Ayatollah Ramazani: Islam has defended women most; Women’s role, essential for educating society

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said, “In Islam, which has been introduced for 1400 years, most of the defense of women has been done, and all the divine prophets, especially the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), paid attention to this issue.”

The closing ceremony of the virtual courses for women preachers of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Iraq branch, was held in Najaf, in the presence of Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

At the beginning of the ceremony, welcoming the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Hojat al-Islam Pahlavanzadeh Behbahani, the chairman of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) Assembly, Iraq Branch, said, “Participants in this event are women preachers participating in virtual courses, which were planned and held by the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.”

While praising the holding of training courses for women preachers, Ayatollah Reza Ramazani, Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly said in a speech, “I am very happy that this meeting was organized by the AhlulBayt (a.s.) Assembly, the Iraqi branch. Special thanks to Hojat al-Islam Abu Ali Behbahani, and his colleagues who are concerned with the issue of education. We also appreciate your presence in these courses, and we should know that this movement is very important for propagating Islam.”

“I want to say a few words about the position of women in Islam. Before that, I must draw your attention to the fact that women make up half of the world’s population. There are four billion women and girls in the world. This is a huge capacity that needs to be considered,” he continued.

“Throughout history, women have been oppressed and neglected. The rise of feminism in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and elsewhere has been to prevent the widespread oppression of a large group of women throughout history. But in Islam, which dates back 1400 years, women have been defended the most. In Islam, women are honored, and all the divine prophets, especially the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h), have paid attention to this issue. Of course, feminism must be criticized at the right time,” added the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

“About 300 verses in the Quran are related to the dignity and status of women. The fact that there is a chapter in the Holy Quran called Women (al-Nisa) is due to the importance of this issue. Also, the fact that the names of some chapters of the Holy Quran are named after prominent women such as Mary (Maryam), shows the importance of this issue. The Holy Quran states that women are role models, and states that women can be role models for growth and perfection. This is one of the highlights mentioned in this heavenly book,” stated Ayatollah Ramazani, referring to the Quranic verses about women.

The point that Adam (a.s.) was deceived by Eve cannot be proved by Quranic verses. We read in Quran: “Then Satan tempted them, to expose to them what was hidden from them of their nakedness, and he said, ‘Your Lord has only forbidden you from this tree lest you should become angels, or lest you become immortal.’* And he swore to them, ‘I am indeed your well-wisher.’ * Thus he brought about their fall by deception. So when they tasted of the tree, their nakedness became exposed to them, and they began to stitch over themselves with the leaves of paradise. Their Lord called out to them, ‘Did I not forbid you from that tree, and tell you, “Satan is indeed your manifest enemy?” (Quran Sura Al-A'raf verses: 20, 21, 22). These verses show that Satan tempted and misled both of them.”

“The important thing is that from the Quran’s point of view, men and women are equal from real status. That is, a woman can attain faith (in God), and a man can attain faith (in God). Both men and women can attain mysticism and be present in social arenas. Concerning credit matters, whether a woman can be the Imam of the congregation for a man or not, it is a matter of credit. In this place, many people are the Imam of the congregation, but on the Day of Judgment, they cannot be, (and should stay behind a person whose position is higher). Women can be Imam (leader) in the field of propagation and guidance of (and give us (the grace) to lead the righteous (Quran 25:74).) In the Holy Quran in Surah Kawthar, the Kawthar is attributed to Hazrat Zahra (a.s.). All these, indicate that women have a special position in Islam,” added the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

“There is a type of Quranic verses about the prophets, which are used to prove the infallibility of the prophets. Exactly the same verses, with the same phrases, are used for women: “And when the angels said, ‘O Mary, Allah has chosen you and purified you, and He has chosen you above the world’s women” (Quran 3:42). Some even use these verses to prove the prophecy and prophethood of women, which is another discussion and should be explored at another time,” stated Ayatollah Ramazani, referring to the position of women in the Holy Quran.

There is a discussion of comfort and peace in the Quran. Some believe that a wife should comfort her husband. But Allameh Tabatabai says that this comforting and tranquility is two-sided. That is, both husband and wife should comfort each other. Our professor, Ayatollah Javadi Amoli, has a subtle interpretation in his book “Woman in the Mirror of Divine Beauty”: “Man is the manifestation of the glory of God, and woman is the manifestation of the beauty of God. The comfort of the beauty is achieved by glory, and the comfort of the glory is achieved by beauty.” It was our professor’s interpretation,” he continued.

“Westerners must learn to defend women’s rights from Islam and the Quran. The West has only been thinking about defending women’s rights for the last hundred years. Unfortunately, we have not been able to provide an accurate, in-depth, and comprehensive definition of the subject of women in the Qur’an. Therefore, sometimes there are misconceptions about the subject of women, and even (unfortunately) these misconceptions are sometimes seen in some poems and the like,” stated the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, considering Islam as the defender of women.

A collection of Imam Khomeini’s speeches on various topics called “Tebyan Collection” has been published in dozens of volumes. One of the volumes is about “The Position of Women in Imam Khomeini’s Perspective”. These days, coinciding with the anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s demise, if we read this book, we will understand the Islamic view of women in the true sense of the word. I strongly recommend that you read the book “The Position of Women in Imam Khomeini’s Perspective”,” he added.

“The role of women in educating society is crucial. In Vienna, I gave lectures on the subject of the family, which has been translated into several languages and published several times. In the West, wherever we discussed women from the perspective of Islam and the Quran, it was interesting to the audience. We told them to learn the exact Quran’s view on women from scholars, and then realize what is the defending women’s rights,” said Ayatollah Ramazani, referring to the role of women in society.

“I hope that the prominent role of women will flourish day by day and that women will play their role in various fields of education. Sometimes it was women who played a key role in raising a great man. In the case of Prophet Moses (a.s.), for example, three women, namely his mother, paternal aunt, and wife of this divine prophet, as well as Asya (Pharaoh’s wife), had an educational role. This is a very detailed topic and I just mentioned some examples,” he continued.

“I am very happy to be present at this meeting. Take these activities seriously, and in education, pay special attention to the education of girls aged ten and eleven, and below. We should also take care of this issue,” pointed out the Secretary-General of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly.

At the end of the ceremony, Ayatollah Ramazani awarded certificates of completion of virtual courses to women preachers who participated in the course.

It should be mentioned that the course “Media Imperialism and Cinema Domination”, taught by Professor Elham Hamid, for 14 days, and the course “Lifestyle, and ways to face the cultural invasion of the West and the United States in Iraqi families” taught by Dr. Badrieh Mousavi, for 20 days, were held by the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, Iraq’s Branch, and the Women’s Deputy of the AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, in cooperation with the Management Center of Women Seminaries.

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