Islam has honoured women and freed them from servitude and subordination to men. It has also liberated them from being a cheap commodity with no respect or honour whatsoever. Examples of forms of respect Islam shows to women include the following:
- Islam grants them the right to inheritance, allocating them equitable shares with men, which sometimes differ under certain circumstances depending on their relationship with others and the financial obligations they have to discharge. While men support the family as a matter of religious obligation, women are not obliged to spend a penny.
- It establishes total equity between men and women in numerous matters including financial transactions. As the prophet ﷺ said, “Women are the twin halves of men.” (Sunan Abu Daawood: 236)
- It grants them the right to choose ther husbands and places a large amount of the responsibility of bringing up children upon them, as the Prophet ﷺ said, “A woman is a guardian of her husband’s home and is responsible for it.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree: 853; Saheeh Muslim: 1829)
- It grants them the right to keep their maiden names. In Islam, a woman does not change her surname to that of her husband upon marriage, as is common in many parts of the world; rather, she retains her maiden name, and thus her independent personality.
- It makes it the husband’s duty to spend on those women entitled to his support, such as his wife, mother and daughters, without attempting in the least to remind them of his favours.
- It stresses the importance of helping weak women who are in need of support, even if they are not one’s relatives, and urges its followers to engage in such a noble act, regarding it one of the meritorious deeds in the sight of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said, “The person who looks after a widow or a poor person is like a warrior who fights for Allah’s cause, or like one who performs prayers all night without slackness and fasts continuously and never breaks his fast.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree: 5661; Saheeh Muslim: 2982).
Women That Islam Enjoins Muslims to Look after
The Mother: Abu Hurayrah narrated that a man once asked the Prophet ﷺ, “To whom should I show kindness most?” “Your mother,” he replied. The man said, “Then who?” The Prophet [again] said,“Your mother.” The man further asked, “Then who?” The Prophet ﷺ replied,“Your mother.” The man asked again, “Then who?” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Then your father.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree: 5626; Saheeh Muslim: 2548)
The Daughter: ‛Uqbah ibn ‛Aamir narrated that he heard Allah’s Messenger ﷺ say, “Whoever has three daughters and he remains patient with them, provides for them and clothes them from his money, they will be a shield for him from the Hellfire on the Day of Resurrection.” (Sunan Ibn Maajah: 3669)
The Wife: ‛Aa’ishah ~ narrated that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said, “The best among you are those who are best to their wives, and I am the best amongst you to my wives.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhee: 3895)
| Islam considers the relationship between husband and wife to be complimentary, each of which remedies the deficiency of each other in building the Muslim society. |
No Place for a Struggle between the Sexes
The struggle between men and women ended with either men gaining power over women, as in some pre -Islamic societies, or with women rebelling against their innate natural predisposition, as in some other non-Muslim societies which have rejected Allah’s laws.
This only happened as a result of rejecting Allah’s guidance. As the Qur’an states, “Do not covet what Allah has given to some of you in preference to others — men have a portion of what they acquire and women have a portion of what they acquire; but ask Allah for His bounty. (Soorat An-Nisaa’, 4:32) Indeed, Islam has honoured both men and women, and allocated each of them distinctive characteristics and roles whereby they may strive to gain Allah’s rewards and attain His pleasure. It does not give preference to any of the two sexes; rather, it aims to promote the welfare of the individual in general and that of society at large.
Therefore, there is no such thing in Islam as as truggle between the sexes; there is no need for a fierce rivalry for worldly pursuits between them; nor is there a necessity to launch an attack against either of them in an attempt to disparage, harm, criticise or find fault with any one of them.
All this is vain in Islam and constitutes a misunderstanding of Islam’s view of the roles it has assigned to each one of them. In Islam, each one of them has a share according to what they have earned in both material and spiritual terms. Instead of envying each other, they are required to ask Allah to give them more of His bounty through lawful labour and through prayer.
