Learn the Status Of Women In Islam from Quran and Hadees, Not from Militant Ideology
By Arman Neyazi, New
Age Islam
20 April
2021
Islamic Scholars Should Use Their Knowledge And
Resources In Teaching Muslims Their Religion And Its Correct Manifestations
Towards The Whole Society
Main Points:
1.
Muslims and Islamic countries are inflicting unimaginable damage to
Islamic tenets of human rights.
2.
Treatment of women in Islamic societies is unbelievably inequitable and
unjust.
3. By
being sectarian, Muslims are demeaning the Quranic tenet of coexistence, ‘For
you is your religion, and for me is mine.’
4.
Status of Women in Islam through the Texts of Quran and Hadees.
More than
anybody or any nation, it is the Muslims and the Islamic countries that are
inflicting unimaginable damage to Islamic tenets of human rights, its Prophet
and his teachings by their biased approach towards people of other religions
and other sects.. By being supremacist and sectarian they are demeaning the
Quranic tenet of coexistence, ‘For you is
your religion, and for me is mine’ (Surah Al-Kafirun - 109:1).
Treatment
of women in Islamic societies is unbelievably unegalitarian. Muslims have
forgotten what was commanded to them 1400 years ago. Newspapers carry oblique
references to Muslim women's fight for their rights against the concerned
government, not to speak of the supremacist organisations.
This is
high time Islamic scholars use their knowledge and resources in teaching
Muslims their religion from the very beginning of the struggle of Islam and its
just manifestations towards the whole society.
It is
because of the continuous incidents of forced conversions and forced marriages
that even the people who admire Islamic principles from the core of their heart
are busy trying to find faults within its principles and to defame it. They do
it by design. It is human psychology that one goes after something that is not
within his reach, to acquire - social status or knowledge, respect and honour.
By nature,
human being maligns the things he is unable to stand true to, such as Islamic
principles. Islamic principles or for that matter the religious principles of
any other community is difficult to follow if you suffer from a superiority
complex. To stand true to religious teachings, indeed even the spiritual
teachings of a spiritual guru, one needs to be a humble student.
If a human being wishes to learn, he will have
to be a student, not a half-cooked teacher.
As the saying goes ‘half knowledge is dangerous. We find people in
droves who keep promoting their understanding of everything on earth, from
politics to religion, from a common man in the neighbourhood to the religious
leaders, without even having an iota of knowledge about them.
Such ‘half
knowledge is dangerous’: people are a bane for the thinking society. They
create havoc in whatever field they belong to. The world is witness to such
people bringing miseries on their countrymen with their superiority
complex and their conviction about
knowing everything on earth. There is no dearth of people who keep criticising
‘others’ religion even if they are not aware of its teachings. They get the
kind of information they wish from the internet and go with it. They
unknowingly harm the religion they belong to, as their irrelevant talks create
a wrong impression of the religion they belong to. Therefore, all such people
will do better to study the religion they think is against humanity in their
opinion and then comment on it. A small bit of advice is that this study will
take years of untiring dedication with lots of patience. But go for it, it will
be worth it. It will be good that you follow a religion not by birth but by
choice.
Status of Women in Islam through the Texts of
Quran and Hadees
Women's
status in Islam is a hot topic for the Islam bashers. Islam is the only
religion that fought for women’s right, right from its inception. Not only in
the Saudi peninsula but almost all part of the world, women were disregarded,
disrespected and were considered unfit for social, political and warfare
engagements. Women were considered weak, eligible to look after the petty
things of the household chores. All other decisions were taken by men. The
society before Islam’s advent was a society against women’s rights. It is Islam
that taught the importance of women to society. According to a Hadees:
An apostle
asked the Prophet PBUH:
“O
Messenger of God, among all mankind who is it that I am much obliged to
glorify?” The Prophet answered, “Your mother.” “And then who else?” again the
man ask. “Your mother,” again the Prophet answered. “And then who else?” the
man ask for the third time. “Your mother, still answered the Prophet. “And then
who else?” asked the man for the fourth time. “Your father,” at last the
Prophet said.
So, it was
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who introduced mother as the key to the heavens. Prophet
(SAW) says, ‘Paradise lies under the feet
of mothers’. What greater status can a religion bestow upon a woman that it
has laid the heavens under the feet of a mother. Therefore men, respect your
mothers with all their human rights and achieve your goal ‘the heaven’ for
which you keep striving outside your house. Your heaven is inside your house in
the form of your mother.
Allah, the
Best Judge, commands the believers in the Holy Quran not to inherit women, in
any way whatsoever or mistreat them. Men are commanded to treat women with
dignity and respect. Any kind of maltreatment of a woman is against the will of
Allah, so Muslims, be careful of the divine wrath that may befall upon you.
O, believers! It is
not permissible for you to inherit women against their will1 or mistreat them
to make them return some of the dowry ˹as a ransom for divorce˺—unless they are found guilty of adultery.2 Treat them fairly. If you
happen to dislike them, you may hate something which Allah turns into a great
blessing. (Surah
An-Nisa - Verse:19) - Dr Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran
Respecting Women is a Religious Responsibility
“Treat women nicely.” (Sahih al-Bukhari and
Sahih Muslim).
“Women are twin halves of men.” (Jami’
al-Tirmidhi).
“Paradise lies under the feet of mothers”:
Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
Above
mentioned Ahadees point towards the fact that respecting all women,
irrespective of religion, caste or creed is a divine law.
It becomes praiseworthy, respectable and
honourable for all the men to treat women with honour. The Holy Quran says, “Men are support for women,” Surah
An-Nisa - Verse:34
Islam
because of being a universal religion talks of all in general, when it says,
‘men are support for women’. Among all the men of the world, the believers are
duty-bound to support women in all respects of life. Men are not supposed to
create hindrances in women’s creative works, social works and their empowerment
in society. Providing support to women means, providing them moral support
among all other things and not creating obstacles of any kind in their
achievements.
Shaykh
Mohammed Aslam, Founder of City of Knowledge & Prophet of Change, Isyllabus
Tutor & International Speaker thus describes the importance of women in the
life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
He said,
“The Prophet was born in the lap of a woman. He was delicately wrapped up and
nursed by a woman. The first person to see his beautiful and illuminated smile
was a woman. When his mother died in Abwa, he tearfully returned to Makkah with
a woman.
“When he
returned from Hira, the first person who covered him was a woman and the first
person he spoke to was a woman. A woman was the first to believe in him. A
woman was the first to pray with him. A woman was the first to die for him.
“When he
delivered his Khutbah (sermon), a woman was the first to build a Minbar (pulpit)
for him. When he left this world, he left resting his head on a woman.
“His
lineage continued through a woman; and his final words were, ‘I give you
counsel that you be good to your women’.”
Muslims
should come forward and play the role of a torchbearer for the empowerment of
women. It will be as per the tenet of the religion they follow and a social
responsibility given to them by Islam.
And Allah knows the best.
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Arman Neyazi is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/learn-status-women-islam-quran/d/124718
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