Giving a detailed answer to these questions requires writing an article or even a book. We try to give a brief answer appropriate for a mail.
Islam gave numerous rights and a lot of honor to women. You can study the status of women before Islam. At a time when women were not considered humans like men and were treated very badly, Islam supported women and considered them to be equal with men in terms of humanity, potentials and rights.
The Holy Quran declared that men and women have equal spiritual value and addressed both genders with phrases like "O mankind" and "O you who believe". Nowhere in the Quran are men the only addressees.
Some old nations believed that women were animals or evil beings not humans. Islam explicitly declared that men and women are equal in creation and in humanity. It introduced woman as one of the two origins from which the human race dispersed. It announced that one's status is determined according to his or her piety, "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you." (49:13)
In another verse it explicitly says that men and women are equal in creation and clearly states that men and women are from the same origin: "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women." (4:1)
In a third verse, after insisting that men and women are the same in origin, it adds that woman brings tranquility to man, "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them." (30:21)
In terms of having inherent dignity, there is no difference between man and woman from the viewpoint of the Quran. As a general rule, it says, "And We have certainly honored the children of Adam." (17:70) The phrase "Children of Adam" includes both genders.
Also, regarding acquired dignity, though many old nations did not consider a woman worthy of being adherent to a religion and believed that woman is evil and her worship before God is not accepted, Islam stated that there is no difference between man and woman regarding their worship being accepted by God. According to Islam the way to perfection and prosperity is open before both genders. The Quran considers women equal to men in terms of educational potentials, morals, knowledge and so on and so forth. It has guaranteed that both genders can reach perfection and prosperity without any difference, provided that they do good deeds.
Here we will have a glance at two such verses:
"Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do." (16:97) This verse emphasizes that good life which enlightens the heart and is a sign of perfection and proximity to God is achievable through doing good deeds for both man and woman.
"Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - those will enter Paradise, being given provision therein without account." (40:40)
From an Islamic point of view, every man and woman is liable based on his or her own deeds. Whoever does good deeds will be rewarded and whoever does evil deeds will be punishable irrespective of whether he or she is a man or woman. Thus, women are similar to men in terms of acquired dignity as well.
As for legal rights and the like, again men and women are the same from the Islamic perspective. Among most basic legal rights is right to property. Before Islam, among many nations women were not considered to have right to property. Therefore, most often they were deprived of inheritance. In case in some nations women had right to property, it was limited and she could not gift, trade or exchange her property. In such circumstances, the Quran ordered that just like men, women are free to make whatever decision they wish regarding their property, "For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned." (4:32)
The reason why men are given a different position in some cases
As to why the Quran gives men different position in certain cases, for example in marital life, saying, "Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other." (4:34); the answer is that each gender has different familial and social responsibilities proportionate to his or her physical and emotional differences. If the duties of a man are imposed on a woman or vice versa, it would be against their nature and also against justice. Thus, each gender has to act according to his or her own duties and capabilities to actualize their potentials.
Taking into account these differences, tasks which require firmness and careful reasoning are delegated to men. This never means that men are better than women in creation. This division of responsibilities is due to different abilities each gender has. A man can better take up the responsibility of social and economic interactions and provide his family with what its needs.
Therefore, there is no doubt that men and women have some physical and emotional differences. Such differences are natural and necessary for the prosperity of human race. There are differences which can be observed even among men. For example, all men have certain potentials but every man’s potential is different from others. God created people different so that by actualizing their potentials different needs of the society are met. That is because society has varieties of needs regarding food, medicine, civil engineering and so on and so forth. God's wisdom required that people should be created with different potentials and interests so that these different needs are fulfilled. As a result, one person has the aptitude to become a physician, another to become a farmer, a third person to become an engineer and so on and so forth.
Just like having a certain potential does not make one better than others in terms of human values, the same is the case with natural distinctions between men and women. They are similar in humanity though they have different capabilities. These differences are necessary for the purpose of creation, which is humans' perfection. They are vital for the society to meet its needs and thus survive. These differences guarantee continuation of the human race and pave the ground for the establishment of familial bond in the basic unit of the society, i.e., family. As a result, each of man and woman will have the incentive to struggle towards his or her perfection and actualization of their potentials which is the ultimate goal of creation. Had it been different, there would have been a flaw in creation. For a society to prosper there is need to both genders; and each gender should try to fulfill his or her duties. This is the reason why the divine design required creating two different genders.
