A message about woman - Lecture by Shaykh Slih al-Fawzn (Must see) Shaykh Fawzaan (hafidahullh) said: In the Name

of Allh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allh and may the blessings and peace be upon our prophet Muhammad and all of his family and companions. In these two blessed Friday sermons, we have heard a lot of good by our preacher (Khatb) may Allh grant him success. He spoke on one of the most serious issues, namely the issue of women. O brothers! Allh (subhnahu wa tal) created the woman, just as the man, for a great duty in this life. Each got their (own) task. The men got their tasks and the women got their tasks. If each stick to their own task and fulfill it, the society would attain a great deal of good. If this order were to be shaken, a great deficiency would occur, just as you heard about the role of the woman in the pre-Islamic time of ignorance, as well as her role in the disbelieving countries of today and her role with the religious Muslims. The woman is very important and that is why the prophet (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) ordered that she is well taken care of. He said in his Kutbah (sermon) on Arafah in connection to his farewell pilgrimage: Treat your women well, for they are captives with you. (Ibn Mjah 1851) The prophet (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) ordered us to take good care of the women because they play an important role in the society. Its not only about taking good care of them and giving them their due rights this is obligatory, what is more important is to protect them from indecencies the woman is weak as you know and [to protect them from] trying appearances [i.e. fitnah] and letting them do whatever they want to do. This is the most important thing the prophet (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) ordered [in regards to women], namely that we protect them. Allh (jalla wa al) said:

Men are in charge of women, because Allh has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient (to Allh and to their husbands), and guard in the husbands absence what Allh orders them to guard (e.g. their chastity, their husbands property, etc.). (The Qurn 4:34) What does it mean that the man is in charge of the woman? Is it only about providing (for her) and justice? It is not only about that. His responsibility is (also) about something that is more important. He should namely protect this woman so that she doesnt lose it, frees herself and [begins to] take shyness and chastity lightly. This is the greatest responsibility of the man in regards to the woman.

The man in the verse is not only referring to the husband. The man, whether it be her father, brother or some other guardian, is responsible for her and protects her. If it were to go to the length of him having to punish her, he then does it1:

But those [wives] form whom you fear arrogance [first] advise them; [then if they persist], forsake them in bed; and [finally], strike them. (The Qurn 4:34, interpretation of the meanings) The woman is thus in need of being under observation. The enemies of Islam of these days concentrate on the issue of women. They know that she is the most serious matter in the society. They focus on her. They wage war against the chastity and honour and consider it to be oppression against women. If the woman sticks to chastity and honour, they say that she is deprived of liberty. The fact of the matter is that it is just at that time her freedom (liberty) is preserved (i.e. when she sticks to chastity and honour). She can feely obey Allh, raise her children and fulfill that which Allh has given her as a responsibility. She is as a shepherdess in the home of her husband and (is) responsible for her flock. This is her true freedom. As for her freedom in nudity, indecencies in front of other people, flirtatious gait in the stores/shops and the ability to go wherever she wants to, then this is a type of slavery and not a freedom. Its slavery to temptation and satan. O servants of Allh! Freedom lies in obeying and worshiping Allh. Therein lies the glory of the soul and the honour of the human and their happiness in this life and the next one. The one who acts disobediently towards Allh and his commands, whether it is about women or anything else, is one of the degraded slaves of the devils among the humans and the Jinns. It is slavery and not freedom. We have to know this! We have to preserve our women among the wives, daughters and relatives. We have to cooperate in protecting them and to refrain from listening to this propaganda [by the Kuffr in west]. The Kuffr (disbelievers) are trying to eradicate Islam by all possible means. The greatest ways of destruction is to destroy the

