Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Believing Woman


Who is a believing woman that she should be yours?

What women are not existing merely for the comforts and elevation of others,
their humanity an inconvenience
but women with trust placed in God,
whose souls resist subjugation and dependence on people
and who know God is the only one on whom they can rely?

Women who give themselves freely
to the one who will not hurt them
- neither through ignorance or arrogance -
but rather one who is merciful
and honors their complex femininity
and does not cheapen it, sell it, abuse it, confuse it, or deride it.

Is a believing woman out of sight, out of mind, out of heart?
In the dark night she rises for communion with one whose heart can hold her
one who she can accept as guardian and leader without fear of error
for what greater misfortune befalls a believing woman but to be held
by a weak man or a prideful one or an angry one or a misguided one
or one who is farther from God than she is?

What man's heart can be entrusted with hers so that she is uplifted by it toward her Creator?

What sacrifice should a believing woman make?
Surely not the freedom of her soul to be real and complete
in order to disappear into the whims of a man's desires and conceits?
Is she a worldly comfort for the other gender or is she a fully-realized being
whose comforts are blessings not constrained by constructs of others nor
ever claimed to be possessed and traded by them as commodities
or leverage against her soul?

A believing woman is selling nothing and must fight being sold.
She struggles for education and enlightenment -
rather she is told her salvation is in servitude,
and some would have her serve them rather than God
and tell her that only by this indirect means can she draw near
to the one she seeks.

For she alone is not worthy or capable of approaching Him of herself
and she has no real value or piety unless she gives herself to one of them.
But what greater misfortune befalls a believing woman than to be held
by a weak man or a prideful one or an angry one or a misguided one
or one who is farther from God than she is?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

MashaAllah!! This was beautiful. Did you write it yourself, sis?

otowi said...

Yes, thank you. :)

Anonymous said...

I can't get over how beautiful this is. MashaAllah!! You should share it on Islamic Insights!

otowi said...

Thanks! I don't know if they'd want to publish it, but we'll see insha'allah.