Woman Between Islam and Western Society
9. Dowry
~ 436 ~
servant and praise God instead? Would anyone of
them, on hearing her bewail her lot because of
difficulties with in laws, advise her simply to turn
to God? By any standard of consistency, that is
exactly what they ought to do.
If any misguided scoffer were to allege that Islam
was an imperfect religion in that it failed to lay
down guidelines for every eventuality in our lives,
all Muslims would be up in arms against him. But,
in practice, Muslims themselves make the same
assertion, if tacitly, whenever they accept the ways
of other religions as being more practicable than
those of Islam.
Certainly, in the case of dowry, Muslims have
unashamedly adopted a Hindu custom. Similarly,
other rites performed during Muslim marriages
have been derived from the customs of other
nations. If Muslims suppose that just taking a pride
in Islam is the sole prerequisite for their being
honored in the court of God, they will eventually
have to do penance for having entertained such a
grave misconception. They would do well to reflect
upon how the Jews took enormous pride in the
