Islam and Women: Difference between revisions

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 “A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: “O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), tell me, which of the people has most right to my good companionship?' He said: 'Yes, by your father, you will certainly be told.' He said: 'Your mother,' He said: 'Then who?' He said: Then your mother.' He said: 'Then who?' He said: Then your mother.' He said: 'Then who?' He said: Then your father.' He said: 'Tell me, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about my wealth- how should I give in charity?' He said: 'Yes, by Allah (SWT) you will certainly be told. You should give in charity when you are still healthy and greedy for wealth, hoping for a long life and fearing poverty. Do not tarry until your soul reaches here and you say: “My wealth of for so-and-so,” and “My wealth of for so-and-so,” and it will be for them even though you dislike that.'”}}
-==Negative characteristics of women==
+==The Value of Daughters==
+The Quran famously condemns the mushrikeen for feeling shame or even burying their female newborn children.
+{{Quote|{{Quran-range|16|57|58}}|And they attribute to Allah daughters - exalted is He - and for them is what they desire. And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide.}}
+{{Quote|{{Quran-range|42|49|50}}|To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He creates what he wills. He gives to whom He wills female [children], and He gives to whom He wills males. Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent.}}
+==Statements about women==
 ===Women as a fitnah to men===
 {{Main|Women (Primary Sources)}}
-{{Quote|{{Bukhari|7|62|33}}|Narrated Usama bin Zaid: '''The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction [fitnah] more harmful to men than women."'''}}
+{{Quote|{{Bukhari|7|62|33}}|Narrated Usama bin Zaid: '''The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any trial [fitnah] more harmful to men than women."'''}}
 ===Women as intellectually deficient===
 {{Main|Women are Deficient in Intelligence}}
@@ Line 140: / Line 147: @@
 ===Marriage===
 {{Main|Polygamy in Islam|Purpose of the Mahr|The Meaning of Nikah|Dealing Justly with Wives and Orphans (Qur'an 4:3)}}
-Islamic law prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. Islamic law permits men to marry up to four wives (alongside an unlimited number of concubines), while women are restricted to a single husband and are prohibited from any other form of sexual activity. Modern Islamic scholars differ on whether or not a bride may stipulate as a condition of her marriage that her husband remain monogamous.
+Islamic law prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men based on {{Quran|2|221}} and {{Quran|60|10}} (while Muslim men may marry Christian and Jewish women according to {{Quran|5|5}}). Islamic law permits men to marry up to four wives (alongside an unlimited number of concubines), while women are restricted to a single husband and are prohibited from any other form of sexual activity. Modern Islamic scholars differ on whether or not a bride may stipulate as a condition of her marriage that her husband remain monogamous.
 Islamic scriptures describe the ''mahr,'' or primarily financial gift made by a groom to his bride upon the marital ''nikah'' (sexual intercourse) contract, as 'the recompense for your having had the right to intercourse with her'. The Arabic word for "marriage" is "zawaj". In Islamic law, marriage is considered under the concept of ''nikah'', a legal and financial contract between a male and a female Muslim. Nikah literally means "sexual intercourse".
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 For some time as a prophet, Muhammad permitted temporary ''mut'ah'' marriages whereby men would be permitted to engage in sexual activity with a woman for a predetermined period of time in exchange for compensation. While prohibited by Sunni scholars today, the practice is still considered legitimate by many Shi'ite scholars.
-===Control over movement and taking other wives===
+===Control over movement and taking additional wives===
 Under Islam, a husband has a right to take up to four wives and has significant control over his wives. Under the Hanbali (but not Hanafi) school, women may stipulate conditions in the marriage contract to grant greater freedom of movement or to object to her husband taking additional wives, with a right to divorce if these are broken. In many cases such stipulations will not have been agreed ahead of the marriage, though some modern reforms of family law have sought to improve the situation. Otherwise the husband's rights are automatic.
@@ Line 153: / Line 160: @@
 ===Child marriage===
 {{Main|Child Marriage in Islamic Law|Forced Marriage}}
-Child marriage and sexual activity between adults and children are sanctioned by Islamic law and were practiced by Muhammad and his companions. As is the case within all contexts where sexual activity is permitted in Islam - namely, marriage and slavery - female consent is not required and the category of "rape" does not exist. The only restriction on sexual activity with children of any age within the contexts of marriage and slavery is that the child should not come to severe physical harm as a consequence of the encounter.
