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THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN IN ISLAM By Samuel Green |
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While it needs to be acknowledged that atrocities have been committed against women overseas in the name of Islam, it also needs to be acknowledged that such practices have no basis in the religion itself. More than 1400 years ago Islam afforded women rights comparable to those in our contemporary international human rights documents. It is not Islam but other factors, notably cultural practices alien to the religion itself, which are the cause of the mistreatment of women. (Sydney Morning Herald, "Grim picture of sharia hides its useful aspects", Ghena Krayem and Haisam Farache, February 18, 2008)
Statements such as these are common from academics, journalists, politicans, celebrities, influencers, and religious leaders. They assure us that the harsh treatment of Muslim women seen in Islamic countries is the result of culture and not the religion of Islam. They claim that Islam has actually liberated women and to suggest otherwise is Islamophobic. However, other Islamic leaders insist that this treatment of women is part of the religion. This can be confusing as many of us are unaware of what Islam actually teaches. So what do the Qur'an, Hadith and Shariah actually teach about these things? In this article we will consider the main areas that are publicly discussed.
Understanding the references
Qur'an - The Qur'an is main scripture in Islam.
Hadith - The Hadith are the collected sayings of Muhammad and his companions. They are important because Muhammad's example is to be followed by Muslims (Qur'an 33:21) as are his commands (Qur'an 2:151).
Shariah - The Shariah is the Islamic law derived from the Qur'an and Hadith.
COVERING A WOMAN'S FACE
Groups like the Taliban and the Islamic State make women wear the niqab, which covers the face but leaves the eyes visible, or burqa, which covers even the eyes with a mesh. The niqab and burqa can also be seen in other countries where Muslim women may choose to wear them or be made to wear them by their families. What do the Qur'an, Hadith, and Shariah say about this?
Qur'an
O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. (Qur'an 33:59)
Therefore, the Qur'an says that Muslim women are to cover themselves so that they will be recognized as Muslim women and not abused.
Hadith
Narrated 'Aisha: The wives of the Prophet used to go to Al-Manasi, a vast open place (near Baqia at Medina) to answer the call of nature at night. 'Umar used to say to the Prophet "Let your wives be veiled," but Allah's Apostle did not do so. One night Sauda bint Zam'a the wife of the Prophet went out at 'Isha' time and she was a tall lady. 'Umar addressed her and said, "I have recognized you, O Sauda." He said so, as he desired eagerly that the verses of Al-Hijab (the observing of veils by the Muslim women) may be revealed. So Allah revealed the verses of "Al-Hijab" (A complete body cover excluding the eyes). (Sahih al-Bukhari 146; vol 1, bk 4, no 148)
This hadith indicates that the covering is meant to hide the identity of a woman so that she cannot be recognized. This involves covering the face.
Shariah
m2.3 [...] The majority of scholars (n: with the exception of some Hanafis, as at m2.8 below) have been recorded as holding that it is unlawful for women to leave the house with faces unveiled. (Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, p. 512)
Therefore, the majority of scholars have historically understood that a Muslim woman must not show her face in public. It is true that the majority of Muslims do not follow this teaching, but it is wrong to say there is no basis for it in the religion of Islam.
HITTING A WIFE
Qur'an
And those [wives or slave women] you fear may be rebellious, advise them; forsake them in bed; and beat them. (Qur'an 4:34)
Hadith
He [Muhammad] struck me [Aisha, one of his wives] on the chest which caused me pain, and then said: Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you? (Sahih Muslim 974b; bk 4, no 2127)
Iyas b. Abdullah reported God's messenger as saying, "Do not beat God's handmaidens;" but when `Umar came to God's messenger and said, "The women have become emboldened towards their husbands," he gave licence to beat them. Then many women went round God's messenger's family complaining of their husbands, and he said, "Many women have gone around complaining of their husbands. Those are not the best among you." Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and Darimi transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih 3261; bk 13, no 178)
Hakim b. Mu`awiya al-Qushairi quoted his father as telling that he asked, "Messenger of God, what right can any wife demand of her husband?" He replied, "That you should give her food to eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, not strike her on the face, and do not revile her or seperate from her except in the house." Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih 3259; bk 13, no 176)
Narrated Zam'a, The prophet said, "None of you should flog his wife as he flogs a slave and then have sexual intercourse with her in the last part of the day." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5204; vol 7, bk 62, no 132)
Shariah
m10.12 When a husband notices signs of rebelliousness in his wife (nushuz, dis: p42) (O: whether in words, as when she answers him coldly when she used to do so politely, or he asks her to come to bed and she refuses, contrary to her usual habit; or whether in acts, as when he finds her averse to him when she was previously kind and cheerful), he warns her in words (O: without keeping from her or hitting her, for it may be that she has an excuse. The warning could be to tell her, "Fear Allah concerning the rights you owe to me," or it could be to explain that rebelliousness nullifies his obligation to support her and give her a turn amongst other wives, or it could be to inform her, "Your obeying me [def: (3) below] is religiously obligatory"). If she commits rebelliousness, he keeps from sleeping (O: and having sex) with her without words, and may hit her, but not in a way that injures her, meaning he many not (A: bruise her,) break bones, wound her, or cause blood to flow. (O: It is unlawful to strike another's face.) He may hit her whether she is rebellious only once or whether more than once, though a weaker opinion holds that he may not hit her unless there is repeated rebelliousness. (Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, pp. 540-541)
Therefore, if, when, and how to hit your wife is part of Islamic teaching, and to suggest otherwise is wrong.
