The status of women in the society is neither a new issue nor is it a
fully settled one. The position of Islam on this issue has been among the
subjects presented with the least objectivity, particularly to the Western
reader. This article is intended to provide a brief and authentic exposition of
what Islam stands for in this regard. The teachings of Islam are based
essentially on the Quran and Sunnah. These sources, properly and unbiasedly
understood, provide the basic source of authentication for any view which is
attributed to Islam.
Initially, we shall present a brief survey of the status of women in the
pre-Islamic era in order to provide a fair evaluation of what Islam contributed
towards the restoration of women's dignity and rights. Later, we shall focus on
some major questions like: What is the stance of Islam regarding the status of
women in the society? How similar or different is that position from the `spirit
of time' which was dominant when Islam was revealed? How would this compare with
the `rights' which were finally gained by women in recent decades?
WOMEN IN OTHER CIVILIZATIONS
Describing the status of a Hindu woman, an authority on the subject
states: "In India, subjection was a cardinal principle. Day and night must women
be held by their protectors in a state of dependence, says Manu. The rule of
inheritance was agnatic, that is descent traced through males to the exclusion
of females." In
Hindu scriptures, the description of a good wife is as follows: "A woman whose
mind, speech and body are kept in subjection, acquires high renown in this
world, and, in the next, the same abode with her husband."
In Athens, women were not better off than either the Indian or the Roman
women. Says a western critic: "Athenian women were always minors, subject to
some male -- to their father, to their brother, or to some of their male kin."3
Her consent in marriage was not generally thought to be necessary and
"she was obliged to submit to the wishes of her parents, and receive from them
her husband and her lord, even though he were a stranger to her."4
A Roman wife was described by an historian as: "a babe, a minor, a ward,
a person incapable of doing or acting anything according to her own individual
taste, a person continually under the tutelage and guardianship of her husband."5
In the Encyclopaedia Britannica, we find a summary of the legal status
of women in the Roman civilization6
in the these words: "In the Roman Law, a woman was even in historic times
completely dependent. If married she and her property passed into the power of
her husband... the wife was the purchase property of her husband and like a
slave acquired only for his benefit. A woman could not exercise any civil or
public office... could not be a witness; surety, tutor, or curator; she could
not adopt or be adopted, or make a will or contract."
Among the Scandinavian races, women were: "...under perpetual tutelage,
whether married or unmarried. As late as the Code of Christian V, at the end of
the 17th Century, it was enacted that if a woman married without the consent of
her tutor he might have, if he wished, administration and usufruct of her goods
during her life."7
According to the English Common Law: "... all real property which a wife
held at the time of a marriage became a possession of her husband. He was
entitled to the rent from the land and to any profit which might be made from
operating the estate during the joint life of the spouses. As time passed, the
English courts devised means to forbid a husband's transferring real property
without the consent of his wife, but he still retained the right to manage it
and to receive the money which it produced. As to a wife's personal property,
the husband's power was complete. He had the right to spend it as he saw fit."8
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, only by the late nineteenth
century did the situation start to improve: "By a series of acts starting with
the Married Women's Property Act in 1870, amended in 1882 and 1887, married
women achieved the right to own property, and to enter contracts on par with
spinsters, widows, and divorcees."9 As
late as the nineteenth century an authority in ancient law, Sir Henry Maine,
wrote: "No society which preserves any tincture of Christian institutions is
likely to restore to married women the personal liberty conferred on them by the
middle Roman Law."10
In his essay, "The Subjection of Women", John Stuart Mill wrote: "We are
continually told that civilization and Christianity have restored to the woman
her just rights. Meanwhile the wife is the actual bond servant of her husband;
no less so, as far as the legal obligation goes, than slaves commonly so
called."11
Before moving on to the Quranic decrees concerning the status of women,
a few Biblical decrees may shed more light on the subject, thus providing a
better basis from an impartial evaluation. In the Mosaic Law, the wife was
betrothed. Explaining this concept, the Encyclopaedia Biblica states: "To
