Women in Islam
The Islamic veil or hijab refers to the loose fitting, plain and
opaque outer garments which cover a Muslim woman
‘s body. While basically identical to the clothing depicted in
traditional Christian representations of the Virgin Mary (Allah’s peace be upon
her and her son) and every nun who has sought to emulate her since, the hijab
is readily singled out as a sign of extremism, the supposedly inferior status
of Muslim women. What follows is a brief look at the status of women in Islam through
comparing the role of the veil in both Islam and Christianity
IN WHAT WOULD FORM PART OF “NEW TESTAMENT”
St. Paul obligated the then common practice of the veil for all
women: “And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered
dishonours her head- it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does
not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should
cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and
glory of God, but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from
woman, but woman from man, neither was man created for woman, but woman for
man. For this reason, and because of the angles, woman ought to have a sign of
authority on her head. ( 1 Corinthians 11:4-10)
St. Tertullian (the first man to formulate the Trinity), in his
treatise, On the Veiling of Virgins, even obliged its use at home. “Young
women, you wear your veils out on the streets, when you are among strangers,
then wear them among your brothers.”
So Islam didn’t invent the veil, it merely endorsed it. However,
while Paul presented the veil as a sign of man’s authority, Islam clarifies
that it is simply a sign of faith, modesty and chastity which serves to protect
the devout from molestation.
O prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women
that they should cast their cloaks over their bodies (when outdoors) so that
they be recognized as such (decent, chaste believers) and not molested. (Quran
33-59)
The 19th century Orient lists, Sir. Richard Burton,
observed how: “The women who delight in restrictions which ten to their honour,
accepted it (the veil) willingly and still affect it, learned to regard as
inconsistent with their time-honoured notions of feminine decorum and delicacy.
They would think very meanly of a husband who permitted them to be exposed like
hetairai, to the public gaze.”
In truth, the Muslim’s veil is but one fact of her noble status- a
status due in part to the tremendous responsibility that is placed upon her.
Simply put, woman is the initial teacher in the building of a righteous
society. This is why from the most important individual obligations upon a
person is to show gratitude, kindness and good companionship to their mother.
Once, the prophet Muhammad was asked” O Messenger of Allah! Who from amongst
mankind warrants the best companionship from me? The prophet said: “Your
mother.” The man asked: ‘Then who?” The
Prophet repeated: “Your mother.” Again , the man asked: ‘Then who?” The Prophet
finally said: “(Then) your father.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
While the mother is given precedence over and above the father in
kindness and good treatment, Islam, like Christianity, teaches that God
designated man to be the natural head of the household.
And they (women) have rights (over their husbands) similar (to the
rights of their husbands) over them- according to what is equitable. But men
have a degree (of responsibility) over them. Quran 2-228
In Islam, man’s authority is in proportion to his socio-economic
responsibilities, responsibilities which reflect the psychological differences
with which Allah created in sexes.
And the male is not like the female. Quran 3-36
2. Hence the Muslim man is sometimes granted a greater share of
the inheritance. He is legally bound to provide for and maintain all the
females of the household from his personal wealth the woman’s wealth is hers
alone to spend, invest or save as she pleases.
3. Dr.Alex Carrel, the French Noble Laureate, reinforces this
point when he writes: “ The difference existing between man and woman do not
come from the particular form of the sexual organs, the presence of the uterus,
from gestation or from the mode of education. They are a more fundamental
impregnation of the entire organism…. Ignorance of these fundamental facts has
led promoters of feminism to believe that both sexes should have the same
powers and the same responsibilities. In reality, woman differs profoundly from
man. Every one of the cells of her body bears the mark of her sex. The same is
true of her organs and, above all, of her nervous system. Physiological laws…
cannot be replaced by human wishes. We are obliged to accept them just as they
are. Women should develop their aptitudes in accordance with their own nature,
without trying to imitate males.” ( Carrel, Man and the Unknown, 1949:91)
Marriage is the means by which both sexes can fulfill their
different but complimentary and mutually beneficial roles.
