WOMEN IN ISLAM
A favourite theme for those who want
to find something to attack Islam and Muslims is to assume that Muslim women
are oppressed. The criticism usually takes the form of Muslim women being
forced to cover from head to toe because they are oppressed by men, that if a
women is raped she will be stoned to death, that Muslim women are not allowed
to be educated etc… it is intended in this short leaflet to highlight the true
status of women in Islam.
The role of women in Islam is in fact
more important than that of the man. The word ‘Umm’ meaning mother is from the
same root as ‘Ummah’ which means the Muslim community worldwide. The Muslim
woman is in charge of the society on a smaller scale, meaning the family. She
is the first school and main person responsible for bringing up the new
generation. The Muslim woman, as opposed to the Western woman, is always
respected and honoured, as a mother, wife, sister and daughter and her own
natural disposition as a woman is neither denied not ignored. Unlike in the
West where there is a gender war taking place between men and women vying with
each other and competing to be better, in Islam the Shari’ah (Islamic law)
makes a distinction between the roles of men and women based on their own
natural abilities, instincts and disposition. Hence the man is obliged to
provide food, clothing and shelter for his wife even if she has her own wealth
and he is obliged to defend and protect her honour whereas the Muslim woman
will look after the wealth and children of her husband and maintain the
household thereby creating a harmonious and efficient atmosphere in the home.
This will enable both men and women to play all the other roles that they have
within society including being educated to the highest standards and being
statesmen and stateswomen carrying Islam to the world.
The Muslim woman takes the criteria
for her actions solely from the revelation, as contained in the Qur’an (the
actual word of God) and through the actions and sayings of the Messenger
Muhammad (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) which are all
divinely inspired. Hence, the way that a Muslim woman dresses or behaves are
based on the commands and prohibitions of her Lord, Allah and not the dictates
of men. This reality elevates a woman to a status which Western women can only
dream of, many of whom are to this day subservient to men through the cosmetics
and fashion industries, through the influence of film and, unlike in Islam
where anything that could strip a woman of her honour is completely outlawed,
pornography and prostitution are legal in most Western societies. The Muslim
woman is addressed for her intellect and abilities as opposed to being treated
as a sex-object, where it is often the case that the higher the skirt she wears
corresponds to what she can achieve in the male dominated company that she
works for or where her beauty is exploited to sell anything from tins of beans
to cars. When we compare this with what Islam says it is the difference between
night and day. The Messenger Muhammad said that a woman must not be employed
except for her effort. Hence in Islam it would not even be allowed for a woman
to be employed as an air-stewardess or secretary if a reason for this was that
her femininity would most likely attract male clients. Moreover neither the
male nor the female bodies are permitted to be exploited through advertisements
or for monetary gain. From this it is clear that there is no force greater than
Islam when it comes to protecting the social fabric within society.
In the penal code of Islam, if a man
was to so much as accuse a woman of fornication then he would be lashed 80
lashes publicly unless he could bring forth 4 witnesses who actually saw her
committing the act of fornication. In addition if there is sufficient evidence
that a man raped a woman, he would be punished as opposed to the woman who is
attacked. This is in stark contrast to what many ignorant people assume about
Islam. In addition alcohol or any intoxicants are completely prohibited and
carry punishments if consumed, which also deals with the lowering of
inhibitions and associated unwanted pregnancies and the scourge of date-rapes,
so common under man made laws prevalent in the West.
The woman before the advent of Islam
had little rights and was treated as a chattel to be owned and inherited and
had no rights to divorce let alone to account her husband. After the final
Messenger Muhammad was sent to mankind and Allah favoured us with his example
and the Qur’an we find that the most perfect system and way of life has been
revealed where both men and women can flourish and reach their potential in
life. Apart from women being teachers and judges and being consulted in the
highest affairs of State after the advent of Islam, the Muslim woman was given
the divine right of inheritance and the right to provision from her husband and
protection from any exploitation 1400 years before people even started to
introduce some of these ideas in the West, who still have a lot of catching up
to do. The fact that four times as many women embrace Islam than men in the UK,
despite the false accusation of misogyny, is testament to the fact that Islam,
far from oppressing women, has shown them a way in which they can be liberated
from the dictates and oppression of man made law into the justice and
tranquillity of divine law.
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