betroth a wife oneself meant simply to acquire possession of her by payment of
the purchase money; the betrothed is a girl for whom the purchase money has been
paid."12 From the legal
point of view, the consent of the girl was not necessary for the validation of
her marriage. "The girl's consent is unnecessary and the need for it is nowhere
suggested in the Law."13
As to the right of divorce, we read in the Encyclopaedia Biblica: "The
woman being man's property, his right to divorce her follows as a matter of
course."14 The right to
divorce was held only by man. The Encyclopaedia Britannica asserts: "In the
Mosaic Law, divorce was a privilege of the husband only..."15
The position of the Christian Church until recent centuries seems to
have been influenced by both the Mosaic Law and by the streams of thought that
were dominant in its contemporary cultures. In their book, "Marriage: East and
West", David and Vera Mace write:16 "Let
no one suppose, either, that our Christian heritage is free of such slighting
judgements. It would be hard to find anywhere a collection of more degrading
references to the female sex than the early Church Fathers provide. Lecky, the
famous historian, speaks of `These fierce incentives which form so conspicuous
and so grotesque a portion of the writing of the Fathers... a woman was
represented as the door of hell, as the mother of all human ills. She should be
ashamed at the very thought that she is a woman. She should live in continual
penance on account of the curses she has brought upon the world. She should be
ashamed of her dress for it is the memorial of her fall. She should be
especially ashamed of their beauty, for it is the most potent instrument of the
devil.' One of the most scathing of these attacks on women is that of
Tertullian: `Do you know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this
sex of your lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the
devil's gateway: you are the unsealer of the forbidden tree; you are the first
deserters of the divine law; you are she who persuades him whom the devil was
not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On
account of your desert, -- that is death -- even the Son of God had to die.' Not
only did the church affirm the inferior status of women, it deprived them of the
legal rights they had previously enjoyed."16
WOMEN IN ISLAM
In the midst of the darkness that engulfed the world, the divine
revelation echoed in the wide desert of Arabia with a fresh, noble and universal
message to humanity:17
"O Mankind, keep your duty to your Lord who created you from a single
soul and from it created its mate [of the same kind] and from them twain has
spread a multitude of men and women." (4:1)18
A scholar who pondered on this verse states: "It is believed that there
is no text, old or new, that deals with the humanity of a woman from all aspects
in such amazing brevity, eloquence, depth and originality as the this divine
decree."19
The Spiritual Aspect
The Quran provides clear-cut evidence that women are completely equated
with men in the sight of God in terms of their rights and responsibilities. The
Quran states:
"Every soul will be [held] in pledge of its deeds." (74:38)
It also states:
" ... So their Lord accepted their prayers [saying]: I will not suffer
to be lost the work of any of you whether male or female. you proceed one from
another..." (3:195)
"Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily to
him We give a new life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their
reward according to the best of their actions." (16:97)
Women according to the Quran are not to be blamed for Adam's first
mistake. Both were jointly wrong in their disobedience to God; both repented and
both were forgiven (2:36-37;7:20-24).
In terms of religious obligations, such as the Daily Prayers, Fasting,
Zakat and Pilgrimage, women are no different from men. In some cases, indeed,
women have certain advantages over men. For example, women are exempted from the
daily prayers and from fasting during their menstrual periods and forty days
after childbirth. They are also exempted from fasting during pregnancy and when
they are nursing small children if there is any threat to their health. If the
missed fasting is obligatory (during the month of Ramadhaan), they can make up
for the missed days whenever they can. They do not have to make up for the
missed prayers because of one of the above reasons. Women used to go to the
mosque during the days of the Prophet (sws) and thereafter attendance at the
Friday congregational prayers is optional for them while it is mandatory for
men.
This is clearly a tender touch of the Islamic teachings for they are
considerate of the fact that a woman may be nursing her children or caring for
them, and thus may be unable to go out to the mosque at the time of the prayers.
They also take into account the physiological and psychological changes
associated with her natural female functions.
