Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
5. Muslim women
~ 108 ~
woman in the fullest sense of the word. Never to
my knowledge did she tell a lie, or act in a way
which could be described as unethical. She was
punctual in her prayers and fasting and also had
performed Hajj. Spending her entire life in
hijab,
she
was a woman of fine, upstanding character and
unbending principle.
My father, Fariduddin Khan, died when I was very
young — on December 30, 1929, to be exact. He was
the biggest landlord in that part of the country, with
lands spread over several villages. One day, on a
routine visit to his farm in Newada, he suffered a
paralytic stroke, fell unconscious and had to be
carried home on a bedstead. There could be no
words of final parting, for he passed away the next
day without having regained consciousness. My
mother, quite suddenly, found herself a widow. I
had two brothers and two sisters. My elder brother,
‘Abdul ‘Aziz Khan, was barely 8 years old, I was 5
and my younger brother was just one year old. My
sisters were older, but not even in their teens. Both
of my sisters died during my mother’s lifetime. By
the grace of God my younger brother and I are still
alive. My elder brother died in June 1988.
