Islam and Women: Difference between revisions

===Women compared to dogs and donkeys===

Most orthodox Islamic scholars consider dogs to be haram - forbidden and najis - unclean. Thus the comparison of women to dogs in these Sahih (authentic) ahadith are noteworthy:{{Quote|{{Bukhari|1|9|490}}; see also {{Muslim|4|1032}} & {{Muslim|4|1034}}|Narrated 'Aisha:

The things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me. They said, "Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying people)." I said, "You have made us (i.e. women) dogs."}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|1|9|498}}; see also {{Muslim|4|1038}}|Narrated 'Aisha: It is not good that you people have made us (women) equal to dogs and donkeys.}}

===Women compared to devils===

{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|1038}}|

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is obligatory in the Shafi'i madhab<ref>[https://www.answering-islam.org/Sharia/fem_circumcision.html Section on FGM in the standard manual of Shafi'i law]</ref> and encouraged by the remaining three madhabs, namely the Hanafi, Hanbali, and Maliki. Salafi scholars also encourage the practice. In universally conceiving of FGM as being either an obligatory or favorable practice, the schools of Islamic law agree that ''prohibiting'' FGM altogether would not be acceptable, as this would be tantamount to contravening God's laws and preferences. Views on the specific type of FGM required or permitted vary within and between the madhhabs. Some prominent modern Islamic scholars have dissented from the favorable consensus of the Islamic tradition and ruled it to be unlawful.{{Quote|''Reliance of the Traveler'' [''Umdat al-Salik''], Section e4.3 on Circumcision|'''Obligatory (on every male and female) is circumcision.''' (And it is the cutting-off of the skin [''qat' al-jaldah''] on the glans of the male member and, '''as for the circumcision of the female, that is the cutting-off of the ''badhar'' [''qat' al-badhar'', ''badhar'' or بَظْرٌ either means the clitoris or the prepuce of the clitoris; Lane says that the precise usage was confused at some point in history<ref>[http://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/02_b/137_bZr.html Lane's Lexicon بَظْرٌ]</ref>]''' (and this is called ''khufad''))}}The Islamic legal tradition, while differing on its implementation, embraced FGM wholeheartedly, and, in the hadith literature, Muhammad is recorded as tacitly approving of the practice ({{Muslim|3|684|}}) , prescribing circumcision in general without specifying the requirements thereof per gender ({{Bukhari|7|72|777|}}), and commenting generically on its implementation ({{Abu Dawud|41|5251|}}). Nowhere is Muhammad recorded prohibiting the practice.

Today, [[w:Marriageable_age|many modern Muslim countries]] have legislated to raise the minimum age of marriage, in many cases to the age of 16 or 18 for girls (though often with loopholes or with ineffective enforcement) and to prevent forced marriage, often in the face of opposition from Islamic scholars. Many Muslim campaign groups and charities have been involved in this process and continue to offer help to those at risk (see the article [[Forced Marriage]] which includes sources of help).<ref>For example [https://www.mwnuk.co.uk/Forced_Marriage_7_factsheets.php Muslim Women's Network UK] and [https://preventforcedmarriage.org/forced-marriage-overseas-pakistan/ Tahirih Justice Center Forced Marriage Initiative]</ref> In collaboration with activists, in 2019 the deputy Grand Imam of al-Azhar University in Cairo issued a fatwa calling for marriage based on mutual consent with a minimum age set as 18.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/21/senior-islamic-cleric-issues-fatwa-against-child-marriage Senior Islamic cleric issues fatwa against child marriage] - Guardian.com</ref> Unicef say that the prevalence of child marriages are decreasing globally but are nevertheless common (including among non-Muslim populations in some regions of the world).

{{Main|Slavery in Islamic Law|Rape in Islamic Law|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Rape of Slaves, Prisoners, and Wives|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Slavery}}In nearly every instance where the Quran commands (men) to be chaste, it repeats that they need not be chaste with their wives and 'those whom their right hand possesses', which is universally acknowledged by historians and Islamic scholars as an Arabic euphemism which refers to one's slaves. An entire chapter in Sahih Muslim (chapter 29) is dedicated to the topic and is entitled: 'It is permissible to have sexual intercourse with a captive [i.e. slave] woman after she is purified (of menses or delivery). In case she has a husband, her marriage is abrogated after she becomes captive.'{{Quote|{{Quran|23|6}}; see also {{Quran|4|3}} & {{Quran|4|24}}| Those who humble themselves in their prayers; Who avoid vain talk; Who are active in deeds of charity; Who abstain from sex, Except with those joined to them in the marriage bond, '''or (the captives) whom their right hands possess,'''- for (in their case) they are free from blame.}}

==== The amount of "blood money" (diya) for a murdered women is worth half that of a man====

