Women in the Qur'an and the Sunnah
By: Dr. 'Abdur Rahman I. Doi
In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as
their relationship to God is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for
good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur'an says:
And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over
women. (2:226)
The Qur'an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression,'believing
men and women' to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their
respective duties, rights, virtues and merits. It says:
For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and
women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and
constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who
give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their
chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God's praise, for them has
God prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35)
This clearly contradicts the assertion of some the Christian Fathers that
women do not possess souls and that they will exist as sexless beings in the
next life. The Qur'an says that women have souls in exactly the same way as men
and will enter Paradise if they do good :
Enter into Paradise, you and your wives, with delight. (43:70) Who so does
that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, him or her will
We quicken to happy life. (16:97)
The Qur'an admonishes those men who oppress or ill-treat women:
O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will.
Nor should you treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the
dowry you have given them - except when they have become guilty of open
lewdness. On the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity.
If you take a dislike to them, it may be that you dislike something and God
will bring about through it a great deal of good. (4:19)
Considering the fact that before the advent of Islam the pagan Arabs used
to bury their female children alive, make women dance naked in the vicinity
of the Ka'ba during their annual fairs, and treat women as mere chattels and
objects of sexual pleasure -- possessing no rights or position whatsoever, these
teachings of the Noble Qur'an were revolutionary. Unlike other religions, which
regarded women as being possessed of inherent sin and wickedness, and men as
being possessed of inherent virtue and nobility, Islam regards men and women
as being of the same essence created from a single soul. The Qur'an declares:
O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single
person, created, of like nature, his mate, and from this pair scattered
(like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence God, through Whom you
demand your mutual (rights), and reverence the wombs (that bore you); for
God ever watches over you. (4:1)
The Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, said,
"Women are the twin halves of men". The Qur'an emphasizes the
essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful simile:
They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187)
Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering
into the relationship of marriage, secure each other's chastity. The garment
gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife's
company and she in his. "The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment
of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to
them." Islam does not consider woman "an instrument of the Devil", but rather
the Qur'an calls her muhsana - a fortress against Satan because a good
woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life.
It is for this reason that marriage was considered by the Prophet
Muhammad, peace be upon him, as a most virtuous act. He said: "When a
man marries, he has completed one half of his religion." He enjoined
matrimony on Muslims by saying: "Marriage is part of my way and whoever keeps
away from my way is not from me (i.e. is not my follower)." The Qur'an has given
the raison d'être of marriage in the following words:
And among His signs is this, that He has created for you mates from among
yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity with them; and He has put love
and mercy between you. Verily in that are signs for those who reflect. (30:21)
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was full of praise for virtuous
and chaste women. He said:
"The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing
in the world is a virtuous woman."
He once told the future Caliph, 'Umar:
"Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can
hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and
who guards herself when he is absent from her."
On other occasions the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"The best property a man can have is a
remembering tongue (i.e. which remembers God), a grateful heart and a believing
wife who helps him in his faith."
And again: "The world, the whole of it, is
a commodity and the best of the commodities of the world is a virtuous wife."
Before the advent of Islam women were often treated worse than animals.
The Prophet wanted to put a stop to all cruelties to women. He preached
kindness towards them. He told the Muslims:
"Fear God in respect of women.
" And: "The best of you are they who behave best to their wives."
And: "A Muslim must not hate his wife, and if he be displeased with one
bad quality in her, let him be pleased with one that is good." And: "The more
civil and kind a Muslim is to his wife, the more perfect in faith he is."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, was most emphatic in enjoining upon Muslims to
be kind to their women when he delivered his famous sermon (Arabic: khutba
on the Mount of Mercy, at Arafat, in the presence of one hundred and twenty-four
thousand of his Companions who had gathered there for the Hajj al-Wada
(Farewell Pilgrimage). In it he ordered those present, and through them all
those Muslims who were to come later, to be respectful and kind towards women.
He said:
"Fear God regarding women. Verily you have married them with the
trust of God, and made their bodies lawful with the word of God. You have
got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their
food and clothing according to your means."
In Islam a woman is a completely independent personality. She can make any
contract or bequest in her own name. She is entitled to inherit in her position
as mother, as wife, as sister and as daughter. She has perfect liberty to
choose her husband. The pagan society of pre-Islamic Arabia had an irrational
prejudice against their female children whom they used to bury alive. The
Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was totally opposed to this practice.
He showed them that supporting their female children would act as a screen for
them against the fire of Hell:
It is narrated by the Prophet's wife, 'A'isha, that a woman entered her
house with two of her daughters. She asked for charity but 'A'isha could not
find anything except a date, which was given to her. The woman divided it
between her two daughters and did not eat any herself. Then she got up and left.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to the house, 'A'isha told him about
what had happened and he declared that when this woman was brought to
account (on the Day of Judgment) about her two daughters, they would act as a
screen for her from the fires of Hell.
