Women in the Quran and the Sunnah: Prof. Abdur Rahman I. Doi Professor and Director, Center for Islamic Legal Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, Nigeria
Prof.
Abdur Rahman I. Doi Professor and Director, Center for Islamic
Legal Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, Nigeria.
In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men
and women as far as their relationship to Allah 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 Allah's praise, for them has Allah
prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35)
This clearly contradicts
the assertion of 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
Allah 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
Allah, through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and
reverence the wombs (that bore you); for Allah 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'�tre
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
khalif, '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 said:
"The best property a
man can have is a remembering tongue (about Allah), 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
Allah 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 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 Allah
regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust
of Allah, and made their bodies lawful with the word of
Allah. 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 Allah (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 the
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 Allah, or like one who stands up for
prayers in the night and fasts in 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 states emphatically that
the rights of the mother are paramount. Abu Hurairah reported
that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and asked: "O Messenger of Allah, 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 in defense of Islam, but to look after his mother,
saying that his service to his mother would be a cause of his
salvation. Mu'awiyah, the son of Jahimah, reported that
Jahimah came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "
Messenger of Allah! I want to join the fighting (in the path
of Allah) 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 Allah 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,
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 Allah'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
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 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 Allah sets it down as a virtue for
her. Nor is there a man who walks with his wife hand-in-hand,
but that Allah 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, "...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 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
Allah, 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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