Monday Hadith

The Prophet, peace and blessing upon him, said:

"Help your brother, whether he be an oppressor or one of the oppressed."

Some said "O Messenger of God, we help him if he is oppressed; but how can we help him if he is an oppressor?"

The Prophet said, "By stopping him."

Shirin Ebadi: Who defines Islam?

via Amina Wadud

Shirin Ebadi:  My most important piece of advice to Egyptian women is “do not give way to a government that would force you to choose between your rights and Islam”. Do not let them put you in that bind. Governments that invoke the name of ‘Islam’ in their self-definition will face people with this dilemma and this false choice. They will say “either you are Muslim and accept our laws or you are not Muslim”. That is exactly the way the government has operated in Iran. When you face someone who comes from a very religious family with this question, she gets a bit hesitant. Therefore, we must not reach a point when a government can accord itself the right to pose this question. Getting to understand Islam well and encouraging women to learn different interpretations of Islam is important. So when governments tell women  “this is Islam’, they will be well-equipped to counter their arguments.


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