Inside the Gender Jihad: Women's Reform in Islam (49 page)

among the invitees,
21
lengthy discussion over ownership of the word

“progressive,” including the exclusion of some members of the existing

P.M.U. governing board, managed to consume a great deal of time. The organization has been established, the name has been retained (with “in North America” added), but a number of the invitees, myself included, are not affiliated with P.M.U.

Until the prayer, I tried to remain with the group as an advisory board member. The organizers expressed the hope of organizing a conference through the Harvard University Diversity Project during the March 18–20 weekend. I was invited to lead congregational prayer on the Friday of that

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conference. I accepted. The conference was not successfully organized, but several months later I received a new invitation to lead congregational prayer on the same date as previously scheduled. After looking into the logistics (I had committed myself to do a presentation at Auburn University Seminary in New York the Thursday evening before), I asked the Auburn organizers if they would arrange the return flight to Richmond in order to allow me to stay in New York throughout the day on Friday. This is the simple logistical background for my participation in this particular event. The organizing committee would occasionally contact me about the devel- opments in planning. One of the organizers, Asra Nomani, who was on a tour for her recent book publication, provided funds in order to actually assist the plan to come to fruition. I gave most of my energy to considering both the content of my Thursday evening lecture, and the substance of the
khutbah
. I had not forgotten the extent of the controversy that had followed the previous public announcement and participation in a similar invitation in South Africa more than a decade before. Thus, I was especially keen that I concentrate on the nature of public ritual as a performance directed toward Allah, rather than an act of defiance against those who have created the necessity for a gender
jihad
by simply denying women the full human dignity with which Allah has created us. My conclusion was to keep the prayer service as close as possible to the normative male privileged proced- ure, while contributing from my own female perspective, and encouraging greater gender parity in public ritual leadership.

When the organizers began to publicize the intention to have “the first” female-led Friday congregational prayer service with me as its leader, the climate also began to heat up. This increased the tension for me between potentially competing intentions. I deliberately chose to turn away any media attention focused my way. I agreed to participate in a press confer-

ence before the prayer as requested by the organizers. My

comments

included the comment that “The only thing different about this for me was that I do not do press conferences before prayer.” I followed that by saying, “After this, I will not be giving any more interviews.” For several months, I did not. However, in the first two weeks following the prayer, the requests flowed in with other responses to the prayer at a rate of about fifty a day.

When I left the press conference to observe the quiet time I needed before the actual prayer, the organizers fielded questions from the media and tried to get the prayer space set up. I reminded the organ- izers about the formal order of the Friday prayer ritual. This would challenge male hegemony, but not the other requirements of proper

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ritual performance. I explicitly mentioned that the second call to prayer should be given
after
I had walked to the front of the congregation, faced them, and pronounced the greeting: “
As-Salaamu Alaykum
, Peace be Upon You.” The young woman giving the call to prayer started to make that second call while I was on my way to the podium. To cover up this break, I had no recourse but to sit on my prayer rug facing the congregation with my head bowed until she finished. I then stood up to take the podium, facing the congregation using only handwritten notes. I will give a brief overview here, noting that between the large portions given in Arabic then translated into English, and the portions only in English, it would be cumbersome to attempt a whole reconstruction for inclusion here, as requested. All those parts recited in Arabic were followed by English trans- lation, nearly doubling the delivery time (while here I refer to their having been recited in Arabic). The text provided below is a nearly all English reconstruction for general readership.

Another Stand at the Podium,
Khutbah
to the

Salat-al-Jum‘ah
on March 18, 2005

(The beginning was recited in Arabic and translated into English.)

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all Worlds (or all alternative universal pos- sibilities). I begin in the name and praise of Allah
ta‘ala
. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, One, with no partners; and I bear witness that Muhammad, Ibn-‘Abd Allah, is the Prophet [and Messenger] of Allah. May Allah’s praise be upon him, and upon his
ahl
[people], and his [immediate] companions, and his wives, and upon all who follow

the guidance, [all of them] together until the day of reckoning; Amin.
22

Allah,
ta‘ala
says in the Qur’an, “Oh you who securely believe! If you hear the call to the
salah
on the day of the communal gathering (
al-jum‘ah
), hurry to the remembrance of Allah and leave aside your selling. That is better for you if you but knew” (62:9).
23

“Allah, there is no god but the God, [and] He/She/It is,” the Ever- Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All Being. Neither slumber over takes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. Who is there that could intercede with Him, unless it be by His leave? He knows all the lies open before [human beings] and all that is hidden from them, whereas they cannot attain to aught of His knowledge save that which He wills [them to attain]. His eternal power overspreads the

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heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And He alone is truly Exalted, Tremendous
24
(
ayat al-kursi
, 2:255).

Surely the men who surrender and the women who surrender, and the men who believe and the women who believe, and the men who obey and the women who obey, and the men who speak the truth and the women who speak the truth, and the men and the women who are patiently steadfast, and the men who are humble and the women who are humble, and the men who give in alms and the women who give in alms, and the men who fast and the women who fast, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who [guard their private parts], and the men who remember Allah abundantly and the women who

remember – Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a vast reward (33:35).
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I stand before you in all my imperfections and weaknesses confessing that I bear sincere love of Allah and love for all of Her
ayat
(signs). These signs are everywhere. The buds of many colors, including green, are now being born in my yard from trees and bushes; and early flowers like crocuses and daffodils follow the birth of the buds. These are part of Allah’s infinite mercy and their beauty reflects Allah’s Self- Disclosure.

