Why does Sahil Adeem call 95% of Pakistani women Jahil?

Disclaimer: This article presents a certain point of view about women in a particular context, which does not mean that it nullifies, or invalidates a man’s responsibilities or duties. Surely, where a woman is taught about her rights, a man has to be knowledgeable about his rights to make the system work in harmony.

The biggest dilemma we have is the disclaimer that I had to give at the start of this article, the rest comes after it.

Starting from the fact, why that woman got triggered or was it even the right thing to say in the first place, or what should we do in such a case are all subjective questions. Everyone has their own opinion, understanding, and choice in such things - mainly depending on their upbringing, environment, friends, and life experiences.

The problem in understanding religion, trying to follow it properly, and having tolerance against others' perception of it, arises when the objective and the subjective mindset collide, and we fail to keep the two in their right places. And that is what most of us are going through. Our line between the objective and subjective understanding of religion has diminished to the point that we are unable to understand the adversity, and significance of the basics of the religion.

Recently, Instagram has been storming with the hot topic (in quotes) where a famous public speaker, psychologist, and preacher, Sahil Adeem said “95% of women in Pakistan are Jahil”, and a woman sitting in the audience got triggered and demanded an apology, but;

What does Jahil mean?

The word or the concept “jahalat” is used in the Quran many times, in different contexts, and some of those are, the sense of folly, stupidity, the sense of ignorance, and lack of knowledge. Here’s the thing, we need to learn about Islam. The first revelation was;

Read, in the name of your Lord.[96:1]

This emphasizes the importance of knowledge, and sorry to break it to you, the knowledge of deen comes first and above all other knowledge.

Another ayah states the purpose of our creation;

I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me.[51:56}

This tells us the purpose of our creation, to worship Allah, and it is not just the daily five prayers, it’s following the religion - for which we need to get knowledge of religion.

Yeah, I get it that education(worldly education) is necessary for a woman(and a man) to survive here, earn, and afford food and shelter, but all these things are needed to have a life that gives us freedom, space, and time to practice our religion in the best possible way.

But, where are we now? What has become our purpose? Money, status, fame, ego, personal desires, and personal gain.

There is no other way around that we need Islamic education. And especially, when we know that we live in a male-dominated society, and our system is corrupt, and there is Taghut(policies and systems that do not align with Allah’s commands), as Sahil Adeem has explained in this show.

A woman, a Muslim woman does not even know that no one is above Allah, no command is above Allah’s command, be it then a husband or a father, let alone we know our rights, and that surely is the lack of knowledge.

We cannot call lack of knowledge Jahalat. Jahalat is when we know that we need knowledge, but do not do anything for it. Jahalat is when we know that the rights that Islam has given to women are what we need to learn about, make an effort to practice and implement them, but we do nothing about it.

Who’s right and who’s wrong?

Speaking of women’s rights, and the main points that were being discussed in the show, two women asked questions in the audience, and the first girl who demanded an apology is a clear depiction of Jahalat, while, the questions that the second girl raised are real women rights questions.

Because if someone gets triggered by something that was nothing but a fact, it is personal trauma and insecurity. It’s the sense of knowing that one is doing something wrong, not enough, or could do better.

Women’s Rights in Islam vs. Modern Feminism!

The women’s rights that are being raised in the so-called women's march are totally against what Islam says about women.

Is it Allah’s Command or Mera Jism, Meri Marzi?

Women’s right isn’t “mera jism, meri marzi”. Even without explaining it, this slogan was and still is the most vulgar thing I have ever heard in my life. No, women cannot wear whatever they want, and there is no man involved in it. A woman should wear what Allah has commanded her to - this is the knowledge, power, and status a woman needs, a mere dress isn’t Islam, it’s just a part of it. Not knowing that is jahalat. Fighting with just a man for wearing something is just a waste of time, and it is jahalat that women don’t care, or ignore what Allah has commanded.

You know what women’s rights are, that they are not given jobs because they are covering themselves according to Shariah, which clearly states(based on human standards) that a woman who is in a burqa isn’t competent enough to work on good posts.

But fighting to be able to wear crop tops, and jeans, and show your body does not count in women's rights in a Muslim country. Women are being killed in the name of honor killing, and being denied their sharai rights, which are inheritance, family system, and education - who the hell cares about if you wear jeans or how much body you want to show - that’s a matter between you and Allah.

Is It Companionship or Apna Khana Khud Garam Kro?

Women’s right isn’t “apna khana khud garam kro”. Surely, this is a tough one, and it is not. When you have, let’s say even the basic knowledge of Islam, you know that you are not considered less doing something for your husband - and it can lead you to Jannah as well, if you are fulfilling your rights as a woman. It’s a partnership, not slavery, yes.

For this one, men also need to know that a woman is there for her as a wife to complete his religion, and not to just cook and clean to be worthy of being a good wife.

You now may wonder, what does jahalat have to do with this? Well, if a woman has enough knowledge of her religion, she knows what to look for in a man. What are the real standards in marriage, what is the most important duty of hers, raising righteous kids, and not competing with her husband?

