ISLAM EMPOWERS WOMEN THAN ANY OTHER RELIGION

The confusion in treating women has nothing to do with the rules of Islam, which I have discovered had granted women all the modern human rights and more, on equal footing with men. Sadly, most Muslim cultures have greatly confused local traditions with Islamic teachings in the Quran and Sunnah.

One of the longest chapters of the Quran is called “The Women” but there is no parallel chapter called “The Men”. It discusses women’s rights and duties and instructs men on how to deal with women in a respectful way in all life’s situations, including marriage, parenting, divorce and inheritance. The verses show that women are equal in worth, responsibility, accountability and reward.

The last sermon of Prophet Muhammad repeatedly stressed how the good treatment of women is the measure of a man’s worth in the eyes of God. Women have the right to choose, decide and speak up; they have the right to education, equal respect and equal opportunities; and they have the right to demand the punishment of those who oppress them in the name of religion. Women under Islam are not required to answer to men; they answer directly to God just like men.

There is nothing in Islam to deny education to girls, or to limit their role to staying at home, or to narrow down their choices to only a few job options. There is nothing in the Quran to mandate that a male “guardian” must sign on behalf of an adult woman to allow her to buy, sell, travel or vote.

A simple example to show the special status of women in Islam is what happened right after the death of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The community trusted Hafsah, a woman, to safeguard Islam’s most precious possession: the only available complete written copy of the Quran.

A Woman under Islam is respected as a full, independent entity. She has the right for public participation, inheritance and managing her wealth. She can also keep her name when she marries. The wives of the Prophet are extraordinary leadership examples for modern women to follow.
From a Muslim woman’s point of view, men are not the standard that women should strive to imitate, because Islam teaches that both men and women are created equal in the eyes of God, and that both should strive -side by side- to achieve the same ideals. Each one of them is unique and special in their own way and neither is seen as better or worse than the other. Women do not define their worth in reference to men but in reference to God himself.

Contrary to popular misconception, Islamic culture is maternal and not paternal. Mothers enjoy the highest esteem next only to God. Prophet Muhammad said that Paradise lies at the feet of mothers, and that a mother is 3 times more worthy of a man’s kindness than a father. He also said that a daughter could get her father into paradise if he treated her well, and that the true measure of a man’s faith is how well he treats his wife and the other women in his household, including servants and hired help.

Financially, a Muslim woman is always the responsibility of a man in terms of providing security. So she has the right to work but she is not obligated to work to support herself. If she prefers to be a stay-at-home mom or to volunteer for charity work she is free to do so. In her wedding contract, she has the right to add any terms she likes, and the contract is binding to the husband as soon as he signs it in front of two witnesses.

So if she specifies that she wants to work, he can’t stop her and if she says she doesn’t want to work, he can’t force her. If he does, it nullifies the contract and she has the right to divorce. Under all circumstances, he is obliged to provide for her even after divorcing her. If she works, she gets to keep her money; she is not required to share in house expenses unless she chooses to do so, and if she does, it is entirely up to her to decide how much to offer.

Sadly, there are many Muslim men who deny women their God-given rights in the name of religion, but they are actually just arrogant and ignorant. Muslim men who oppress women in the name of religion have received a bad education or no education at all, especially when it comes to true Islamic values.

We must also admit that the Islam of the Quran is different from Islam according to Pakistan or Egypt or Saudi Arabia or Turkey or Malaysia. If we want to know what Islam is all about, we should learn from the source, not from the tailored interpretations that might have been adapted to suit some undereducated men with an inferiority complex.