The Social Aspect
(a) As a child and an adolescent: Despite the social acceptance of
female infanticide among some Arabian tribes, the Quran forbade this custom, and
considered it a crime like any other murder:
"And when the female [infant] buried alive is questioned for what crime
she was killed." (81:8-9)
Criticizing the attitudes of such parents who reject their female
children, the Quran states:
"When news is brought to one of them, of [the birth of] a female
[child], his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief! With shame does he
hide himself from his people because of the bad news he had! Shall he retain her
on [sufferance] and contempt, or bury her in the dust? Ah! What an evil [choice]
they decide on?" (16:58-59)
Far from saving the girl's life so that she may later suffer injustice
and inequality, Islam requires kind and just treatment for her. The Prophet
(sws) in this regard is reported to have said:
"Whosoever has a daughter and he does not bury her alive, does not
insult her, and does not favour his son over her, God will enter him into
Paradise." (Musnad Ahmad Bin Hambal, No:1957)
b) As a wife: The Quran clearly indicates that marriage is sharing
between the two halves of the society, and that its objectives, besides
perpetuating human life, are emotional well-being and spiritual harmony. Its
bases are love and mercy:
"And among His signs is this: That He created mates for you from
yourselves that you may find rest, peace of mind in them, and He ordained
between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are signs for people who reflect."
(30:21)
According to the Islamic Law, women cannot be forced to marry anyone
without their consent:
Ibni `Abbaas reported that a girl came to the Messenger of God, Muhammad
(sws), and she reported that her father had forced her to marry without her
consent. The Messenger of God gave her the choice [between accepting the
marriage or invalidating it]. (Musnad Ahmad Bin Hambal, No:2469). In another
version, the girl said: "Actually I accept this marriage but I wanted to let
women know that parents have no right [to force a husband on them]", (Ibni
Maajah, No:1873).
Besides all other provisions of her protection at the time of marriage,
it was specifically decreed that a woman has the full right to her Mehr, a
marriage gift, which is presented to her by her husband and is included in the
nuptial contract, and that such ownership does not transfer to the father or
husband. The concept of Mehr in Islam is neither an actual or symbolic price for
the woman, as was the case in certain cultures, but rather it is a gift
symbolizing love, affection and responsibility.
The rules for married life in Islam are clear and in harmony with
upright human nature. In consideration of the physiological and psychological
make-up of a man and a woman, both have equal rights and claims on one another,
except for one responsibility, that of head of a family. This is a matter which
is natural in any collective life and which is consistent with the nature of
man. The Quran thus states:
"And they [women] have rights similar to those [of men] over them, and
men are a degree above them." (2:228)
Such degree is Qiwaama (maintenance and protection). This refers to that
natural difference between the sexes which entitles the weaker sex to
protection. It implies no superiority or advantage before the law. Yet, man's
role of leadership in relation to his family does not mean the husband's
dictatorship over wife. Islam emphasizes the importance of taking counsel and
mutual agreement in family decisions. The Quran gives us an example:
"If they [husband and wife] desire to wean the child by mutual consent
and after consultation, there is no blame on them." (2:233)
Over and above her basic rights as a wife comes the right which is
emphasized by the Quran and is strongly recommended by the Prophet (sws): kind
treatment and companionship. The Quran states:
"But consort with them in kindness, for if you hate them it may happen
that you hate a thing wherein God has placed much good." (4:19)
The Prophet (sws) is reported to have said:
"The most perfect believers are the best in conduct and the best of you
are those who are best to their wives." (Musnad Ahmad Bin Hambal, No:7396)
As the women's right to decide about her marriage is recognized, so also
her right to seek an end for an unsuccessful marriage is recognized. To provide
for the stability of the family, however, and in order to protect it from hasty
decisions under temporary emotional stress, certain steps and waiting periods
should be observed by men and women seeking divorce. Considering the relatively
more emotional nature of women, a good reason for asking for divorce should be
brought before the judge.
