Women Status in Islam: Is Women’s Natural Disposition considered As Weak And Defective?

                                Courtesy: Sara Arfeen Khan

A Christian apologist confronted me with this question: According to Sahih Hadith Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301 "Women are deficient in intelligence and religion and an evil omen?" Prove firstly that you are not in conflict in all that with Allah and his apostle, A.L. Idris!

Incidentally, I wasn’t prepared to respond to his misconstrued perception of the Hadith, so i decided to write and shade more lights on uncomplimentary notion express by non-Muslims towards Islamic views on women. But as a comparative religious propagator, I will not be satisfied with bringing views from Islamic standpoint without analyzing the hidden facts from Christians scriptural testimony.

According to St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians on the role of women in the young Christians community, which Paul of Tarsus had established, he wrote, “The women, should keep silence in the Churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says, if there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in Church”. – 1st Corinthian, Chapter 14, verse 34-35.

Research has shown that both Torah of the Jews and the New Testament of the Christians have changed over the centuries. Even Biblical scholars have confirmed that the Bible is distorted, and has been modified during last centuries. In attempt to amend the status of women to harmonise with modernity, some modern sects of the Christians have removed this silence embargo on women by appointing them “Lay-Readers” and “Local-Preachers”, though St. Paul’s injunction is still rigidly adhere to in the Roman Catholic Church, the mother of all Churches.

The general views on women over the centuries is not complimenting either, Men have given their views on women that placed them inferior in creation while some men have denigrate women. Samuel Butler, the 17^th century British philosopher wrote, “The souls of women are so small that some believe they’ve none at all!”

Francis Bacon did not think men should consider equality in marriage when he strongly held the idea that “Women are young man’s mistresses; companion in middle age; and nurses to her man at old age”.

It is hilarious that when the dissimilarity in the innate characteristics and nature of women and men in Islamic standpoint is brought up, the Christians interpret this as meaning the defectiveness of woman and perfection of man.  And ultimately as something which necessitates a series of benefits for man and a series of privations for woman, forgetting that defectiveness and perfection is not under consideration. They fail to reason that the scheme of creation did not seek to create one perfect and the other imperfect, rather their equality of being human and in the shared rights of humanity is what the Quran clearly outlined.

The logical and wise interpretation of woman’s instinctual needs and her special capabilities are ignored. Her deficiency as said by prophet Muhammad (pbuh) can be proven where her labour strength and productive power is naturally less than a man. Beside her monthly period, the inconveniences to her pregnancy, the difficulties of labour and bringing up the child, have all placed her in a situation where she is under the protection of a man with fewer responsibilities and more rights.

This is not confined to human beings alone: all animals that live in pairs behave like this. In all these species, the male instinctively rises up to protect his female partner.

Because critics of Islam lack the adequate knowledge or they are ignorant of the fact that natural innate circumstances of two sexes are ignored in the end, they claim liberty and making things equals, and this violet the natural law. 

What the Muslim scholars question is the system of rights for woman in the home as well as in society, should be assessed, and that we should not be satisfied with the assessment of these people who advocates: “Nature was so cruel to woman, and created her weak and imperfect, we should aggravate the situation and make it look injustice. If we alter woman’s natural disposition we will make her more human than her natural creation. Theologians and scholars of Islamic faith said we should take nature as our guide, and draw maximum benefit of past centuries and present century’s experiences, and assess the situation. It is in that capacity that the development of rights for women will be fulfilled.

The Noble Qur’an has been accepted as the upholder of rights of women. The Qur’an in many of times of revelation took long step forward for the benefits of women and for their human rights. But the Qur’an never neglected the womanliness of women and manliness of man in the name of retorting woman to be the status of a human being and making her the partner of man in humanness and human rights. In other words, the Qur’an looked at woman as she is in nature, rather than how the fallible man recommends her to be transformed. In this respect, there is conformity between the decrees of the Qur’an and the decrees of nature.

Therefore, both the Qur’an and tradition of the prophet coincide with each other; there is no flaw or demonisation in the Hadith Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301. Whenever the prophet of Islam speaks it serve as legal orders of acts of worship and awakening statements of the Prophet, that are ideals and models to be followed by Muslims. For Muslim women, the Hadith is meant to inspire them to correct their actions accordingly.      

Woman's Rights in Islam as regard to her marital duty 

 

Husbands' and wives' duties are mutual responsibilities. They might not be identical duties, but the totality of rights and responsibilities are balanced. The Quran says:

"Women have the same rights (in relation to their husbands) as are expected in all decency from them, while men stand a step above them." [Noble Quran 2:228]

This only specifies the degree of responsibility, not privilege, in man's role as provider, protector, maintainer, and leader of the family.

Let us ponder and ask ourselves, why did the Christians pretend their religious book have complimentary views on women which conform and harmonize with the present day amended law of equality of both sexes?

The deficiency in the personality and appearance of women can be ascertained in the story of creation in the book of Genesis; the woman appeared as something of an afterthought. It says after The Lord God took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it,” (Chapter 2, verse 15) “The Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him” - (Chapter 2, verse 18). That passage clearly implies that the status of Eve at the time of creation was not in same equality with Adam!   

Actually, Islam is the only religion even among Abrahamic faiths that specifically protect exploitation of woman under the guise of “liberty” and “equality”.

 By A.L. Idris for Resolving Path (RP)

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