Aside from physical differences, the purpose of which is thriving of human society, there are also some emotional differences between man and woman which serve the same objective. This further affirms the fact that each of man and woman has duties in the system of creation and he or she is created with certain physical and emotional features that best correspond with those duties. Man is physically stronger than woman and more capable of intellectual reasoning. On the other hand, woman is more emotional and replete with delicate feelings. Men are naturally braver in face of troubles while women are more patient. All these are because they have different responsibilities. For example, since a woman gives birth to and rears children she is physically equipped with necessary features needed for this purpose. Also, she has deeper emotions so that she can raise her children with utmost love and care.
At any rate, difference in creation on the one hand assigns them different responsibilities and on the other hand, gives them different rights -in some cases- which are proportionate to their different responsibilities.
The law of nature has made them dependent on each other. Therefore, the perfection of each is not achievable independently from the other. This dissimilarity in creation not only does guarantee the continuation of human race but also paves the ground for perfection, love and affection. This perfection and mutual love will survive if each gender fulfils the duties assigned to them.
Based on what was mentioned above, it becomes clear that men being in charge of women in chapter 4 verse 34 does not mean that men are better than women. There are many women who are far better than many men in terms of high spirituality and proximity to God. Men having authority in the family is because of their responsibility regarding taking care of and providing for the family which corresponds with their physical and emotional strength. This is just a different natural responsibility and does not imply difference in spiritual value. In a certain family, though the man is in charge but the woman could be higher than him in terms of piety and faith and thus closer to God.
As for skepticisms cast by feminists and other western advocates of women’s rights, you need to remember that:
Though in western countries women’s rights are apparently much talked about and many claim to be advocating women’s rights, the reality is that by using terms like women’s rights, freedom, democracy and so on and so forth dignity and honor of women are violated in the worst of ways. Women are encouraged to appear in public without appropriate dressing and are like dolls in the hands of licentious men. Opportunists and those who only think about increasing their own benefit, make up false ideals for women so that they do not pay attention to violation of their dignity.
Both in old-time-ignorance as well as in modern-time-ignorance that considers itself to be civilized, women have been under oppression. They’ve been belittled and exploited. The difference is only in the form of exploitation and oppression while both are similar in violating woman’s dignity.
The corruption and decadence prevailing in modern western society, the oppression against women, and the violation of their true rights are by no means less than that of old-time-ignorance. The distinction of the modern-time-ignorance is that it does all this under the pretext of humanistic values. If in old time girls were buried alive, in modern times modesty and decency of women is being buried in a quagmire of corruption and immorality. If during Pharaoh’s rule infant boys were murdered and infant girls were kept alive to grow up as maid servants, in western societies, by way of deceptive propagation and use of attractive titles like right to freedom and equality, the protective instinct in men regarding keeping their women folks safe from unlawful approach of lascivious men is made dead and women are left to be at the disposal of dishonest men.
While Islam on the other hand, gave women freedom, honor, and autonomous thought and reasoning and respected their natural rights. The steps Islam took in order to revive women’s dignity, honor and rights is totally different from what the western culture did in this regard. Though Islam gave woman rights and freedom, it never encouraged her to be rebellious when dealing with her male counterpart. Islam did not neglect the due respect of fathers and husbands and did not destabilize the institution of family.
In more clear words, by way of making women’s rights and dignity intermingled with familial bonds and mutual emotions, Islam aimed to strengthen familial ties. This in turn leads to strengthening of social relations on a larger scale. On the one hand, Islam explicitly declared for each of man and woman certain rights, gave women freedom and liberated them from unfair labor, and decreed that husbands do not have the right to force any labor on women even in regards with rearing their children. On the other hand, it emphasized the mutual emotions between them and proclaimed that each of them will be rewarded abundantly if they helped each other. As a result, both would try to do their best in being a good and helpful spouse for the other. Numerous narrations on this subject are available in the book Wasa’il al-Shia.
This is all when in western countries the autonomy and freedom of women were coupled with their rebellion against men and ultimately undermined the institution of family so much so that no mutual trust remained between husband and wife.
Undoubtedly, in such a society their will not be strong familial ties. When a man is not sure if his child is really his, he wouldn’t have much care about his children which will render familial relations weak. This will result in an unsecure society comprising of mean, corrupt and depraved individuals, where there is no place for human dignity and social morals.