Allah pre-existed the creation of this world and as Creator, according to the Qur’an, promised that guidance would come in countless forms for humankind – if we but think and reflect.

The greatest mercy and guidance in the form of Allah’s Self-Disclosure is, without a doubt, the gift of revelation; revelation or
wahy
, to actual human beings, some of whom were chosen as messengers, holding the responsibility to convey those messages to all of humanity. There is no one chosen people, exclusive members of one of the world’s many religions – some no longer in existence – some so widespread by numbers and powers that they look upon themselves as exclusively “the chosen.” The “chosen” are all of humanity. Anyone (and everyone) – whether existing before the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) or existing now, with no (direct or immediate) access to the special mission of the Prophet (a.s.) as
khatam al-anbiya
, seal of the prophets – is also chosen by the very gift of life that Allah has granted from three pronouns for God are indeed intentional of Its mercy and wisdom.

As Muslims we are fortunate to have Allah’s generosity in the form of the last known effort of revelation as Self-Disclosure (in words), the Qur’an al-Karim. So let us build upon that gift today. (Read in Arabic

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first: ) [Among His signs is that He] has created you from a single
nafs
and created from it, its mate: and spread from the two, countless men and women (4:1). This unity of origin, I would say, reflects two important implications, both extensions of the fundamental principle,
tawhid
: (1) of course Allah is One, Allah is Unique, Allah is united and Allah unifies (all things in creation); (2) no human being is ever the same as Allah, able to know or understand all of Allah’s intention for the creation of humans, or the entire cosmos. Yet all human beings have been granted the potential to experience at-one-ment with Allah for fleeting moments in the creation, and eternally
fi-l-akhirah
(in the Ultimate and Permanent End)

Since humans, created from a single soul, by a single Lord of love, mercy and power, one dimension of experiencing that one-ness is by living before, in surrender to, Allah
ta‘ala
, to practice the unity of human beings.
Tawhid
is the foundation of Muslim unity. Let us look at this
tawhidic
paradigm, as it relates to all human actions and interactions as well as to our gathering here today.

(Here I provided a succinct explanation of the
tawhidic
paradigm and horizontal reciprocity between any two humans, especially emphasizing between male and female humans, as detailed in chapter 1. The remainder of the
khutbah
was in Arabic, with the following English translations.
26
)

Unto such of them as may [yet] attain faith and do righteous deeds, Allah has promised forgiveness and a reward supreme. We seek forgiveness from Allah and we ask of Her special blessing and mercy and forgive- ness. Oh you who believe, seek forgiveness from Him, the Forgiver, the Bounteous. Our Lord, indeed I have wronged my soul a grave wrong and none forgives except You, so forgive me in this and in all things.

(Here, I sat sideways on the prayer mat and continued some personal remembrance, seeking more forgiveness and asking for guidance.)

The second and last part of the
khutbah
continued in Arabic and was delivered with the following translations:

Ya sin
is our roof and ceiling.
Kaf Ha Ya ‘Ayn Sad
are sufficient for us;
Ha Mim ‘Ayn Sin Qaf
are our supporters or advocates. Allah will make you sufficient unto them all, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower. The covering of the Divine Throne has come down upon us, and the Eye of Allah is watching us. With the Power of Allah, no one has power against us or over us.

Allah is enough for me! There is no deity save Him. In Him have I

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placed my trust, for He is the Sustainer, in awesome almightiness enthroned. In the Name of Allah, with Whose Name nothing on the earth and in the heaven can harm: and He is All-Hearing and All-Knowing. And there is no strength nor power save in Allah, the Sublime, the Tremend- ous. Limitless in His glory is the Sustainer, the Lord of Almightiness, [exalted] above anything that [human beings] may devise by way of definition. And Peace be upon all His message-bearers! And all praise is due to Allah alone, the Sustainer of all the worlds. And May Allah send blessings on our master, Muhammad, and on his family and people and companions and also peace.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Dispenser of Grace. O Allah, O Light, O Truth, O Obvious Manifest, shower me with Thy Light and teach me of Thy Knowledge, and make me understand of Thee, and make me hear Thee, and make me see Thee. Thou art Powerful over everything.

O Existent One, O Thou who art Present in all difficulties, O Thou of Hidden Kindness, of Subtle Making, O Gentle one, Who does not hasten, fulfill my need, with Thy Mercy, O Most Merciful of the Merci- fuls. Glory be to Thee on Thy Grace, after Thy Knowledge. Glory be to Thee on Thy Forgiveness, after Thy Power. But if those [who are bent on denying the truth] turn away, say: Allah is enough for me! There is no deity save Her. In Him have I placed my trust for It is the Sustainer, in awesome almightiness enthroned. There is none like Him, and He is the Hearer, the Knower.

Amin
.

Please join me in reciting al-Fatihah, the Opening chapter of the Qur’an.

Then I asked for the
iqamah
, immediate call preceding the prayer itself. I turned for the first time to face the
qiblah
(direction for prayer) toward the Ka‘abah in Makkah, and I made my silent prayer of intention and raised my head with my hands at the sides of my face to recite “
Allahu Akbar
” (God is greatest). I was shocked to find cameras and journalists directly in front of me! This was
not
where I wanted to direct my prayer. This was not something I had given consent to. As I struggled with this surprising distraction while continuing with the long-ago-memorized portions of the prayer, I finally stumbled over the last few lines of the
surah
I had selected for the first unit of the prayer. This was the same
surah
I used for leading large congregations approximately 90% of the time I would accept this role as prayer leader. This
surah
was also part of the sermon I had given in Cape

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