A lady from India wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa that she was developing some thoughts as advocated by feminists that were contrary to the teachings of Islam. She also asked the following questions:
• When getting married, why can the bride not set the amount of the mahr herself?
• Why is the bride’s silence considered her consent?
• Why are modesty and quietness in women so admired, while we live in a society where women’s rights are debated and discussed?
• At the time of the announcement of her nikah, if the bride herself is not physically present in the room, could her wali not misrepresent her deliberately?
Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 18 June 2021, provided the following guidance to the questions:
“The development of [negative] thoughts about something [that is true] or the formation of objections in one’s mind about it is usually due to ignorance or the lack of complete knowledge about that thing. Moreover, the objector is sometimes objecting simply on the basis of hearsay. Therefore, the Holy Quran has taught us to undertake thorough research before making any decision about something. Hence, Allah the Exalted states in the Holy Quran:
يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِذَا ضَرَبۡتُمۡ فِيۡ سَبِيۡلِ اللّٰهِ فَتَبَيَّنُوۡا وَ لَا تَقُوۡلُوۡا لِمَنۡ اَلۡقٰۤي اِلَيۡكُمُ السَّلٰمَ لَسۡتَ مُؤۡمِنًا ۚ تَبۡتَغُوۡنَ عَرَضَ الۡحَيٰوةِ الدُّنۡيَا ۫ فَعِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيۡرَةٌ ؕ كَذٰلِكَ كُنۡتُمۡ مِّنۡ قَبۡلُ فَمَنَّ اللّٰهُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ فَتَبَيَّنُوۡا ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ خَبِيۡرًا
“‘O ye who believe! when you go forth in the cause of Allah, make proper investigation and say not to anyone who greets you with the greeting of peace, ‘Thou art not a believer.’ You seek the goods of this life, but with Allah are good things in plenty. Such were you before this, but Allah conferred His (special) favour on you; so do make proper investigation. Surely, Allah is well aware of what you do.’ (Holy Quran, Surah an-Nisa’, Ch. 4: V. 95)
“At another place, it states:
يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِنۡ جَآءَكُمۡ فَاسِقٌۢ بِنَبَاٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوۡۤا اَنۡ تُصِيۡبُوۡا قَوۡمًۢا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصۡبِحُوۡا عَلٰي مَا فَعَلۡتُمۡ نٰدِمِيۡنَ
“‘O ye who believe! if an unrighteous person brings you any news, ascertain (the correctness of the report) fully, lest you harm a people in ignorance, and then become repentant for what you have done.’ (Holy Quran, Surah al-Hujurat, Ch. 49: V. 7)
“Thus, Islam has instructed its followers to thoroughly investigate all matters they deal with, whether they pertain to their own people or others. It does not like them to rely on conjuncture instead of certain knowledge. Hence, Allah the Exalted says:
اِنَّ الظَّنَّ لَا يُغۡنِيۡ مِنَ الۡحَقِّ شَيۡئًا ؕ
“‘Surely, conjecture avails nothing against truth.’ (Holy Quran, Surah Yunus, Ch. 10: V. 37)
“Moreover, the Holy Quran has also addressed this subject from different angles in many places, highlighting the fact that those who deny God Almighty and His Messengers have no absolute certainty when it comes to matters of faith, but rather rely solely on assumptions and conjectures. Therefore, the Holy Quran exhorts the believers to avoid suspicion and also declares certain types of suspicion as a sin, as it says:
يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوا اجۡتَنِبُوۡا كَثِيۡرًا مِّنَ الظَّنِّ اِنَّ بَعۡضَ الظَّنِّ اِثۡمٌ
“‘O ye who believe! avoid most of suspicions; for suspicion in some cases is a sin.’ (Holy Quran, Surah al-Hujurat, Ch. 49: V. 10)
“In your letter, you state that you were having thoughts contrary to Islam’s teachings. You have also written that you were researching the various Islamic commandments. Doing research is a very good habit, but it is also important to consider what you are basing your research on. In order to help us understand the Holy Quran, the sunnah of the Holy Prophetsa and the ahadith, Allah Almighty has sent the Promised Messiahas as the Hakam ‘Adl in this era. He was sent for the reformation of the world. The purpose of his advent was to bring back and present to the world, the true teaching of Islam, which had risen from the earth to the Pleiades. Therefore, prioritise the study of the books of the Promised Messiahas in your research and study them repeatedly. After that, if you also study the books of the Khulafa-e-Ahmadiyyat, which are actually based on the ‘ilm al-kalam introduced by the Promised Messiahas, insha-Allah, all your doubts will be removed. […]”
