by Harun Yahya
The position of women in Islam has recently been an issue of debate.
Some misconceptions arise, either from traditional practices which are
thought to be "Islamic," but are not, or else from prejudices. However,
the real issue is how women are regarded in the Islamic faith, and when
we look at this, we see that Islam gives women great social value,
freedom and comfort.
Women in the Qur'an
God's commandments about the status of women and the relations between
men and women, which have been revealed to us through the Qur'an,
consist of full justice. In this regard, Islam suggests equality of
rights, responsibilities and duties between the two genders. Islam is
based on sympathy, tolerance and respect for human beings, and does not
discriminate against women in this matter.
The examples of good morals communicated to us in the Qur'an are
universally compatible with human nature, and are valid for all stages
of history.
Respect for women and women's rights fall within this. In the Qur'an
God insists that the tasks and responsibilities of women are the same
as those of men. Furthermore, while performing these tasks and
responsibilities men and women must help and support each other:
The men and women of the believers are friends of one another. They
command what is right and forbid what is wrong, and establish prayer
and pay alms, and obey Allah and His Messenger. They are the people on
whom Allah will have mercy. Allah is Almighty, All Wise. (Qur'an, 9:71)
God emphasizes that believers will be rewarded in the same manner
according to their deeds, regardless of their gender.
Their Lord responds to them: 'I will not let the deeds of any doer
among you go to waste, male or female - you are both the same in that
respect... (Qur'an, 3:195)
Anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer, We will give
them a good life and We will recompense them according to the best of
what they did. (Qur'an, 16:97)
In another verse, Muslim men and women are considered together, and it
is stressed that both have the same responsibility and status in God's
sight:
Men and women who are Muslims, men and women who are believers, men and
women who are obedient, men and women who are truthful, men and women
who are steadfast, men and women who are humble, men and women who give
alms, men and women who fast, men and women who guard their private
parts, men and women who remember Allah much: Allah has prepared
forgiveness for them and an immense reward. (Qur'an, 33:35)
In the Qur'an there are many more verses stating that men and women are
exactly equal in terms of their tasks and responsibilities and their
rewards or punishments in return. There are a few differences in social
issues, but these are for the comfort and protection of women. The
commands of the Qur'an regard the congenital differences between the
two genders resulting from their creation, and suggest a system
maintaining equal justice for men and women in this light.
Islam does not see women as objects. Therefore, it is not seen
appropriate that a woman of good morals should marry a man of bad
morals. In the same way, it is not permitted for a woman of bad morals
to marry a man of good morals:
Corrupt women are for corrupt men and corrupt men are for corrupt
women, Good women are for good men and good men are for good women. The
latter are innocent of what they say. They will have forgiveness and
generous provision. (Qur'an, 24:26)
Also as regards marriage, the duties and responsibilities of couples
towards each other require equality. God demands that both spouses be
protective of and supervise each other. This duty is expressed in the
Qur'an in the following words.
They are covers for you and you for them... (Qur'an, 2:187)
Many rules and commandments exist in the Qur'an regarding the
protection of women's rights on marriage. Marriage is based on the free
will of both parties; the husband has to provide economic support for
his wife (4:4); the husband has to look after his ex-wife after divorce
(65:6).
The Islamic Emancipation of Women
As the verses make clear, Islam brings justice to male-female relations
and puts an end to harmful practices resulting from customs and
traditions of pre-Islamic societies. One example is the situation of
women in pre-Islamic Arab society. The pagan Arabs regarded women as
inferior, and having a daughter was something to be ashamed of. Fathers
of daughters sometimes preferred to bury them alive rather than
announce their birth. By means of the Qur'an, Allah prohibited this
evil tradition and warned that on the Judgment Day such people will
definitely have to account for their actions.
In fact, Islam brought with it a great emancipation for women, who were
severely persecuted in the pagan era. Prof. Bernard Lewis, known as one
of the greatest Western experts on the history of Islam and the Middle
East, makes the following comment:
In general, the advent of Islam brought an enormous improvement in the
position of women in ancient Arabia, endowing them with property and
some other rights, and giving them a measure of protection against ill
treatment by their husbands or owners. The killing of female infants,
sanctioned by custom in Pagan Arabia, was outlawed by Islam. But the
position of women remained poor, and worsened when, in this as in so
many other respects, the original message of Islam lost its impetus and
was modified under the influence of pre-existing attitudes and customs.
1
Karen Armstrong, another Western expert on Islam, makes the following
comment:
We must remember what life had been like for women in the pre-Islamic
period when female infanticide was the norm and when women had no
rights at all. Like slaves, women were treated as an inferior species,
who had no legal existence. In such a primitive world, what Muhammad
achieved for women was extraordinary. The very idea that a woman could
be witness or could inherit anything at all in her own right was
astonishing. 2
In fact, during the many centuries that followed Prophet Muhammad,
women of the Islamic societies had a much higher social position than
the women of Christendom. Karen Armstrong emphasizes that, during the
Middle Ages;
... the Muslims were horrified to see the way Western Christians
treated their women in the Crusader states, and Christian scholars
denounced Islam for giving too much power to menials like slaves and
women. 3
Anna King, a modern Muslim woman and a convert - or, better to say, a
revert - to Islam, explains the Islamic emancipation of women as
follows:
Islam first gave women their rights in a time when women were nothing
but the property of men. Islam gave women the right to buy and sell on
their own, own businesses and express her views politically. These were
all basic rights which the American woman was not granted until
relatively recently! It also encouraged women to study and learn
Islamic knowledge, breaking a ban which several religions had
stipulated, which forbid women to acquire any religious knowledge or
touch religious texts... It also abolished the practice of marrying a
woman without her consent. Thus, one would have to be very stubborn
indeed to refuse such obvious facts and proofs that Islam was women's
first liberator.
The tendencies to see women as "an inferior species" who has no right
for education and that must be totally secluded from the society arose
much later in the Islamic world, as a result of deviations from the
right Qur'anic path.
Conclusion
Thus we can say that the mentality that despises women, excludes them
from society and regards them as second class citizens is a wicked
pagan attitude which has no place in Islam.
In fact, devout women are depicted as good examples for mankind in the
Qur'an. One is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Another is the wife of
the Egyptian Pharaoh who, despite her husband's wickedness, is also
described as an ideal Muslim. (see, 66:11-12) The Qur'an also describes
very gentle conversations between the Prophet Solomon and the Queen of
Sheba (27:42-44), and between Moses and two young ladies (28:23-26),
which symbolize the civilized social relationship between the two
genders.
Therefore, it is impossible for a Muslim to have a bigoted approach to
women. In a society where true Islamic morals are practiced, immense
respect and sympathy will be shown to women, and it will be ensured
that they can live in freedom and comfort.
The fundamental rule in Qur'anic exegesis is ensuring that the derived
meaning is in conformity with the integrity of the Qur'an. When this is
considered, it is seen that all the rules mentioned to us by Allah
regarding women form a social structure allowing them to live in the
most comfortable and happiest way. In a society where all the moral
values mentioned by Islam are practiced comprehensively, the social
position of women becomes even more exalted than in societies that we
today regard as modern.
"Fa maadza ba'da-lhaqq, illa-dl_dlalaal"Leo ImanovAbdu-lLahAllahsSlave
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