قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالى: أَنَا الرَّحْمنُ خَلَقْتُ الرَّحِمَ وَشَقَقْتُ لَهَا اسْمًا مِنِ اسْمِي، فَمَنْ وَصَلَهَا وَصَلْتُهُ وَمَنْ قَطَعَها قَطَعْتُهُ“
Allah the Exalted said, ‘I Am Ar-Rahman. I created the Raham (womb, i.e. family relations) and derived a name for it from My Name. Hence, whoever keeps it, I will keep ties to him, and whoever severs it, I will sever ties with him.” Hadith Tirmidhi (Sahih)(Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir)
I first came across this hadith a few years ago, while I was in the path of discovering my faith. I was at a stage where I was trying to understand the deeper meaning of the Basmalah, and came across this hadith that spoke of the relationship Allah’s سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى Names and the womb.
(To give what I’m about to write a better context, let me add that scholars have agreed that the Mercy that encompasses Ar Rahman is Mercy for all creations while Ar Raheem is Mercy that is exclusive to the believers.)
That scholarly conclusion, and the above hadith, has enlightened me on a particular aspect of Islam that is often put into spotlight by both believers and non-believers: women’s rights and empowerment.
What is the status of women in Islam?
It is hard to ignore the often misrepresented views about Islam being an oppressive religion to the female gender: Women are forced to wear the hijab, women cannot lead the prayer, women are not allowed to preside as a judge over court proceedings, women are not given the right to polygamy like men, none of the Islamic Prophets are men etc.
But its been proven by the scholars and historians that Islam gave women their liberty and rights. Countless examples were cited of women in Islam being pioneers of incredible achievements; The first person to convert and follow Prophet Muhammad’s (saw) teaching was a woman (who happens to be a successful business owner of her time). The most hadiths accounted for in Sunni tradition traces back to a woman. The world’s first university was founded by a Muslim woman. Even the first martyr of Islam was a woman.
I feel though that the hadith by Imam Tirmidhi cited above is perhaps the best example of a woman’s worth in Islam. To me, when Allah derived a name for the womb in His Name, it is not merely placing a word. He has in fact placed a very small piece of His Attribute into women, and ultimately into women’s instinct.
How else can you explain a mother’s compassion, love and mercy EXCLUSIVELY given to her child (a child of pure nature), other than attributing it to an act of God’s nature as Ar Raheem?
I remembered the stories my Mother told me of her sleepless night while she cradled me to sleep. I was such a sickly child; she said that if I am not asleep, I would be awake and crying. That care and love and patience was continuously poured on me until my health problems improved at the age of four.
When my cat gave birth to her four kittens (she was a rescue and was already pregnant when my wife and I picked her up), I witnessed for myself the kind of selfless instinct a mother cat has for her kittens. At the time of this writing, the same motherly behaviours were displayed at mealtimes: she let her kittens get to the food first before she does. Should anyone of her kittens be missing, she would have a lack of appetite to eat.She may not be human, but she does carry with her a womb. I doubt that exclusive instinct to let her kittens take the food first would not have taken over her if another cat in the vicinity attempts to steal the food instead.
It is far from being a conclusive scholarly context, but I guess what I am trying to say is this: We don’t actually need to dig too deep to see how Allah has perfected His Creations.
Even what is arguably the most commonly recited Quranic verse has something to teach us. Perhaps we could use a different set of eyes and heart to see and understand His Perfection. Only then can we truly understand His creation’s worth.
May Allah grant us the eyes to see and the hearts to understand.
And Allah knows best.