VIRGINS IN PARADISE
Does Islam promise Muslim men virgin women as a reward in paradise?
Qur'an
In the Gardens of delight, on couches facing one another, and a cup from a gushing spring is brought round for them, white, delicious to the drinkers, wherein there is no headache nor are they made mad thereby. And with them are women of modest gaze, with lovely eyes, like hidden eggs. (Qur'an 37:43-49)
Lo! those who kept their duty will be in a place secure amid gardens and water-springs, attired in silk and silk embroidery, facing one another. And we shall wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes. (Qur'an 44:51-54)
And We shall pair them with maidens with dark, lustrous eyes. (Qur'an 52:20)
But for the one who fears the time when he will stand before his Lord there are two gardents [...] Among them are women of modest gaze [...] In which are good and beautiful women [...] with lustrous eyes, restrained in tents [...] untouched by either men or jinn. (Qur'an 55:46-74)
And maidens with dark, lustrous eyes, like hidden pearls. (Qur'an 56:22-23)
Perfectly We formed them, perfect, and We made them spotless virgins, chastely amorous, like of age for the Companions of the Right. (Qur'an 56:35-38)
Surely for the godfearing awaits a place of security, gardens and vineyards and maidens with swelling breasts, like of age, and a cup overflowing. (Qur'an 78:31-33)
Hadith
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger said, "The first batch (of people) who will enter Paradise will be (glittering) like a full moon; and those who will enter next will be (glittering) like the brightest star. Their hearts will be as if the heart of a single man, for they will have no enmity amongst themselves, and everyone of them shall have two wives, each of whom will be so beautiful, pure and transparent that the marrow of the bones of their legs will be seen through the flesh." (Sahih al-Bukhari 3246; vol 4, bk 54, no 469; also Sahih Muslim 2834)
Anas reported the Prophet as saying, "In paradise the believer will be given such and such power to conduct sexual intercourse." He was asked whether we would be capable of that and replied that he would be given the capacity of a hundred men. Tirmidhi [2536] transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih 5636; bk 28, no 108)
What is the blessing for women in paradise?
Narrated `Abdullah bin Qais: Allah's Messenger said, "In Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them." (Sahih al-Bukhari 4879; vol 6, bk 60, no 402)
It seems that Allah will take away a wife's jealousy of having to share their husband by giving her a room in the house that does not allow her to see the other wives.
The Shariah consulted did not teach on this subject.
POLYGAMY
Qur'an
If you fear that you will not act fairly towards those orphans, marry such of the women that seems good to you: two, three or four each. (Qur'an 4:3)
And those (men) who preserve their chastity except with their wives and those whom their right hands possess [slave women], for thus they are not blameworthy. (Qur'an 70:29-30)
O you who believe, do not forbid the good things which God has made lawful for you. (Qur'an 5:87)
Hadith
Narrated Said bin Jubair: Ibn 'Abbas asked me, "Are you married?" I replied, "No." He said, "Marry, for the best person of this (Muslim) nation (i.e., Muhammad) of all other Muslims, had the largest number of wives." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5069; vol 7, bk 62, no 7)
However, while Muhammad had many wives and slaves girls, and taught this in the Qur'an, and promised it for Muslim men in paradise, he would only allow his son-in-law, Ali, to have one wife. Why? Because Ali was married to Muhammad's daughter, Fatima.
Narrated Al-Miswar bin Makhrama: I heard Allah's Apostle who was on the pulpit, saying, "Banu Hisham bin Al-Mughira have requested me to allow them to marry their daughter to Ali bin Abu Talib, but I don't give permission, and will not give permission unless 'Ali bin Abi Talib divorces my daughter in order to marry their daughter, because Fatima is a part of my body, and I hate what she hates to see, and what hurts her, hurts me." (Sahih al-Bukhari 5230; vol 7, bk 62, no 157)
Shariah
m6.10 It is unlawful for a free man to marry more than four women. It is fitter to confine oneself to just one.
m10.5 A husband with more than one wife is not obliged to spend his nights with them in turns but may keep away from them (A: all) without sin. But he may not begin spending the night with one of them unless he chooses her by drawing lots. Whenever he spends the night with one wife, he is obliged to spend nights with the others, giving equal time to each one.
m10.6 If the husband wants to take one of his wives on a journey with him, he may do so unless he draws lots to see who it will be. (Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, pp. 530 & 539)
Is the polygamy of Islam only for a specific historical situation in Muhammad's life? No, because Muhammad promised polygamy in paradise which is beyond this world.