The worst calamity for a woman is when her husband passes away and, as a
widow, the responsibility of maintaining the children falls upon her. In the
Eastern World, where a woman does not always go out to earn her living, the
problems of widowhood are indescribable. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be
upon him, upheld the cause of widows. Most of his wives were widows. In an
age when widows were rarely permitted to remarry, the Prophet encouraged his
followers to marry them. He was always ready to help widows and exhorted his
followers to do the same. Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet said:
"One who makes efforts (to help) the widow or a poor person is like a mujahid
(warrior) in the path of God, or like one who stands up for prayers all of the
night and fasts all of the day."
Woman as mother commands great respect in Islam. The Noble Qur'an speaks of
the rights of the mother in a number of verses. It enjoins Muslims to show
respect to their mothers and serve them well even if they are still unbelievers.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, states emphatically that the rights of the mother
are paramount. Abu Hurairah reported that a man came to the Messenger
of God, peace be upon him, and asked:
"O Messenger of God, who is the person
who has the greatest right on me with regards to kindness and attention?"
He replied, "Your mother." "Then who?" He replied, "Your mother." "Then who?"
He replied, "Your mother." "Then who?" He replied, "Your father."
In another tradition, the Prophet advised a believer not to join the war
against the Quraish (i.e. the pagan disbelievers at that time) in defense of
Islam, but to look after his mother, saying that his service to his mother would
be a cause for his salvation. Mu'awiyah, the son of Jahimah, reported that
Jahimah came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and said:
"Messenger of God!
I want to join the fighting (in the path of God) and I have come to seek your
advice." He said, "Then remain in your mother's service, because Paradise
is under her feet."
The Prophet's followers accepted his teachings and brought about a revolution
in their social attitude towards women. They no longer considered women as a
mere chattels, but as an integral part of society. For the first time women were
given the right to have a share in inheritance. In the new social climate, women
rediscovered themselves and became highly active members of society rendering
useful service during the wars which the pagan Arabs forced on the emerging
Muslim umma. They carried provisions for the soldiers, nursed them, and even
fought alongside them if it was necessary. It became a common sight to see women
helping their husbands in the fields, carrying on trade and business
independently, and going out of their homes to satisfy their needs.
'A'isha reported that Saudah bint Zam'ah went out one night. 'Umar saw her
and recognized her and said, "By God, O Saudah, why do you not hide yourself from
us?" She went back to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and told him about it
while he was having supper in her room, and he said:
"It is permitted by God for you to go out for your needs."
The predominant idea in the teachings of Islam with regard to men and women is that a husband and wife should be
full-fledged partners in making their home a happy and prosperous place, and
that they should be loyal and faithful to one another, and genuinely interested
in each other's welfare and the welfare of their children. A woman is expected
to exercise a humanizing influence over her husband and to soften the sternness
inherent in his nature. A man is enjoined to educate the women in his care so
that they cultivate the qualities in which they, by their very nature, excel.
These aspects were much emphasized by the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He exhorted men to marry women of piety and women to be faithful to their
husbands and kind to their children. He said:
"Among my followers the best
of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those
who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward
equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the
best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them
dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of God's laws."
Once Mu'awiyah asked the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"What are the rights that a wife has over her husband?" The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied:
"Feed her when you take your food, give her clothes to wear when you wear
clothes, refrain from giving her a slap on the face or abusing her, and do
not separate from your wife, except within the house."
Once a woman came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, with a complaint against her husband. He told
her:
"There is no woman who removes something to replace it in its proper
place, with a view to tidying her husband's house, but that God sets it down
as a virtue for her. Nor is there a man who walks with his wife
hand-in-hand, but that God sets it down as a virtue for him; and if he puts
his arm round her shoulder in love, his virtue is increased tenfold."
Once he was heard praising the women of the tribe of Quraish, saying:
" . . . because they are the kindest to their children while they are infants and because they
keep a careful watch over the belongings of their husbands."
The Shari'ah (Islamic Law) regards women as the spiritual and intellectual
equals of men. The main distinction it makes between them is in the physical
realm based on the equitable principle of fair division of labor. It allots
the more strenuous work to the man and makes him responsible for the maintenance
of the family. It allots the work of managing the home and the upbringing
and training of children to the woman, work which has the greatest importance
in the task of building a healthy and prosperous society.
It is a fact, however, that sound administration within the domestic
field is impossible without a unified policy. For this reason the Shari'ah
requires a man, as head of the family, to consult with his family and then
to have the final say in decisions concerning it. In doing so he must not
abuse his prerogative to cause any injury to his wife. Any transgression of this
principle involves for him the risk of losing the favor of God, because his wife
is not his subordinate but she is, to use the words of the Prophet, peace be
upon him, 'the queen of her house', and this is the position a true believer is
expected to give his wife. In contrast to these enlightened teachings of Islam
in respect of women, Western talk of women's liberation or emancipation is
actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her
honor, and degradation of her soul!
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