It is a matter of great happiness for me and for my brothers of The Pioneer that Almighty Allah (SWT) has graciously made it possible for us to produce this important piece of work. In fact, from time to time, we publish a magazine entitled The Pioneer, which is the name of our organization also. But considering the seriousness of the gender issue, we are producing this issue in the form of a book that is supposed to meet the need for a long time. What really prompted us to take the plunge and venture upon creating a book on gender issue is our keen observation on the murky plight of women-folk in some Muslim societies on the one hand and the prevailing misunderstanding encircling their position in Islam on the other. We feel stunned to notice the discrepancy between the unique status of women in the normative teachings of Islam and the treatment they receive in some Muslim societies. Another surprising matter is the queer misinformation about the status of women in Islam that is being circulated by a section of people in national and international level.
In this book we have compiled some thoughtful writings of both mature
and rising Islamic intellectuals. In this way we have tried to invite the attention of the
Ummah to the seriousness of the matter. We do not claim our work a superb intellectual
achievement. What we humbly claim is our love for Allah and our yearning for clarifying
the haziness of the issue and for the promotion of Islamic cause. Alhamdulillah, every
thing we have done in this direction is to please our Lord. We are hopeful about our
reward from Him.
"O our Lord! Accept this service from
us: for thou are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing." (2:127).
"And their Lord has accepted of them,
and answer them: 'Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or
female; you are members, one of another……and from His Presence is the best of
rewards." (3:195).
We believe that this book will help eradicate many misunderstanding about the gender issue as far as it relates to Islam. We very earnestly invite the wise readership to kindly read it and form their mind properly and disseminate its writings.
We fervently urge the senior Islamic intellectuals to make further research in this connection.
I am most humbly grateful to my FATHER-LIKE TEACHER (fulfilling all the ramifications and demands of the term) Mr. Shah Abdul Hannan, my admiration, who has been kind enough to minutely read the entire work and criticize its various sections. I express my warm gratitude to Ms. Tahmina Sultana who has drawn my attention to some points that I overlooked. I feel deeply indebted to many others for their help, advice and encouragement without which this noble piece of composition might not be possible.
by Md. Mahmudul
Hasan
Editor/Secretary General
The Pioneer, Dhaka