I am a Muslim. A proud Muslim Woman. This is my foremost identity and I try to explain the foundation of this pride.

The world is in a flux. Everything is changing, from language to lifestyle to ethics, literally everything. Humans are at the center of this flux trying to determine a safe, sound, happy and honorable way of life. That is where Islam comes to the forefront. It is not a mere belief. It is a way of life. It guides us on every matter. Health, food, clothing, relations, spouse, children, property, entertainment, equity, democracy, life, death, and everything beyond these. In short, each and every practical aspect of life is edified to the Believers through the Quran and the Sunnah. Most importantly, these teachings are complete and conclusive. There is not even a speck of improvement anywhere. Such is the level of applicability and of course, reliability. This is proven by the very fact that there are around 1.9 billion Muslims in the world, that is more than 25 percent of the global population, and that Islam is the second largest and the fastest growing religion globally. Well, in that case what makes me deliberate about it, if it is already acknowledged by billions of Believers? The answer to this lies in the recent realization I had while pondering upon our society in general and women in particular who are the torch bearers of all the changes happening around us. Let me explain!

I am utterly saddened by our degrading value system. We have forgotten our ethics and morals. We don’t respect our parents, teachers and nobody. Children are not raised well. Women may have come a long way in academics and financial independence but they are still treated maliciously. Men are exploited. Wars that nobody dares to stop, go on for years. No living form enjoys freedom- to live, or to express! We have failed as a civilization. Amidst all this hopeless chaos, I find women capable of doing some good. Of course, men have their part of responsibilities but let’s stick to women in this segment. The sole reason behind this is that we are the mothers of civilizations, the first schools of children. The way a woman handles her roles in life is directly proportional to the improvement project in every possible sense. This is supposed to mean that we have to focus on raising well our womenfolk (and menfolk) from the very childhood. This is what Islam does. It has very equitably divided the roles among men and women, making each one of them leaders in their specified roles. Once these respective roles are recognized and mastered, I believe everything going wrong in the world will start falling in place slowly but surely, from issues of eve teasing to nuclear warfare, after all it is all a matter of how evolved our thinking is. Being opinionated is not a problem but channelizing the opinions towards general goodwill is surely a challenge. It is pertinent to mention here that the concept of equity and gender-specific roles in Islam goes beyond the now-fabricated concept of feminism. The sole proof to this is myself. I have always been given equal opportunities to study, to realize my dreams, and to express myself in every way but with a priority on my specified role in the society that I am supposed to perform as a woman and as I already said, I am a Muslim woman. This sense of responsibility is the foundation of pride that I have in my identity.

With the same perspective, I devise a directory of 50 points that can guide the Believing women in achieving tranquillity in life in the present stress scenarios.

1. You are a Muslim woman, neither Eastern nor Western.
2. Do acceptable charity that brings happiness to the poor and feeds the hungry.
3. Charity is a remedy that wards off calamity.
4. Remember Allah, read the Quran, ponder upon its meaning, and, seek forgiveness.
5. Raise your children with teachings from the Quran and Sunnah.
6. Self-protection is achieved through Hijab and Modesty.
7. Honor your parents, husband, and, uphold the ties of kinship.
8. Read useful, interesting, and, beneficial books.
9. Do not waste time in trivial pursuits, revenge, or, futile arguments.
10. Do not give priority to wealth over health, happiness, sleep, and, peace of mind.
11. Do not seek out other people’s faults and backbite about them.
12. There is nothing difficult or impossible to achieve in life as long as you are alive, able to work.
13. Always bear in mind the picture of success and keep it alive. Simply dismiss the idea of failure. Aim for the moon.
14. Do not neglect personal hygiene and cleanliness in the house.
15. Do not think of past calamities.
16. Do not forget the Hereafter. Instead, continue striving for it.
17. Do not waste money on Haram desires and falling short in the acts of worship.
18. Utilize your potential of being a Daiyah- calling other women to the path of Allah with kind words, good exhortation, and, wisdom.
19. Keep yourself busy and don’t give in to laziness and idleness for this leads to worries, anxiety, devilish whispers, and, doubts that nothing can relieve except hard work.
20. Wipe away the tears of orphans in order to attain the blessing of the most Merciful.
21. Offer Nimaaz regularly, for it is guaranteed to bring tranquillity and chase away worry.
22. Be happy. Happiness is cthe ontentment of heart, peace of mind, sense of stability, and, righteous behaviour.
23. Beware of the Duaa of the one who has been wronged and the tears of the one who has been deprived.
24. Remember that hunger, sickness, and, poverty, all bring their own reward from Allah. If you even lose one child, remember that it will intercede for you before Him.
25. Always learn from the past and present, for life is a sequence of experiences from which one should emerge victorious.
26. Stay in your home except for serious and necessary matters, for your home is the secret of safety and protection.
27. Forget about people’s faults and pay attention to improving your own self. Allah created nobody perfect and infallible.
28. Embrace life as a gift from Allah. Embrace the morning with its glow, the day with its brightness, and, the night with its quietness.
29. Don’t be idealistic by expecting good health with no sickness, happiness with nothing to spoil your joy, a husband with no shortcomings, or a friend with no faults. Be realistic.
30. Beware of wasting time, for you will be called to account for every second of your life.
31. Staying away from Allah only bears bitter fruit and the gifts of intelligence, strength, beauty, and, knowledge, will all turn into calamity if kept away from the guidance of Allah.
32. Remember that a woman who dies when her husband is pleased with her shall enter Paradise. So obey and honor your husband. The woman whose husband is angry with her is cursed in the Tawrat, the Injeel, and, the Quran.
33. A righteous woman pleases her husband when he looks at her or tells her to do something. She is faithful even when he is away from her.
34. A righteous woman doesn’t exhaust her husband with too many requests. Many women empty their husband’s pockets and don’t calm down until they have taken everything. This is a never-ending problem and yields nothing but disputes.
35. Accept the inescapable fact that you will encounter things in life that you just cannot change. Learn to deal with them through patience and faith.
36. If a woman loses somebody close to her, it means Allah has taken back His slave and He is more entitled to that. A husband is a loan, a brother is a loan, a child is a loan.
37. There is nothing more damaging to a woman’s beauty than anxiety that makes her look older. Why worry at all?
38. Physical well-being comes from eating little, mental well-being comes from sinning little, well-being of the heart comes from worrying little, and, well-being of the tongue comes from speaking little.
39. Muslim women ought to be modest, chaste, pure, and, noble. Their feet shouldn’t show and their clothes should have long hemlines that drag along the ground so that men won’t see anything of them.
40. The best of the worship is that which is done regularly even if it is a little.
41. “La Ilaha Illa Allah” are brilliant words which disperse the fog of sin and bring light.
42. There are so many great women of Islam who can be made role models. Learn patience from Asiyah, loyalty from Khadijah, sincerity from Aisha, and, steadfastness from Fatima.
43. Avoid slander as you would avoid a plague.
44. The ultimate honor is modesty.
45. Hesitation, languor, and going around a problem without hope, all lead to a nervous breakdown.
46. Show mercy to those who are on earth and the One who is in Heaven will show mercy to you.
47. Acknowledge Allah at times of ease and He will help you in hardships.
48. Duaa relieves stress and is the weapon of the Muslim.
49. Death is preferable to doing Haram.
50. Be serious, for you are answerable.

We, the Muslim Women, say YES to the Quran, a beautiful smile, kind words, raising our children in Islam, Hijab and modesty, and, to honoring our parents and husband.

And we say No to everything that has been described as Haram.

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