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WIDOW
REHABILITATION
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It
should have become clear to the reader by now that
Islam takes very good care indeed of its women. But
the best part is reserved for the widows. Of all the
calamities that can befall a woman, widowhood is perhaps
the worst. In some civilizations, her presumed 'sins'
are held to be the cause of the husband's death. She
is considered to be inauspicious. Her head may be
shaven or she could be just abandoned at Allahabad
or Brindaban, utterly destitute. The widows distress
is real and pitiable.
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Islam sets out to redress her lot, with a firm hand.
A woman is not considered inauspicious if widowed.
Her remarriage is assiduously encouraged, even if
she is past the nubile age. Rehabilitation of widows
particularly war widows, is considered to be repayment
of society's debt.
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The Prophet is regarded by all Muslims to be the role
model par excellence, to be emulated wherever possible.
When he was a young man he married a widowed lady,
senior to him in age. For the next twenty-four years,
till her demise, no other woman entered his life.
By coincidence, just then the problem of war widows
had, for the first time begun to loom before the fledgling
Muslim community.
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Widowed during the Abyssinian exile, Sauda was an
elderly lady who came back. Widowed in a foreign
land, while already a refugee, she was in desperate
state. As always, the Prophet set a personal example
to the Ummat by marrying her. The first battle of
Islam, Badr, now took place. Zainab d/o Khuzaima,
who had already been widowed once, lost her second
husband at Badr. Widowed twice, she was utterly
destitute till the Prophet married her. Within a
year of Badr, almost to the day, came the second
battle of Islam's survival, Uhad. The Muslim losses
were five times those killed at Badr and the problem
of war widows became serious. Once again, the Prophet
showed the way by marrying Hafsa.
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