Muslim Woman - Role of Women in Islam

The emergence of human life on this earth brought face to face with a number of situations that demanded solution, for unlike other species who lived and acted within a perfect pattern of behavior, the human species had the freedom to choose from amongst any number of growing possibilities. Now, the Free Will , although a rare and coveted gift, implies that if human beings can rise to lofty sublime heights, they can also fall low into abysmal depths. Today we know that at a number of crossroads, human being have taken a wrong turning only to return tired and exhausted, with the prospect of beginning al over again. In their attitude towards the world of matter, human existence ad its goals and purposes, human being s have traversed many paths. The process has been painful and prolonged, but nevertheless it has been a process of learning, of self-discovery and of maturing. The history of human beings can be linked with the story of one individual—its phases of childhood, youth, an the experience and mellowness of later years, in this context the finality of NUBUWWAH or Messenger Hood heralded by the Quran indicated the coming of age of human beings. They were no longer to be tied to the apron strings of the Messenger of God, but like a mature grown up person to stand on their own feet and to move towards their destination, in other words to live within the best pattern of human behavior given to them in the form of signposts at the crossroads. These were embedded in the Quran to be chosen at will as one of many other possibilities. However, their acceptance demands not only an inductive and objective approach but also a rich and varied experience, free from prejudice and a level of emotional and metal maturity. The Quranic signposts are for the grown-ups; those individuals and nations that are still in the childhood phase will mss its beautiful experience. In the are of male and female relationship, human beings blundered into a blind alley of reducing the female not only to a low statues but shifting her to position that transformed her into another species as it were, separate and distinct from the human species. Naturally, this has been an unhappy experience for the women but many men still do not appreciate the fact that they too have robbed themselves of the happiness that could have been theirs.

In nature's scheme of things, the make and the female amongst the various species emphasizes the biological difference, designed for the perpetuation of the species. The female biological function incapacitates the human female for a considerable period, so much so, that she is no longer capable of participating alongside the make in the struggle for existence which must have been frightfully harsh and tough in that age of childhood. Furthermore , the human baby is more helpless than the young's of other species, and this helplessness is also more prolonged. Thus this adds to the mothers incapacity. This prolonged artificially created incapability ended up in her complete dependence on the man who was not hindered in this manner for food, clothes and shelter. At the crossroads, the immaturity of man took a wrong turn. The incapacity and helplessness of the female was looked upon as inferiority and her economic dependence as a chance to enslave her. What was simply a division of labor became a distorted philosophy of life, and means were now sought to establish this master-slave equation on a permanent basis. The methods to enslave women run remarkably parallel to the cast Brahman's efforts to keep the untouchables in perpetual bondage. It has begun as a considered adequate for the purpose. It was essential to close all does of opportunities for improvement, it was laid down that the untouchables could not possess anything, they were lot love on the crumbs from the tables of the caste Hindus and wear their discarded clothes. Their destiny was to serve the caste Hindus, disobedience to whom brought severe reprisals in this life and affected the future re-births. The untouchables also were to have no access to knowledge, another source of immense power. If any dared to hear the Vedas being read, his ears were to be blocked by molten lead ; if he attempted to read the Vedas, his tongue would be chopped off. Similar injunctions were laid down for women. She could not possess property nor could she inherit any from her father or husband ; she has no claim to her husbands earning. Until very recently this was her fate in Europe. The Hindu Law stated that she must depend on the make members of the family—father, brother, husband, and the son. If anything was given to her, it was by way of charity incidentally, this is the origin of the fabulous dowry system in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent today, again as with the untouchables she was denied the power of knowledge. Her place was the kitchen sink and education was irrelevant to her roles. An education for women was considered a contradiction. Her destiny was to obey and serve her husband who was her majazi-Khuda—i.e. the visible God before whom she should prostrate, and disobedience to him invoked the curse of the Angels and the wrath of God . But a secret dear lurked, in the mind of man, as it would in any vested interest, that sometimes, somewhere a women or for that matter and untouchable could revolt against such insane concepts, for after all they were only ma-made and hence changeable a clever device was this thought out, making such a change well-nigh impossible. These concepts were incorporated in the sacred literature and attributed to Divinity. Women and untouchables were to lead a particular kind of life not because men and caste Brahmins were cruel, but because it was the Will of God. All efforts to regain her position were thus completely thwarted, and her motivations to do so were described as irreligious and impious. Having started on this path, they ran the full gamut. Her slavery did not remain restricted to the fundamental issues of ownership of property and access to knowledge. More and more pious and religious principles were proclaimed and her statues brought more and more harmony with the Divine Programmed. Women is the course of all evil, rang the voice of the preacher far and wife every nook and corner of the world. She is stubborn and crooked for she was born of Adam's rib. Is was further stated that Adam was created first and she came later for his sake, to please him and relieve him of his loneliness. She had to attract him and entertain him, for otherwise she would be failing her feminine duty, from this it was just another step to become a mans toy and possession. She lost her identity and in future shrew as to be known by the rebels of her father or husband attached to her. Thus just like another piece of property, she was to be used as the whim and caprice of the make dictates. To further guarantee this, child marriages were encourages and made sacrosanct. Marriages were said to be made in heaven, hence divorce was unthinkable. The end of the road was not yet in sight. Having stripped her of most of her human potentiality, she was left with one exclusive attribute only—reproduction. And as misfortune of mankind would have it, they managed to make the natural biological function dirty and sinful. The concept that Divinity is Perfection and the Divinity was neither begotten nor does her be gent was concluded as Sex being a barrier to perfection. The life of Jesus put a final stamp on it. the theory that his was an immaculate Conception of the virgin Mary , and that he himself remained unmarried left us no doubt about the women role as a temptress. To keep away from her achievement. Woman's humiliation was complete, she now symbolized sex that was stigmatized as sinful. We know today that man can really respect only those women with whom he can have no sexual relationship—mothers, sisters and daughters. Just as the Biblical story of Adam and Even brought this phase to a climax, the traditional Muslim literature and its social formation carried the whole Hindu, Christian and other sources of cultural heritage with it to its logical conclusion. This world was made into exclusively a mans world, and the women as a piece of properly was shut behind the four walls along with other possessions.

