A divorced woman's voice: Take my Mehr, return my youth

Aik Mutalqa Ki Sada (A Divorced Woman's Voice): Mera Meher Le Lo, Mera Shabab Lauta Do (Take my dower, return my youth)

Woh jab aayi thi, to us ke aanchal mein hazaron khwab thay, aankhon mein sitare thay aur chehre par woh shokhi thi jo sirf befikr betiyon ke hisse mein aati hai, us ne apna ghar chhora, apni pehchan chhori, aur aik aise shakhs ke supurd ho gayi jis ne usay amanat samajhne ke bajaye khel samajh liya. (When she came, there were thousands of dreams in her veil, stars in her eyes, and that playfulness on her face that only carefree daughters get. She left her home, left her identity, and surrendered herself to a person who considered her a *game* instead of a *trust*.)

Barson us ki khidmat mein guzar diye, apni khushiyan us ki thakan par qurban keen, us ke ghar ko ghar banane mein apni haddiyan pighla deen, aur jab waqt ne us ke chehre par thakan ki lakeeren khencheen aur baal chandi kiye, to us mard ne bari be niyazi se keh diya jao, mein ne tumhen azaad kiya. (She spent years in his service, sacrificed her happiness for his tiredness, melted her bones in making his house a home, and when time drew lines of fatigue on her face and turned her hair silver, that man said with great indifference, "Go, I have freed you.")

Woh aurat jo ab aaine mein khud ko pehchanne se qasir hai, woh jis ne apni jawani us shakhs ki dehleez par khairat kar di, aaj aik aisa sawal pooch rahi hai jis ka jawab kainat ke kisi qanoon ke paas nahi. (That woman who is now unable to recognize herself in the mirror, she who has given her youth as charity at the doorstep of that person, is asking a question today that no law of the universe has an answer to.) Tumhare diye hue meher ke chand sikke to mere hath mein hain, lekin woh jawani kahan hai jo tumhare bachon ko palne mein guzar gayi? Woh muskurahat kahan hai jo tumhari talkhiyon ki nazar ho gayi? Agar tum hisab barabar karna chahte ho, to meher ke sath mera woh shabab bhi lauta do jo ab kabhi wapas nahi aayega. (The few coins of the dower you gave are in my hand, but where is the youth that was spent raising your children? Where is the smile that was sacrificed to your bitterness? If you want to settle the account, then return to me that youth along with the dower that will never come back.) Islam ne aurat ko qawarir (nazuk aabgina) kaha tha, jise sanbhal kar rakhne ka hukum diya gaya tha, lekin jab aik mard apni taqat ke zaum mein aakar, sharai hudood ko pamal karte hue, kisi masoom ka dil torta hai aur usay be sahara chhorta hai, to Arsh-e-Ilahi laraz uthta hai. (Islam had called woman qawarir (fragile glass), which was ordered to be kept carefully, but when a man, in the pride of his power, violates the Sharia limits, breaks the heart of an innocent person and leaves her helpless, then the Throne of God trembles.)

Mazloom Ki Aah Aur Allah Ka Insaaf (The Sigh of the Oppressed and Allah's Justice)

Rasool Allah ﷺ ne farmaya: Mazloom ki baddua se bacho, kyunke is ke aur Allah ke darmiyan koi parda nahi hota, (Bukhari). (The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Beware of the curse of the oppressed, because there is no veil between him and Allah, (Bukhari).) Jab aik talaq yafta aurat raat ki tanhai mein apne zaya shuda barson ka hisab Allah ke samne rakhti hai, to us zalim mard ki pakar shuru ho jati hai, dunya mein shayad woh dusri shadi kar le, shayad woh khush nazar aaye, lekin Allah ki lathi be awaz hai. (When a divorced woman keeps the account of her wasted years before Allah in the solitude of the night, then the grip of that cruel man begins, perhaps he may remarry in the world, perhaps he may look happy, but Allah's stick is silent.)

Quran-e-Kareem mein irshad hai ke aurton ko bhale tareeqe se rakho ya ehsan ke sath rukhsat karo, jo mard sharai hudood tor kar, apni ana ki khatir ya kisi mamooli baat par zindagi bhar ka sath jhatke se khatam kar dete hain, woh qayamat ke din Allah ke samne ghadar (dhoke baz) ban kar khare hon ge. (It is stated in the Holy Quran that keep women in a good way or dismiss them with kindness, the men who break the Sharia limits, end the companionship of a lifetime with a jerk for the sake of their ego or on some trivial matter, they will stand before Allah on the Day of Judgment as traitors (deceivers).) Tareekh gawah hai ke jo shakhs kisi ki beti ya behan ka ghar ujarta hai, us ke apne ghar ka sukoon chheen liya jata hai, us ka anjam tanhai, zillat aur aisi be barkati hoti hai ke woh sab kuch hote hue bhi sukoon ko tarasta hai. (History is witness that the person who destroys the house of someone's daughter or sister, the peace of his own house is snatched away, his end is loneliness, humiliation and such a lack of blessings that even with everything, he longs for peace.)

Talaq sirf aik nikah ka tootna nahi hai, yeh aik insan ke maan ka tootna hai, meher to mehez aik raqam hai, lekin us aurat ka woh waqt, woh ehsasat aur woh jawani jo us ne aik zalim ke naam ki, us ka badla sirf Allah hi de sakta hai. (Divorce is not just the breaking of a marriage, it is the breaking of a person's honor, dower is just an amount, but only Allah can give the reward for that woman's time, those feelings and that youth that she named after a cruel person.) Woh shakhs kabhi kamyab nahi ho sakta jis ne kisi ke aansuon par apni khushi ki bunyad rakhi ho. (That person can never be successful who has laid the foundation of his happiness on someone's tears.)