Chapter 2: Degenerated role models and their characteristics

Ideological betrayal and failure to thank God for His blessings When Allah the Exalted wants to give examples of those who failed to be thankful for His blessings, instead of Pharaoh, Nimrod and other such people, He refers to two women: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lut. The doors of divine blessings were open to these two women. They enjoyed all the requirements that they needed for transcendence. They were the wives of two great prophets, Noah and Lut. They used to live in the house of two great prophets and they needed no further proof. But these two women failed to appreciate the blessings they enjoyed and they betrayed their husbands. This is not to say that they were unfaithful to their husbands. Their betrayal was ideological betrayal: they deviated from the right path.  

Betraying One’s Husband

Regarding the two bad women “the wife of Noah and the wife of Lut”, the Holy Qur’an says, “...They were both under two of our righteous servants, but they acted treacherously towards them...” [The Holy Qur’an, 66: 10]. These two women betrayed their husbands who were divine prophets.

Chapter 3: Woman’s Individual Responsibilities

Piety: a requirement for following the right path and achieving the goal Every human being – including youngster school children, housewives and people from different professions – needs piety so that he or she can follow the right path and achieve the goal.

Developing a close relationship with the Holy Qur’an

We need to admit that our society drifted away from the Holy Qur’an for many years. In the Islamic Republic we are trying to decrease the distance that has been developed. We are trying to compensate for the serious backwardness that was imposed on us. During the time of the taghuti governments, the Holy Qur’an was not officially present in our society…. Now we are determined to make up for this and in order to do this, truly great efforts have been made since the victory of the Revolution. And we can already see the outcomes but this is only the beginning. We are at the beginning of our path. It is necessary to develop a close relationship with the Holy Qur’an. Qur’anic concepts are necessary for life: they are not just simple pieces of information that we should be familiar with. Some people might know a lot of things about the Holy Qur’an, but their knowledge might not have any effects on their life. Some of the ladies who spoke in this meeting made the same point. Our knowledge of the Holy Qur’an should manifest itself in our life. One of the honourable wives of the Holy Prophet(PBUH) was asked about the behavior of the Holy Prophet of Islam, she replied, “His behavior was the Qur’an.” That is to say, the Holy Prophet(PBUH)’s behavior was the manifestation of the Holy Qur’an.

Moving forward  in the arena of spiritual  values and in social and political arenas

Women should preserve and safeguard their womanly identity and characteristics, which is in line with the nature of human beings. The natural characteristics of both men and women are valuable for them. Women should preserve their subtle and strong emotions, their womanly love and affections and their womanly purity and brilliance. In the meantime, they should move forward in the arena of spiritual values – such as knowledge, worship, closeness to God, divine knowledge and mystical experiences – in the arena of social and political issues, in the arena of resistance, patience and steadfastness, in the arena of political participation, political knowledge and political intelligence, in the arena of becoming familiar with one’s country and future, in the arena of developing an understanding of the great national and Islamic goals of Muslim countries and nations, in the arena of identifying the enemy, in the arena of identifying the techniques of the enemy. Moreover, they should move forward in the arena of establishing justice and creating a sense of peace and security in the family.

Spiritual self-education 

Muslim women should make efforts to acquire knowledge. They should make efforts in the arena of ethical and spiritual self –education. They should be pioneers in the arena of different kinds of Jihad and fighting. They should be so modest and pure that impure looks are automatically diverted from them. 

Being arrogant and refusing to show humility in front of strangers Arrogance is bad except in the case of women when they are faced with the men who are not their mahram. Women should be arrogant in front of men who are not mahrams for them. “...Be not soft in (your) speech...” [The Holy Qur’an, 33: 32]. Women should not speak in a humble way in front of men. This is to safeguard women’s dignity and honour. This is what Islam wants for Muslim women.

Refusing to become a sexual object for other people and safeguarding the solid walls of Islamic culture

Today you women are the guardians of Islamic values in the face of Western Jaheliyyah. You are the ones who are safeguarding the solid walls of Islamic culture. In the case of knowledge, culture, politics and everything else, women should be educated in an Islamic way. They should step into social, economic, political and all other arenas and become pioneers, but as far as sexual matters are concerned, they must not become an object in the hands of different people. This is our advice.

Being indifferent to jewelry, luxury and fashion  and considering showing off a source of disgrace

Today becoming busy with luxuries is a flaw for revolutionary and faithful Iranian women. Today wearing a lot of jewels and turning jewelry, cosmetics, fashion and clothing into an idol are a source of loss for revolutionary and faithful Iranian women. The value of those who are after such things is less than those who are not. Gold does not increase the value of a woman. It is being indifferent to gold that increases a woman’s value. Fashion does not increase the value of a woman. What increases the value of a woman is being indifferent to the kinds of fashion which are like a trap that the enemies set for our women.