Women’s position in Islam in contrast with narrations disparaging women
19 April 2024 Clock 18:17
The following are questions posed by my wife to me. Please provide answers with references. It is very important for me: My question is about women's status in Islam. Though after the emergence of Islam women attained higher position in family as well as in society and they were freed from shackles of ignorance and wrong customs, Islam limited them in some other ways and degraded their position from other points of view. There are many narrations that describe women as being foolish, disloyal and source of corruption. Why did Imam Ali (as) speak against women? What should I do as a Shia and lover of Ahlulbait (as) when I see that women are given little value in all divine religions? I feel ashamed of being a woman. Even the Quran considers men higher than women and says, "Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other." Imam Ali (as) advising his son Imam Hasan (as) says, "Avoid consulting with women because their opinion is flawed and their decision is hasty." The Prophet (as) says, "When a woman enters a place it is as if Satan has entered and when she leaves it is as if Satan has left. Women steal faith, deceive men and lead people's hearts astray." According to another narration one morning the Prophet (as) ran into a group of women. Addressing them he said, "O women! I have not seen the like of you. You are weak in intellect and in faith yet you enthrall those who have intellect and bewitch their hearts. I saw most inhabitants of the Hell from women." In another narration the Prophet (saw) has been quoted to have said, "You women constitute most occupants of Hell." A woman asked, "Why O Prophet of God?" He said, "You speak ill of others a lot and curse people profusely. You are ungrateful to your husbands and relatives and forget their favors to you. Also, you are defective in intelligence and in faith." The women asked, "Why are our intelligence and faith defective?" He said, "As for defect in intellect, God decreed that the testimony of the two of you equals the testimony of one man. As for defect in faith, days and nights in a month pass while you do not prostrate before God and do not worship Him." These examples gave rise to questions in my mind. Why do the testimonies of two women equal the testimony of one man? Why is the monthly period considered a cause for defect in faith? Did God intend to humiliate women by afflicting them with monthly menstruation? Or did He want to make them suffer during these days? Or is it in women's interest and results in purification of their body? According to an author, Imam Ali (as) has been quoted to have said, "Beware of the harms of evil women and be watchful of the good among them. Whenever they advise you to do a good thing do not listen to them so that they will not expect you to follow them when they advise you to do what is reprehensible." The author added, "If a man is influenced by his wife's desires he will not succeed. In this narration Imam Ali (as) denounces consulting with women categorically and censures their interference in social affairs. Women are only good for giving birth to children and satisfying men's desires." I wish one had asked this author, "Who gave birth to you? A man or a woman?" The Prophet (saw) has been quoted to have said, "Do not accommodate women in overlooking rooms and do not teach them writing. Instead, teach them spinning and chapter Nur." It means that a woman does not have right to knowledge. She should not express her opinion, make decisions and the like. Rather, she always has to follow the man. In another narration it has been narrated that the Prophet (saw) said, "Women are defective in speech and weak in logic and they must be covered. Thus, keep them in the house and compensate for the defect in their speech by keeping silent." Also, there is another narration according to which the Prophet said, "If it was permissible that one could prostrate before other than God, I would advise a woman to prostrate before her husband. By God, a woman cannot fulfill God's duties upon her until she fulfils the duties she has in regard with her husband." According to this hadith, woman is disgrace to humanity. You should hide her so that she does not bring shame to you. That is because she is imperfect in intelligence. When she asks questions, you should keep silent. Is there any narration telling that a man's praying is not acceptable unless he provides his wife with what she needs? Or at least not acceptable unless he shows love and kindness to his wife? O God, is this fair? Does not the Quran say that one's status before God is determined according to his or her piety? If not, then why is man considered the superior gender? Isn't it unfair that if a woman keeps vigil worshiping God while her husband is not satisfied with her, all the angels will curse her till morning? Is that so even if she is right? That means a woman should be like a maid to her husband and not utter a word, otherwise she will be cursed by God and the angels. Isn't this a flaw in Islam? Is this just? Do only men have strong faith? I have not offered my prayers since I heard this. Because when my brothers' prayers are more acceptable than mine even if I have a more robust faith, then why should I pray at all? I will not bow in prostration until I am given an answer.
پاسخ :
Giving a detailed answer to these questions requires writing an article or even a book. We try to give a brief answer appropriate for a mail.