+The major schools of Islamic jurisprudence were in agreement that a pre-pubescent child could be contracted in marriage by his or her father [[Forced Marriage|and without consent]]. They based this view variously on [[Muhammad]]'s marriage to [[Aisha]], the example of his [[Sahabah|companions]], and the Quran (particularly {{Quran|65|4}}). The Maliki and Shafi'i schools even allowed a father to forcibly contract his daughter in marriage who had already reached puberty if she was still a virgin, despite hadith evidence indicating otherwise. The family were to hand over the betrothed wife for consummation of the marriage when they determined that the girl was now able to endure intercourse without physical harm rather than this being tied to any particular age (though Ibn Hanbal specified the age of nine due to the example of Aisha's marital consummation with Muhammad). Some Quranic commentators interpreted the Quran such that only females who had reached puberty can be contracted in marriage, though most thought that marriage of minors was permitted. The Byzantines around this time allowed girls to be married from the age of thirteen and the Persian Sassinids allowed marital consummation from the age of twelve.
+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 nevetheless common (including among non-Muslim populations in some regions of the world).
-====Encouragement to marry and fondle young virgins====
+====Muhammad's encouragement to marry and fondle young virgins====
 {{Quote|{{Bukhari|5|59|382}}|Narrated Jabir: "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said to me, "Have you got married O Jabir?" I replied, "Yes." He asked "What, a virgin [bikr] or a matron [thayyib]?" I replied, "Not a virgin but a matron." He said, "Why did you not marry a young girl [jariyah] who would have fondled with you?}}
 {{Quote|{{Bukhari|3|38|504}}| Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah:
@@ Line 166: / Line 175: @@
 A woman who has been previously married (Thayyib) has more right to her person than her guardian. And a virgin should also be consulted, and her silence implies her consent.}}
-===Domestic rights and disobedient wives (beating)===
+===Domestic rights and beating wives===
-{{Main|Wife Beating in Islamic Law|Wife Beating in the Qur'an|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Wife Beating}}Under Islamic law, women are obligated to obey their husbands in their domestic, social, professional, sexual and, to a limited extent, religious lives. Marital rape is not considered a crime. [https://quranx.com/4.34 Quran 4:34] instructs Muslims men to, among other things, beat their wives if they fear disobedience from them. Muslim scholars agree on the permissibility of the practice but disagree on the conditions for and nature of the beating permitted. Women are also accorded a number of rights under the ''nikah'' contract. Men are obligated to provide for their wives financially and not to be too harsh to them, although the meaning of this latter requirement is set by the marital and gender norms of 7th century Arabia, where wife-beating was commonplace and acceptable. Women whose husbands fail to fulfill these rights are eligible for requesting divorce.
+{{Main|Wife Beating in Islamic Law|Wife Beating in the Qur'an|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Wife Beating}}Under Islamic law, women are obligated to obey their husbands in their domestic, social, professional, sexual and, to a limited extent, religious lives. Marital rape is not considered a crime. {{Quran|4|34}} instructs Muslims men to, among other things, beat their wives if they fear nushuz (a word of unclear meaning but to be compared with similar usage in {{Quran|4|128}}. Muslim scholars agree on the permissibility of the practice but disagree on the conditions for and nature of the beating permitted. Women are also accorded a number of rights under the ''nikah'' contract. Men are obligated to provide for their wives financially and not to be too harsh to them, although the meaning of this latter requirement is set by the marital and gender norms of 7th century Arabia, where wife-beating was commonplace and acceptable. Women whose husbands fail to fulfill these rights are eligible for requesting divorce.
