The Women of the Arabs | Page 9

Beirût. From
a chapter in one of these, entitled "Methak en Nissa," or the
"Engagements of Women," I have translated the following passages, to
show the religious position of women, as bearing upon my object in
describing the condition of Syrian females.
"Believers are both male and female. By instruction women pass from
ignorance to knowledge, and become angels like the Five Ministers
who bear the Throne: _i.e._, the Doctrine of the Unity. All male and
female believers ought to be free from all impurity and disgrace and
dishonor. Believing women should shun lying (to the brethren) and
infidelity and concupiscence, and the appearance of evil, and show the
excellency of their work above all Trinitarian women, avoiding all
suspicion and taint which might bring ill upon their brethren, and
avoiding giving attention to what is contrary to the Divine Unity.

"We have written this epistle to be read to all believing women who
hold to the Unity of Hakem, who knows His Eternity and obey their
husbands. But let no Dai or Mazûn read it to a woman until he is well
assured of her faith and her religion, and she shall have made a written
profession of her faith. He shall not read it to one woman alone, nor in
a house where there is but one woman, even though he be worthy of all
confidence, lest suspicion be awakened and the tongue of slander be
loosed. Let there be assembled together at least three women, and let
them sit behind a curtain or screen, so as not to be seen. Each woman
must be accompanied by her husband, or her father, or brother or son, if
he be a Unitarian. The Dai in reading must keep his eyes fixed on his
book, neither turning towards the place where the women are, nor
casting a glance towards it, nor listening to them. The woman,
moreover, must not speak a word during the reading, and whether she
is affected by a transport of joy, or moved by an impression of respect
and fear, she must carefully abstain from showing her feelings either by
smiles or tears. For the smiles, the tears, and the words of a woman
may excite man's passions. Let her give her whole attention to the
reading, receive it in her heart, and apply all the faculties of her mind to
understand its meaning, in order clearly to conceive the true
signification of what she is listening to. If she finds any passage
obscure, let her ask the Dai, (the preacher,) and he shall answer, if he
can, and if not, promise to ask those who are more learned, and when
he has obtained the solution he must inform her, if she be deemed
worthy.
"The highest duty of Unitarian women is to know our Moulah Hakem
and the Kaim Hamzé. If they follow Him, let them know that He has
released them entirely from the observance of the Seven Arbitrary
Pillars of the Law (of Islam) which are (1) Prayer, (2) Fasting, (3)
Pilgrimage, (4) Asserting, There is no God but God and Mohammed is
the Prophet of God, (5) Giving tithes, (6) War on infidels, (7)
Submission to authority. But on the other hand, all believing women
must perform the Seven Religious Duties: The First and greatest is
Truth in your words: (_i.e._ to the brethren and sisters); the Second is,
To watch reciprocally over the safety of the brethren; the Third is, to
renounce wholly and entirely whatever religion you may have

previously professed; the Fourth is, To keep yourselves apart, clear and
distinct from all who are in error; the Fifth is, To recognize the
existence of the Unity of our Lord in all ages, times and epochs; the
Sixth is, To be satisfied with His will and His works, whatever they
may be; The Seventh is, To abandon and resign yourselves to all His
orders whether in prosperity or adversity. You must keep these Seven
Commandments, and keep them strictly secret from all who are of a
different religion. If the Druze women do all this and fulfil their duties,
they are indeed among the good, and shall have their reward among the
159 Angels of the Presence and among the Prophets who were Apostles,
and be saved from the snare of the accursed Iblîs (Diabolus). Praise
then to our Lord Hakim, the praise of the thankful! He is my hope and
victory!"
What can you expect of the women, if the teachers are thus warped
with hypocrisy and falsehood. They receive you politely. Dr. De Forest
used to say, that there is not a boor in the Druze nation. But their very
politeness confounds you. The old Druze women are masters of a pious
religious phraseology. "We are all sinners." "The Lord's