Women in the Quran and the Sunnah

[center]Women in the Quran and the Sunnah
Prof. 'Abdur Rahman I.
Doi

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 Quran
says:

"And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over
women." [Noble Quran 2]

The Quran, 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." [Noble Quran 33]

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 Quran
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." [Noble Quran 43]

"Who so does that which is right, and
believes, whether male or female, him or her will We quicken to happy life."
[Noble Quran 16]

The Quran 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." [Noble Quran
4]

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'bah 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 Quran 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 Quran 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." [Noble Quran 4]

The Prophet of Islam
(peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Women are the twin halves of men." The
Quran 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." [Noble Quran 2]

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 Quran 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 and blessings 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 Quran 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 tranquility with them; and He has put love and mercy between you.
Verily in that are signs for those who reflect." [Noble Quran 30]

The
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings 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 khalifah, '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 and blessings be
upon him) was most emphatic in enjoining upon Muslims to be kind to their women
when he delivered his famous khutbah 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 and blessings 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, Ayshah, that a woman entered her house with two of her daughters. She
asked for charity but Ayshah 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 and blessings be upon
him) came to the house, Ayshah 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 and
blessings 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 Hurayrah 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 Quran 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 Hurayrah reported that a man came to the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings 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
and blessings 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 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 Ummah. 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.

Ayshah 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 and blessings 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 and blessings 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
and blessings 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
and blessings 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!

» The Sunnah of Ruko' (Bowing)
» Women in Islam
» The Equality of Men and Women
» The Status of Women in Islam
» Women's Rights in Islam