More specifically, some aspects of Islamic Law concerning marriage and
divorce are interesting and are worthy of separate treatment.20
When the continuation of the marriage relationship is impossible for any
reason, men, are still taught to seek a gracious end for it. The Quran states
about such cases:
"When you divorce women, and they reach their prescribed term, then
retain them in kindness and retain them not for injury so that you transgress
[the limits]." (2:231)
c) As a mother: Islam considers kindness to parents next to the worship
of God:
"Your Lord has decreed that you worship none save Him, and that you be
kind to your parents." (17:23)
Moreover, the Quran has special recommendation for the good treatment of
mothers:
"And we have enjoined upon man [to be good] to his parents: His mother
bears him in weakness upon weakness." (31:14)
Both Bukhari and Muslim narrate an incident that a man came to Muhammad
(sws) asking, "O Messenger of God, who among the people is the most worthy of my
good company?" The Prophet said, "Your mother, your mother." The man said, "Then
who else?" The Prophet (sws) said, "Your mother." The man said, "Then who else?"
Only then did the Prophet (sws) say, "Your father."
The Economic Aspect
Islam has decreed one right of which women were deprived both before
Islam and after (even as late as this century)21,
the right of independent ownership. According to Islamic Law, a woman's right to
her money, real estate, or other properties is fully acknowledged. This right
undergoes no change whether she is single or married. She retains her full
rights to buy, sell, mortgage or lease any or all her properties. It is nowhere
suggested in the law that a woman is a minor simply because she is a female. It
is also noteworthy that such right applies to her properties before marriage as
well as to whatever she acquires thereafter.
With regard to a woman's right to seek employment, it should be stated
first that Islam regards her role in the society as a mother and a wife as the
most sacred and essential one. Neither maids nor baby-sitters can possibly take
the mother's place as the educator of an upright, complex-free, and
carefully-reared child. Such a noble and vital role, which largely shapes the
future of nations, cannot be regard as `idleness'.
However, there is no decree in Islam which forbids women from seeking
employment whenever there is a necessity for it, especially in positions which
fit her nature and in which society needs her the most. Examples of these
professions are nursing, teaching (especially for children), and medicine.
Moreover, there is no restriction on benefiting from a woman's exceptional
talent in any field. Even for the position of a judge, there may be a tendency
to doubt a woman's fitness for the post due to her more emotional nature, but we
find early Muslim scholars such as Abu-Hanifa and Tabari holding there is
nothing wrong with it. In addition, Islam restored to women the right of
inheritance. Her share is completely hers and no one can make any claim on it,
including her father and her husband. The Quran says:
"To men [of the family] belongs a share of that which parents and near
kindred leave, and to women a share of that which parents and near kindred
leave, whether it be a little or much a determinate share." (4:7)
Her share in most cases is one-half of the man's share, with no
implication that she is worth half a man! It would seem grossly inconsistent
after the overwhelming evidence of the equitable treatment of women in Islam, as
discussed earlier. This variation in inheritance rights is only consistent with
the variations in financial responsibilities of men and women according to the
Islamic Law. A man in Islam is fully responsible for the maintenance of his
wife, his children, and in some cases of his needy relatives, especially the
females. This responsibility is neither waived nor reduced because of his wife's
wealth or because of her access to any personal income gained from work, rent,
profit, or any other legal means.
A woman, on the other hand, is far more secure financially and is far
less burdened with any claims on her possessions. Her possessions before
marriage do not transfer to her husband and she even keeps her maiden name. She
has no obligation to spend on her family out of such properties or out of her
income after marriage. She is entitled to the Mehr which she takes from her
husband at the time of marriage.
An examination of the inheritance law within the overall framework of
the Islamic Law reveals, not only justice, but also an abundance of compassion
for woman.22
The Political Aspect
Any fair investigation of the teachings of Islam or into the history of
Islamic civilization will surely find a clear evidence of a woman's equality
with man in what we call today `political rights'.
