I AM A MALAY WOMAN.
I am a Malay woman too.
I subscribe fully to Islam.
As I have believed in the ayat
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً
“Oh you who believe, enter into Islam completely and perfectly”
Therefore I do not pick certain ayatul Quran
To suit myself.
Or to what the world dictates.
As I’m fully aware
The Quran is a book of God
and He knows His creation very well.
That it’s impossible for one single ayat to contradict another.
I will never pick which to object and which to follow.
I am a Malay Muslim woman.
And like many other Muslim women elsewhere
We know Islam treats us with justice.
That the men are commanded to treat us justly.
That the best of them, are the best in ‘akhlak’ towards their wives.
That mothers, are mentioned 3 times more than fathers to reaffirm our position to sons and daughters.
I am a Malay Muslim woman.
I know my rights are upheld in Islam.
And I know these rights are not defined by equal numbers of everything.
That bigger numbers do not necessarily mean privileges.
They actually mean heavier responsibilities.
I am a Malay Muslim woman
I know that Allah SWT judge by those with the most sincere of ibadah
And not by the position in prayer rows of separated men and women.
Men can perform solat in the first row, but if their hearts are full of insincerity, they can never supersede women who pray at the back with full submission to her God .
And when it comes to blessings, Allah SWT put us all at par, regardless of gender.
I am a Malay Muslim woman.
I know that Islam has granted women fairness
In inheritance matter, Jointly Acquired Property, debts and Wasiat are duly settled first
Before Faraid take its course
A man takes more, but in his properties are the rights of others, his wife, his children and his parents
A woman takes less, but all properties are hers, and hers alone.
I am a Malay Muslim woman
Let’s not emotions and testimonials blind us towards our religion, when many others obliging to the law of Allah SWT never once felt that Islam, creates caste among its followers.
There are bad men and bad women and bad implementation by humans, that mar any good system.
The pre-nuptial agreements so revered by the Western societies.
Makes more men chose to not make women their wives
Prefer cohabitation instead and in the process, the woman lose her rights.
In this day of Israk and Mi’raj, let us be reminded of things that were given to the Prophet Muhammad SAW in Ascension as a result of the encounter in Miraj:
1. Five daily prayers equal to the reward of fifty daily prayers.
2.The last two verses of the chapter al-Baqara.
3.The muqhimat (major sins) of the people from the ummah of Muhammad were forgiven except those who associated partners with Allah.
On the perception that Islam discriminate man and woman, let’s again be reminded that the differences are only in worldly matters, that have interconnection with differences in responsibilities awarded to each man and woman.
But as to whom shall be the best in the eyes of Allah SWT, WE ALL STAND THE SAME CHANCE.
Al-Ahzab 35:
إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا .
VERILY, for all men and women who have sur-rendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves [before God], and all men and women who give in charity, and all self-denying men and self-denying women, and all men and women who are mindful of their chastity, and all men and women who remember God unceasingly: for [all of] them has God readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward.
Source: Prof Madya Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar
