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ISLAM

Compiled by Latheef Farook

 

Mosques give women a major say

For the past 20 years, the elderly lady from the Hui ethnic group has been attending this women-only mosque, a phenomenon unique to China.

“I feel so blessed to have a mosque I can visit. Not many female Muslims enjoy such a privilege,” she said. Lulan women's mosque was built in 1956 by a group of female Muslims who had relocated to Lanzhou from Henan province in central China.


Ma Xuelan prays at a friend's home in
Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province.
Photos by Zou Hong / China Daily

Muslim schools for women enjoy a long history in China, having first been established during the latter half of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). They developed into women-only mosques, presided over by female imams, during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The practice of female imams quickly spread within China's Muslim groups, according to Shui Jingjun, a researcher at the Henan Academy of Social Sciences, who published a book on the history of women's mosques in China in 2002.

Women's mosques soon began to proliferate in China's central plains, mainly in the provinces of Henan, Hebei, Shandong and Anhui. In the northwestern provinces of Qinghai and Gansu and the Ningxia Hui and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous regions, the public participation of women in ritual and leadership is much more restricted, so there are fewer examples of mosques such as this in those areas, added Shui. For example, Lulan is the only women's mosque in Lanzhou, but there are 19 in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province.

There are no reliable statistics about the total number of women's mosques in China because they are all affiliated with traditional places of worship, according to the China Islamic Association.

A few minutes after Ma took off her shoes and entered the hall, the prayers began. Although a female imam stood in the hall, the prayers were piped into the room through a loudspeaker wired to a traditional mosque 100 meters away. China's female imams are not equal to male prayer leaders, so they are disbarred from leading the daily prayers that are considered some of the most important daily obligations for followers of the faith. The entrance to the women's mosque is hidden away in a small alley.

“Only China has women's mosques, but this is not a common practice among Chinese Muslims,” China Islamic Association Secretary-General of Jin Rubin said. He added that the restrictions on female imams reciting prayers mean that most women-only mosques are regarded as adjuncts of male establishments.

“The association neither promotes nor condemns women-only mosques because while some people believe they represent greater equality for women, some still hold to the conservative line of thought,” said Jin. “But one thing for sure is that women's mosques can provide them with a better level of education, which Islam greatly encourages.”


Tang Li, 30, teaches Quranic chanting at the school for women at Xihu mosque in Lanzhou

Relocation

The Lulan mosque was reconstructed on the original site in 1998, but now faces relocation. The two-story building, topped with the traditional crescent, is one of the very few old buildings still standing in the area. Many of the old blocks have been torn down to make way for modern apartments and office blocks.

While the Quran was being recited upstair, Ma Lan, the caretaker, began to clean the small bathroom downstairs, where worshippers perform the pre-prayer ritual of washing their faces, hands and feet. Had she not been menstruating, Ma Lan would have been upstairs with the three female worshippers.

Serving in a women's mosque was a long-term ambition for the 46-year-old. She quit her job in nearby Ningxia and moved to Lanzhou, home to 1.66 million Muslims, in 2006. During the winter, she rises at 4 am to shovel coal into the boiler to ensure a good supply of hot water for the washing ritual. “Women do all the work here, no matter how physical it gets,” she said.

After prayers, Ma Guifang came down the stairs to ask Ma Lan if the large pile of coal stored in the middle of courtyard would be enough to last the entire winter. If not, she would like to make another donation. The mosque is financed solely by donations from female worshippers and visitors.

“We receive about 2,000 to 3,000 yuan ($321 to $481) a month,” said Tao Jinling, the imam, pointing at the list of donors and how much they gave. “Around 20 to 30 people come to the mosque every day. The number rises to around 150 during the Juma prayers on Friday.”

Most of the women who worship at Lulan are aged around 60, but some are 90. “Young people can't come because they have jobs and middle-aged women have to stay at home and take care of their families,” Tao explained.

Although Ma Ashe had known about Lulan for a long time, she only began to visit this year. “Both of my children started work this year, so I have time to come to the mosque. The children are very supportive,” said the 46-year-old housewife. “They are too busy working to perform all five prayers every day, let alone attend the mosque.”

Tao first came to Lulan as a student in 1991. Four years later, she graduated and became an imam. In addition to her role as the mosque's spiritual leader, the 40-year-old is also the accountant and is responsible for all the donations.

Community center

Tao believes the women's mosque is a symbol of development. “It also acts as a community center for female Muslims, a place where they can talk about their problems. I hope more people will support women's mosques and I think more should be built,” she said, while taking off her imam's gown after prayers.

“Muslims care about education for women because we believe they are the lighthouse of the family. Their influence helps to keep our society stable,” said Wang Yuming, director of Lanzhou's Xihu mosque, which also runs a school for women.

The school is located at the side of the prayer hall for men. It has more than 200 students, the classes are free and anyone is welcome, as long as they are aged 16 or older. Many of the students have reached retirement age. The school has no such thing as graduation, because students are allowed to stay as long as they want. Deng Xiulan, 72, has been a student since 2005 when the former Arabic learning center was converted into a school for women. “There are always new things to learn. Coming to the school has become a part of my life,” she said.


