Dear Honorable Sisters,
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, his family, his companions, and those who follow him. To proceed:
Indeed, O sisters, you are from a great Ummah:
كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ
"You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah." (Al-Imran [3]: 110)
An Ummah whose roots are deeply struck in history, which illuminated the world with the light of Islam and the justice of its rules... an Ummah that was empowered by its Deen, where both its men and women were addressed equally by the rules of their Lord, supplicating to Allah the Almighty for the reward of this world and the Hereafter. He, Glory be to Him, answers them—men and women—by His grace and favor:
رَبَّنَا وَآتِنَا مَا وَعَدْتَنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ 194 فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِنْكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى بَعْضُكُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ
"Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers and do not disgrace us on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, You do not fail in [Your] promise. And their Lord responded to them, 'Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another.'" (Al-Imran [3]: 194-195)
In this way, the Ummah was empowered by its men and women, racing towards forgiveness from their Lord and a Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous. They succeeded in this world and will succeed in the Hereafter, Allah willing. Their Islam removes darkness and illuminates the earth, and their Khilafah establishes truth and spreads justice. Their Khalifah would address the clouds, saying, "Rain wherever you wish, for the place where your drops fall is the abode of Islam!" Their Khilafah continued to establish justice and spread goodness throughout the world until there came after them successors who neglected the Khilafah and lost the ruling of Islam. The Messenger of Allah (saw) spoke truthfully regarding them:
لَتُنْقَضَنَّ عُرَى الْإسلام عُرْوَةً عُرْوَةً، فَكُلَّمَا انْتَقَضَتْ عُرْوَةٌ تَشَبَّثَ النَّاسُ بِالَّتِي تَلِيهَا، وَأَوَّلُهُنَّ نَقْضًا الْحُكْمُ وَآخِرُهُنَّ الصَّلَاةُ
"The knots of Islam will be undone one by one. Each time a knot is undone, the people will cling to the next one. The first of them to be undone is the ruling (Al-Hukm), and the last of them is the prayer (As-Salah)." (Reported by Ahmad)
Consequently, their lands were torn into more than fifty fragments, and their resources were plundered. After they used to hold firmly to Islam, they began to neglect it. Thus, it became easy for the disbelievers to invade them with thought before weapons, spreading falsehoods and delusions among them—sometimes by their own hands and tongues, and at other times through their tools, followers, and agents...
The state of these people has reached the point where they aim their arrows at Islam and Muslims, claiming that the woman in Islam is deprived of her rights, a prisoner in her home, with no role in family life and no value or weight in political affairs! And who says this? It is said by those who trample upon the dignity of women, considering them a commodity in advertising and promotion, and a source of pleasure for every person. They want them to be among them "clothed yet naked," and they estimate their value by the measurements of their perishable bodies!... It is said by those who make women toil and suffer just to survive; if she does not work, she finds no one to spend on her; rather, she eats at the expense of her dignity while they amuse themselves with her! It is said by those who have corrupted women with Western civilization, wasting their dignity so they are bought and sold through their bodies in the home, the market, and the workplace... They have oppressed women among themselves until she has become in need of someone to rescue her from the hell of the corrupt Western civilization, and in need of someone to liberate her from the ruined and stagnant concepts of the colonialist disbelievers, which make them see the woman’s khimar as backwardness, while seeing her revealing many times more of her body than she covers as progress! They see the formation of a family from a man and a woman through a valid contract as a traditional matter whose time has passed, while the formation of a family from a man and a woman without marriage—and even from the same sex—is considered by them a sophisticated family for which hands clap and tongues cheer! Truly, their values are disturbed and their understanding is diseased. Allah, the Lord of the worlds, spoke the truth:
لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا أُولَئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ
"They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the heedless." (Al-A'raf [7]: 179)
Dear Honorable Sisters:
Islam elevated the status of women at a time when the status of women in other nations was between that of animals and humans—not only in the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) but even in the two greatest empires of that time, Persia and Rome, where she was valued even less than in the Jahiliyyah! Even today, among the followers of Western civilization, she is, in the vast majority of cases, a body bought and sold to promote trade or for pleasure. A woman’s worth to them is based on beauty, wealth, or the reputation of a husband or father... and rarely is it for creativity in work, speech, or knowledge.