 ===Divorce===
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 There is a consensus among classical Islamic scholars that if a woman converts to Islam and her husband fails to, their marriage is nullified.<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/3408/stories-of-women-who-became-muslim-and-left-their-non-muslim-husbands Stories of Women who Became Muslim and Left their Non-Muslim Husbands - IslamQA.info]</ref><ref name="IndianaLawJournal">Leeman, Alex B. (2009) "Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal Theory Behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions," Indiana Law Journal: Vol. 84 : Iss. 2 , Article 9. pp.754-759 Available at: http://ilj.law.indiana.edu/articles/84/84_2_Leeman.pdf and https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol84/iss2/9</ref> This ruling is derived, in part, from {{Quran|60|10}}. The classical scholars also ruled that if on the other hand a husband converts to Islam, the marriage remains intact so long as his wife is a Christian or Jew. If a Muslim husband or wife leaves Islam, the marriage to his or her Muslim spouse is immediately annulled, though some held that the marriage is unaffected if only the wife leaves the religion, while others said that she becomes the husband's slave.<ref name="IndianaLawJournal2">Leeman, Alex B. (2009) "Interfaith Marriage in Islam: An Examination of the Legal Theory Behind the Traditional and Reformist Positions," Indiana Law Journal: Vol. 84 : Iss. 2 , Article 9. pp.754-759 Available at: http://ilj.law.indiana.edu/articles/84/84_2_Leeman.pdf and https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol84/iss2/9</ref>
+One verse grants similar rights to men and women during the divorce period, in some sense granting the husband a degree above his wife.
+{{Quote|{{Quran|2|228}}|Divorced women remain in waiting for three periods, and it is not lawful for them to conceal what Allah has created in their wombs if they believe in Allah and the Last Day. And their husbands have more right to take them back in this [period] if they want reconciliation. And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable. But the men have a degree over them [in responsibility and authority]. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.}}
 ===Concubinage===
@@ Line 180: / Line 192: @@
 {{Main|'Iddah (Female_Menstrual_Waiting_Period)}}
 The 'iddah is the period of time a woman must observe after the death of her husband or after a divorce, during which she has to face numerous restrictions. These restrictions include being largely confined at home and the clothes she is allowed to wear. For a widowed woman the waiting period is 4 months and 10 days; for a pregnant woman the waiting period is up to 9 months (till the birth of the baby); and for a divorced woman the waiting period is 3 menstrual cycles.
+===Inheritance===
+{{Main|Inheritance Laws|Contradictions in the Quran}}
+Generally, Islam grants women half the share of inheritance available to men if they inherit from the same father. This forms part of a wider Quranic and cultural context in which men are expected to provide for women and to pay a dower for marriage. However, it is easy to imagine scenarios even in the 7th century where the beneficiaries are at different stages of their lives or marital circumstances such that no rationale would justify the allocation fixed in the Quran.
+{{Quote|{{Quran|4|11}}|Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females. But if there are [only] daughters, two or more, for them is two thirds of one's estate. And if there is only one, for her is half. And for one's parents, to each one of them is a sixth of his estate if he left children. But if he had no children and the parents [alone] inherit from him, then for his mother is one third. And if he had brothers [or sisters], for his mother is a sixth, after any bequest he [may have] made or debt. Your parents or your children - you know not which of them are nearest to you in benefit. [These shares are] an obligation [imposed] by Allah. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowing and Wise.}}
+{{Quote|{{Quran|4|176}}|They request from you a [legal] ruling. Say, "Allah gives you a ruling concerning one having neither descendants nor ascendants [as heirs]." If a man dies, leaving no child but [only] a sister, she will have half of what he left. And he inherits from her if she [dies and] has no child. But if there are two sisters [or more], they will have two-thirds of what he left. If there are both brothers and sisters, the male will have the share of two females. Allah makes clear to you [His law], lest you go astray. And Allah is Knowing of all things.}}
 ===Attire===
-{{Main|Revelation of the Hijab|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Hijab}}Islamic scholars differ in their interpretation of the verses prescribing female attire. All four madhabs agree by consensus that women must cover their entire body, excluding their hands and face, except for Hanafis, who also permit women to reveal their feet. These clothing requirements only apply in the presence of unrelated men (in addition to some male relations) and during prayers. Hanafis and some other scholars also require women to observe these requirements in the presence non-Muslim women, fearing that these non-Muslim women may describe a Muslim woman's physical features to other men.
+{{Main|Hijab|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Hijab}}Islamic scholars differ in their interpretation of the verses prescribing female attire. All four madhabs agree by consensus that women must cover their entire body, excluding their hands and face, except for Hanafis, who also permit women to reveal their feet. These clothing requirements only apply in the presence of unrelated men (in addition to some male relations) and during prayers. Hanafis and some other scholars also require women to observe these requirements in the presence non-Muslim women, fearing that these non-Muslim women may describe a Muslim woman's physical features to other men. Some modern interpretations disagree with the traditional views (see main article).
