Wednesday 27 August 2008

A dialogue between a Flower and a Pearl

One day, a brilliantly beautiful and fragrant flower with attractive colors met a pearl that lives far in the bottom of the sea and has none of these characteristics. Both got acquainted with each other. The flower said: "Our family is large; roses and daisies are members of the family. And there are many other species that are various and countless; each has a distinctive scent, appearance etc." Suddenly, a tinge of distress appeared on the flower.

"Nothing accounts for sorrow in your talk; so why are you depressed?"The pearl asked.

"Human beings deal with us carelessly; they slight us. They don't grow us for our sake but to get pleasure from our fragrance and beautiful appearance. They throw us on the street or in the garbage can after we are dispossessed of the most valuable properties; brilliance and fragrance."The flower sighed.

And then the flower said to the pearl: "Speak to me about your life! How do you live? How do you feel it? You are buried in the bottom of the sea."

The pearl answered: "Although I have none of your distinctive colors and sweet scents, humans think I am precious. They do the impossible to procure me. They go on long journeys, dive deep in the seas searching for me. You might be astounded to know that the further I lay, the more beautiful and brilliant I become. That's what upraises my value in their thought. I live in a thick shell isolated in the dark seas. However, I'm happy and proud to be in a safe zone far from wanton and mischievous hands and still the humans consider me highly valuable".

Do you know what the flower and the pearl symbolize?The Flower is the UnHijabed Woman and the Pearl is the Hijabed Woman.

Courtesy Cloey

11 comments:

Hadi said...

Very nice

Saira Andleeb said...

Nicely written but i dont agree with the analogy.

"Human beings deal with us carelessly; they slight us. They don't grow us for our sake but to get pleasure from our fragrance and beautiful appearance. They throw us on the street or in the garbage can after we are dispossessed of the most valuable properties; brilliance and fragrance."The flower sighed.

Unhijabed women is not treated that way, a prositute is and i think there's a difference! Also not all men treat all women that way !

Also its a matter of Hijab being not just an outer covering but more than that !

Let me tell you something from personal experience: I started observing hijab some 7 years back, by wrapping myself in a "chador". I stopped covering that way 2 years back. Sadly in those initial 3-4 years of covering myself, people confused me for a courtesan ... why ! probably because courtesans in this region cover/hide themselves that way. I have had men approaching me asking me for my rate to men trying to stop their cars for me asking me to come with them!

Though i dont cover my head anymore but for some reason im no more treated as a whore ! ... I dont encourage not taking hijab in any way, but i disagree and dislike the analogy in this post. Excuse my ignorance; may be i dont understand it fully.

God bless us all with the faith, strength and ease to observe Hijab in its truest form, ameen ! :)

Syra said...

Saira mara, you can't generalize but yes exceptions are there. I have a friend in Europe who tells me that unfortunately women are treated like toys there..and yes you are right reaction towards hijab is different in different parts of the world.
Hijab adds to a woman's honor.
I pray we all understand that..and that's the part of article i liked. Also covering head is only one element of Hijab. Modest dressing, way of conversing, adab of interacting with the opposite gender are all elements of Hijab.
Ameen to your prayer.

M. Hassan M. said...

Hijab is something inside the person. Perhaps covering oneself would keep some people to approach one but it can't guarantee that they respect too.

Men with good faith would never do any harm anyway. Men with corrupted faith WOULD do either way. SO whats more important !!!

Important is the faith you have within your heart. Wear hijab not for MEN but for ALLAH.

AND HIJAB MEANS MUCH MORE THAN JUST COVERING ONESELF WITH CLOTH !

Syra said...

yes sir, that's what i was trying to say too. :)

Saira Andleeb said...

Thats exactly what i meant to say "Also its a matter of Hijab being not just an outer covering but more than that !"
it cant be generalised :)

Anonymous said...

How much we care for what people say, they regarded u as a courtesan n unfortunately lead u to abandon ur hijab... What about what Allah wants you to do..??? cover yourself with a hijab NOT just limited to cloth....

But did u know everyday u took chadar and ppl ttok u as as courtesan..but u still persisted... how much wud that have raised ur status in Allah's eyes..??

It was bad wat happened to you Muslim sister....


Hassan brother... hijab is more than just cloth.... but just imgine two women with same level of morality and sense of "dil ka parda" one wears scarf & hijab other does not... whom exactlt do you think will be treated with more respect??

Saira Andleeb said...

We agree with you,Anonymous.
We are all supporters if hijab.

Everytime we are unable to do something that God has ordained,its cos of our weak faiths, nothing else ... but i still don't like the flower analogy here :)

God bless us all with the faith, strength and ease to observe Hijab in its truest form, ameen ! :)

Peace !

Anonymous said...

Ameen! Well as far as flower analogy is concerned maybe it aint entirely in perfect synch with the situation as yeah not all women get that bad a treatment. Fortunately our country is one of very few countries where women still get respected n favoured to some extent.

Abroad... in a more so called liberal countries... see how they portray a woman... she's a product, a product seller, an ITEM on whose behalf they sell their petty stuff... she's an object to be showed off... she's a market attractor... in form of models. Where is the element of respect involved when you get to see advertisements with a car and a model with a tag line "want a test drive? the girl or the car?"

Do you actually think such low degradations of womanhood would have ever been possible if only women would not have let themselves step out of the protective shield Islam gave them in the form of Hijab.

However I do differ with one aspect of the flower's description. They are mistreated by someone else not by their consent... but in case of women I think they have let themselves be mistreated on their own.

And may Allah bless us all a strong faith in Islamic teachings!

Burhan Habib said...

Well, while there lies a big confusion between the chastity and oppression of women!

I personally believe, mankind by nature is a diehard disciple of the basic law of economics...

Whatever is easily accessible, viewable, consumable, carries a lower cost, is valued less, and is abused the most!

All that is concealed, protected, and rare is what mankind respects, values, and reveres!

The flower's analogy may be percieved as a very harsh one, but the fact remains... one is either valued, or otherwise, taken for granted!

And the bottomline is not the demand and value that is sanctioned by the mankind... what matters is how much value and reputation one carries to the hereafter!

It's as simple, yet confusing as the following statement:

"There are 10 types of people in this world... those who know binary! And those who don't!"

Syra said...

very well said (Y)