shepherd in the house of her husband. And is responsible for her flock” (Al-bukhari)
The world today and indeed Nigeria has become a jungle, youths have gone “bonkers” impatience has become a virtue the popular saying “the patient dog eats the fattest bone” is now regarded with contempt!
The future generation is going rotting before one’s very eyes, doing all the forbidden acts; gambling, drinking alcohol, fornicating, stealing, dealing in drugs, and prostitution. As a result crime and insecurity reign supreme in the land. Therefore reducing growth rate because resources that would have been used to promote other projects are diverted to curb these heinous crimes.
The family structure is supposed to be very strong. All children being catered for. This does not only imply material but psychological provisions as well. Children must be loved by their parents or guardians; they should be made to feel wanted. Teenage daughters must be given lots of love in the family or they will seek it outside. This often results in teenage pregnancies abortions or outright prostitution. Boys should not be left out; do not assume that boys are strong and do not need love, they do when you reject them and deny them the love and attention they require, and they are exposed to violence at home e.g. parents fighting each other, the children become psychologically shattered. As a result they cannot perform well at school. They easily become gang members because they need to feel they belong to a group that cares about them. This results in taking drugs and alcohol, committing crimes. Thereby becoming school dropouts. So parents especially mothers are indirectly responsible for what their children become.
The writer wishes to emphasise good child upbringing let your child be well groomed in Islam, teach them the do’s and don’ts of the religion. This is likely to shape their behaviour in the future. Even though child upbringing is an uphill task; you the Muslim woman is well endowed with skills to accomplish this feat. The child needs help and guidance during his/her learning years: It is your duty as a mother or guardian to provide these. Educate children on the basis of tauhid and good character. Ensure they are at school when they should be. Insha Allah giving children a solid foundation in Islamic education will go a long way in upholding its lessons in the child for example if child got all the necessary education and grows up responsible, respecting his parents and taking good care of his family, upholding the Rasul’s sunnah would he not be straight forward, honest, hardworking in his dealings with people? He would because that is what he is used to seeing and grew up believing to be the right thing to do. Such a person will also keep amanah (trust) when he is in charge of public funds, he will be honest and accountable; thereby eliminating the dangerous trend of squandering public funds.
Similarly the child that grew up abandoned without good parenting, researchers say is likely to be a deviant in the society, not respecting family ties and generally being bad parents themselves, thus becoming a vicious cycle.
Prophet Muhammad SAW said “The most perfect of believers is the best of you in character: and the best of you are those among you who are best to their wives” (Tirmidhi).
[This message has been edited by Dil he Pakistani (edited February 26, 2002).]