W omen Rights in the West
If we agree with the ‘Women’s rights in Islam’, as portrayed by the Western media, you have no option, but to agree that the ‘Women’s rights in Islam’ are outdated.
The Western talk of women’s liberation, is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honour and degradation of her soul.
The Western society which speaks of upgrading the status of women in Islam, have actually reduced her status to concubines, to mistresses, to society butterflies, which are mere tools in the hands of sex marketers and pleasure seekers, which are disguised behind the colorful screen of art and culture.
ghts in Islam
Islam’s radical revolutionary support, gave women their due right and status in the days of ignorance… 1,400 years ago.
Islam’s objective was and continues to be, to modernise our thinking, our living, our seeing, our hearing, our feeling and striving for the women’s upliftment and emancipation in the society.
Before I dwell further with the topic, I would like you to make note of a few points.
Approximately one Fouth of the world’s population, consists of Muslims. There are different Muslim societies - Some may be close to Islam, some may be far away from Islam.
The ‘Women’s rights in Islam’ should judged according to the authentic sources, and not what individual Muslims do, or what the Muslim society does.
The authentic sources of Islam, are the Qur’an, which is the word of God, and the authentic Sunnah, and the traditions of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him).
Qur’an will never contradict itself, nor will the authentic Hadith contradict itself… neither will these two authentic sources, contradict each other.
Sometimes the scholars differ, and many a times, these differences can be removed by analyzing the Qur’an as a whole, and not just by quoting one particular Verse. Because if one particular verse of the Qur’an is ambiguous many a times the answer is given somewhere else in the Qur’an - Some people quote one source and neglect all the other sources.
It is the duty of every Muslim, male or female, to seek the pleasure of God, and to act as His trustee on this world, and not to try and gain fame or satisfy one’s own ego.
Islam believes in equality of men and women – ‘Equality’ does not mean ‘identicality’.
In Islam, the role of a man and woman is complimentary, it is not conflicting. It is that of a partnership, it is not contradictory, so as to strive for supremacy.
Where ‘Women’s rights in Islam’ is concerned, I have divided it into 6 broad categories.
Six Categories of Women Rights in Islam
The first are ‘the Spiritual rights’, second are ‘the Economical rights’, third are ‘the Social rights’, fourth are ‘the Educational rights’, fifth are ‘the Legal rights’, and last are ‘the Political rights’.
Sex is Not the Criteria to Enter Paradise:
The greatest misconception that the West has about Islam, is that they think… ‘Paradise in Islam, is only meant for the male - it is not meant for the female’.
This misconception can be removed by quoting from Surah Nisa, Ch. No. 4, Verse No 124, which says, ‘If any of you do deeds of righteousness, whether it be male or a female and has faith, they shall surely enter Paradise and not the least injustice shall be done to them’
A similar thing is repeated in Surah Nahl, Ch.16, Verse No.97 which says… ‘If any of you perform good deeds, be it a man or a woman and is a believer, We shall give you good life and We should reward you for all your good works’.
Just because in Islam, sex is not the criteria to enter Paradise, will you call such rights in Islam as modernising or outdated?
A. Spiritual Rights of Women in Islam
Another misconception is that, which the Western media has, that, ‘The woman has no soul’.
In fact, it was in the seventeenth century, when the Council of wise men, when they gathered at Rome, and they unanimously agreed that the woman had no soul.
In Islam, man and woman have the same spiritual nature. It is mentioned in Quran, Ch.4, Verse No.1, which says that, ‘O humankind reverence your Guardian Lord, who has created you from a single person and created like nature his mate’.
A similar thing is mentioned in Surah Nahl, Ch.16, Verse No.72, which says that, ‘We have made for you companions and mates of your own nature’.
In Surah Al-Shura, Ch.42, Verse No.11, it says, ‘He is the one who has created the heavens and the earth and has made for you pairs from among yourselves’.
Just because the spiritual nature of a man and woman is the same in Islam, will you call such rights in Islam, as modernizing or outdated?
The Qur’an clearly mentions that, ‘God has breathed somewhat of His spirit into the human beings’.
If you read Surah Hijr, Ch.15, Verse No.29, it says, ‘When I have fashioned you in due proportion and have breathed into you something of my spirit, fall you down in obeisance’.
A similar thing is repeated in the Qur’an, in Surah Sajdah, Ch. 32, Verse No.9, which says, ‘Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His Spirit...’.
Here, when God refers to as ‘Something of My Spirit, is breathed into the human beings’ - it does not mean, a sort of incarnation or a pantheistic form.
