Muslim Women Are The Diamonds Of Islam

chapter 4

Men and women are equal In the sight of God.

One of the most misunderstood areas in Islam is that of the position of women in the religion. The general understanding of the West is that Muslim women are subjugated and almost seen as property. While not all Muslims deal with women as inferior, this is unfortunately true in some parts of the Muslim world and this treatment is apparently justified by the religion. However, when we look at the basis of the religion, the Quran, we see a very different picture. In the Quran God almighty makes it very clear that men and women are equal in the eyes of God. Which means that the equality between men and women in Islam is determined by their belief and righteous work, but their roles and responsibilities in life are different because of their physical and emotional differences.

Allah (God) almighty equalizes between men and women many many times in the Quran.

· In the Quran chapter number 4 verse number 124 God almighty says

"If any of you do deeds of righteousness be they male or female and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them."

· In the Quran chapter number 33 verse number 35 God almighty says

"For Muslim men and women, - for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in Charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God's praise, - for them has God prepared forgiveness and great reward. "

· In the Quran chapter number 49 verse number 13 God almighty says

"O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well-acquainted."

Righteousness determines the value of humans in Allah Almighty's sight. It is not their gender or race.

How is it that such clear verses can be ignored? Why are women treated so poorly in some Muslim communities? Well The answer lies in the fact that those communities take other sources besides the Quran as the basis of their religion. Therefore, one must differentiate between Islam and the cultural practices of some Muslim communities. The pre-Islamic cultures of much of the Muslim world did not value women and had little use for them.

islam teaches that men and women are equal in the sight of Allah. They are individually accountable for their actions, and will be judged equally by Allah.

However, although men and women are equal, they are not the same. They have different purposes. It is part of Allah's design and purpose for men and women to have different physical characteristics, likewise it is the duty of a man to provide for the financial needs of his family, and for a woman to look after the home and family.

In Islam, all the rules that apply to men also apply to women except where there's a clear evidence, where Allah will address the women and the men separately, like for example the commandment of the prayer and the giving of charity is for both the men and women. This indeed is a beautiful balance set by God. Islam does not look at women to be second class citizens rather were taught that women are the full sisters of men.

We must understand Being equal does not mean being the same. Therefore, differences in gender, age, financial situation all affect the rules and regulations which Allah (s) places on people . For example, a rule regarding only women is that if they are menstruating then they do not pray any of the five daily prayers. A rule regarding only men is that they are obliged to pray the Friday noon prayer as a group and not alone. This doesn't mean men and women are not equal. You'll find differences between Islamic rules related to rich people and poor people too. So, the rich person must pay Zakat, but the poor person has a right to receive this money and is not obliged to give anything.

God almighty says in the Quran chapter number 9 verse number 103

''Take zakat from their wealth to purify and cleanse them and pray for them"

Islam does not see being different as the same as being unequal; men and women are different, but equal. One gender is not 'better' than the other - in any aspect.

Difference in gender is one of the many differences among people - and this makes us individuals. Some of us are rich and others poor, some tall, others shorter. These differences do not come with value judgments.

Therefore, these physical attributes are not a basis on which to judge another person's value. Why? Because none of these were choices. Gender, height and skin tone are all pre-determined by Allah(God) What you can judge a person upon is their actions, the way they behave and their reasons for it.

Too often we judge whether women are treated 'equally' by making men the yardstick. This seems to work sometimes. So if you want to see if women are being treated fairly you can ask the question are they being paid the same as men?.

But why is a man the yardstick, what if she is being paid the same as a man, and she works much harder to do so, isn't that still unfair? Men and women are beautiful creations of Allah (God), and we should not judge each other on our genders, but on their actions.

We should love and appreciate the differences between a men and women and not mimic each other, Be proud of who you are.

Thank you for reading hope you enjoined. Xxxxx