The value of a muslim woman

Entering the driveway of a big building in Kuala Lumpur, I saw a woman puffing away smoke from her cigarette. It was lunch break and she chose to relieve her tension by smoking. The picture of a woman smoking is something difficult for me to swallow. To the western culture a woman is at par with the man and shouldn't be treated any differently. To the muslim culture, a woman is very special and thus should be protected and taken care of. To us a woman is someone who complement the man, not a rival.

Men and women are created differently either biologically or spiritually. Men are muscular and women has womb. Men are tough and women are soft. Men seldom shed tears but women are very generous with tears. With their muscles, men are good at earning income. And with their patience, women are good at raising kids. With all the differences, women do not need to compete with men. What they need to do is supplement and enhance men.

In Islam, a virtuous woman is someone who only display her beauty to her husband, not just to anyone on the street. Therefore she wear her veil or hijab. The veil will also protect her from unwanted attentions from men. A virtuous woman is someone who smile to her husband when he comes home from work and cook for him. Not because she is a slave but because a labour of love is highly rewarded by Allah. She has a choice not to cook but if she choose to cook she is booking a place in heaven. A virtuous woman is someone who don't talk freely just to any man on the street because she value her parents' or husband's trust on her. She always remember her position as a daughter or a wife.

A muslim woman is always protected by her guardian or wali. The wali is her father if she is single and her husband if she is married. In short a muslim woman is highly valued. I am a muslim woman and I am happy knowing that my husband and my sons are responsible towards me no matter what happen.

May Allah bless us all.