This includes the right to election as well as the nomination to
political offices. It also includes a woman's right to participate in public
affairs. Both in the Quran and in Islamic history, we find examples of women
who participated in serious discussions and argued even with the Prophet (sws)
himself (see the Quran, 58:1; 60:10-12). During the Caliphate of Umar, a woman
argued with him in the mosque, proved her point, and caused him to declare in
the presence of many people: "A woman is right and Umar is wrong."
Although not mentioned in the Quran, one hadith of the Prophet (sws) is
interpreted to make woman ineligible for the position of head of sate. The
hadith referred to is roughly translated as: "A people will not prosper if they
let a woman be their ruler", (Bukhari, Kitaab-ul-Fitan). This limitation,
however, has nothing to do with the dignity of women or with their rights. It is
rather, related to the natural difference in the biological and psychological
make-up of men and women.
According to Islam, the head of the state is not a mere figure-head. He
leads people in the prayers, especially on Fridays and festivities; he is
continuously engaged in the process of decision making pertaining to the
security and well-being of his people. This demanding position, or any similar
one, such as the Commander of the Army, is generally inconsistent with the
physiological and psychological make-up of women in general. It is a medical
fact that during their monthly periods and during their pregnancies, women
undergo various physiological and psychological changes. Such changes may occur
during emergency situations, thus affecting their decisions. The excessive
strain during these periods has other effects as well.
Even in modern times, and in the most developed countries, it is rare to
find a woman in the position of a head of state acting as more than a
figure-head, a woman commander of the armed services, or even a proportionate
number of women representatives in parliaments or similar bodies. One cannot
possibly ascribe this to the backwardness of various nations or to any
constitutional limitation on women's right to be in such a position as a head of
state or as a member of the parliament. It is more logical to explain the
present situation in terms of the natural and indisputable differences between
men and women, a difference which does not imply any `supremacy' of one over the
other. The difference implies rather the `complementary' roles of both the sexes
in life.
CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY
The first part of this article deals briefly with the position of
various religions and cultures on the issue under investigation. Part of this
exposition extends to cover the general trend as late as the nineteenth century,
nearly 1300 years after the Quran set forth the Islamic teachings.
In the second part of the paper, the status of women in Islam is briefly
discussed. Emphasis in this part is placed on the original and authentic sources
of Islam. This represents the standard according to which degree of adherence of
Muslims can be judged. It is also a fact that during some of our moments of
decline, such teachings were not strictly adhered to by many people who
professed to be Muslims.
Such deviations were unfairly exaggerated by some writers, and the worst
of these were superficially taken to represent the teachings of Islam to the
Western reader without undertaking any study of the authentic sources of these
teachings. Even with such deviations, three facts are worth mentioning:
1. The history of Muslims is rich with women of great achievements in
all walks of life from as early as the seventh century.23
2. It is impossible for anyone to justify any mistreatment of women by
any decree of rule embodied in the Islamic Law, nor can anyone dare to cancel,
reduce or distort the clear-cut legal rights of women given in the Islamic Law.
3. Throughout history, the reputation, chastity and material role of
Muslim women were objects of admiration by impartial observers.
It is also worthwhile to state that the status which women reached
during the present era was not achieved due to the kindness of men or due to
natural progress. It was rather achieved through a long struggle and sacrifice
on the woman's part and only when the society needed her contribution and work,
more especially during the two world wars, and due to the escalation of
technological change.
In the case of Islam, such compassionate and dignified status was
decreed, not because it reflects the environment of the seventh century, nor
under the threat or pressure of women and their organizations, but rather
because of its intrinsic truthfulness.
If this indicates anything, it would demonstrate the divine origin of
the Quran and the truthfulness of the message of Islam, which unlike human
philosophies and ideologies, is far from proceeding from its human environment,
a message which established such humane principles as neither grew obsolete
during the course of time and after these many centuries, nor can become
obsolete in the future. After all, this is the message of the All-Wise and
All-Knowing God whose wisdom and knowledge are far beyond the ultimate in human
thought and progress.
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