Worldwide around 86% people are religious and follow any religion. In numerous countries, religion guides social behavior and plays an important role in daily life, including for children. A religion is a group of beliefs, rituals which consists of rules, stories and symbols which are adopted by the society, a group or a person. It may be a way of life and/or a search for answers regarding life and death. We notice that the notion of religious freedom is not universally recognized and people do not have the same freedom of religion from one country to another. Religion is very important for many societies; it allows children to learn morals, and answers questions regarding life and death, relationships between people and their place in the world, and notions of good and evil. The major religions of the world are based on ideals of wisdom, solidarity and justice. All this is transmitted to children by their family, school and society so that they may become wise and respectful. Islam the world’s fast growing religion and currently the world’s second-largest religion believes that the story of creation started with Allah alone. There was nothing else besides Him. The whole process—from the conception, to birth, to growth, and to the final stage of adulthood of the human being—appears to be no less than a miracle in itself. The story of creation appears to be a miraculous one, indeed. Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) outlined in a Hadith recorded by al-Tirmidhi that first, there was only Allah. There was nothing in the universe beside him. The first things he created were His throne (also known as ‘arsh), above water. Hence, these are the first two objects that He created. Allah created pen after the throne and water. This was to be used in the next step, which was to write down everything that will ever happen in the universe. Lawh al-Mahfooz also known as the “Preserved Tablet” has an important place in the story of creation. Once Allah ordained the measure of all things, the pen wrote them down. The tablet is “preserved” since it can not be changed. All things that have ever happened or are happening today or will happen tomorrow are available in the tablet. Muslims mustn’t get confused by this fact as some people think that preordainment means there is no free will for human beings. This is not the case. We do have a choice in matters, but Allah, due to His All-Encompassing Knowledge, already knows what will happen. Thus, it is all documented in Lawh al-Mahfooz. The story of the creation of the heavens and the Earth commenced after fifty thousand years of the penning of Lawh al-Mahfooz. Modern scientists believe that the world came into being courtesy of the “Big Bang.” Islam does not negate or confirm that. It is entirely possible that the Big Bang was Allah’s way of bringing the world into being. Allah says in Surah al-A’raf that He created the Heavens and the Earth in six days. Some Christians also believe that God created the world in six days. However, they offer a caveat: That God rested on the seventh day. This is not acceptable in Islam because Allah does not need rest. Rest is a necessity for human beings, which is derived from a weakness, i.e., tiredness. Allah says in holy Quran that He made all living things from water. Allah says that He made then sun and moon so that humans could keep count of time, years, etc. He created then Angles and Jinns. Allah created the angles from light and Jinn from a smokeless flame of fire. Allah then created humankind in this last phase of the story of creation. Adam (a.s.) was the first human He created. Allah narrated the story of Adam and mankind in detail in the Quran, and how Adam fell astray and failed to completely obey Allah as Allah told him to do. Thus began the history of humans on planet Earth as they sometimes obeyed Allah’s commands and sometimes fell astray, requiring prophets and messengers to bring them back to the straight path. Children’s are regarded as a gift of Allah and procreation is also a religious duty. In traditional societies, children signify economic resources since they work when very young to add to the family’s income. Further, they provide social security for aged, unemployed, and/or ill parents. Girl Child is one of the biggest blessings of Almighty Allah as a girl is the one who plays many roles in our lives. A girl is our mother, our sister, our wife, our grandmother and many more. In this world she is the cause of life as because of her we exist. This world of Homo sapiens is just because of her. The Creator of universe has made all things bright and a female is never an exception as they are an integral part of life. There is no blessing like mothers at home! The practical and scientific fact is man’s existence on earth is dead impossible without Girls. We all relish the solace of womanhood through a darling daughter, or a loving younger sister, or a caring elder sister, or an affectionate mother or a romantic/beautiful life partner as a peace for men. In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to Allah is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur’an says: And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (2:226) The Qur’an says that women have souls in exactly the same way as men and will enter Paradise if they do good: Enter into Paradise, you and your wives, with delight. (43:70) Who so does that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, him or her will We quicken to happy life. (16:97) In fact, existence of the human race on earth is impossible without the equal participation of both, boy and the girl as both are equally responsible for the existence of the human race on earth as well as the growth and development of any country. However, there is no doubt in saying that a woman is more necessary than man because without it we cannot think of the continuation of the human race as it gives birth to man. In the midst of a deeply sexist historical context, the