Praise be to Allah Almighty; I am grateful to Him, I repent to Him and I ask for His forgiveness: Thy Lord bringeth to pass what He willeth and chooseth. They have never any choice. Glorified be Allah and exalted above all that they associate (with Him)! (Qasas, 68). He created you from one being, then from that (being) He made its mate; and He hath provided for you of cattle eight kinds. He created you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in a threefold gloom. Such is Allah, your Lord. His is the Sovereignty. There is no God save Him. How then are ye turned away? (az-Zumar, 6) I testify that none deserves to be worshipped except Allah alone, without any partner. I further testify that Muhammad is Allah’s worshipping servant and chosen Messenger who said, “So act kindly towards women..” May Allah grant commendation to His Messenger, as well as to the Messenger’s immaculate family, esteemed Companions, and all who continue following their path until the Day of Recompense.
Dear people, I adjure you and myself to observe Taqwaa of Allah Almighty; it is the shelter and the haven: “And whosoever keepeth his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way out for him,… And will provide for him from (a quarter) whence he hath no expectation… And whosoever putteth his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. …And whosoever keepeth his duty to Allah, He maketh his course easy for him… And whoso keepeth his duty to Allah, He will remit from him his evil deeds and magnify reward for him on the Day of Recompense”. (Talaaq, 2-5).
O people, servants of Allah! Obey Allah and obey His Messenger and those among you who are in authority. Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has gained a signal victory.
O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom ye claim (your rights) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bare you). Lo! Allah hath been a Watcher over you. (an-Nisaa, 1)
Know, O servants of Allah, that Islam abhors and vehemently opposes rape; Islam affirms the humanity of the woman as it does that of the man. For man is part of Allah’s creatures and enjoys grace and honour from Allah Almighty, as expressed by the Qur’anic text:
Verily We have honoured the children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment. (al-Israa, 70)
Yes, brothers (and sisters) in faith! Overpowering a woman into doing something under duress is viewed as an aggression against the woman and defilement of her honour which Islam seeks to guard.
Dear brethren, mating is a natural interaction, regulated by the Shari’ah, between a male and a female. Intercourse is sanctioned only by legal marriage based on mutual consent of the parties involved, the availability of Waliy, the Sadaaq and the presence of witnesses, according to the saying of the Almighty:
so wed them by permission of their folk, and give unto them their portions in kindness, they being honest, not debauched nor of loose conduct. (an-Nisaa, 25)
The girlchild, brothers and sisters in faith, should be respected and protected under the custody of her parents or guardians until she attains the marriageable age where whoever desires to have her as a wife will approach her parents with Sadaaq and witnesses. But the rape of especially a minor is a bestial act not befitting a human being that is honoured by Allah with the Shari’ah and whom He distinguished with intellect, discernment and guidance. Islam prohibits cohabitation as seen in Suratul Mu’minuun:
And who guard their modesty. Save from their wives or the (slaves) that their right hands possess, for then they are not blameworthy, But whoso craveth beyond that, such are transgressors, (al-Mu’minuun, 5-7)
On the authority of the above verse, touching a woman illegally is an assault and grave injustice against outside the realm of what constitutes obedience to Allah Almighty. No wonder the scholars equate rape with trampling on the rights of the woman, oppression, murder, looting and terrorism; they view it as corruption on earth, because a woman who is raped may be killed during this horrendous operation, or be left with an unhealing wound in her heart.
Dear brethren! Will the rapist like the same treatment on his daughter, or his sister, or his mother or even his wife?
The answer will undoubtedly be no. Based on this, brothers of Imaan, the rapist should think twice before he inflicts harm on other women as the same treatment could be meted out to his daughter, sister, mother, or wife because what goes around, comes around!
Oh Allah, preserve the dignity and honour of women and save us from the evils of aggressors who work corruption on the earth.
