Islam and Women: Difference between revisions

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 "An omen is in a dwelling, a woman or a horse." Abu Dawud said: This tradition was read out to al-Harith b. Miskin and I was witness. It was said to him that Ibn Qasim told him that Malik was asked about evil omen in a horse and in a house. He replied: There are many houses in which people lived and perished and again others lived therein and they also perished. This is its explanation so far as we know. Allah knows best. '''Abu Dawud said: 'Umar (ra) said: A mat in a house better than a woman who does not give birth to a child.'''}}
+=== The guile of women is great ===
+Quran 12:23-12:34 relates a story following prophet Yusuf, where the wife of al-'Aziz tries to seduce him. Her husband catches her and she accuses Yusuf of being the one to try and to seduce her. However, the husband does not believe his wife due to Yusuf's shirt being ripped on the back (and not the front). When referring to the adulterous woman's behaviour, her husband states that the guile (kayd) of women is great using the female plural.
+{{Quote|{{Quran|12|28}}|So when he saw his shirt torn from behind, he said: Lo! this is of the guile of you women. Lo! the guile of you is very great.}}
+Yusuf himself uses the female plural a few verses later about the guile of the specific women who try to tempt him ({{Quran-range|12|33|34}}). The point of the story seems to be the victory of the prophet over temptation.
+While some modern commentators emphasise this and other aspects of the story, the vast majority of classical commentators took the second part of verse 28 spoken by al-'Aziz to indicate a defining feature of women in general. Some, such as al-Zamakhshari, even contrast it with another verse about the weakness of Satan's guile. Al-Qurtubi presents this idea in the form of a hadith (with a weak chain):<ref name="Amin2023">Taira Amin (2023), [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/371278020_The_Discursive_Construction_of_Women%27s_Guile_in_the_Muslim_Exegetical_Tradition The Discursive Construction of Women’s Guile in the Muslim Exegetical Tradition] in (Eds.) A. Aghdassi and A.W. Hughes, ''New Methodological Perspectives in Islamic Studies'' pp.46-72, Leiden:Brill DOI:10.1163/9789004536630_005.</ref>
+{{Quote|1=Tafseer al-Qurtubi for Q 12:28 translated by Taira Amin<ref name="Amin2023" /> ([https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=5&tSoraNo=12&tAyahNo=27&tDisplay=yes&Page=3&Size=1&LanguageId=1 arabic])|2=It has been reported by Yahya bin Abī Kathīr from Abu Hurayrā that the messenger of God said in the Qurʾān: Indeed the deception of Satan is weak (Q 4:76) and he said: Indeed, your deception [Oh you women] is great (Q 12:28).}}
+<nowiki>:</nowiki>
 ==Virgins in Paradise==
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 {{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. [...]}}
+===Punishment for lewdness===
+The Qur'an states that women found guilty of lewdness (l-fāḥishata) should be confined to house arrest until death or mysteriously 'God ordains another way'. The next verse ({{Quran|4|16}}) on the other hand ordains (unspecified) punishment if two men are found guilty of lewdness, but who are to be left alone if they repent and amend their ways:
+{{Quote|{{Quran|4|15}}|If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, Take the evidence of four (Reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them, or Allah ordain for them some (other) way}}
+Most scholars believe the above verse (Quran 4:15) was [[Naskh (Abrogation)|abrogated]] by the punishment of 100 lashes for both men and women who commit fornication (zina) in Quran 24:2, or stoning if either is married to someone else as set out in the hadith (such as {{Bukhari|9|92|432}}and {{Muslim|17|4194}}):
+{{Quote|{{Quran|24|2}}|The [unmarried] woman or [unmarried] man found guilty of sexual intercourse - lash each one of them with a hundred lashes, and do not be taken by pity for them in the religion of Allah, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day.}}
 ===Gender Segregation===
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 Honor killing has occured in many cultures, and is the murder by family members, usually of females, who are perceived to have brought shame on the family. The attitude is that the honor of the family in the community can be protected or restored in this way. Common triggers for honour killing occur when young couples have unmarried relations with each other, or when a woman marries someone against the wishes of her parents.