{{Quote|1={{Quran|178-179}}|2=O you who have faith! Retribution is prescribed for you regarding the slain: freeman for freeman, slave for slave, and female for female. But if one is granted any extenuation by his brother, let the follow up [for the blood-money] be honourable, and let the payment to him be with kindness. That is a remission from your Lord and a mercy; and should anyone transgress after that, there shall be a painful punishment for him. There is life for you in retribution, O you who possess intellects! Maybe you will be Godwary!}}Women are classed as a separate category of people than men, as are slaves to free people, to take retribution on for murder.<ref>Lowry, Joseph E.. ''"[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/asia-2023-0017/html?lang=en&srsltid=AfmBOopgJ7jZKaeahTy4etRPfjtYdhZMkRb9zLEi1AHJltXuAu8aYh-p Quranic Law and Its ‘Biblical’ Intertexts]" pp. 452–453.'' Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques, vol. 78, no. 3, 2024, pp. 431-467. <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1515/asia-2023-0017</nowiki> ''The rules set forth at Q. 5:45 are fairly congruent with the tort legislation found at Q. 2:178–179 and Q. 4:92–93. In Sūrat al-Baqara (Q. 2) the Quran licenses retaliation (qiṣāṣ) against socially equivalent individuals (naming free persons, enslaved per�sons, and women) in cases of homicide (v. 178) and identifies deterrence as the policy behind such retaliation (v. 179). That passage refers only to victims of homicide in general (al-qatlà, slain persons) and does not deal with intent, though it would be reasonable to infer that the rules there refer only to intentional killing.⁵⁸ The passage in Sūrat al-Nisāʾ distinguishes between intent and mistake in cases of homicide when the victim is a believer, requiring, in the case of mistaken killing, the freeing of a believing slave as penance (or fasting if the perpetrator is too poor to own a slave) and the payment of a blood price (diya) to the victim’s kin, which they may waive (v. 92). The Quran does not, in these two passages, address battery, and it does not expressly address intentional killing beyond declaring that it leads to perdition and divine wrath (Q. 4:93)''.' ''All three passages share an important substantive element, which is the possi�bility of waiver of the claim for retaliation by the victim’s kin. In Sūrat al-Baqara (Q. 2), this idea is referred to relative to the perpetrator, using the verb “to pardon” (man ʿufiya la-hu, “whoever is pardoned,” v. 178). In Sūrat al-Nisāʾ (Q. 4) and Sūrat al�Māʾida (Q. 5) it is referred to relative to the claimants, using the verb meaning “to (charitably) waive” (illā an yaṣṣaddaqū, “unless they waive it,” Q. 4:92; man taṣad�daqa,“whoever waives it,” Q. 5:45). The biblical intertexts do not refer to waiver; that fact suggests that the possibility of waiver is part of quranic tort law and that the passage in Sūrat al-Māʾida should not be understood solely as a historical reference. The passage from Sūrat al-Māʾida also shares with that from Sūrat al-Baqara the idea of divine imposition of a law through scripture (prescription: kutiba, “it is/was prescribed”; katabnā, “We prescribe”) and the technical term qiṣāṣ (retaliation). The terminological and doctrinal similarities make it possible to read all three passages together to form a coherent legislative whole.59 They address intentional homicide (Q. 2:178–179; Q. 4:93; Q. 5:45), homicide by mistake (Q. 4:92), intentional wounding (Q. 5:45), and waiver of retaliation for intentional homicide and wounding (Q. 2:178; Q. 5:45). The only topic left unaddressed is unintentional wounding. Subtracting the verse from Sūrat al-Māʾida (Q. 5) form quranic tort law (i.e., reading it solely as a historical reference) would leave intentional wounding unaddressed.''</ref> Both classical<ref>[https://www.islamweb.net/en/fatwa/384850/a-woman%E2%80%99s-diyyah-is-half-of-that-of-the-man A Woman’s Diyyah is Half of That of the Man.] Islamnet.web fatwa. 2018</ref> (including all four Sunni schools of Islamic thought: Hanbali, Maliki, Hanafi, and Shafi'i)<ref name=":0">Syed Naeem Badshah, & Kifait Ullah Hamdani. (2016). ''The issue of "blood money" or recompense for loss of a life of female; A detailed analysis in the light of Quran, traditions and intellect: The issue of "blood money" or recompense for loss of a life of female; A detailed analysis in the light of Quran, traditions and intellect.'' Al-Azhār University, 2(01), 22–50. Retrieved from <nowiki>https://www.al-azhaar.org/index.php/alazhar/article/view/379</nowiki></ref> and modern (including Al-Azhar university)<ref>See: ''Ahmed ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller: A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, Nuh Ha Mim Keller, trans. (Beltsville, Maryland: Amana Publications, 1999), xx; o4.9. pp590.'' (Can be found in page 608/1251 of the free [https://archive.org/details/relianceofthetravellertheclassicmanualofislamicsacredlaw/page/n607/mode/2up?q=indemnity PDF on internetarchive]) a book on Islamic law which is certified by Al-Azhar University on page xx - xxi (page 16/1251 of PDF)</ref><ref name=":0" /> Islamic authorities have taken the value paid for murdered women to avoid retaliation to be half that of a murdered man.