Prophet (peace be upon him) preached boldly on the importance of girl, celebrating their contributions to family and society, condemning the ill-treatment of them and campaigning for their rights. In the history of Islam, The first person to embrace Islam was a woman; Khadija (R.A), The greatest scholar of Islam was a woman; Aisha(R.A) and The person who loved the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the most was a Woman; Fatima (R.A). Considering the fact that before the advent of Islam the pagan Arabs used to bury their female children alive, make women dance naked in the vicinity of the Ka’ba during their annual fairs, and treat women as mere chattels and objects of sexual pleasure possessing no rights or position whatsoever, these teachings of the Noble Qur’an were revolutionary. Unlike other religions, which regarded women as being possessed of inherent sin and wickedness and men as being possessed of inherent virtue and nobility, Islam regards men and women as being of the same essence created from a single soul. The holy Qur’an says: O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate, and from this pair scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence Allah, through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and reverence the wombs (that bore you); for Allah ever watches over you. (4:1) The Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) said, “Women are the twin halves of men.” The Qur’an emphasizes the essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful simile: They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187) Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering into the relationship of marriage, secure each other’s chastity. The garment gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife’s company and she in his. “The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to them.” Islam does not consider woman “an instrument of the Devil”, but rather the Qur’an calls her muhsana – a fortress against Satan because a good woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said: “The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman. He once told the future khalif, ‘Umar: “Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her.” In Hindu history, the basic principles governing the roles of girls were set forth in the laws of Manu. The ancient code specified that women must be honoured and adorned by their fathers, brothers, husbands and brothers-in-laws who desired their own welfare. “Where girl is honoured, there the gods are pleased. Where they are not honoured, no sacred rite yields rewards”.
The theme of the year 2022 Girl’s Day has not been announced yet. In brief, Love and respect women folk. Look to her not only for comfort but for strength and inspiration and the doubling of your intellectual and moral powers.
that daughters are indeed a source of blessings from Allah (swt), therefore if a daughter is born in someone’s home, he should not be saddened by this, instead he should rejoice and thank Almighty Allah (swt), for his great blessings. How can a girl be inferior when a place in paradise is being promise against them? One must never feel saddened by the birth of a girl child as being saddened by the birth of daughters was the practice of Non- Believers (kuffars). It is important to mention that being a girl is not easy. There are different issues that hinder the growth. There are laws that ban sex-determination of a foetus and selective abortion, this practice continues in the shadows. This not only negatively impacts the number of girls born, but also affect the health and safety of the mother. Child marriage is the second biggest hurdle faced by a girl worldwide. Rape is one of the most significant issues that are faced by girls or women in India. Latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau also reveals that kidnapping, abduction and sexual offenses against children were among the top two crimes committed against children. 28% of all rape victims were girls under age 18 and out of total number of children that went missing in the year 2018, 70% were girls. Apart from these there are many issues that a girl or woman faces, like dowry deaths etc. In India every year 24 January is celebrated as National Girl Child Day. Today the daughters of the country have a share in almost every field, but there was a time when people used to kill daughters in their womb. Even when daughters were born, they were pushed into the fire of child marriage. Since the independence of the country, the Government of India had been trying against discrimination between daughters and sons, against the atrocities faced by them. In India many schemes and laws were implemented to bring daughters to the first rank. For this purpose, the celebration of National Girl Child Day was started in 2009. The Ministry of Women and Child Development celebrated Girl Child Day for the first time in the country on 24 January 2009. There is a special reason to celebrate 24 January every year as Girl Child Day in India. This reason is related to Mrs Indira Gandhi, who in 1966, was sworn in as the first woman Prime Minister of the country. The main purpose of celebrating this day is to make the people as well as a girl child of the country aware of their rights. Every year on this day state governments organize awareness programs in their respective states. Every year the theme of National Girl Child Day is different. The theme of Girl Child Day 2021 was ‘Digital Generation, Our Generation’. The theme of Girl’s Day in the year 2020 was ‘My voice, our common future’. The theme of the year 2022 Girl’s Day has not been announced yet. In brief, Love and respect women folk. Look to her not only for comfort but for strength and inspiration and the doubling of your intellectual and moral powers.
(The authors write regularly on “Islamic topics” exclusively for “Kashmir Horizon” for their own)
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