In a monogamous marriage the man and women both promise to be sexually faithful to each other and to bind themselves to each other alone. However, in a polygamous marriage only the woman is bound to the man and must be sexually faithful to him. The man is free to keep looking for other women. Polygamy completely changes the way a man thinks about women and what it means to be faithful to them.
CHILD BRIDES
Child marriage continues to be an issue in the Islamic world, 1.
Qur'an
The Qur'an speaks about divorcing women who have stopped menstruating, those who have not started menstruating, and those who are pregnant. Those who have not started menstruating have not reached puberty, that is, they are still children.
And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women - if you doubt, then their period is three months, and [also for] those who have not menstruated. And for those who are pregnant, their term is until they give birth. (Qur'an 65:4)
Hadith
Narrated `Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death). (Sahih al-Bukhari 5133; vol 7, bk 62, no 64)
Was Muhammad was 52 years old when he consumated the marriage with Aisha. Was this marriage just an expression of the culture at that time? It may have been part of the culture, but this is not the reason that Muhammad gives. He said it was Allah who revealed and justified this relationship:
Narrated 'Aisha: That the Prophet said to her, "You have been shown to me twice in my dream. I saw you pictured on a piece of silk and some-one said (to me). 'This is your wife.' When I uncovered the picture, I saw that it was yours. I said, 'If this is from Allah, it will be done." (Sahih al-Bukhari 3895; vol 5, bk 58, no. 235)
Muhammad actions are more than just cultural; they are believed to be the revelation of the perfect Muslim life.
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: When I got married, Allah's Apostle said to me, "What type of lady have you married?" I replied, "I have married a matron" He said, "Why, don't you have a liking for the virgins and for fondling them?" Jabir also said: Allah's Apostle said, "Why didn't you marry a young girl so that you might play with her and she with you?" (Sahih al-Bukhari 5080; vol 7, bk 62, no. 17)
Shariah
m8.2 A guardian may not marry his prepubescent daughter to someone for less than the amount typically received as marriage payment by similar brides. (Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, p. 533)
TEMPORARY MARRIAGES
Temporary (mutah) marriages continue to be an issue in some parts of the the Islamic world, 1, 2, 3, 4, and they are considered a form of prostitution.
Qur'an
The Qur'an does allow relatively easy divorce and marriage.
If you wish to replace a wife by another and you have given one of them a large sum, take nothing from it. (Qur'an 4:20)
Hadith
Narrated Abdullah: We used to participate in the holy wars carried on by the Prophet and we had no women (wives) with us. So we said (to the Prophet ). "Shall we castrate ourselves?" But the Prophet forbade us to do that and thenceforth he allowed us to marry a woman (temporarily) by giving her even a garment, and then he recited: "O you who believe! Do not make unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful for you." (Q5:87) (Sahih al-Bukhari 4615; vol 6, bk 60, no 139)
Ibn Uraij reported: 'Ati' reported that Jabir b. Abdullah came to perform 'Umra, and we came to his abode, and the people asked him about different things, and then they made a mention of temporary marriage, whereupon he said: Yes, we had been benefiting ourselves by this temporary marriage during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet and during the time of Abu Bakr and Umar. (Sahih Muslim 1405c; bk 8, no 3248)
Abd Nadra reported: While I was in the company of Jibir, a person came and said: There is difference of opinion amomg Ibn Abbas and Ibn Zubair about two Mut'as (benefits, Tamattul in Hajj and temporary marriage with women), whereupon jibir said: We have been doing this during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him), and then 'Umar forbade us to do so, and we never resorted to them.(Sahih Muslim 1249; bk 7, no 2874)
Therefore, Muhammad allowed short-term comfort marriages, but his companions disagreed over whether the practice should continue after Muhammad's death. Shia Muslims, who follow Abdullah ibn Masud continue the practice, Sunni Muslims, who follow Umar, do not.
Shariah
The following Shariah ruling, being Sunni, forbids the practice.
m6.12 The following types of marriage are legally invalid: [...] (2) to have a "temporary marriage" (mut`a), meaning to marry a woman for a stipulated period (O: whether specified, such as a month, or unknown, such as "until So-and-so comes"). (Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, p. 530)
FEMALE CIRCUMCISION
Female circumcision continues to be an issue in the Islamic world, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.The Qur'an never mentions male or female circumcision.