Gao Li discusses issues with other students at the school for women at Xihu mosque in Lanzhou, Gansu province. Zou
Hong/China Daily

The school costs the mosque about 500,000 yuan every year, but Wang believes it's worth every penny. “In addition to teaching the women about the Quran and Islam, we also teach them basic math and urge them to tell their children to stay away from drugs,” he said. “Female Muslims deserve a decent level of education and the mosque is the best place to provide that.

“Now that winter has come, we have to make sure the classrooms are warm enough to allow elderly students with arthritis to sit through the classes without pain,” said Wang, as he conducted his daily round of the school at 8:30 am as classes began.

There are nine classes in the school. Every classroom is decorated with flowers and some have posters of Al-Azhar University in Egypt - the chief center of Arabic literature and Islamic learning - hanging on the walls. The school has about 100 students.

“We have nine teachers. They teach the seniors the Quran. The juniors begin by learning Arabic characters,” said Zhang Chunxiu, the principal.

A lifelong activity

For Muslims, learning is a lifelong activity, said Ma Lanying, 76, who has studied at the school for five years. She is now in the senior class. “I feel so proud that I can understand the Quran and know exactly what the prayers mean,” said Ma, who walks 45 minutes to school every weekday.

An Hongmei is Ma's teacher. Before each class, she likes to discuss global current affairs, such as recent events in Syria and Egypt. “I want my students to know how precious peace is,” she explained.

She believes that the more the economy develops, the more people will pay attention to education and the school's growth is an example of that. But it's a huge challenge to teach a group of retired women a new language, said An.

“There are no shortcuts, the students have to patiently repeat words or sentences time after time, but their determination is very impressive. I wish young people could see this.”

In addition, the mothers can teach their children at home, so knowledge of Islam can be passed on to the younger generation, she added. Ma Aizheng, who worked as a nurse before she retired, said she makes time to study at home in the afternoon after classes finish at 11:30 am. “Studying the Quran has become a spiritual support for me.

I didn't have time when I was working and now I have a lot catching up to do,” said Ma, who has introduced some of her friends to the school.

The teachers receive just 600 to 700 yuan as a monthly allowance. “Wherever they go, they could earn much higher wages. They don't work here for the money, it's about devotion.”

Ma Xuelan, 26, has been teaching at Xihu for four years, since she graduated from a women's school in Lanzhou run by Xiguan mosque. She said teaching makes her feel fulfilled and happy. “I am their teacher in class and they are my teachers after class,” she said of her senior students.

Little did Ma know, but some of the students in her class have discovered another “teacher”. Bai Jilan bought a copy of the Quran complete with a “talking pen”, an mp3 player that stores audio files and can recognize and recite phrases from the Quran in Arabic or Mandarin, depending on which sentence is highlighted.

The high-tech device has become the center of attention during breaks and everyone wants to try it out, including Wang. “Everything needs to keep up with the times, including Islam,” he said.

Xue Zhaohua contributed to this story


Chapter on Knowledge

Only such Knowledge is beneficial, whose rays spread through the breast and heart and dispel the veils of doubts and suspicion from the heart.

Beneficial Knowledge refers to the knowledge of Allah's Attributes.

It is that knowledge by which man learns the way of worshipping Him. The similitude of this Knowledge is that of a lamp or candle. When it is cast in the heart of the servant of Allah its rays illuminate his heart and all vestiges of doubt and suspicion pertaining to the world are eliminated.

In everything the doors of absolute conviction and reality and truth are opened up and the darkness of lowly desire is dispelled from his heart. This is the meaning of the Reality of Knowledge).

Any knowledge which is devoid of this quality and effect is not knowledge. It is merely a verbal knowledge.

(In other words, it is an outer-facade or a mere shadow of Knowledge devoid of reality – Translator.) Beautiful knowledge is such Knowledge which is accompanied by fear for Allah.

Divine Fear is to perceive in the heart the greatness and grandeur of Allah.

When knowledge is accompanied by this quality, it will be the best and most beautiful Knowledge because Allah has praised in His people those who possess such knowledge. He says: “Verily, among His servants only the religious scholars fear Allah.” Thus knowledge devoid of Divine Fear is not knowledge nor is the bearer of such superficial knowledge is divine fear. The sign of knowledge is Divine Fear. The sign of Divine Fear is obedience to the Shariah. In the absence of obedience to the Shariah understand that Divine Fear is non-existent.

A knowledge which is accompanied by worldly desire, flattery of worldly people, acquisition of only the world, pride, distant and great hopes, and neglect of the Hereafter is not knowledge.

If along with knowledge you have the Fear of Allah, then only will it benefit you. Minus this Fear, the knowledge will be harmful for you.

The Knowledge accompanied by the Fear of Allah – the meaning of which has already been explained – will prove beneficial in this world and in the Hereafter. The knowledge which is shorn of this quality will be harmful in this world and the hereafter.