Categories of Women in Relation to a Man
Women in relation to a man fall into three categories:
1
She could be his wife:
In this case, he is allowed to enjoy her company in any way he likes, Just as she is allowed to enjoy his company. In fact, Allah describes each one of them to be a ‘garment’ for the other, revealing an excellent image of a perfect physical, emotional and mental union: “They are clothing for you and you are clothing for them.” (Soorat Al-Baqarah, 2:187) (See page 213)
2
She could be a relative whom he is never permitted to marry at any time in his life whatsoever (mahram):
This category consists of the following:
| 1 | The mother and above (the maternal grandmother, the paternal grandmother, etc.) |
| 2 | The daughter and below (granddaughter, great-granddaughter, etc.) |
| 3 | The full sister, consaguine or uterinesister. |
| 4 | The paternal aunt, (that is, the father’s full sister) or his consaguibe or uterine sister.This includes the paternal aunt of one’s father and the paternal aunt of one’s mother. |
| 5 | The maternal aunt, (that is, the mother’s full sister) or her consanguine or uterine sister. This includes the maternal aunt of one’s father and the maternal aunt of one’s mother. |
| 6 | The full brother’s daughters or the daughters of the sanguine or uterine brother and below (brother’s son’s daughters, for instance). |
| 7 | The full sister’s daughters or the daughters of the consanguine or uterine sister and below (sister’s daughter’s daughters, for instance). |
| 8 | The mother-in-law, whether he is still married to her daughter or has divorced her, and grandmother-in-law |
| 9 | The stepdaughter (the daughter one’s wife has from an earlier marriage to another man). |
| 10 | The son’s wife and below (such as the grandson’s wife). |
| 11 | stepmother and above, e.g. the stepbrother’s wife (from the step father’s side). |
| 12 | The foster mother: A foster mother is a woman who breastfeeds a child during his first two years at least five times to his satisfaction. Islam grants her such a right by reason of such breastfeeding (radaa‛ah). |
| 13 | The foster sister: a foster sister is the daughter of the foster mother. Indeed, a man is not allowed to marry any of the relations through breastfeeding, just as he is not permitted to marry any of the relations through blood relationship. Relations through breastfeeding include foster aunts (foster mother’s sisters) and foster nieces (foster sister’s daughters). |
| These female relatives may appear before him without covering the body parts that are not customarily covered, such as the arms, neck and hair, but without going to extremes. |
3
She could be one he is allowed to marry (ajnabiyah, literally, foreigner, not related to him):
Such a woman is one who does not belong to the category of women known as mahram stated above, whether she is one of his relatives, such as his maternal or paternal cousin or sister-in-law, or she is not one of his relatives at all.
Regarding this category of women, Islam has laid down a number of rules and criteria which govern a Muslim man’s relationship with such women. By doing this, Islam aims to protect people’s honour and block all the means that are bound to lead to evil. Allah ﷻ who has created man knows exactly what is best for him, as the Qur’an states, “Does He who created not then know while He is the All-Pervading, the All-Aware?” (Soorat Al-Mulk, 67:14)
| Every day, we read new reports and statistics of cases of rape and illicit sexual relationships that have ruined countless families and societies that do not implement Allah’s laws. |
Rules Governing the Relationship between a Man and Women he Is Allowed to Marry
Islam has laid down rules which govern the relationship between men and women.
1
Lowering the Gaze
A Muslim man must not look at other women or at anything for that matter which is bound to sexually arouse him, nor should he unnecessarily look at women.
Allah ﷻ commands both men and women to lower their gaze, for doing so leads to modesty and serves to safeguard one’s honour, while lustful looks generally pave the way to sins, as the Qur’an states, “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. That will make for greater purity for them. Allah is aware of what they do. Say to believing women that they should lower their gaze and remain chaste.” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:30-31)
However, if a Muslim accidentally sees a woman, he must divert his eyes from her. In fact, the order to lower the gaze applies to anything that is bound to lead to sexual arousal, including those scenes that are presented in the media and on the Internet.
Lowering the gaze to avoid looking at things Allah has forbidden leads to modesty and protects one’s honour.
2
Observing Modesty in Speech
When talking to a woman who is not related to him,he must observe politeness and modesty and avoid any words or gestures which may lead to sexual stimulation. It is for this reason that:
- Allah ﷻ warns women against speaking in a coquettish and too soft a manner when addressing men, as the Qur’an states, “Do not be too soft-spoken in your speech lest someone with sickness in his heart becomes desirous. Speak correct and courteous words.” (Soorat Al-Ahzaab, 33:32)
- Allah ﷻ warns them against using suggestive gestures and manner of walking or displaying their charms and some of their ornaments: “They should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments .” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:31)
3
Avoiding Private Seclusion with Non-MahramWomen Altogether (Khalwah)
The Arabic word khalwah means the state of being alone with a non-mahram woman in a place where no one can see them. Islam strictly prohibits this as it could, through Satan’s temptations, lead to illicit sexual relationships. The prophet ﷺ once said, “Never is a man alone with a woman except that Satan is the third.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhee: 2165)
4
Wearing the Hijaab (the Modest Muslim Style of Dress)
Allah ﷻ commands women, but not men, to wear the hijaab because women in particular enjoy a natural beauty and attraction that could easily tempt men into sinful acts.
Islam commands women to wear the hijaab for a number of reasons, including the following:
- So that they could carry out their mission in life and society in scientific and academic fields in the best possible manner while at the same time guarding their modesty.
- So that they would reduce chances of temptation in order to purify society, on the one hand, and safeguard women’s honour, on the other.
- So that they would help male onlookers control themselves even more and thus treat them as civilised and educated human beings and not as sex objects that only serve to tempt men and stimulate them.
The hijaab safeguards women’s honour and affords them the chance to carry out their mission in society in the most modest manner mankind has ever witnessed.
What Must the Hijaab Cover?
Allah ﷻ commands women to cover all their bodies except the face and the hands, as the Qur’an states, “They should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof.” (Soorat An-Noor, 24:31)However, in cases of likely temptation due to their striking beauty, they may have to cover their faces and hands as well.
Criteria of Proper Hijaab
A woman may choose any design or colour she likes for her hijaab as long as the following conditions are met:
1
It must appropriately cover the parts of the body which must be covered in public.
2
It must hang loose and must not fit very closely to the body, so that the shape of the body is not revealed.
3
It must not allow the wearer’s body to be seen through its fabric.
