Surah Nissa in the Quran begins with the following verse: O mankind fear your Guardian Lord who created you from a single person, created out of it His mate and from them scattered like seeds countless men and women – fear Allah through whom you demand your mutual rights and be heedful of the wombs that bore you for Allah ever watches over you.

So we know at this moment Allah is watching over us and I believe from my heart and soul that Allah made us equal in creation and wanted all of us to have this equality that is denied to many women today. What we are doing today is not re-inventing our own tradition, rather following in the tradition, the sunnah of the prophet. And how auspicious is this occasion today, being the birth anniversary of our beloved Prophet who is a mercy for all humankind.

The Quran say in surah 2: verse 151 : Even as we have sent among you a messenger from among you who recites to you our communications and purifies you and teaches you the book and the wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know.

What many people don’t know for example is that the early mosque was not only a place for prayer for women, but was a centre for many other activities as well. It functioned as the school, where people learned their religion, and the parliament, where the community discussed new laws and affairs of the state. It was also the courthouse, where judgments were passed and the community center, where families met their friends and neighbours and held their celebrations.

In short, it was the hub and centre of public life for the emerging Muslim nation and women were active participants. It’s sad that today women have been delegated to the back benches of the mosques and therefore we have to find safe spaces like this one.

I’m often asked where I get the strength of conviction that I’m doing the right thing. I’m inspired by the first woman of Islam – hazrat Khadija – uumul momineen – mother of believers – it is said that her wealth could cover the grounds around the Kaaba – yet she donated her assets to build that small Muslim community which desperately needed her support.

I’m motivated by Bibi Fatima who relayed the Prophets sermons to the larger community and tradition records that when she entered the room, the prophet stood up in respect. I draw strength and courage from Bibi Zainab shook the court of Yazid with her impassioned khutba after the tragedy of Karbala.

I’m impressed by Hazrat Ayesha, a theologian and narrator of hadeeth. So we see a woman building an empire through her financial status, a woman stabilizing that empire though her piety and a woman shaking an empire though her passion for truth and justice.

There are stories of strong women in the Quran – stories of marry, mother of Jesus, Bilquis, the queen Sheba and mother of mosses to name just a few.

Later a considerable number of women of the ninth and tenth centuries are mentioned in the Arabic and Persian sources for their extraordinary achievements in mysticism as well as being poets, calligraphers or jurists.

As we look into the hidden pages of history (stress on hidden) we find many powerful women who were leaders. In political life, there have been no less than 40 female heads of state. 15 of them were formal sultanas or queens who had the khutba (friday sermon) pronounced in their names and whose insignia was minted on coins.

And who can forget, Rabia al Basri, the first mystic of Islam who cries out so poignantly to Allah:

O my lord,if I worship you from fear of hell, burn me in hell. If I worship you from hope of paradise, bar me from its gates. But if I worship you for yourself alone, grant me then the beauty of your face.

Today I feel moved that we are gathered here to submit to Allah and pay tribute to His loving Prophet Mohammad. When we celebrate the Prophets life, we celebrate the women of his family and the other women of Islam. Women who took their direction from him – a man who is a mercy for our hearts in allowing them to open up on truth in all aspects of life, and a mercy for our hearts making them full of love for all people, and a mercy for our lives as we seek to establish justice in our relations.

Prophet Mohammad taught us many things, but one important lesson is that the more you live the greatness of God in you, the more pious and god loving you become. You would know the meaning of being a human being as well as how much every human being needs Allah and how all human beings are equal before him, with the most pious among them becoming the closest to Allah.

Second Khutba

My friends the greatest jihad – inner struggle for us today, is the jihad to speak the truth. And speaking truthfully irrespective of the consequences means not condemning anyone or passing judgement on anyone for Allah has clearly said in surah baqarah:

Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error. Whoever rejects Shaitan and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never breaks. And Allah knows and hears all things.

Where we find ourselves short is the ability to speak the truth, even in front on an unjust ruler. Our easiest escape is to blame the west for all the ills of the east, we have to search our own souls and ask ourselves where in this holy book does it say that we have to be addressed every Friday by bigots, hypocrites, liars and give unholy allegiance to the despotic rulers we have today in the Muslim kingdoms? Where does it say that women can’t drive? Forget leading prayers, most women can’t even enter a mosque except by the kitchen. Where does it say to look down upon and humiliate people who don’t conform to our way of thinking? We know where this comes from but as they say in Canada, we won’t even go there.

We’ll concentrate on the fact that the Quran repeatedly reminds us that humanity in one community. Being an interfaith advocate let me assure you that all is not doom and gloom. Each religion has its own problems to deal with and we should leave it to them to sort out, while we concentrate on
ours. If we stop following the principal of amal bil maroof – nahi n=anal munkir – enjoin that which is good and condemn that which is wrong – we will always give others an excuse to usurp our lands, widow our women and orphan our children.

Today it doesn’t matter who leads prayers. This event is just to break the domination of a few misguided bigots who try to reduce God to a policeman and who’s only interest in ‘profit’ is the kind that comes out of their bank account.

So each one of us today is empowered to take with us a message of Peace, justice, equality, tolerance, compassion and open mindedness. This is not my message or that of our host – this is the message of the book!

After Namaz Dua

Dear God

You create us from One soul
Breathe into us of Your Spirit
And make us your Deputies on earth
You urge us to seek You in every way
To call upon You, to remember You
And to meditate and reflect on Your signs.
You urge us to know You, to discern,
And to understand with pure awakened hearts
That the distance between us is only a Prayer

In return You promise us everlasting bliss,
peace and eternal life
What more can we ask for?
Yet we continue to forget your remembrance!
One message since the beginning of time
Different Emissaries and Holy Books
One God, one Soul, one Nation, one Faith
Faith in you, O Beloved Creator...

AMEEN