Behind Every Splendid Success!

Solmaz Shegefti

All of us probably know that behind every great man there has been (at least) a woman of spiritual strength and faith. Such women could have played and  could play their influential roles as mothers, grandmothers, wives, sisters, daughters, teachers and nurses. In the Holy Qur’an we read, among others about the life and prophetic mission of Prophet Moses(AS), in connection with which four women – his mother, his sister, Pharaoh’s wife(Asiyah) and his wife have been mentioned, which Qur’anic citation obviously can be taken to mean that all those women’s roles have been of particular significance in the life of Prophet Moses(AS) who like all other Divine Messengers(AS) have been burdened with the great task of transmitting Allah’s commands and teachings to the people and leading them out of darkness into the light and way of salvation.

Likewise, Prophet Jesus Christ (AS), has according to the Holy Qur’an, been born to a lady of faith, spirituality and chastity – Virgin Mary(SA) or Maryam in Arabic, and the very fact that in the Holy Qur’an a chapter has been named ‘Maryam’ indicates that to Allah, that esteemed lady who was given the honour of giving birth to a great Divine Messenger is very honoured.

     As for the last and the most Divinely - revered Allah’s Messenger – Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) it should be mentioned that His Holiness too enjoyed the blessing of being born to a very honourable, virtuous woman, lady Ameneh(SA) and for a wet-nurse, he had also a chaste, virtuous lady Halimeh. And regarding Lady Khadijeh(SA) – his first and most revered wife- and Her Holiness, Fatimah(SA), his beloved and highly revered daughter, suffice it to say that in a well-known Hadith, the Holy Prophet(PBUH) of Islam has declared them to be two of the four greatest ladies (the other two ladies being Maryam – the mother of Prophet Jesus(AS) and Asiyah – the wife of Pharaoh). Certainly, Muslims have heard and/or read about the excellent virtues of Lady Khadijeh(SA), about her devotion to her esteemed husband Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) and the extraordinary patience and perseverance she rendered for the promotion of the cause of Allah and in support of Muslims against the enemies of Islam. It has been narrated that Her Holiness Khadijeh(SA) was so endeared and respected by the Holy Prophet(PBUH) of Islam that even years after her demise, the Holy Prophet(PBUH) would cry upon remembering her and would always stress that she has been matchless. No wonder Allah – The Almighty gave her the honour of becoming the mother of the lady of the ladies of the worlds, Al-Kauthar- Her Holiness Fatimah(SA) who like her esteemed mother, supported Allah’s last Messenger and Allah’s cause to the last moment of her blessed life.

And no wonder Her Holiness Fatimah(SA) was selected by Allah to be the matchless wife of Imam Ali (AS) and to give birth to the masters of the youth in Paradise – Imam Hasan(AS) and Imam Hussein(AS) and two daughters who proved to be true offsprings of those Divinely-selected ladies. No doubt few are those who have not realized that the message of the great reviver of Islam – Imam Hussein(AS) was kept alive and conveyed to the world of humanity primarily by the ladies of his family and in particular by Her Holiness Zainab(SA).

In this connection, much more can be expressed in support of the fact that faithful pious and virtuous ladies have, throughout history been behind men of faith and their great achievements. Even today, we can clearly observe that in every society, most particularly in Muslim societies, faithful girls and women are playing their remarkable  roles shoulder to shoulder with men, who of course owe their courage and devotion to their pious mothers most, since women of piety give birth to men and women of integrity and faith. And this fact seems to have been noticed even by enemies of Allah – by those who desire corruption to overtake the whole world and so try to mislead women through misleading media and push them towards impiety and immoral manners. Obviously, under the circumstances it is incumbent upon all of us to strive more than ever before to nullify the misguiding western-led propaganda and to spread Divine teachings among our youths, for otherwise we will face regret on the Day of Judgment and before Allah Who has given us the knowledge and ability to defend His cause in this world and Who has presented the best role models for us to follow  - His Messengers(AS) and the great men and women who followed them faithfully and selflessly.