woman. Because the woman is the basis of the family and the home. If she is destroyed, the home and the family is destroyed as well. The daughters will be destroyed after having copied their destroyed mothers and relatives.
Thus, we have to safeguard our women. Even If the Kuffr have been successful in degrading some Islamic countries, they will never by the will and motion of Allh succeed in doing the same thing with this county, which is the country of the two holy mosques in which the revelation was sent down to and in which the messenger (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) was sent. Herein are men who take care of her honour, even if some deluded men and women take this issue lightly. This country has men who safeguard their honour and the honour of their female relatives. You belong to them in sha Allh and (those) who will initiate it. We have to fear Allh (subhnahu wa tal) and live up to this great responsibility. If we do it, well protect our homes, children, families and societies. She is thusly the

basis. Thus, the enemy focuses on her. They are focused on the woman. They got her in a specific focus you are familiar with; in books, papers, magazines, newspapers, media, internet, and all other (possible) fields. They want this country to end up as the other countries so that the manners disappear and the honour gets lost. It will then become easy for the Kuffar (disbelievers) to eradicate Islam from its basis. The poet said: The nations exist as long as their manners exist, when their manners vanish, so do they. If the manners disappear, then there is nothing left. The purpose of the manners is the honour, behavior, shyness and dignity. This is what the manners are (ahlq). Another poet said: I do not say that one should allow the women to show their faces as the men and to walk around in the shops, they have a lot of duties in their homes as the man who is the possessor of the sword and the spear.2 The woman has her line of work and the man has his. If each of them does their suitable works, the society will then be good and the welfare will be complete. But if this order were to be shaken, the society would then become deficient. That is why the prophet (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) cursed the masculine women and the feminine men. All of this just to preserve the woman and allow her to stay in her natural nature, religion, character and honour. The glory and honour should be protected and preserved. Read the chapter an-Nr (of the Qurn). You will find therein how greatly and notably the women are protected with covering and permission before one enters into the homes. The same goes for the Sunnah.

The prophet (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) forbade the woman from travelling alone without a Mahram and said: It is not allowed for a woman who believes in Allh and the Last day to travel without a Mahram.
(al-Bukhari [3006] and Muslim [1341])

He forbade that she is alone in private with a man whos not her Mahram and said: A man is not alone with a woman but that the Shaytn makes a third. (at-Tirmidhi 1171) He forbade the women from mixing with the men. That is why the women prayed with the Muslims behind the messenger of Allh (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) and behind the men in the mosque of the messenger of Allh (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam). They were so covered that no one could recognize them. They prayed behind the men. Herein is a proof that mixing is prohibited between both of the sexes. If a woman is not allowed to mix with men in the mosque, which is a place of worship and piousness, one can then ask how she would be allowed to mix with them in offices, amusement parks, parties, and markets. This matter is very serious. Were surrounded by the enemy now and an ideological warfare. You are well aware of the ideological warfare that is taking place now. The Kuffar (disbelievers) are waging war against the Muslim countries with weapons, ideologies and all other means. We are, as I said before, surrounded by the enemy. We have to be observant. If we are with Allh, Allh is with us. He said:

He (Allh) said: Fear not, verily! I am with you both, hearing and seeing. (The Qurn 20:46) If we are with Allh, Allh is then with us. And if Allh is with us, nobody can hurt us: Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allh is with us. (The Qurn 9:40, interpretation of the meanings) But who is Allh with? Allh is especially with the pious, those who do the right and the believers. We thusly have to be with Allh (subhnahu wa tal). The prophet (sall Allhu alayhi wa sallam) said to Ibn Abbs [what means]: Boy! Take care of Allh and He will take care of you. Take care of Allh and you will find Him in front of you. (at-Tirmidh 2516) We have to, as I said before, be with Allh, obey Him and follow His commands and avoid His prohibitions for Him (subhnahu wa tal) to be with us with His victory, His support and His help. I ask Allh for forgiveness and I repent before Him. And I ask Allh to preserve us and you with His preservation and that He looks after us and you with His victory and help. And may the blessings and peace be upon our prophet Muhammad and all of his family and companions
Footnotes:

1: What is intended here is not severe beating as is generally done in west by indecorous men, see Tafsir ibn Kathr verse 4:34 for the explanation. 2: Obviously, the beauty of this poetical verse cannot be seen in the English language