I don’t hesitate to say, I was jahil that I did not know that Islam is against the joint family. I was a jahil, when I didn’t know that it’s the upbringing of kids is my utmost duty, and for which I will be answerable on the day of judgment. Jahalat is when a woman doesn’t know what to look for in a man while getting married. Jahalt is when a woman doesn’t know that she can demand for her mahr before consummating the marriage. Who is to be blamed here? The man? No, the other person is who he/she is. We can’t change people, but we can choose people. And damn, only if I knew my religion better.

Women Can Do It All. No!

Do not even get me started on “Women can do it all”. No a woman cannot do it all. On a very personal level, the women's rights Pakistani modern feminists who never even faced real problems, are fighting for have created more issues for women than solving any.

95% of Pakistani women are Jahil. Only if a woman, a Muslim woman, or a Pakistani woman knew even a little about their religion, they must have known and accepted that a woman has a certain place and particular roles, responsibilities, and position in society, and marriage - commanded and set by Allah.

A woman cannot do it all - even a man cannot do it all. When you disrupt a natural system, it brings chaos and nothing else.

A Woman Is Made For Home

When I say, a woman is made for home, it does not mean that she should be caged inside the home. Only an insane woman will get triggered by it. It means that a woman can embrace her femininity and womanhood in the setting of a home. You like it or not, but when a woman goes out and works between men, she doesn’t remain a woman in her true essence. Above that free mixing for a woman is not allowed by Allah, there is no man, society, or any movement that has any role in it. This is the role jahalat plays in this case.

And don’t tell me, the times have changed, or it’s a need. Times can change, but Islam for the end of times. This excuse just comes in when w do not want to take the right action or put an effort into creating a system that enables women to work from home, or in settings that do not have free mixing. Obviously, it requires so much work, and people are busy with worldly enjoyment.

If a woman, herself is not willing to or is ready to take that stand for herself, neither can she blame the man, nor the society or the time we are living in.

When a woman is taught, and brought out of jahalat, only then she can raise more women who know the rights given to her by Allah, her place in society, and her duties in a marriage - which automatically creates a huge force, and eventually a system that runs according to Shariah, Islam.

The practice of religion can be subjective, but Islam clearly(or for that matter, any religion) is objective.

The word Islam means submission - complete submission to Allah’s will and commands. Islam has given us some rules, some obligations, THE BOOK, and THE PROPHET to lay the whole blueprint of how to lead life, and what to do in legal, political, and personal matters.

Whether you like it or not, it benefits you or not, there is no, “I feel”, “in my opinion”, or “I think” in Islam - and that is not oppression. The biggest freedom any religion could have given is Islam. If this wasn’t the case, Allah never would have given us free will. Everything in the world has its consequences, we cannot only call out religion to be oppressive. We are lucky to be given Islam, we are lucky to be the Ummah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) - that we are sent with a full user manual.

You will not use a coffee machine to make a smoothie and then complain about it not working out for you. It’s an alarming situation for us that we get offended by things that should literally wake us up from this delusion the world has created for us.

And being a believer, I think no one should have any problem understanding that when you believe, and you submit, you do not question God Himself. You question yourself, you question the working of the system, you question why something isn’t making sense to you - you do not question.

And it is not the religion that is the problem, it is the system that is the problem. And it is our system that isn’t following Shariah, in many matters. To reform it, we need education.

And when you speak of women’s rights, you expect anyone to talk about the issues women have. So, saying 95% of women in Pakistan are jahil isn’t something to be triggered about. It is about understanding the severity of the issue and working towards it - not demanding an apology for stating facts.

When your boss tells you that you haven’t done something right, you don’t demand an apology from them, you work on doing it better! I mean like what? Why are people so insecure about themselves and their religion, or how they follow it?

No scholar in Pakistan or outside has ever forced anyone to follow a religion, they only preach, stating issues and problems, and what needs to be done.

We Pakistanis ignore the main issue, and we start fighting on that’s not the Sunnah way. I commented on one of the posts that Sahil Adeem said right, 95% of women are jahil in Pakistan. This wasn’t an insult directed towards someone, it was a major issue that he pointed out, and people started commenting that what he said, how he said, and even you agreeing with him isn’t following the sunnah. I mean, really?

What Sunnah do we talk about? It makes me crack up!

You know, sitting without a hijab in a free-mixing isn’t Sunnah as well. If we wanna talk about Sunnah, we need to start with following the religion as Allah and our Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) have told us to, you know.

The agenda should be “We women need Islamic education”, “we women need our basic Islamic rights”, “We women need only to be Islamic rulings being practiced”, and literally after that, we wouldn’t need anything else.

The slogan for Woman March in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan should be, “We, as Muslim women stand up for our exact rights given to us by Allah”.

When is woman is determined and is raised as a lioness of Islam, a woman of Sunnah, no man, no society can devour her rights. We need to rise above, man and woman. We need to rise above wanting equality with men. We need to rise and stand for “give us our rights given to us by Allah”.

Our slogan should be, “We need nothing, but what Allah has given us”. Pakistanis will always get triggered by any debate based on gender because the fear of losing and the ego of self is way too high in everyone.

Let’s leave the man and woman, and become furious for “we want what Allah has told us”.

What are your thoughts on this? Feel free to share in the comments.