As for the woman in Islam, her right is established in the Sharia rules; it is not for beauty or wealth, nor for lineage or status, but because she is a human being, a servant of Allah, just as her brother the man is a human being and a servant of Allah... This is how the Messenger (saw) established it by saying:
نَعَمْ. إِنَّمَا النِّسَاءُ شَقَائِقُ الرِّجَالِ
"Yes, indeed women are the counterparts of men." (Narrated by Abu Dawood)
And he (saw) enjoined regarding them in the Farewell Pilgrimage:
اسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّسَاءِ خَيْرًا...
"Treat women well..." (Reported by Ibn Majah)
Dear Honorable Sisters:
The woman in Islam is Khadija (ra), the believer who supported the Messenger of Allah (saw) since his mission began... She is Sumayyah, the first martyr in Islam, a carrier of the da’wah, strong and patient... She is Umm Umarah and Umm Mani’, who gave the pledge (bay'ah) to the Messenger (saw) in the Second Pledge of Aqaba for support (nusrah) and ruling... She is Aisha, Mother of the Believers (ra), the scholar and jurist, the narrator of Hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (saw)... She is Rufayda al-Aslamia, the pioneer of medicine in Islam... She is Umm Salama, Mother of the Believers, with her wise counsel at Hudaybiyyah...
The woman in Islam is Khawla bint al-Azwar, who fought against captivity with her sisters, escaping the enemies without fear or hesitation, because she was strong through her Lord and dignified through her Deen; this world was insignificant to her in the sake of Allah... The woman in Islam is the Khansa of Qadisiyah, whose four sons were martyred in the path of Allah, and she praised Allah Who honored her with their martyrdom... The woman in Islam is the one who stood before Umar in his house, arguing and discussing with him until he said: "By Allah, in the Jahiliyyah, we did not consider women to have any standing until Allah revealed concerning them what He revealed and assigned for them what He assigned..." The woman in Islam is the one who stood before Umar in the house of Allah, holding him to account, prompting him to say: "A woman is correct and Umar is mistaken."
The woman in Islam is the judge, Ash-Shifa bint Abdullah... She is the one who elects the Khalifah; Abdur-Rahman bin Awf asked her for her opinion on the Khalifah after Umar—whether it should be Uthman or Ali (ra)—just as he asked the men equally. This occurred at a time when rulers in other nations were almost like gods, accepting no one’s opinion in their crowning, election, or pledge.
The woman in Islam is Fatima az-Zahra (ra), who raised the two masters of the youth of Paradise, al-Hassan and al-Hussain (ra)... She is Zainab bint Ali, who, emerging from the tragedy of Karbala, stood before Yazid, rebuking him with the harshest words for his usurpation of authority and the killing of al-Hussain (ra).
Dear Honorable Sisters:
This is one aspect, where Islam raised her status within herself, her home, and her Ummah; the evidence for this is more famous than a fire atop a mountain.
From another aspect, the woman in Islam is the pivot of the Islamic State in terms of care and protection... Islam did not mandate that she work to provide for herself; rather, it gave her the choice—if she wishes, she works, and if she does not wish, she does not work, because her maintenance is upon a father, a brother, or a husband. If none exist, then the Khalifah is her guardian... so she is not exposed to misery and hardship to live... The Khalifah carries her provisions on his own back if she is hungry, and the Khalifah leads an army for her victory if she seeks help, answering "Wa Mu'tasimah" (O Mu'tasim) if it is uttered... A single cry from a woman made Muhammad bin Qasim, the leader of the Muslim army, shake the throne of the King of Sindh because he had detained Muslim women and taken them as captives... And the lack of security for a woman led Qutaiba, the leader of the Muslims, to seize a man who had terrified her, refusing the treasures of gold and silver offered by that wretch as a ransom for himself. Instead, Qutaiba refused and said: "No, by Allah, a Muslim woman shall never be terrified because of you again," and he ordered him to be executed.
This is the woman in Islam: a carrier of the da’wah, a supporter of the Prophethood, firm upon the truth, the first martyr and the first doctor in Islam, the scholar and jurist, the brilliant politician, raising and playing with the child, and at the same time electing the ruler and holding him to account... She is the judge of standing, and the honor that must be protected.
