Equality of Men and Women
My brothers and sisters
everywhere! Islamic law [Shari'ah] - that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He)
sent down to His Messenger Muhammad - came to announce that women (exactly like
men) are full human beings. Women (like men) are therefore required to follow
the way appointed by Allah.
A woman (like a man) is therefore obligated
with all three degrees of this religion: Islam (outward submission to Allah),
Iman (inward faith in Allah), and Ihsan (perfection of worship of
Allah).
Islam (outward submission to Allah)
It is thus required
for every woman to testify that there is none deserving worship but Allah and
that Muhammad is Allah's Messenger; to pray; to give charity; to fast; and to
make a pilgrimage to Allah's House if she has the means.
Iman (inward
faith in Allah and the unseen [Al Ghaib])
It is likewise required for
every woman to believe in Allah, His angels, His scriptures, His messengers, the
Last Day, and to believe in Allah's decree (and that the good and evil
consequences thereof are from Allah).
Ihsan (perfection of worship of
Allah)
It is likewise required for every woman to worship Allah as if she
sees Him. For although she cannot see Allah, she must believe that He sees
whatever she does in secret and in public.
Women (exactly like men) have
been commanded with these three levels of the religion (Islam, Iman, and
Ihsan).
Women, like men, are also obligated to enjoin good and forbid
evil; to strive and struggle by saying that which is truthful; and to adhere to
all noble behavior, like: truthfulness, trustworthiness, courage, modesty, and
self-respect.
Every Muslim woman, just like every Muslim man, is
commanded to be steadfast in her religion and not to be negligent with her
faith. It is not permissible for her - under any pressure or compulsion - to
open her heart to accept the word of disbelief. Hence every Muslim woman, like
every Muslim man, falls under Allah's statement:
"Whose disbelieves in
Allah, after he has believed - excepting him who has been compelled, and his
heart is still at rest with the Faith - but whosoever's breast is expanded in
unbelief, upon them shall rest anger from Allah, and there awaits them a mighty
chastisement." [Noble Quran 16]
Clearly when Islam charged women with
all these duties and in all these obligations made her equal to men, the intent
was to honor her and permit her to reach the highest degree of perfection of her
being.
The duties that Allah has obligated humanity with are but a means
to honor us. Prayer, as well as fasting, is an honor for the servant and a means
to raise his rank. To adhere to Allah's straight path and the manners of Islam
are, without doubt, a means to honor us and not to humiliate us as imagined by
those who are ignorant of Allah and follow their desires.
Such people
think and imagine that a human being who does not believe in Allah, does not
uphold the trust of these duties, and does not perform what Allah has commanded
him is of a higher standing than the believer who adheres to the obligations of
Islam. Such an idea is ignorance and renders human beings on par with the
animals.
Humans have been created to be tried by Allah and have been
charged with fulfilling these duties to Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) and
His creatures. As for animals, while they have been created by Allah, they have
not been charged with this trust.
Whoever considers that a human being
who does not uphold what Allah has obligated as equal to those who fulfill what
Allah has obligated is like those who consider humans and animals to be equal.
For this reason, Allah has said:
"Shall we treat that those who have
surrendered (as Muslims) as We treat the guilty?" [Noble Quran 68]
And
He has said:
"We have crated for Hell many of the jinn and humanity; they
have hearts, but understand not with them; they have eyes, but perceive not with
them; and they have ears, but they hear not with them. These are like cattle;
nay, rather they are further astray! Those - they are the heedless." [Noble
Quran 7]
The disbeliever in Allah (whether a man or a woman) is a
guilty criminal, for he or she does not know whom to worship, i.e., The Creator,
The Protector, The Lord, and He Who created this universe in which he or she
lives. The disbelievers enjoy what Allah has blessed them with and yet they
forget the One Who blessed and preferred them with such blessings. As for the
believers, they are the honorable servants who know their Lord and Creator,
Allah, Whom they worship. They fulfill what Allah has obligated and travel upon
the path that Allah has delineated for
them.
الإثنين فبراير 25, 2013 1:12 pm