And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among
yourselves that you may dwell with them in serenity and tranquility. And He has
put love and compassion between your hearts. Truly in that are signs for those
who reflect. Quran 30:21
“Islam’s appeal, wherever it has triumphed, has been in its
simplicity. It requires submission to some basic, straightforward rules which
are easily kept, and in return it offers that most wonderful and rare
commodity, peace of mind… its discipline, safety and certainties have an appeal
for girls lost in the churning seas of permissiveness, whose own families have
been weakened by the crumbling of the two parent family, the absence of fathers
and the impermanence of husbands, if there are husbands in the first place
rather than boyfriends and “baby fathers.” And in most societies it is the
women who sustain religions in the home and among children.” (Peter Hitchens,
Will Britain convert to Islam? Mail on Sunday 2/11/03
They (your wives, O men) are a garment for you and you (men) are a
garment for them. Quran 2:187
Sex itself is not taboo in Islam. On the contrary, lawful sexual
relations are counted as deeds of charity! Renowned scholar and former nun,
Karen Armstrong, writes: Muhammad certainly did not think that women were
sexually disgusting. When his wife had her period he used to make a point of
reclining in her lap, of taking his prayer mat from her hand, saying for the
benefits of his disciples, “ Your menstruation is not in your hand.” He would
drink from the same cup, saying, “your menstruation is not on your lips.’ The
harsh sexual punishments meted out to sexual offenders in some Islamic
countries is because sexuality is valued and the ideal has been debased, not
,as in the past in the west, because sexuality is abhorrent. ( The Gospel
According to Woman 1986:2
The church’s traditional justification for man’s authority is one
it inherited from Judaism: the inherent evil of woman! According to the Bible, Satan seduced Eve to disobey God by
eating from a forbidden tree and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her.
When God rebuked Adam for his disobedience, Adam blamed Eve, and so God
condemned her. “I (God) will greatly increase your pains in childbearing, with
pain your will bear children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will
rule over you. (Genesis 3:16)
It was this image of Eve as a deceiving temptress that left a
negative legacy for women throughout Judaism and medieval Christianity. Paul,
who as a Jew, fiercely opposed the disciples and remained their opponent even
after he claimed to see Jesus in a vision, wrote: “A woman should learn in
quietness and full submission. I don’t permit a woman to teach or to have
authority over a man, she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
And Adam wasn’t the one deceived, it was the woman who was deceived and became
a sinner, but women shall be saved through childbearing.” ( 1 Tim.2:11-5) Again
the Islamic conception is radically different. The Quran clarifies that Satan
was the only deceiver in the story of the Garden, while Adam and Eve receive
equal blame for their disobedience. There is not the slightest hint that Eve
was the first to eat the forbidden fruit or that she tempted Adam to do so.
Rather, it is Adam who is at times singled out for rebuke! Both Adam and Eve
sinned, sought mercy, and duly received it:
They said: “Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls and if Your
forgive us not and do not bestow upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be
lost.” (Quran 7:22-3)
Linguistically, the Quranic terms for “Womb” and “Mercy” are
synonymous. This is because, rather than God’s punishment, childbirth in Islam
is seen as one of His countless blessings. Besides, the notion that Allah
condemns the innocent is quite
4. The Church’s founding fathers, men who formulated Christian
belief and canonized the Bible, supported this view: “Don’t you know that you
are each an Eve? God’s sentence on this sex of your lives in this age: the
guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil’s gateway: you are the UN sealer
of the forbidden tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are
she who persuaded him whom the devil wasn’t valiant enough to attack. You
destroyed so easily God’s image, man.” (St. Tertullian)
“Woman is the daughter of falsehood, a sentinel of Hell, the enemy
of peace: through her Adam lost paradise.” (St. John Damascene) “If they
(women) become tired or even die, it doesn’t matter. Let them die in
childbirth, that’s why they are there.” (Martin Luther)
Blasphemous! And while Christianity holds every newborn baby to be
a sinner- the fruits of its mother’s punishment- Islam teaches that all
children are born innocent and sinless upon the “fitrah” a natural monotheistic
and righteous disposition. Hence, on who embraces Islam is said to revert back
to their natural religion. It is only the child’s immoral upbringing that
converts it into a rebellious sinner.