It means that Allah has given to every human being something of His spiritual Nature, and the Knowledge of God Almighty, and coming closer towards Him.
Here it refers to both Adam and Eve (may peace be upon them) - Both were breathed something of God's Spirit.
Again we read in the Qur’an, that Allah has appointed the human being as His vicegerent, as His trustee, as is mentioned in Surah Isra, Ch.17, Verse No.70, which says, ‘We have honoured the children of Adam and bestowed on them special favours’.
Note, here all the children of Adam have been honoured, male as well as female.
There are some Religious scriptures, for example the Bible, which puts the blame on Eve for the downfall of humanity.
In fact if you read the Qur’an in Surah Araf, Ch.7, Verse No.19 to 27, Adam and Eve (may peace be upon them both) are addressed, more than a dozen of times.
Both disobeyed God, both asked for forgiveness, both repented, and both were forgiven.
In the Bible, if you read Genesis, Ch. 3, only Eve is held responsible (May peace be upon her) for the downfall of humanity.
And according to the doctrine of ‘Original Sin’, because of Eve (may peace be upon her) the whole of humanity is born in sin.
Does Pregnancy Uplift the Women or Degrade?
If you read the Bible in Genesis, Ch. 3, Verse No.16, it says that, 'To the woman He (God) said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."'
That means, pregnancy and child birth has been said in the Bible to degrade the women and the labour pain is a sort of punishment.
In fact if you read the Qur’an, pregnancy and child birth have uplifted the women.
If you read Surah Nisa, Ch.4, Verse No.1, it says, ‘Respect the womb that bore you’.
Its mentioned in Surah Luqman, Ch.31, Verse No.14, it says, ‘We have enjoined on the human being to be kind to the parents, in travail upon travail did their mother bore them and in years twain was their weaning’.
A similar thing is mentioned in Surah Ahqaf, Ch.46, Verse No.15, it again repeats, which says, ‘We have enjoined on the human beings to be kind to his parents’.
To be kind to the parents - in pain did their mother bore them, and in pain did she give them birth - Pregnancy in the Qur’an has uplifted the women not degraded her.
Just because pregnancy has uplifted the women in Islam will you call such rights in Islam as modernizing or outdated?
W omen Rights in the West If we agree with the ‘Women’s rights in Islam’, as portrayed by the Western media, you have no option, but to agree that the ‘Women’s rights in Islam’ are outdated. The Western talk of women’s liberation, is actually a disguised form of exploitation of her body, deprivation of her honour and degradation of her soul. The Western society which speaks of upgrading the status of women in Islam, have actually reduced her status to concubines, to mistresses, to society butterflies, which are mere tools in the hands of sex marketers and pleasure seekers, which are disguised behind the colorful screen of art and culture. ghts in Islam Islam’s radical revolutionary support, gave women their due right and status in the days of ignorance… 1,400 years ago. Islam’s objective was and continues to be, to modernise our thinking, our living, our seeing, our hearing, our feeling and striving for the women’s upliftment and emancipation in the society. Before I dwell further with the topic, I would like you to make note of a few points. Approximately one Fouth of the world’s population, consists of Muslims. There are different Muslim societies - Some may be close to Islam, some may be far away from Islam. The ‘Women’s rights in Islam’ should judged according to the authentic sources, and not what individual Muslims do, or what the Muslim society does. The authentic sources of Islam, are the Qur’an, which is the word of God, and the authentic Sunnah, and the traditions of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). Qur’an will never contradict itself, nor will the authentic Hadith contradict itself… neither will these two authentic sources, contradict each other. Sometimes the scholars differ, and many a times, these differences can be removed by analyzing the Qur’an as a whole, and not just by quoting one particular Verse. Because if one particular verse of the Qur’an is ambiguous many a times the answer is given somewhere else in the Qur’an - Some people quote one source and neglect all the other sources. It is the duty of every Muslim, male or female, to seek the pleasure of God, and to act as His trustee on this world, and not to try and gain fame or satisfy one’s own ego. Islam believes in equality of men and women – ‘Equality’ does not mean ‘identicality’. In Islam, the role of a man and woman is complimentary, it is not conflicting. It is that of a partnership, it is not contradictory, so as to strive for supremacy. Where ‘Women’s rights in Islam’ is concerned, I have divided it into 6 broad categories. Six Categories of Women Rights in