Women In Islam

Women in General

Women are an important and integral part of Islamic society. Unlike a number of other religions, Islam holds women is high esteem. Her importance as a mother and a wife has been clearly stated by the prophet, PBUH.
A man came to the Prophet (PBUH), and said, "Messenger of Allah, I desire to go on a military expedition and when he replied that he and I have come to consult you." The Prophet (PBUH) then asked him if he had a mother, and when he replied that he had, the Prophet (PBUH) said, "Stay with her, for paradise is at her feet."
(An-Nasā'ī)
In his farewell speech at 'Arafāt, in the tenth year of the Hijrah, the prophet PBUH said,
"O people, your wives have certain rights over you and you have certain rights over them. Treat them well and be kind to them, for they are your partners and committer helpers."
The prophet PBUH also said, "The best among you is the one who is best towards his wife."
(At- Tirmidhī)
This clearly proves the important position given to women in Islam yet there are people, especially in the West, who have misgivings about the status of women in Islam. To these people, a Muslim woman is seen almost as 'a prisoner within the four walls of the house', or 'a non-person' and 'someone who has no rights and living always under the domination of a man'. These notions are wrong and are based on ignorance rather than correct knowledge from Islam.
In order to judge the incorrect ideas held my Western people, it would be useful to see the attitudes toward women held in the societies of the past.
During the Roman civilization, for example, a woman was regarded as a slave The Greeks considered her a commodity to be bought and sold. Early Christianity regarded women as temptresses, responsible for the fall of Adam from Heaven.
In India, the Hindus until recently considered their women worse than death, pests, serpents or even Hell. A wife's life ended with the death of her husband. In the past, a widow had to jump into the flames of her husband's funeral pyre.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, a woman was treated as a cause for grief and unhappines and baby girls were sometimes buried alive after birth. This is mentioned in the Qur'an when Allah says: "And when the female (infant) buried alive (as the pagan Ara used to do) is questioned. For what sin was she killed?" (81:8-9)
In France, in 587 CE, a conference was held to study the status of women and to determine whether a woman could truly be considered a human being or not! Henry VIII in England forbade the reading of the Bible by women and throughout the middle ages the Catholic Church treated women as second-class citizens. In the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, male and female students were not given the same rights until 1964. Before 1850, women were not counted as citizens in England and English women had no personal rights until 1882.
If we keep this status in mind and look into position of women in Islam, we must conclude that Islam liberated women from the dark age of obscurity, insecurity and being non- entities fourteen hundred years ago!
Islam is a religion of common sense. It conforms with human nature. It recognises the realities of life. This does not mean it has recognised equality of man and woman in every respect. Rather it has defined their duties according to their different biological make-up (2:228). Allah (SWT) has not made man and woman identical, so it would be against nature to try to have a social equality between man and woman. That would destroy the social balance. Society would not prosper, but would instead have insoluble problems such as broken marriages, children born outside of marriage and the break up of family life. These problems are already rife in Western society. Schoolgirl pregnancies, an increase in abortions, divorce and many other problems have resulted from a permissive outlook and the so-called freedom of women championed by feminists.
Throughout history, men and women have never been treated the same. Islam has given women the right position and has not attempted to violate divine laws. Other religions and man-made systems have failed to define the exact and appropriate role of women. In the West, women have been reduced almost to a plaything of enjoyment and fancy. Women have tended to degrade themselves probably unwittingly in modern times for the sake of real or imaginary equality. They have become objects of exploitation by men and the slogans of liberty and equality have virtually reduced them to playful commodities. Even a cursory look at advertisments in the media shows how women continue to be exploited for commercial purposes. Even a cursory look at advertisements in the media shows how women continue to be exploited for commercial purposes. The display of scantily-clothed and even naked women to exploit male desires has become the hallmark of Western materialism. They have neither gained liberty nor achieved full equality, rather they have lost their natural place in the home.