THE PROPHET’S WIFE
No protests, no processions, no
high-pitched sloganeering;
Nor vainglorious bravados on breaking the
glass ceiling;
An icon of women’s liberation, living in
the land and time
Of regressive, pitiless, patriarchal
tribes,
Was Hadija bint Khuwailid, the Prophet’s
adorable wife!
When the sphere of women was only to cook
and to spin,
And to give birth, but beware, not to
girls but only to sons,
When boys were seen as wealth, and men
were deemed strength,
And female infanticide, was not thought a
heinous crime;
Her courage and confidence made her the
richest of her times!
Twice widowed, yet undeterred in any
kind,
She never sat and cried, but was the
stronger in the mind;
Reins in her hand, sending trading
caravans,
She bloomed a desert flower, breaking all
shackles of the land,
Not bowing to unkind fate, was the life
of Khadija al Kubra, the great!
Not trained in blind feminism, and nor
earned any scholarly MBA,
Hers was a self-made entrepreneurship; a
roaring business empire!
Profit sharing, demand and supply, wages
and commissions,
How did she know all these, how quick was
she to take decisions!
A glowing light a millennium ago, she was
a beacon light for later women to follow!
Nor did she wait for suitors to come in
long lines,
When she decided to get herself married
another time,
She chose her trusted partner, and sent a
proposal to him!
And then stood by her faithful husband,
through thick and thin;
The prophet’s pillar of support forever,
that’s Khathija al Thahira, the pure!
Contradictions and anachronisms abounding
in her life—
She was a pearl of wisdom in the age of jahilia, or ignorance!
A tower of quiet power, with not a trace
of cheap glamour;
A precious gem in the deep Arabian sea, a
fragrant desert flower!
An antique role model for the modern
times torn with strife -
She is the mother of all believers, the
Prophet’s honourable wife!
Gulnar
Raheem Khan is a post-graduate
in English Literature, an alumnus of Sarah Tucker College, Palayamkottai. She was athe student-editor of her college
magazine. A bank officer, she has written a number of articles for her bank’s
in- house magazine. She is a recipient
of the first prize in an open page competition organized by the Arab News. She
has been attempting fiction since the last 2 years.
No comments :
Post a Comment
We welcome your comments related to the article and the topic being discussed. We expect the comments to be courteous, and respectful of the author and other commenters. Setu reserves the right to moderate, remove or reject comments that contain foul language, insult, hatred, personal information or indicate bad intention. The views expressed in comments reflect those of the commenter, not the official views of the Setu editorial board. рдк्рд░рдХाрд╢िрдд рд░рдЪрдиा рд╕े рд╕рдо्рдмंрдзिрдд рд╢ाрд▓ीрди рд╕рдо्рд╡ाрдж рдХा рд╕्рд╡ाрдЧрдд рд╣ै।