Whosoever works evil will not be requited except with its like, and
whosoever works righteousness, whether male or female, and it is a believer,
such will enter paradise, wherein they will have provision without limit. Quran 40:40
Paul’s words, earlier, also show how Eve’s sin was used to justify
limiting women’s educational aspirations. In Islam, however, women are equal to
men in the pursuit of knowledge. The prophet said: “The seeking of knowledge is
compulsory upon every (male or female) Muslim.”
Furthermore, the most honored positions one can reach in Muslim
society is that of a scholar (Islam has no priesthood). The prophet’s wife,
Aisah, from whom leading companions acquired knowledge, is but one example of
learned women who continue to greatly influence Islamic society. As were
several female teachers of the celebrated sage, warrior and master of the
Islamic sciences, Ibn Taymiyaa (d 1328)
Are those who know equal to those who know not? It is only those
with understanding who will remember. (Quran 39:9)
Many of the resurgent pre- Islamic cultural practices that have
tragically come to be associated with Isalm, such as forced marriages, female
genital mutilation, bridal (as opposed to groom paid) dowries, honour killings
and the criminalistion of rape victims, only resurfaced following the
disruption caused by colonialism and the resulting disconnect between the
common Muslims and their sources of knowledge. It is always the learned
scholars of Islam, men and women, who are the first victims of any imperialist
purge. Nevertheless , in light of the Quran and Sunnah, the veil of
misinformation cloaking the true status of women in Islam is easily removed.
Moreover, Islam continues to grow faster than any other way of
life with women accounting for some 75% of all European and American converts-
ironic, given the widespread western prejudice that “Islam oppresses women!”
westerners despairing of their own society- rising in crime, family discipline
and security of Islam. Many converts are former Christians, disillusioned by
the uncertainity of the church and unhappy with the concept of trinity and the
deification of Jesus. ( Lucy Berrington, why British women are turning to
Islam, Times 9/11/93)
These women have acknowledged the same truth that led the
Christian Negus of Abyssinia to embrace Islam following a speech in which the
companions informed him: “Allah’s Messenger forbade us to speak evil of women”.
(Ibn Hisham)
Verily, those who slander chaste women, innocent unsuspecting
believing women, they are cursed in this world and the next. And for them will
be great torment. Quran 24:23
Today, many nuns and devout women of the Orthodox Catholic, near
Eastern and African churches still wear the Christian veil. The muslim woman
too wears her hijab, declaring her faith in humility and servitude before God.
Only those given divine sanction- her immediate family and other believing
women- may view her bodily beauty. In effect, she is saying: judge me for my
faith, not my body- I give you no other choice. When faithfully implemented, as
it was by its earliest adherents, Islam offers women the freedom, dignity,
justice and protection that have long remained out of their reach. Mankind
inherited from the Prophet a great Islamic tradition when he said: “The best
among you (men) are those who best treat their women.” While Christian women
inherited a tradition of misogyny from both jewish rabbinicism and greek
thought. It was western woman’s reaction to this poor status afforded to her and
to her “Sexploitation” that led to the rise fo the feminist movement.
The believing men and women are protectors of one another. They
enjoin the good and forbid the evil, they establish prayer and give alms (to
the needy) and they obey Allah and His Messenger. These, Allah will have mercy
on them. Lo! Allah is Mighty, Wise. (Quran 9:71)
Islam granted women contractual rights, conjugal rights, the right
to inherit, to initiate divorce, to independently own and control wealth and
property, to enterprise and run businesses, to earn and receive equal pay, to
retain their maidens names etc, over 1400 years ago while the democratic west
granted similar rights only in the last 50 years of the 20th
century! In fact, besides casual abortion, much of what feminists still fight
for has already been sanctioned by Islam. Not to mention that western styled
emancipation essentially women copying men-has not only imposed impossible
demands on females, but has also left womanhood without any intrinsic value. As
for the veiled Muslim celebrating her womanhood , she is but a reflection of
chastity, humility and dignity, a mirror of her devotion to and belief in
Allah-factors which liberate, not subjugate- and for this she can expect a
great reward.
For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout
men and women, for truthful men and women, for patient men and women, for
humble men and women, for charitable men and women, for fasting men and women,
for men and women guarding their chastity, and for men and women who engage
much in Allah’s praise: for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and a great
reward. (Quran 33:35)
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