Dear Honorable Sisters:
That was the Muslim woman in the era of Prophethood, the Rightly Guided Khilafah, and those who followed them in excellence. She will return as such, Allah willing, in the era of the second Rightly Guided Khilafah: strong, patient, speaking the truth, and not fearing the blame of any critic for the sake of Allah. We see the precursors of this today; she has contributed effectively to removing the thrones of tyrants in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen... and she, alongside her brother the man, confronts the tyrant of Sham without being held back by tribulations... She is the one who has trampled underfoot the slanders spread by capitalist secularists claiming that the Muslim woman, in her Sharia dress, cannot engage in political work—may Allah destroy them, how they are deluded!
Their slanders have vanished into thin air, and they were shocked by the ranks of revolutionary women and their roaring chants... They see the scene before them led by those wearing the khimar, the jilbab, the murut, and the niqab. Among them, there are only a few who are otherwise!
This is the Muslim woman committed to her Deen, whether in the lands of the Arabs or the non-Arabs: from Indonesia in the East where the Pacific Ocean borders, to the outposts of Morocco in the West where the Atlantic shores lie, and from Central Asia in the North where the tyrants of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan rule, to Mauritius in the South in the depths of the Indian Ocean... You see her in the heart of the Arab lands resisting the Zionist occupation of the Blessed Land, Palestine, entering prisons and being tortured. You also see her in the heart of the non-Arab lands resisting the oppression of the tyrants in Central Asia, entering prisons and being tortured... In both cases, she does not fear the blame of any critic for the sake of Allah.
Dear Honorable Sisters:
This is the woman in Islam; it is you who work for the Khilafah, the strongest political action in the Ummah. It is you in this conference of yours, the International Women's Conference on the Khilafah... You are reviving the legacy of the woman in Islam: the carrier of the da’wah, the patient believer who raises generations and produces heroes... who guards her home, advises her Ummah, is aware of the rules of her Deen in economy, education, and social relations, and stands guard over the security of her Ummah in internal and external politics... working to establish the Khilafah and elect the Khalifah—the scholar, the jurist, and the politician.
Someone might say that Hizb ut Tahrir did not suffice with mobilizing men to work for the Khilafah but mobilized women as well. We say that working for the Khilafah is an obligation upon every capable person, man or woman, whether before the establishment of the Khilafah—as evidenced by the participation of women with men in the pledge to the Messenger (saw) on the day of the Second Aqaba, the pledge of support for establishing the State in Medina—or after its establishment, as evidenced by the action of Abdur-Rahman bin Awf in the presence of the Sahaba, asking women and men alike in the election and pledge of the Khalifah: Ali or Uthman, after Umar (ra).
Furthermore, we work for the Khilafah, men and women, because it is the obligation of the Lord of the Worlds and the source of pride for the Muslims. We are confident of its return, for the Messenger (saw) gave us the glad tidings that after the knot of ruling is undone at the hands of the tyrants of oppressive rule, the ruling will return to being purely Islamic for Allah and His Messenger once again—a Khilafah upon the method of Prophethood after this oppressive rule. This is recorded by Imam Ahmad and the Musnad of At-Tayalisi from the Hadith of Hudhayfah (ra), who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
إِنَّكُمْ فِي النُّبُوَّةِ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةٌ عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ، فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكًا عَاضًّا، فَيَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ جَبْرِيَّةً، فَتَكُونُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ تَكُونَ، ثُمَّ يَرْفَعُهَا إِذَا شَاءَ أَنْ يَرْفَعَهَا، ثُمَّ تَكُونُ خِلَافَةٌ عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ النُّبُوَّةِ
"Prophethood will remain among you for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will raise it when He wills to raise it. Then there will be a Khilafah upon the method of Prophethood and it will remain for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will raise it when He wills to raise it. Then there will be biting kingship, and it will remain for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will raise it when he wills to raise it. Then there will be oppressive kingship, and it will remain for as long as Allah wills it to remain. Then Allah will raise it when He wills to raise it. Then there will be a Khilafah upon the method of Prophethood." Then he remained silent.
In conclusion, I ask Allah (swt) for your conference—the International Women's Conference on the Khilafah titled "The Khilafah: A Radiant Model for Women's Rights and Political Role"—success and prosperity. May your next meeting be under the shade of the banner of the Uqab, the banner of La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasul Allah. May you have the reward and victory twice: the first during your work for the Khilafah in difficult circumstances, and the second during your witnessing of the Khilafah when it is established and the earth shines with its light. And that is not difficult for Allah.
The finest conclusion is clear verses for men and women alike:
إنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
"Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward." (Al-Ahzab [33]: 35)
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.