Everyone has three situations that are defined by his or her place in a woman’s womb, from where life on earth begins. In Risalat Al-Huquq attributed to the Zainal Abidin Ali ibn al-Husayn رضي الله عنه, the great-grandson of Rasulullah ﷺ described these situations:-
- The right of your mother is that you know that she carried you where no one carries anyone, she gave to you of the fruit of her heart that which no one gives to anyone, and she protected you with all her organs. She did not care if she went hungry as long as you ate, if she was thirsty as long as you drank, if she was naked as long as you were clothed, if she was in the sun as long as you were in the shade. She gave up sleep as long for your sake, she protected you from heat and cold, all in order that you might belong to her. You might not be able to show her gratitude, unless through God’s help and giving success.
- The right of your father is that you know he is your root. Without him, you would not be. Whenever you see anything in yourself which pleases you, know that your father is the root of its blessing upon you. So praise God and thank Him in that measure. And there is no strength save in God.
- The right of your child is that you should know that he (or she) is from you and will be ascribed to you, through both his good and evil, in the immediate affairs of this world. You are responsible for what has been entrusted to you, such as educating him in good conduct (husn al-adab), pointing him in the direction of his Lord and helping him to obey Him. So act toward him with the action of one who knows that he will be rewarded for good doing toward him and punished for evildoing.
The recognition of the dignity of women is fundamental to the values that GIUF wants to prioritize in these times of unsettling contradiction perpetrated by changing attribution of gender and loss of family values. The values of thousands of years of human civilization will be eroded and diminished when marriage and motherhood are no longer sacred. It is now possible to acknowledge marriage between two consenting adults of whatever gender, defined or otherwise. Not long ago, marriage was out of fashion in many parts of the world. Now it is back with same-sex marriage and destroying the dignity of women and their natural selves.
The first serious move to abolish marriage (together with property and religion) was attempted by Karl Marx in a vain attempt to solve the “Jewish Problem” by destroying all social institutions that gave identity to his persecuted people in Europe. This early challenge of Hegelian dialectics partly inspired later movements in feminism and women’s liberation.
Technology has also altered the relationship outside the womb with a commercial surrogate motherhood contract.
GIUF will defend the traditional values agreed upon by most societies and reject the current waves of altering the institution of marriage. Changing this institution negates the indispensable necessity of womanhood to sustain humanity and its civilization.
The “liberalism” of Europe has not been able to reconcile with the problem of womanhood, from the sexual communism of Karl Marx that seeks to abolish marriage and a medieval belief that a woman caused the Fall of Adam. The need to liberate women from motherhood and family is overwhelming in gender ideologies. It will not be wrong to speculate about the future of certain societies without natural parents, unnatural population regeneration, and miserable old age cared for by artificial intelligence and transhuman. Wealthy genderless celebrities can afford such synthetic families since money can buy children. For the general population without wealth, old age will be under support systems funded by governments or insurance.
Civilization, as we know, will not be economically, socially, and morally sustainable.
In 1444 AH, GIUF will commemorate the Khutbah Wida (Farewell Sermon) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ with the theme of “Dignity of Womanhood .” The event is a firm and tacit recognition that without women, there is virtually no humanity in the biological and civilizational sense. And women are not the “other” in society.
Fourteen centuries ago, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ commanded,
“O People, it is true that you have certain rights concerning your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right, then the right to be fed and clothed in kindness belongs to them. Treat your women well and be kind to them; they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with anyone you disapprove of, as well never to be unchaste.”
To women “belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness.” This means that a woman should never have:-
- to suffer hunger of any extreme kind,
- to be homeless and exposed to the dangers outside of the shelter, especially at night,
- to seek the means of livelihood through prostitution, forced or otherwise,
Islam does not degrade women’s spirituality since the creation of Adam and his spouse were from the same person, or nafs. She was not blameworthy for the deception of Satan. The pain of pregnancy and delivery is not divine punishment. Instead, she is blessed with mercy and divine love. Hence, Islam does not have the psychological aberration that the woman is the sinful “other” in humanity’s return to the Creator. In the Next Life, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ emphatically reminded everyone that “Paradise lies beneath the feet of your mother”. Isn’t this the most important pursuit in life?
“O People, be mindful of your Lord, who created you from a single nafs, and from it created its mate, and from the pair of them spread countless men and women far and wide; be mindful of God, in whose name you make requests of one another. Beware of severing the ties of kinship: God is always watching over you”. (An-Nisa 4:1)
This ayah is the sacred history of the genesis of humanity, from a singularity created by the One True God and Creator. From the pair of Adam and Eve spread countless men and women far and wide. Only the Muslim world has rejected the LGBTQ agenda, which post-colonial liberalism attempts to impose globally.
The relationship of the womb as described by Zainal Abidin Ali ibn al-Husayn رضي الله عنه is paramount in human existence and this will be lost in the LGBTQ agenda. Kinship will be severed which no legal instrument can restore nor reconstruct with adoption or surrogate motherhood. The Malaysian Prime Minister had given the assurance that Malaysia would not accept the LGBTQ agenda and this position was welcome by HRH the Sultan of Selangor in a statement on 6th March 2023, ostensibly on behalf of the other Rulers of Malaysia.
Although the Quran does not speak of prophetesses, four women are described as examples par excellence of perfection in faith and devotion. Of the four, Mary (or Maryam عليها السلام ) is named in the Quran and becomes a model for humanity. The other three are not mentioned by name but are indisputably recognized in the Quran. One is Asiya, the wife of the Pharaoh who challenged Moses. The other is Khadijah رضي الله عنها, the wife of Muhammad and the first believer in the prophetic message. The fourth “Perfect Woman” is Fatimah رضي الله عنها, the daughter of Muhammad and Khadijah رضي الله عنها and the mother of tragic heroes. Through their immaculate example, Muslim women (and men) have found assurance that their approach to God can be enhanced rather than impeded by their biological womanhood.
The veneration of the Holy Mary in the Quran and the prophetic traditions holds a promise of common grounds for believers of the Abrahamic faiths wanting to restore the dignity of women as indispensable to sustaining human civilization.
Dato Rahim Kamil Sulaiman
Chairman
Global Islamic Unity Forum (GIUF)
