"Shafeeqah V. Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: "Shafeeqah V. Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 17:22:59 -0000
Subject: Re: Thoughts on gender equity in Islam
Wa-Alaikum As-Salaam!
Excellent observation! Alhamdulillah!
May Allah bless you to remain strong in faith and on the Straight
Path!
Your sister in faith,
Shafeeqah
--- In [EMAIL PROTECTED], "ciorsdan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
> As-Salaamu Alaikum!
>
> I agree 100% on your opinion. Marriage is a partnership, not an
ownership. For a bird to fly it must have two strong wings. If you
clip one wing (womankind) the bird (humankind) will never get off the
ground.
>
> ciorsdan
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Shafeeqah Abdullah
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ;
[EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; islam-
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sent: Friday, July 08, 2005 9:58 AM
> Subject: [ummat_mohammad] Thoughts on gender equity in Islam
>
>
> As-Salaamu Alaikum!
>
> About a year and a half ago, I was communicating with a
sister on another women's e-mail group which I no longer belong to.
When I made it clear that I supported gender equity in Islam, the
sister wasn't very pleased with that. She was adamant that men and
women are not the same; therefore, they're not equal. In other
words, men are inherently superior to women.
>
> A sister friend of mine not only sent her Gender Equity in
Islam by Dr. Jamal A. Badawi; she (my friend) also sent the sister
her views concerning gender equity in Islam. It didn't surprise me
to learn later on that the sister didn't think too highly of Dr.
Badawi's views, more than likely because he doesn't support men being
inherently superior to women. According to this sister, ". . .that
just because we can claim rights on our husbands similar to the
rights they can claim on us, this doesn't mean we can jump on the
Women's Liberation band wagon and rule our husbands or behave in a
domineering fashion, dragging them through the mud for every little
personality conflict or overly enthusiastic rule on us. Flowery and
apologetic explainations such as what Brother Jamal has stated in
paragraph 6 (I believe it was numbered 6) about the husband not
having superiority over his wife is how we get into this kind of
trouble in the first place."
>
> As for my friend's views on Dr. Badawi's article, she
wrote: ". . . I found nothing there that would encourage women to
become brazen in their behavior towards their husbands. On the
contrary, I found understanding, and clarity about some of the
misinterpreted ideas about the status of women. By clarifying the
status of women, Brother Jamal does not take away anything from the
status of men. I truly believe that his article encourages the
proper balance in the relationship between husbands and wives.
>
> "It is extremely disheartening for women to be given the
impression that men are somehow superior merely by being men (even
if, and especially if they are not good men). It feels as though we
(women) are being told that we should forfeit our rights to our
(often underserving) husbands. It feels as though we are being told
that we are inferior simply because we were born females.
>
> "One of the most beautiful descriptions of the relationship
between a husband and a wife is the aya that says that the wife and
the husband are garments for each other. I read that aya, and I
understand that there is MUTUALITY in it. I understand that there is
EQUALITY in it. When I say, "equality", I don't mean identicalness.
I mean I believe it affirms that men and women are of equal value,
and they are equally important in a marriage. As I said before, men
are incomplete without women, and women are incomplete without men.
We must respect each other, we must care for each other. This is
what I believe Allah intends for married people. There is nothing
positive that can come from ugliness on the part of either spouse.
>
> "I believe that when men are allowed to believe that they are
superior, and that women must "obey" them in the same manner that a
child obeys a parent; it encourages them to abuse their "power". I
believe it encourages them to abuse their wives. This is not a
blanket observation of all men. But, unfortunately, there are too
many men who fit into this ideology."
>
> Too many foolish and misguided Muslim men conclude that
because they're male (that is, the "chosen gender"), they have some
special God-like powers which they're convinced they have a "right"
to lord over women; therefore, women must do "the female thing"--
"respectfully obey" without protest or argument, even if the men did
anything against the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad
(Allah's Peace be upon him). This sick superiority complex
infuriates a lot of women, including myself. I really can understand
why a lot of women have serious problems with obeying husbands.
>
> It cannot be emphasized enough that women/wives are
individuals, persons, and, above all, believers in their own right.
Like men/husbands, we are to follow the Qur'an and the Sunnah of
Prophet Muhammad (Allah's Peace be upon him)--not "our sunnah"
or "their sunnah"--the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Allah's Peace be
upon him). We are not, and never have been, second-class believers
just because we happen to be female; and men simply have to cease
being insecure and immature and come to grips with that if they
expect to have happy, successful Islamic marriages. Nowhere in the
Qur'an does Allah state that men are "superior" or "perfect"
believers" with "superior" or "perfect" taqwa" because they're male.
Nowhere in the Qur'an does Allah state that women were created from
some "base matter." The men who firmly believe that know good and
well that Prophet Muhammad (Allah's Peace be upon him) didn't
sanction that garbage. And these same men have the gall to call
themselves Muslims! (Allah forbid!!)
>
> As sisters in faith, we must keep in mind that although
Rasoolullah (Allah's Peace be upon him) was brought up in an anti-
female climate, he remained undaunted, irrespective of the opposition
of many men during that time, in defending the human rights of all
females. He's well known for this in the Muslim world. We cannot
thank Allah enough for this outstanding leader and teacher whose
exemplary character was beyond reproach. It angers me to think that
a lot of men during that time were arrogant enough to think they had
the "absolute right" to pass a death sentence on females and spare
the lives of males. I mean, where did they get off doing that?
That's just downright despicable and conniving.
>
> Obedience to Allah is gender neutral. In dealing with each
other, neither spouse is allowed to take heed of, say, or do anything
which is against the Qur'an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad
(Allah's Peace be upon him). The way I see it, sincere, God-
conscious husbands and wives obey each other in obedience to Allah
and must never interfere in each other's worship of Him.
>
> In her book Women, Muslim Society, and Islam, Dr. Lois Lamya'
al Faruqi says it well on gender equity in Islam: "Islam brought
women from the position of chattel in marriage to that of equal
partners. In the matter of divorce, she changed from a completely
impotent bystander, to one who could initiate divorce proceedings and
claim her rights of dowry and inheritance. From a position of legal
nonetity, she became a legal personality in the full sense of the
term, able to hold property, entitled ot a just share of her
husband's and family's inheritance property. Socially, with
education equally required of her as well as of every man by Islam,
she rose to a position of social and cultural influence and service.
Even in religio-cultic practices and duties, woman was asked and
expected to play a role equal to that of man, insofar as her special
physical characteristics and maternal duties allowed. Her position
in early Islam was really an exemplary one, one that should be
studied and known by every woman as well as every liberationist in
the twentieth century--in America as well as in the Muslim World.
The Muslim woman, if she is true to the principles of her religion,
has lessons in equality to teach the Westerner, and her descendants
in the East have to learn anew the role demanded of them by their
religion. Orientalists and orientals zealous for modernization
should cease to put the blame on Islam, a blame which instead
deserves to fall on their own ignorance of the faith and on the
political and social decline which their nations suffered in the
past."
>
> May Allah bless all of us to remain strong in faith and on
the Straight Path!
>
> Your sister in faith,
> Shafeeqah
>
>
>
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
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