Women in the Quran and the Sunna

Women in the Quran and the Sunna
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'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 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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