3 replies to this topic

[Padre5]

Tawakul Karman of Yemen should be one of the heroines of Muslim women around the world. Is she? How do people here, especially the women, feel about her? What other living people do you all admire? I don't want to start a fight, but I get tired of hearing how much inspiration good Muslims should get just from religion. I believe that people and our own intellect should lead us in finding our way in the world. I meditate and think and study rather than pray, I'm afraid! I want to understand why Muslims don't seem to value modern intellect, yet place so much importance on The Companions and the whole body of very old religious thought. This relates, of course to two other threads I started here, and to my wonderment that the "Golden Age" of Islam seems to have been crushed and ended by fundamentalist thought.

[ParadiseLost]

Firstly, of course the Prophet we admire and the Companions because we learn a lot from them in how to practice our religion. And I think there is a very practical reason as to why we place importance on these people - because we want to stay close to the original message. But I definitely disagree that Muslims don't value modern intellect! There are many contemporary scholars whom Muslims admire.

For me as a Muslim female, I admire women like Yasemin Mogahed (she does great lectures about the meaning of faith, her website:http://www.yasminmogahed.com/
Lauren Booth - a revert to Islam and the sister in law of Tony Blair, she does a lot of humanitarian work to highlight the situation in Gaza and I really admire her story of how she reverted to Islam..her website: http://www.laurenbooth.co.uk/
Myriam Francois Cerrah - another revert, really admire her work in the area of women and islam - she does a lot to remove prejudices about women in islam among non muslims and muslims. Her blog: http://myriamfrancoi....wordpress.com/
Also I love listening to lectures by Ahmed Deedat.

[AHMAD_73]

Many great women examples in the history of Islam, begins with the first day revelation of the prophet (pbuh), tell his final minutes on earth. i'll mention just some from memory in breif,

• Khdegah (R.A), the prophet's first wife and the mother of most of his children. She supported him since the first day of revelation and was the second Moslem on earth after the prophet (pbuh). after a 25 happy marriage years, she bathed away, He (pbuh) called the year when she died the most difficult year in his life, the Moslems used to call it "the year of sadness". He (pbuh) kept fulfillment and remembering here, after here death, and taking care of here relatives and old friends (70s years) tell the end of his life.
• Aysha (R.A), the most loved person to the prophet. When been accused with the most hated crime for a women, adultery, the sensitive and chaste woman couldn't believe that. She kept silent while Allah defended here. 10 verses in surah 24, Alnoor, had been revealed only to defend and honor here.
• Rofaidah (R.A), the most famous and professional doctor at the time of the prophet. She taught and formed the first medical platoon and logistic support to the Moslem armies. When one of the most honored companions of the prophet was seriously injured in "Al-Khandq" battle, he (pbuh) asked the people to take him to be medicated at Rofaidah medical tent.
• Naseebah bent Ka'ab Al- Ansariah, she did great job among the medical and logistic support women platoon in "Auhod battle". when the Moslem broke and some began to fled away, she was very concern about the prophet (pbuh) although many of her family members were among the Moslem army. She stopped one of the fleeing men and took his sword telling him, you are in no need of it any more. She entered the battle ground and found the prophet (pbuh) and she defended him just like the men. It's narrated about the prophet he said " may Allah stow his mercy up on "um-Emarah" I didn't look right nor left but found here defending me"
• Any normal Moslem woman can argue/oppose the khalifah and freely tells her opinion. at the time of the second khalifah of the Moslems, Omar, he decided to limit the women dowry to encourage marriage. And as common, he collected the people to tell them his decision when a knowlagabe Moslm woman opposed the idea and told him " you don't have the right to limit what Allah make unlimited" and she recited from the Quran "004.020 S: And if you wish to have (one) wife in place of another and you have given one of them a heap ( quentar, قنطار an Arabic volume unit almost 2-3 cubic meters) of gold, then take not from it anything; would you take it by slandering (her) and (doing her) manifest wrong? ". The Khalefah returned back to the right and replied "the woman is right and Omar is wrong"

that's a few examples that i have in mind, while you can find tens or may be hundreds of those great women in islamic history books. "men and women around the prophet (pbuh)" i believe that is a good book.

[Younes]

The reason why emphasis is placed a lot on the Companions (ra) and religious thought is because we are Muslims and this is a Muslim site where we discuss our religion. There is a plethora of non-Muslims people such as scientists, leaders, activists, writers, sportsmen etc. that can be an insipiration to Muslims. However, this is a religious site so it is not really a suprise that you will see most emphasis placed on God, the Qur'an, the Prophet (pbuh), the Companions (ra) and religious thought.