Part of Women's Suffering (series completed)
· Lesson 16 of 18
The suffering of women in the time of Moses, peace be upon him | Episode (16) | Women and hard work outside the home
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Transcript
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The story of woman's struggle in the time of Moses, peace be upon him.
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Women and arduous labor outside the home.
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The two young women left their home to pasture the sheep out of sheer necessity,
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because there was no man to carry out this task on their behalf.
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For their father, as they described him, was an old man incapable of enduring the strenuous toil of shepherding.
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Thus, there was no alternative to them going out.
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She went out out of compulsion to shepherd, not out of any love for working outside the home.
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The proof of this is that at the very first opportunity of an alternative being present,
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one of them stepped forward to advise her father, saying:
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“One of the two women said: O my father! Hire him! For the best (man) that thou canst hire in the strong, the trustworthy.” (28:26)
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If they had loved working outside the home,
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she would not have presented this proposal to her father.
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Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"She said to her father, 'O my father, hire him,'
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meaning, to tend these sheep."
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Another proof is their sound innate disposition.
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For a woman naturally inclines toward remaining in the home,
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and her soul is not constrained by doing so.
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This can be observed in her from early childhood:
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a male child's desire to go outside the house
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and play outdoors is far greater than a female child's desire.
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When a girl is instructed to stay inside the house and not go out,
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she does not become disgruntled by that,
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unlike a boy, whose chest tightens at the prospect of remaining indoors.
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Indeed, the call for women to leave their homes
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and renounce their innate disposition
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first emerged in the West.
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Among the motives behind this were:
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man's abdication of his responsibilities toward woman,
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and the desire of the dissolute among them to exploit woman for gratification in every sphere.
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So what has this call produced?
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It has produced a painful reality regarding which no rational person disagrees.
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Dr. Al-Siba'i, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
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"All Easterners who have visited the West agree,
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especially Arab Muslims,
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that the woman there has come to be in a painful, unenviable plight.
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I have visited Europe four times,
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and I was never pained by anything there as much as I was pained by the misery of the Western woman,
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her degradation for the sake of earning a living,
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or her desire to be exactly like a man.
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The Western man has managed to exploit woman's vulnerability in this regard,
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subjugating her to the utmost degree for his material gains and sexual desires.
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It has become clear to me after all I have seen
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that the Muslim woman, in her present state,
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is in a happier condition and a more honored station than the Western woman.
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It is therefore no surprise after this to hear and read of Western women calling
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for woman's return to her home,
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devoting herself to her children and husband,
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so that she may find her true self."
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In this proposal put forward by one of the two women lies
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a third proof of their desire to settle at home
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and relinquish the work of shepherding,
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due to its incompatibility with their innate disposition and physical nature.
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This is found in her saying:
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“One of the two women said: O my father! Hire him! For the best (man) that thou canst hire in the strong, the trustworthy.” (28:26)
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Al-Sa'di, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Meaning, Moses is the most deserving person to be hired,
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for he has combined strength and trustworthiness.
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And the best employee one can hire is he who combines the two:
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namely, strength and capacity for what he is hired to do,
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and trustworthiness therein by not betraying the trust."
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The intended meaning here is strength,
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which was lacking in the elderly father,
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and which prompted the daughter to make this proposal to her father,
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because it is generally absent in women.
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For woman is inherently physically weak,
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as evidenced by the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
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"O Allah, I declare inviolable the rights of the two weak ones:
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the orphan and the woman."
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Narrated by Ibn Majah.
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Thus, the Prophet (peace be upon him) counted her as weak
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and grouped her with the orphan under the same attribute,
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which is the attribute of weakness.
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Since woman is inherently weak,
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it is an injustice to treat her in the same manner as man
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and assign her arduous male tasks
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in implementation of the CEDAW convention articles.
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Among the manifestations of this are:
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the working hours imposed upon women
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and the early start of the workday,
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neither of which suits woman's physical nature and constitution,
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nor the primary duty assigned to her—
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namely, caring for the family,
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including motherhood, child-rearing,
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and attending to her husband and household.
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Thus, we find the working woman waking before dawn
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to prepare herself to go out to work,
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standing in public queues
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waiting for public transportation,
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crowding alongside men in alarming congestion
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to reach her workplace on time.
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She then gives the best of her energy and cheerful demeanor during the work period,
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which typically lasts eight continuous hours,
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only to return once again to the whirlwind of waiting for crowded transit,
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arriving home exhausted and spent.
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She then collapses onto her bed to snatch a bit of rest,
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or plunges into the domestic chores waiting for her at home,
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adding further burdens to this exhausted body.
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What, then, can be expected from such a working woman
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in terms of offering her children love, tenderness, and a smile
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before they leave the home for school?
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What can we expect her to provide them in terms of a warm welcome,
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wholesome food, and a comfortable home when they return
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after the fatigue of a school day that paid no regard to their innocent childhood?
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What can we expect her to contribute to her marital life
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in terms of caring for a husband who seeks a tranquil sanctuary away from the hardships of the world?
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Indeed, Islam did not forbid women from working,
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but it established regulatory conditions for it.
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Whoever fulfills these conditions is permitted to work,
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while whoever violates these conditions
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places her employment within the realm of the forbidden,
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or within the realm of misfortune upon the woman herself.
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First among these conditions is
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that the work itself be permissible.
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Singing and dancing are forbidden professions;
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hair extensions and eyebrow plucking are forbidden acts;
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and prostitution is a forbidden trade.
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Second, that the woman adhere to the Islamic guidelines regarding leaving the house,
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such as not going out wearing perfume or displaying her beauty inappropriately.
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Third, that she does not mix freely with men;
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thus, women are not permitted to work in gender-mixed environments,
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because it causes them to fall into numerous religious transgressions,
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including compromising modesty in dress,
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breaking down the barrier of bashfulness between them and men,
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compromising her chastity, and inciting men's desires, among other harms.
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Fourth, that her employment does not lead to neglecting her husband's rights,
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the neglect of her children, or falling short in household care.
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Fifth, that her work does not lead her to associate with corrupt companions,
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for a companion exerts a pull.
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Sixth, that the work does not cause harm to her,
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for the hadith states: "There shall be no harm nor reciprocating harm."
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Narrated by Ibn Majah.
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Seventh, that the work does not lead to the loss of her religious practice,
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which is among the most paramount conditions.
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Eighth, that the work does not extinguish her feminine nature,
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alongside other religious guidelines regarding women's employment.
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Consider this late admission by the American actress
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Barbra Streisand in her recent press article,
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where she said:
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"I have begun to realize that I am missing many things.
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I cared far too much about my artistic career
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and forgot my life as a woman and a human being,
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which today makes me envy women who have enough time
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to take care of their husbands and children.
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In truth,
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success and fame are meaningless in the absence of a normal family life
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wherein a woman feels she is truly a woman."
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Have you then recognized the blessing of remaining settled at home
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like a queen cared for by a man
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who toils outside the home for her sake?
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We shall continue in a future gathering, Allah willing.
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Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
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The story of woman's struggle in the time of Moses, peace be upon him.