| Answer:
Every person comes in this world with a certain set
of circumstances. The nature of the test each individual is put though is
determined by the place, time and circumstances specific to him. Therefore, a
person of restricted financial worth is not supposed to spend in the way of
Allah like the wealthy. An illiterate man is not supposed to do the duties of a
scholar and a man living in a corrupt society cannot be expected to act like the
one who is blessed with the company of the Messengers and Prophets of God.
However, despite all this difference of circumstances and
social conditions, there exists complete similarity regarding basic religious
and moral guidance. The basic contents of the religion of Islam have been
preserved and made available to all the people to come till the Day of Judgment.
Consequently it is equally possible for all to adhere to religion and practice
it. I am not sure what kind of hurdles you think stop women from practicing
Islam but I assure you that it was in many cases more difficult for the women
contemporary to the Prophet (sws) to practice Islam. It is always difficult for
us to abandon set practices which become part of our nature and adopt an
entirely new discipline. The direct addressees of the Prophet (sws) had to face
this difficulty.
If an individual is put through a relatively harder test in
this life acting upon which is rather difficult that does not mean that one
cannot outdo those who lived during the lifetime of the Prophet (sws) in piety.
The more difficult your task the more rich the reward is. If a person living
among the pious and virtuous finds it easy to tread the path of piety and
another person living in bad company finds it very hard then the latter will be
rewarded much more on a pious act.
Another important fact is that Islam is the final divine
guidance for mankind on earth. This status of the religion demands that it must
be practicable in all times. It has not required men to perform acts, which are
against the natural physical and psychological set up of human built. It does
not teach things, which can be supposed to have found wrong in the modern world
to make it difficult to adhere to them and practice them.
Therefore it would not be correct to say that women today
find it more difficult to practice Islam than the believing women of the time of
the Prophet (sws). |