Bounties and Ingratitude

The bounties and favours of Allah are innumerable and limitless.

The Quran says: “And, if you count the bounties of Allah, never will you be able to enumerate them.”

The innumerable bounties with which man has been born and which continuously cascade on him from Allah despite his (man’s) sin and transgression, have made him oblivious of the treasures which have been assigned to his custody. The free availability of so numerous bounties of such immense importance has made man impervious as to their value.

Human beings generally appreciate Allah’s Ni’maat only after they have been snatched away. For example, if a person’s eyesight or hearing or a limb is eliminated, he will suddenly wake up to understand and appreciate the wonderful treasure which he had possessed.

It is because man does not reflect that he does not understand or realize the wonderful treasures Allah Ta’ala has bestowed to him. Once Allah Ta’ala by way of inspiration said to Hadhrat Habeeb Ajmi (rahmatullah alayh) “O Habeeb! If you have to spend the rest of your life making a prostration of gratitude in the midst of a fire, never will you be able to fulfill gratitude for even a single one of My innumerable bounties.”

An attitude of ingratitude for a bounty is ujub (vanity). When a man becomes vainglorious on account of an excellence which Allah Ta’ala has bestowed to him, it is a clear sign of his ingratitude for the ni’mat.

A ni’mat should inspire in a man greater thumility, and also fear, for he knows not if Allah Ta’ala will allow him to retain the ni’mat or will Allah Ta’ala snatch it away.

Hadhrat Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi (rahmatullah alayh) narrated the following episode:

“By virtue of the dua of a few pious persons, a man had managed to make hifz of the Qur’aan Majeed in his old age.

The Dua of the saintly persons is a sign of maqbooliyat (acceptance by Allah Ta’ala). After the old man had successfully completed Hifz, he saw in a dream two Buzrugs congratulating him for his accomplishment. This dream further confirmed the maqbooliyat.

This old man happened to visit another city where the people requested him to lead the Taraaweeh Salaat.

This person regarded the request to be a divine invitation, hence he did not attempt to refuse. He informed another Buzrug that he would be reciting the Qur’aan in a certain Musjid. That Buzrug said: ‘Your Qur’aan is accepted everywhere.

To be continued


The way to achieve happiness

It is the nature of every person to seek happiness. Some people strive to seek material happiness in this world away from religion, thinking that this is the true happiness. But this kind of happiness will be succeeded by pain and sorrow at the Day of Judgment, and its people will know that their striving led them only to misery and not happiness.

While others know that the true way to happiness is to obey God and follow His religion. For them the pleasures and riches of the world are of little consequence. When this happiness penetrates and fills the heart of the believer he does in fact live in this world as if he were in Paradise. Those are the people who find true happiness in this world.

What kind of happiness could be greater than that of someone who humbles himself to God, worships Him, strives for His pleasure, and strives to enter Paradise and have salvation from Hellfire?

The believer lives with such a sweetness in his heart that if the masters of the earth knew of it, they would fight him to death to take it from him. God has said:

Whoever does right, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will make him live a good life, and We will award them their reward for the best of what they used to do. (Quran, 16:97)

Happiness is in the good life mentioned in this verse, that even the rich disbelievers cannot find, despite the money they have. That is why we are not surprise when we know that many among them committed suicide.

To reach true happiness, we need to know what is the purpose of our life, how to reach success in the hereafter, and to fulfill the requirements of reaching this success by following the commands of God and His true religion.

We know much about Mars, Earth, moon, stars, and galaxies, thanks to the century of knowledge. But how much we know about our eternal life after death and how to reach success in the hereafter?

People need to eat every day to supply their bodies with energy and to keep them healthy. If they stop eating for a period of time, diseases will sneak up upon them and overtake them, and perhaps even kill them. Similarly, people also need food of another kind, food for the spirit and heart.

It is unfortunate that while people are careful never to forget to feed their bodies, they do not show the same concern for the health of their souls and hearts. The heart needs food as the body does.

The diseases of the body and the debilitating effects they have are not more dangerous than the diseases of the heart and soul.


Forgiveness

The key to having peace within ourselves and with others is to be forgiving. Grudges and animosity gradually diminish our state of tranquility just as a pristine piece of metal steadily rusts in harsh weather. If we view each event in our life as a test and we focus on passing the test then it is much easier to forgive. When we forgive to only please Allah and to pass our tests peace descends upon our hearts.

It is so incredibly liberating when we can let go of the hurt, throw out the emotional baggage and move on. It will free our heart, our mind and our soul if we forgive and forget.

The recompense for an evil is an evil like thereof; but whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is with Allah. Surat Ash-Shura 42:40

When you are faced with difficulties and disappointments make sure you avoid the peace slayers. As you stay away from the things that rob you of peace, work hard on attaining it back through the above mentioned suggestions. Each item in this article requires another article to elaborate on the topic in depth; however I wanted to give an overview of how peace can be attained since so many people struggle with it. There are multitudes of ways to gain peace – these were just a few. Share with us the ways you go about attaining peace.

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