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], {وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ}, Transliteration: Wa Laqad Karramnā Banī 'Ādama
“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], {لِّلرِّجَالِ
نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ
نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا تَرَكَ الْوَالِدَانِ وَالْأَقْرَبُونَ مِمَّا قَلَّ
مِنْهُ أَوْ كَثُرَ ۚ نَصِيبًا مَّفْرُوضًا ﴿٧﴾}, Transliteration: Lilrrijāli
Naşībun Mimmā Taraka Al-Wālidāni Wa Al-'Aqrabūna Wa Lilnnisā'i Naşībun
Mimmā Taraka Al-Wālidāni Wa Al-'Aqrabūna Mimmā Qalla Minhu 'Aw Kathura
Naşībāan Mafrūđāan
“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],{….. وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ ۚ وَلِلرِّجَالِ عَلَيْهِنَّ دَرَجَةٌ﴿٢٢٨﴾}, Transliteration: …. Wa Lahunna Mithlu Al-Ladhī `Alayhinna Bil-Ma`rūfi Wa Lilrrijāli `Alayhinna Darajatun…
“The believers, men and women, are Awliya’ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another”[al-Tawbah 9:71], {وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ}, Transliteration: Wa Al-Mu'uminūna Wa Al-Mu'uminātu Ba`đuhum 'Awliyā'u Ba`đin….
“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], {وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۚ
إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا
تَقُل لَّهُمَا أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا
﴿٢٣﴾ وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا ﴿٢٤﴾}, Transliteration: Wa
Qađá Rabbuka 'Allā Ta`budū 'Illā 'Īyāhu Wa Bil-Wālidayni 'Iĥsānāan
'Immā Yablughanna `Indaka Al- Kibara 'Aĥaduhumā 'Aw Kilāhumā Falā Taqul
Lahumā 'Uffin Wa Lā Tanharhumā Wa Qul Lahumā Qawlāan Karīmāan(23) Wa
Akhfiđ Lahumā Janāĥa Adh-Dhulli Mina Ar-Raĥmati Wa Qul Rrabbi Arĥamhumā
Kamā Rabbayānī Şaghīrāan(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], {فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِّنكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَى….}, Transliteration: Fāstajāba Lahum Rabbuhum 'Annī Lā 'Uđī`u `Amala `Āmilin Minkum Min Dhakarin 'Aw 'Unthá…
“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], {مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٩٧﴾}, Transliteration: Man
`Amila Şāliĥāan Min Dhakarin 'Aw 'Unthá Wa Huwa Mu'uminun
Falanuĥyiyannahu Ĥayāatan Ţayyibatan Wa Lanajziyannahum 'Ajrahum
Bi'aĥsani Mā Kānū Ya`malūna
“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] , {وَمَن
يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ مِن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ
فَأُولَـٰئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ نَقِيرًا ﴿١٢٤﴾}, Transliteration: Wa
Man Ya`mal Mina Aş-Şāliĥāti Min Dhakarin 'Aw 'Unthá Wa Huwa Mu'uminun
Fa'ūlā'ika Yadkhulūna Al-Jannata Wa Lā Yužlamūna Naqīrāan
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], {وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتُ بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ}, Transliteration: Wa Al-Mu'uminūna Wa Al-Mu'uminātu Ba`đuhum 'Awliyā'u Ba`đin….
“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],{….. وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ ۚ وَلِلرِّجَالِ عَلَيْهِنَّ دَرَجَةٌ﴿٢٢٨﴾}, Transliteration: …. Wa Lahunna Mithlu Al-Ladhī `Alayhinna Bil-Ma`rūfi Wa Lilrrijāli `Alayhinna Darajatun…
“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” [17:23-24], {وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا ۚ
إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلَاهُمَا فَلَا
تَقُل لَّهُمَا أُفٍّ وَلَا تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلًا كَرِيمًا
﴿٢٣﴾ وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَقُل رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا ﴿٢٤﴾}, Transliteration: Wa
Qađá Rabbuka 'Allā Ta`budū 'Illā 'Īyāhu Wa Bil-Wālidayni 'Iĥsānāan
'Immā Yablughanna `Indaka Al- Kibara 'Aĥaduhumā 'Aw Kilāhumā Falā Taqul
Lahumā 'Uffin Wa Lā Tanharhumā Wa Qul Lahumā Qawlāan Karīmāan(23) Wa
Akhfiđ Lahumā Janāĥa Adh-Dhulli Mina Ar-Raĥmati Wa Qul Rrabbi Arĥamhumā
Kamā Rabbayānī Şaghīrāan(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.