Islam gave numerous rights and a lot of honor to women. You can study the status of women before Islam. At a time when women were not considered humans like men and were treated very badly, Islam supported women and considered them to be equal with men in terms of humanity, potentials and rights.
The Holy Quran declared that men and women have equal spiritual value and addressed both genders with phrases like "O mankind" and "O you who believe". Nowhere in the Quran are men the only addressees.
Some old nations believed that women were animals or evil beings not humans. Islam explicitly declared that men and women are equal in creation and in humanity. It introduced woman as one of the two origins from which the human race dispersed. It announced that one's status is determined according to his or her piety, "O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you." (49:13)
In another verse it explicitly says that men and women are equal in creation and clearly states that men and women are from the same origin: "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women." (4:1)
In a third verse, after insisting that men and women are the same in origin, it adds that woman brings tranquility to man, "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them." (30:21)
In terms of having inherent dignity, there is no difference between man and woman from the viewpoint of the Quran. As a general rule, it says, "And We have certainly honored the children of Adam." (17:70) The phrase "Children of Adam" includes both genders.
Also, regarding acquired dignity, though many old nations did not consider a woman worthy of being adherent to a religion and believed that woman is evil and her worship before God is not accepted, Islam stated that there is no difference between man and woman regarding their worship being accepted by God. According to Islam the way to perfection and prosperity is open before both genders. The Quran considers women equal to men in terms of educational potentials, morals, knowledge and so on and so forth. It has guaranteed that both genders can reach perfection and prosperity without any difference, provided that they do good deeds.
Here we will have a glance at two such verses:
"Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - We will surely cause him to live a good life, and We will surely give them their reward [in the Hereafter] according to the best of what they used to do." (16:97) This verse emphasizes that good life which enlightens the heart and is a sign of perfection and proximity to God is achievable through doing good deeds for both man and woman.
"Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer - those will enter Paradise, being given provision therein without account." (40:40)
From an Islamic point of view, every man and woman is liable based on his or her own deeds. Whoever does good deeds will be rewarded and whoever does evil deeds will be punishable irrespective of whether he or she is a man or woman. Thus, women are similar to men in terms of acquired dignity as well.
As for legal rights and the like, again men and women are the same from the Islamic perspective. Among most basic legal rights is right to property. Before Islam, among many nations women were not considered to have right to property. Therefore, most often they were deprived of inheritance. In case in some nations women had right to property, it was limited and she could not gift, trade or exchange her property. In such circumstances, the Quran ordered that just like men, women are free to make whatever decision they wish regarding their property, "For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned." (4:32)
The reason why men are given a different position in some cases
As to why the Quran gives men different position in certain cases, for example in marital life, saying, "Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other." (4:34); the answer is that each gender has different familial and social responsibilities proportionate to his or her physical and emotional differences. If the duties of a man are imposed on a woman or vice versa, it would be against their nature and also against justice. Thus, each gender has to act according to his or her own duties and capabilities to actualize their potentials.
Taking into account these differences, tasks which require firmness and careful reasoning are delegated to men. This never means that men are better than women in creation. This division of responsibilities is due to different abilities each gender has. A man can better take up the responsibility of social and economic interactions and provide his family with what its needs.
Therefore, there is no doubt that men and women have some physical and emotional differences. Such differences are natural and necessary for the prosperity of human race. There are differences which can be observed even among men. For example, all men have certain potentials but every man’s potential is different from others. God created people different so that by actualizing their potentials different needs of the society are met. That is because society has varieties of needs regarding food, medicine, civil engineering and so on and so forth. God's wisdom required that people should be created with different potentials and interests so that these different needs are fulfilled. As a result, one person has the aptitude to become a physician, another to become a farmer, a third person to become an engineer and so on and so forth.
Just like having a certain potential does not make one better than others in terms of human values, the same is the case with natural distinctions between men and women. They are similar in humanity though they have different capabilities. These differences are necessary for the purpose of creation, which is humans' perfection. They are vital for the society to meet its needs and thus survive. These differences guarantee continuation of the human race and pave the ground for the establishment of familial bond in the basic unit of the society, i.e., family. As a result, each of man and woman will have the incentive to struggle towards his or her perfection and actualization of their potentials which is the ultimate goal of creation. Had it been different, there would have been a flaw in creation. For a society to prosper there is need to both genders; and each gender should try to fulfill his or her duties. This is the reason why the divine design required creating two different genders.
