Praise be to Allaah.
In Islam, woman has a high status which
no past nation ever achieved and which no subsequent nation has been
able to attain, because the honour which Islam gives to humanity
includes men and women equally. They are equal before the rulings of
Allaah in this world and they will be equal with regard to His
reward and punishment in the Hereafter. Allaah says (interpretation
of the meanings):
“And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam”
[al-Isra’ 17:70]
“There is a share for men and a share for women from
what is left by parents and those nearest related”
[al-Nisa’ 4:7]
“And they (women) have rights (over their husbands
as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their
husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to
what is reasonable”
[al-Baqarah 2:228]
“The believers, men and women, are Awliya’ (helpers,
supporters, friends, protectors) of one another”
[al-Tawbah 9:71]
“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but
Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them
or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them
a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in
terms of honour.
And lower unto them the wing of submission and
humility through mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them
Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young’”
[al-Isra’ 17:23-24]
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):
“So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and
answered them), “Never will I allow to be lost the work of
any of you, be he male or female”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:195]
“Whoever works righteousness — whether male or
female — while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic
Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this
world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and
We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the
best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the
Hereafter)”
[al-Nahl 16:97]
“And whoever does righteous good deeds, male or
female, and is a (true) believer [in the Oneness of Allaah
(Muslim)], such will enter Paradise and not the least
injustice, even to the size of a Naqeera (speck on the back
of a date stone), will be done to them”
[al-Nisa’ 4:124]
There is nothing in any other religion, nation or
law that can compare to the honour which woman gains in
Islam. The Roman civilization decreed that woman was a slave
who belonged to man, and had no rights at all. In Rome a
major synod met to discuss the case of woman, and decided
that she was a being who had no soul, and that therefore she
would not inherit life in the Hereafter, and that she was
evil.
In Athens women were regarded as chattels; they were
bought and sold, and were regarded as evil, the handiwork of
the devil.
The ancient laws of India state that disease, death,
Hell, snake venom and fire were all better than woman. Her
right to life came to an end when her husband’s – or
master’s – life ended. When she saw his body burning she
would throw herself into the flames; if she did not do so,
she would be subject to curses.
With regard to woman in
Judaism, the ruling on her in the Old Testament is as
follows:
“So I turned my mind to understand,
to
investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of
things
and to understand the stupidity of wickedness
and the madness of folly.
I find more bitter than death
the woman who is a snare,
whose heart is a trap and whose
hands are chains…”
(Ecclesiastes 7:25-26 – New
International Version)
It is known that the Old Testament is venerated and
believed by both Jews and Christians.
This was the
situation of woman in ancient times. With regard to her
situation in the Middle Ages and in modern times, this will
be explained by the following:
The Danish writer Wieth Kordsten explained the view
of the Catholic Church towards women. He said: “During the
Middle Ages very little care was given to women, following
the teaching of the Catholic church which regarded woman as
a second class creation.” In France, a council in 586 CE
decided to research the case of woman and whether she was to
be counted as human or not. After some discussion, they
decided that woman was human, but she was created to serve
man.
The 217th clause of the French law states the
following: “A married woman – even if her marriage is based
on the condition of separating what belongs to her and what
belongs to her husband – is not permitted to give anything
as a gift or to transfer any of her property or use it as
collateral, or to take possession of anything whether in
return for payment or otherwise, without her husband being a
party to the contract or agreeing to it in writing.”
In
England, Henry VIII forbade the English woman to read the
Bible. Until 1850 CE women were not counted as citizens, and
until 1882 CE they did not have any personal rights.
(Silsilat Maqaarinah al-Adyaan, by Dr. Ahmad Shalaby, vol.
3, p. 210-213)
As for contemporary woman in Europe, America and
other industrial nations, she is a creature which is
degraded and abused for commercial purposes. She is a
feature of advertising campaigns, and things have reached a
stage where she takes off her clothes in order to advertise
products on posters, and she sells and displays her body
according to systems devised by men, so that she is no more
than an object of pleasure for them in every place.
Woman is cared for so long as she is able to give and
contribute physically or mentally. When she becomes old and
cannot give any more, society – individuals and institutions
– forsakes her and she lives alone in her house or in a
mental hospital.
Compare this – and there is no comparison – with the
teachings of the Noble Qur’aan, in which Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“The believers, men and
women, are Awliya’ (helpers, supporters, friends,
protectors) of one another”
[al-Tawbah 9:71]
“And they (women) have rights (over their husbands
as regards living expenses) similar (to those of their
husbands) over them (as regards obedience and respect) to
what is reasonable”
[al-Baqarah 2:228]
“And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but
Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them
or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them
a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in
terms of honour.
And lower unto them the wing of submission and
humility through mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them
Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young’”
[al-Isra’ 17:23-24]
Since her Lord has honoured her in this way, it is
clear to all of mankind that He has created her to be a
mother, a wife, a daughter and a sister, so He prescribed
laws which apply exclusively to women and not men.
From al-Islam Usooluhu wa Mabaadi’uhu by Dr. Muhammad
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Saalih al-Sahyeem
(courtesy of
www.islam-qa.com)