Islam The first are ‘the Spiritual rights’, second are ‘the Economical rights’, third are ‘the Social rights’, fourth are ‘the Educational rights’, fifth are ‘the Legal rights’, and last are ‘the Political rights’. Sex is Not the Criteria to Enter Paradise: The greatest misconception that the West has about Islam, is that they think… ‘Paradise in Islam, is only meant for the male - it is not meant for the female’. This misconception can be removed by quoting from Surah Nisa, Ch. No. 4, Verse No 124, which says, ‘If any of you do deeds of righteousness, whether it be male or a female and has faith, they shall surely enter Paradise and not the least injustice shall be done to them’ A similar thing is repeated in Surah Nahl, Ch.16, Verse No.97 which says… ‘If any of you perform good deeds, be it a man or a woman and is a believer, We shall give you good life and We should reward you for all your good works’. Just because in Islam, sex is not the criteria to enter Paradise, will you call such rights in Islam as modernising or outdated? A. Spiritual Rights of Women in Islam Another misconception is that, which the Western media has, that, ‘The woman has no soul’. In fact, it was in the seventeenth century, when the Council of wise men, when they gathered at Rome, and they unanimously agreed that the woman had no soul. In Islam, man and woman have the same spiritual nature. It is mentioned in Quran, Ch.4, Verse No.1, which says that, ‘O humankind reverence your Guardian Lord, who has created you from a single person and created like nature his mate’. A similar thing is mentioned in Surah Nahl, Ch.16, Verse No.72, which says that, ‘We have made for you companions and mates of your own nature’. In Surah Al-Shura, Ch.42, Verse No.11, it says, ‘He is the one who has created the heavens and the earth and has made for you pairs from among yourselves’. Just because the spiritual nature of a man and woman is the same in Islam, will you call such rights in Islam, as modernizing or outdated? The Qur’an clearly mentions that, ‘God has breathed somewhat of His spirit into the human beings’. If you read Surah Hijr, Ch.15, Verse No.29, it says, ‘When I have fashioned you in due proportion and have breathed into you something of my spirit, fall you down in obeisance’. A similar thing is repeated in the Qur’an, in Surah Sajdah, Ch. 32, Verse No.9, which says, ‘Then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His Spirit...’. Here, when God refers to as ‘Something of My Spirit, is breathed into the human beings’ - it does not mean, a sort of incarnation or a pantheistic form. It means that Allah has given to every human being something of His spiritual Nature, and the Knowledge of God Almighty, and coming closer towards Him. Here it refers to both Adam and Eve (may peace be upon them) - Both were breathed something of God's Spirit. Again we read in the Qur’an, that Allah has appointed the human being as His vicegerent, as His trustee, as is mentioned in Surah Isra, Ch.17, Verse No.70, which says, ‘We have honoured the children of Adam and bestowed on them special favours’. Note, here all the children of Adam have been honoured, male as well as female. There are some Religious scriptures, for example the Bible, which puts the blame on Eve for the downfall of humanity. In fact if you read the Qur’an in Surah Araf, Ch.7, Verse No.19 to 27, Adam and Eve (may peace be upon them both) are addressed, more than a dozen of times. Both disobeyed God, both asked for forgiveness, both repented, and both were forgiven. In the Bible, if you read Genesis, Ch. 3, only Eve is held responsible (May peace be upon her) for the downfall of humanity. And according to the doctrine of ‘Original Sin’, because of Eve (may peace be upon her) the whole of humanity is born in sin. Does Pregnancy Uplift the Women or Degrade? If you read the Bible in Genesis, Ch. 3, Verse No.16, it says that, 'To the woman He (God) said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."' That means, pregnancy and child birth has been said in the Bible to degrade the women and the labour pain is a sort of punishment. In fact if you read the Qur’an, pregnancy and child birth have uplifted the women. If you read Surah Nisa, Ch.4, Verse No.1, it says, ‘Respect the womb that bore you’. Its mentioned in Surah Luqman, Ch.31, Verse No.14, it says, ‘We have enjoined on the human being to be kind to the parents, in travail upon travail did their mother bore them and in years twain was their weaning’. A similar thing is mentioned in Surah Ahqaf, Ch.46, Verse No.15, it again repeats, which says, ‘We have enjoined on the human beings to be kind to his parents’. To be kind to the parents - in pain did their mother bore them, and in pain did she give them birth - Pregnancy in the Qur’an has uplifted the women not degraded her. Just because pregnancy has uplifted the women in Islam will you call such rights in Islam as modernizing or outdated?
