What the Quran says about women
THE International Women's Day is of significance to all communities and each one of us need to share its message in our families and communities in the best way we can so that it is useful to us.
For Muslim women, it is the family and the role of mothers that is most important for us under the current situation in Fiji.
Family life is one of the most significant aspects of human life.
In Islam, families are deemed very important due to their role in the progress and success of society at large.
At a fundamental level, a family is a unit made up of a husband, wife, and their children, who then take on a communal identity of their own and attain certain legal and spiritual rights over one another.
Both husband and wife, who form the very basis of a family, are in a sacred union, for which the Quran says,
"And one of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect." (Surah Ar-Rum, 30:verse 21)
A family is meant to be a source of tranquility for its members, as it facilitates their mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. In addition, it allows them to collectively work together to prepare themselves for their responsibilities and communal life, where they can deal with the challenges of their day and age.
On the whole, the objective of the institution of family and marriage is to build a prosperous and loving family based on Islamic values, which will, in turn, create a good and virtuous society.
Keep in mind that our lives as mothers have different demands at different periods in our lives.
A mother with young children is in a very different position than a mother with adult children.
Any number of factors can change your circumstances: adding another child into your family, changing the schooling of your children, a new job,, moving to a new home, a health diagnosis, or a big family change.
You will have to adapt as you experience different phases in your life with varying demands on you–so if you find yourself struggling to do half of the things you used to do when you only had one child in school now that you have a newborn to take care of–that is normal.
Your personal best is going to look different at varying parts of your life.
On this IWD 2024, it is very important for all of us to promote the virtues of respect, care and love at all times for family and community harmony.