Aside from physical differences, the purpose of which is thriving of human society, there are also some emotional differences between man and woman which serve the same objective. This further affirms the fact that each of man and woman has duties in the system of creation and he or she is created with certain physical and emotional features that best correspond with those duties. Man is physically stronger than woman and more capable of intellectual reasoning. On the other hand, woman is more emotional and replete with delicate feelings. Men are naturally braver in face of troubles while women are more patient. All these are because they have different responsibilities. For example, since a woman gives birth to and rears children she is physically equipped with necessary features needed for this purpose. Also, she has deeper emotions so that she can raise her children with utmost love and care.
At any rate, difference in creation on the one hand assigns them different responsibilities and on the other hand, gives them different rights -in some cases- which are proportionate to their different responsibilities.
The law of nature has made them dependent on each other. Therefore, the perfection of each is not achievable independently from the other. This dissimilarity in creation not only does guarantee the continuation of human race but also paves the ground for perfection, love and affection. This perfection and mutual love will survive if each gender fulfils the duties assigned to them.
Based on what was mentioned above, it becomes clear that men being in charge of women in chapter 4 verse 34 does not mean that men are better than women. There are many women who are far better than many men in terms of high spirituality and proximity to God. Men having authority in the family is because of their responsibility regarding taking care of and providing for the family which corresponds with their physical and emotional strength. This is just a different natural responsibility and does not imply difference in spiritual value. In a certain family, though the man is in charge but the woman could be higher than him in terms of piety and faith and thus closer to God.
As for skepticisms cast by feminists and other western advocates of women’s rights, you need to remember that:
Though in western countries women’s rights are apparently much talked about and many claim to be advocating women’s rights, the reality is that by using terms like women’s rights, freedom, democracy and so on and so forth dignity and honor of women are violated in the worst of ways. Women are encouraged to appear in public without appropriate dressing and are like dolls in the hands of licentious men. Opportunists and those who only think about increasing their own benefit, make up false ideals for women so that they do not pay attention to violation of their dignity.
Both in old-time-ignorance as well as in modern-time-ignorance that considers itself to be civilized, women have been under oppression. They’ve been belittled and exploited. The difference is only in the form of exploitation and oppression while both are similar in violating woman’s dignity.
The corruption and decadence prevailing in modern western society, the oppression against women, and the violation of their true rights are by no means less than that of old-time-ignorance. The distinction of the modern-time-ignorance is that it does all this under the pretext of humanistic values. If in old time girls were buried alive, in modern times modesty and decency of women is being buried in a quagmire of corruption and immorality. If during Pharaoh’s rule infant boys were murdered and infant girls were kept alive to grow up as maid servants, in western societies, by way of deceptive propagation and use of attractive titles like right to freedom and equality, the protective instinct in men regarding keeping their women folks safe from unlawful approach of lascivious men is made dead and women are left to be at the disposal of dishonest men.
While Islam on the other hand, gave women freedom, honor, and autonomous thought and reasoning and respected their natural rights. The steps Islam took in order to revive women’s dignity, honor and rights is totally different from what the western culture did in this regard. Though Islam gave woman rights and freedom, it never encouraged her to be rebellious when dealing with her male counterpart. Islam did not neglect the due respect of fathers and husbands and did not destabilize the institution of family.
In more clear words, by way of making women’s rights and dignity intermingled with familial bonds and mutual emotions, Islam aimed to strengthen familial ties. This in turn leads to strengthening of social relations on a larger scale. On the one hand, Islam explicitly declared for each of man and woman certain rights, gave women freedom and liberated them from unfair labor, and decreed that husbands do not have the right to force any labor on women even in regards with rearing their children. On the other hand, it emphasized the mutual emotions between them and proclaimed that each of them will be rewarded abundantly if they helped each other. As a result, both would try to do their best in being a good and helpful spouse for the other. Numerous narrations on this subject are available in the book Wasa’il al-Shia.
This is all when in western countries the autonomy and freedom of women were coupled with their rebellion against men and ultimately undermined the institution of family so much so that no mutual trust remained between husband and wife.
Undoubtedly, in such a society their will not be strong familial ties. When a man is not sure if his child is really his, he wouldn’t have much care about his children which will render familial relations weak. This will result in an unsecure society comprising of mean, corrupt and depraved individuals, where there is no place for human dignity and social morals.
کلمات کلیدی :
۱,۴۳۸