Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
~ 337 ~
Whatever she did, she did in the true spirit of Islam.
Instead of turning to man, she turned to God.
Instead of thinking in terms of the world, she
focussed her attention on the hereafter. All her
actions were perfectly in consonance with
traditional religious thinking. She had received no
such higher education as would have lead her to
consider the philosophical implications of the
course she took. But now, at the mature age of 60,
when I look at her strivings through the eyes of a
scholar, I see in them the manifestations of human
greatness. Even if she had left her home in quest of
such higher education as would have fitted her for a
post in some secular organization, I do not think she
could have done any better for us than she did.
Even to imagine her taking such a course of action
is quite meaningless.
My mother’s sacrifices made it possible for her not
only to give us a satisfactory upbringing, but also to
demonstrate what the Islamic bent of mind —
positive thinking and a realistic approach — is
capable of achieving. My brothers and I were
greatly influenced by the example she set. In fact,
this was the greatest gift that she could have