The Hadith
Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband. (Sunan Abu Dawud 5271; bk 42, no. 5251)
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Said ibn al- Musayyab that Umar ibn al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan and A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say, "When the circumcised part touches the circumcised part, ghusl is obligatory." (Muwatta Malik bk 2, no 103; bk 2, no 73; also Sahih Muslim 349; bk 3, no 684)
Aishah narrated: "When the circumcised meets the circumcised, then indeed Ghusl [washing] is required. Myself and Allah's Messenger did that, so we performed Ghusl." (Jami` at-Tirmidhi 108; vol 1, bk 1, no 108)
The Shariah
e4.3 Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men is consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.) (Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, p. 59)
Even those outside of Islam saw that the early Muslims circumcised their women.
He [Muhammad] made it a law that they be circumcised and the women, too, and he ordered them not to keep the Sabbath and not to be baptized. (John of Damascus (d. 749), The Heresy of the Ishmaelites)
Therefore, female circumcision is part of Islamic teaching. Most Muslims do not practice it, but it is wrong to say it is not part of Islamic teaching.
KILLING WOMEN AND CHILDREN DURING WAR
It is certainly true that Muhammad forbade the killing of non-combatant women and children.
Hadith
It is narrated by Ibn 'Umar that a woman was found killed in one of these battles; so the Messenger of Allah forbade the killing of women and children. (Sahih Muslim 1744b; bk 19, no 4320)
But there were exceptions.
It is narrated by Sa'b b. Jaththama that he said (to the Holy Prophet): Messenger of Allah, we kill the children of the polytheists during the night raids. He said: They are from them. (Sahih Muslim 1745b; bk 19, no 4322)
However, the reason why Muhammad commanded women and children were not to be killed was because they were to be taken as slaves by the Jihadists.
The apostle had ordered that every adult (male of the tribe) of B. Qurayza should be killed. [...] Then the apostle divided the property, wives, and children of B. Qurayza among the Muslims [...] Then the apostle sent Sa'd b. Zayd al-Ansari brother of b. 'Abdu'l-Ashhal with some of the captive women of B. Qurayza to Najd and he sold them for horses and weapons. (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, translated as, The Life of Muhammad, (translator: A. Guillaume), Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 466)
Quran
Those [women] your right hand possess. (Qur'an 4:24, 23:6, 70:30)
Shariah
o9.10 It is not permissible (A: in jihad) to kill women and children unless they are fighting against the Muslims.
o9.12 When a child or a woman is taken captive, they become slaves by the fact of capture, and the woman's previous marriage is immediately annulled.
o10.1 A free male Muslim who has reached puberty and is sane is entitled to the spoils of battle when he has participated in the battle to the end of it.(Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, pp. 603-606)
The actions of the Islamic State Jihadists demonstrate the above: The women were not killed in combat but were taken as slaves.
TESTIMONY
The testimony of a woman is worth half of that of a man.
Qur'an
Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women whom you judge fit to act as witnesses. (Qur'an 2:282)
Hadith
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a women equal to half that of a man?" The women said "yes". He said "This is because of the deficiency of the women's mind." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2658; vol 3, bk 48, no 826)
Shariah
o24.7 The testimony of the following is legally acceptable when it concerns cases involving property, or transactions dealing with property, such as sales: (1) two men; (2) two women and a man.
o24.10 If testimony concerns things which men do not typically see (O: but women do), such as childbirth, then it is sufficient to have two male witnesses, a man and two women, or four women.(Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994, pp. 637-638)
CONCLUSION
We started this article with this quote from two Muslim academics:
While it needs to be acknowledged that atrocities have been committed against women overseas in the name of Islam, it also needs to be acknowledged that such practices have no basis in the religion itself. More than 1400 years ago Islam afforded women rights comparable to those in our contemporary international human rights documents. It is not Islam but other factors, notably cultural practices alien to the religion itself, which are the cause of the mistreatment of women. (Sydney Morning Herald, "Grim picture of sharia hides its useful aspects", Ghena Krayem and Haisam Farache, February 18, 2008)
Now that we have read at what the Qur'an, Hadith, and Shariah teach, we can conclude that the harsh treatment women receive in some Islamic societies is indeed part of the Islamic religion and not the result of culture. Those people who say this treatment is not part of Islam are either ignorant of what Islam teaches, or are projecting their own wishful thinking, or are practising taqiya as part of their siyāsah sharʿiyyah.
The treatment of women is not the only area discussed publicly, other areas like jihad, the treatment of non-Muslims, slavery, and the freedom to leave Islam are also discussed. In these areas too, it is important to read what Islam actually teaches.
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