 ===Testimony===
-Islamic scriptures dictate that, in a court setting, a woman's testimony is worth half a man's. The reasoning given in Sahih Bukhari is the deficiency of the female intellect. Islamic jurists have variously endorsed some exceptions to this rule-of-thumb, however. In legal cases relating to matters of female anatomy or specialty, a woman's testimony may be equal to a man's. On the other hand, Islamic jurists have also dictated that there are certain domains of law where a woman's testimony cannot be counted for anything at all.
+Islamic scriptures dictate that, in a court setting, a woman's testimony is worth half a man's. The reasoning given in {{Bukhari|1|6|301}} is the deficiency of the female intellect. Islamic jurists have variously endorsed some exceptions to this rule-of-thumb, however. In legal cases relating to matters of female anatomy or specialty, a woman's testimony may be equal to a man's. On the other hand, Islamic jurists have also dictated that there are certain domains of law where a woman's testimony cannot be counted for anything at all.
+The Quran itself mentions the principle in the context of loan contracts.
+{{Quote|{{Quran|2|282}}|O you who have believed, when you contract a debt for a specified term [...] And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses - so that if one of the women errs, then the other can remind her. [...]}}
+===Gender Segregation===
+{{Main|Sex Segregation in Islam}}In Islamic law, unrelated women and men are not allowed to be alone together, have any sort of physical contact, engage in frivolous conversation, look at one another for any reason other than momentarily for the purpose of identification, or pray such that a woman is located in front of or adjacent to any man (women must stand behind men in prayer). Muhammad's wives are instructed in the Quran to remain at home as much as possible and according to hadiths Muhammad did not permit women to travel on significant journeys except under the supervision of a male guardian or relative. Some medieval scholars forbade women to leave their homes at all without permission. Modernist scholars generally contest these interpretations using other hadiths and arguments.
-===Segregation===
-{{Main|Sex Segregation in Islam}}In Islamic law, unrelated women and men are not allowed to be alone together, have any sort of physical contact, engage in frivolous conversation, look at one another for any reason other than momentarily for the purpose of identification, or pray such that a woman is located in front of or adjacent to any man (women must stand behind men in prayer). Women are also instructed in the Quran to remain at home as much as possible and are required to live and travel under the supervision of a male guardian or relative.
 ==Muhammad and Women==
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 The United Nations Population Fund estimated in September 2000 that as many as 5,000 women and girls fall victim to such killings each year.
 ===Strict enforcement of hijab===
-In the holy city of Mecca in March 2002, fifteen teenage girls perished in a fire at their school when the Saudi religious police, the muttawa'in, refused to let them out of the building, because in the female-only school environment, they had shed the outer garments that women are required to wear in the presence of men. They had not put these garments back on before trying to flee from the fire. The muttawa'in, favoring the victims' death to the transgression of Islamic law, battled police and firemen who tried to open the school's doors to save the girls.<ref>Christopher Dickey and Rod Nordland - [http://www.islamawareness.net/MiddleEast/Saudi/fire.html The Fire That Won't Die Out] - Islamawareness, 2002</ref>
+In a few countries today (notably Iran and Afghanistan), the wearing of hijab is legally enforced, though in most Muslim-majority countries this is not the case though there may be social pressure. In the holy city of Mecca in March 2002, fifteen teenage girls perished in a fire at their school when the Saudi religious police, the muttawa'in, refused to let them out of the building, because in the female-only school environment, they had shed the outer garments that women are required to wear in the presence of men. They had not put these garments back on before trying to flee from the fire. The muttawa'in, favoring the victims' death to the transgression of Islamic law, battled police and firemen who tried to open the school's doors to save the girls.<ref>Christopher Dickey and Rod Nordland - [http://www.islamawareness.net/MiddleEast/Saudi/fire.html The Fire That Won't Die Out] - Islamawareness, 2002</ref> In 2018 Saudi Arabia rescinded its laws relating to head coverings.
 ===Domestic abuse===

Islam and Women: Difference between revisions

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