May Allah bless you and me with the great Qur’an and benefit me and you with what is in it of Aayaat and the wise Dhikr. Servants of Allah, seek pardon of your Lord. He is ever Forgiving. He will let loose the sky for you in plenteous rain, and will help you with wealth and sons, and will assign unto you Gardens and will assign unto you rivers.
THE SITTING
Praise be to Allah, the Creator; glory be to Him, and may blessings and peace be upon the best man who cares about humanity; may Allah’s commendation and peace be upon him, his immaculate family, and esteemed Companions.
Brothers in Imaan, it is the duty of every member of the society to abhor rape and let his abhorrence of it lead and represent him to those in authority with a view to stalling this heinous crime in the society. In a Hadeeth of Jaabir bin Abdillaah al-Bajali, Radiyallaahu Anhu, who said that:
The Prophet, Sallallaahu Alaihi wa Sallam said: “If any man is among a people in whose midst he does acts of disobedience and though they are able to make him change (his acts), they do nothing to effect the change, Allah will smite them with punishment before they die”. (Abu Dawud). In another Hadeeth which Hudhaifa ibn al-Yamaan reported, the Prophet, Sallallaahu Alaihi wa Sallam said, “By Him in Whose hand my life is, you either enjoin good and forbid evil, or Allah will certainly send His punishment on you, then you will make supplication and it will not be accepted.” (at-Tirmidhi)
And by the authority of these Ahaadeeth, brothers in faith, we all must, as members of society, abhor all iniquities especially that of rape which is a grievous sin; it also violates the sanctity of the woman and forces her into unlawful intercourse. Rape is great disobedience and awful calumny which Allah Almighty has made Haraam:
And whoso disobeyeth Allah and His messenger and transgresseth His limits, He will make him enter Fire, where such will dwell forever; his will be a shameful doom. (an-Nisaa, 14)
Allah also ordered, in respect of one who approaches a woman unlawfully, that the law should take its due course:
And as for the two of you who are guilty thereof, punish them both. And if they repent and improve, then let them be. Lo! Allah is Relenting, Merciful. (an-Nisaa, 16)
In the Hadeeth, on the authority of Waa’il ibn Hujr, Radiyallaahu Anhu: When a woman went out during the time of the Prophet, Sallallaahu Alaihi wa Sallam for prayer, a man attacked and overpowered (raped) her. She shouted and he ran away and disappeared. Then someone came by and she (in a daze) said: ‘That man did such and such to me’. And when a company of the Ansaar (Emigrants) came by, she still said: ‘That man did such and such to me’. They went and seized whom they (wrongly) thought had raped her and brought him to her. She affirmed that he was the one. They arraigned him before the Messenger of Allah, Sallallaahu Alaihi wa Sallam on charges of assault and rape. But before the Messenger of Allah, Sallallaahu Alaihi wa Sallam passed the Rajm sentence on him, the real rapist who had assaulted the woman stood up and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I am the man who did it to her’. The Messenger of Allah said to the woman: ‘Go away, for Allah has forgiven you’. He also offered some palliative words to the one that was wrongly arrested. Then he, Sallallaahu Alaihi wa Sallam turned to the rapist and ordered: ‘Stone him to death’. And let face the full wrath of the law!
Dear brethren in faith! Observe Taqwaa of Allah in your dealings with women for they are fragile; Allah created them that you may find succour through them in your life. Allah said:
And of His signs is this: He created for you helpmeets from yourselves that ye might find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are portents for folk who reflect. (ar-Rum, 21)
The issue of preserving and protecting women so they do not fall victims of vile members of the community is necessary and the responsibility of every member of society, because a woman is a mother of children, she is a daughter, a sister and a wife that partners her husband in the journey of life. Therefore, dear brethren, protect the dignity of the woman and give her all the protection she needs to be worthy of noble life in society. The Almighty said:
And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree above them. Allah is Mighty, Wise. (al-Baqarah, 228)
First Published on July 29, 2020