-In Islamic law, there is no punishment merely for the shame caused upon a family by their female relations, nor to restore family honor by killing them. There are, however, punishments for various types of [[w:Zina|Zina]] (unlawful sexual relations) in Islam. Zina includes both fornication (when they are unmarried), for which the punishment is flogging, and adultery (when they are married, but not to each other), for which the punishment is death by stoning. These punishments are only to be applied by the authorities. A punishment in a private setting is mandated in {{Quran|4|34}} which tells men to beat their wives as a last resort in certain circumstances {{Quran|4|34}}.
+In Islamic law, there is no punishment merely for the shame caused upon a family by their female relations, nor to restore family honor by killing them. There are, however, punishments for various types of [[w:Zina|Zina]] (unlawful sexual relations) in Islam. Zina includes both fornication (when an unmarried person has intercourse), for which the punishment is flogging, and adultery (when a married person has intercourse with someone other than their spouse), for which the punishment is death by stoning. These punishments are only to be applied by the authorities. A punishment in a private setting is mandated in {{Quran|4|34}} which tells men to beat their wives as a last resort in certain circumstances {{Quran|4|34}}.
 Honour killing has been condemned in a recent fatwa<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/101972 Fatwa 101972 Ruling on honour killing]</ref>, which says that the punishment for fornication by the unmarried is flogging, and must be carried out by the proper authorities.
-However, some statements about women and the rules to control them as outlined above in this article may contribute to the perceived social consequences of failing to exert such control and the underlying attitudes towards women and girls held by those who commit honor killing and honor violence. This includes such rules as those concerning gender segregation, a woman marrying without the approval of her wali, and zina. Underlining the seriousness in which some of these are regarded, certain punishments such as stoning, flogging, and even death by being thrown off a tall building are prescribed for sexual crimes in Islamic law, though these are to be carried out by the authorities. In the modern age, there have been frequent incidents of honor violence when young women are perceived to have violated Islamic requirements about dress and adornmonts when using photo and video based social media. A connection between Islam and honor violence is disputed by some on the basis that honor killing in the Muslim world is largely associated with certain countries like Pakistan and in parts of the Middle East and North Africa rather than universal. The problem has also been documented in a Hindu religious context in countries such as India and Nepal, particularly involving couples of differing castes.
+However, some statements about women and the rules to control them as outlined above in this article may contribute to the perceived social consequences of failing to exert such control and the underlying attitudes towards women and girls held by those who commit honor killing and honor violence. This includes such rules as those concerning gender segregation and zina (especially the prohibition of sexual intercourse between an unmarried couple, even the suspicion of which is a common trigger for honor violence against girls), and a woman marrying without the approval of her wali. Underlining the seriousness in which some of these are regarded, certain punishments such as stoning, flogging, and even death by being thrown off a tall building are prescribed for sexual crimes in Islamic law, though these are to be carried out by the authorities. In the modern age, there have been many reported incidents of honor violence when young women are perceived to have violated Islamic requirements about dress and adornmonts when using photo and video based social media. A connection between Islam and honor violence is disputed by some on the basis that honor killing in the Muslim world is largely associated with certain countries like Pakistan and in parts of the Middle East and North Africa rather than universal. The problem has also been documented in a Hindu religious context in countries such as India and Nepal, particularly involving couples of differing castes.
 While Islamic law does not order honor violence, parents who murder their children are not punishable with the ''Qisas'' (retaliation) under the Sharia. The standard manual of law for the Shafi'i school sets out this exemption in plain terms.{{Quote|'Umdat al-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller), section o1.1-2|Retaliation is obligatory [...] against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right [...] The following are not subject to retaliation [...] (4) a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring.}}
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 Efforts in modern Muslim countries have been made to deter such killings by changing the law to enable prosecution of the perpetrators, for example Pakistan in 2016 (after a change that had left a large loophole in 2004)<ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37578111</ref>, though as of 2022 the effect there has been limited.<ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2022/07/honor-killings-continue-unabated-in-pakistan/ ‘Honor Killings’ Continue Unabated in Pakistan] - The Diplomat, 2022</ref>
-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.
+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. Cases of non-fatal honor violence would likely be far higher.
 ===Strict enforcement of hijab===
 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.