The Eminence Islam Attaches To Women
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. The Qur'an summarizes
the civilized social relationship between the two genders.
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
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| God has commanded in the Qur'an that women should be cherished,
respected, and protected. In the eyes of God, superiority does
not lie in race, sex or rank, but in closeness to Him and strength
of belief. |
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 God and His Messenger. They are
the people on whom God will have mercy. God 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 God much: God 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, God 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
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| 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. |
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 God
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.
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