Hujjat al-Islam Shaikh Kadhim Siddiqi, the temporary Friday prayer leader in Tehran, congratulated the congregation on the birthday of Lady Fatima Al-Zahra (s) and presented a few important points to learn from her blessed life.
Stressing the important of the status of women in Islam, his eminence highlighted the status granted to Lady Zahra (s). He stated: “Lady Zahra (s) in her status is a complete reflection of the Divine.”
Hujjat al-Islam Shaikh Siddiqi highlighted the opposition of the western world to the true nature and status of women. He said: “The western world has done nothing but committed crimes and offences against women and has not served them in the slightest. They have transformed them into instruments to be used for selling goods or for seeking pleasure.”
The highly respected scholar saw this position of the west as part of a bigger injustice, not only towards women, but towards mankind as a whole. He explained: “In the western world, neither man nor woman has any value and they have brought humans, who are the expression of divine strength and divine characteristics to the level of animals and even lower than that.”
In reflection of the verse ‘Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do.’ Surah Nahl verse 97, the Hujjat al-Islam touched upon the relationship between the status of men and women in Islam. He said: “If a person carried out virtuous acts and scatters the seeds of virtuous acts in the ground of faith, they will reach heaven and in this matter there is no difference between man or woman.”
Hujjat al-Islam Shaikh Kadhim Siddiqi, finished this segment of his sermon by addressing the western world in regards to their treatment of mankind as a whole. His eminence concluded: “The western world should be ashamed at how low they have plunged the status of mankind and replaced the divine human values with an animalistic, satanic and fraudulent nature.