Real men are protectors of women, not predators of women! While scouring the web, I came across this news. The article shows a clip of an Israeli soldier belly dancing around a female prisoner, blindfolded and bound against the wall, illustrative of the occupiers' sick mentality.
When I read the story by Al Jazeera I was infuriated. By God, I wanted to rip the soldier's heart out. In the video, I saw a coward and a courageous person. I will leave you to decide on who is who. Islam is in dire need of real men. We are in need of ar-Rijal.
I would like to remind everyone of the story of the Caliph named al-Mu'tasim, ruler of the Abassid empire from 833-842, successor to al-Ma'mun and Harun ar-Rashid, an excellent example of ar-Rijal.
Once a Muslim woman was being teased by Jews in the Jewish quarter of what was then Byzantium bordering the Muslim empire. The Jews pulled at her hijab and mocked her in a most ignoble manner.
She cried and wrote to the Caliph addressing him in her letter, "Ya Mu'tasimah!" (an emotional plea) and told him of what had happened. When the Caliph heard of this news, he was so outraged he dropped the cup of water he was drinking.
Immediately, Caliph Mu'tasim wrote back to the Roman Emperor of Byzantium, saying:
"Ya kalb ar-Rum! (Oh you Roman dog!) I have an army of men that stretch from where I stand (Baghdad) to where you stand (Constantinople), who love to fight and die as much as your men love to live."
This was the honor that Muslims once had, which I pray we will have once again. One of our sisters was mocked in the market and the Muslim ruler was willing to protect her dignity with his entire army.
By today's standards, a simple teasing may seem trivial. Women are assaulted on the streets every day, and you would not see the President waging war against the enemy. But the magnanimous Caliph was not going to let this slip.
Such was the value of Muslim women in that day. Precious and venerated. May Allah give us leaders with that kind of valor and chivalry. Because real men are protectors of women, not predators of women.
Protector or Predator?
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salaam,
ReplyDeletejust want to know where i can read the full story where al mutasim wrote the letter to the roman emporer.
thanks for the article, keep up the good work
jazakallah
Unfortunate that Islam seems to have lost its sense of the real value of Muslim women from that day.
ReplyDeleteYour blog puts the predator vs protector role of men in a context of Islam vs the world, but think beyond your own religious confines: There are, in the entire world, two types of men - those that look at women as means to their own pleasure - Predators. And there are men who naturally use their strength and intellect to protect women. We all have known men of both stripes and I believe we have elements of both types in ourselves.
When I see a beautiful woman, my first instinct is to admire her beauty, but my second is to appreciate what God has given her for her outside and hope that the Lord made her just as beautiful on the inside. I hope it is that second instinct by which my God will judge me.
Haroon:
ReplyDeleteWassalaam, please refer to:
1. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari, History v. 32 "The Reunification of the Abbasid Caliphate," SUNY, Albany, 1987; v. 33 "Storm and Stress along the Northern frontiers of the Abbasid Caliphate," transl. C.E. Bosworth, SUNY, Albany, 1991
2. http://www.amazon.com/History-Al-Tabari-Reunification-D-H/dp/0887060579
Anonymous:
Salaam, yes that was what I was trying to point out. I agree that this troubling phenomena is not limited to the boundaries of the Muslim world (if that line can even be defined). What I wanted to raise was that, unfortunately, it is rapidly becoming the norm within the Muslim world too. Our communities have become so desensitized towards these issues which in the time of our forefathers were considered taboo. I remember back in the day when homosexuality was looked down upon, but has now become a human right. I believe our humanistic values are degrading ever so quickly because we measure our morality based on what society deems acceptable. I disagree with this trend to measure our change based on what in itself is constantly changing. If a gay was not ok yesterday, but is ok today, it begs the question; what next? Sodomites? By writing this, I propose that there needs to be a stop to this ludicrosity, and as Muslims, the responsibility to change society lies heavier still on our shoulders.
I believe God does not judge us based on our instincts, even though they may be carnal. It is in His Wisdom that he made us seek that which is beautiful as a natural tendency, ya'ni fitrah. Allah is Beautiful and loves that which is beautiful. However I do believe Allah will judge us based on our actions as a result of the rational mind, in which the consequence of that instinct was a precursor. Unlike animals, we have that ability, to govern our irrational mind with our rational mind, and it is precisely in that ability will we be judged.
Wallahualam, and God knows best.
what a wide view. i wont ask for early marriage then. thnks, for reopen my view.
ReplyDeleteyn.
As-salam.
ReplyDeleteHello, and may I link this blog to mine?
:)