Muslim Women and Quran

However, the Muslim criteria of fixing the status of a women, or man, are neither these social laws nor this moral code. For the Muslims, there is only one standard under the sky, and that is the book of God, which they profess to believe in. What status does the Quran endows for women. The details are lengthy, but their gist reminds me of a joke which Allama Iqbal used to relate. He would say, If I were not a Muslim, and I had studied the Quran like an ordinary student, then I would have concluded that this book was written by a woman, who was taking revenge on man, for the usurped rights of her community. If one studies the religions and cultures of the world, it leaves no doubt in one's mind that a women has been pushed to extreme degradation. On the other hand, in the Quranic study it appears as if she has been favored very much. For a start, the Quran has rejected the common belief that God created men (Adam) first and then woman (Eve) was created out of his rib. By now, you must have understood that according to the Quran, this very concept that human beings were created by a special couple called Adam and Eve, is wrong. The Quran, in effect, presents Adam as the representative of mankind or humanity.

The Quran calls both man and women as Zauj "counter parts"; but in Urdu we call a women the Zauja (wife) of a man. We do not call a man the Zauj of a women. The Quran, however, calls both men and women, Zauj to each other, meaning companions. Further, it does not say that the woman is a man's Zauj, and that the man is not. God addresses human beings and tells them: He has made Zauj among you (30:21, 42:11) . Zauj means a friend and companion; which implies that men and women are each other's friends and companions. Accordingly, Zauj would mean the ones who are complementary to each other. Given this meaning, a man complements a women, and a women complements a man. They are Zauj to each other. The Quran has gone to the extent of saying, you are from each other (3:195). Therefore, no individual can call itself complete unilaterally.

After this, the Quran has negated the myth that, Adam had faltered in the paradise due to a women. The belief of Satan trapping the woman and then the woman tempting Adam, who sinned and was then kicked out of paradise was rejected as has been mentioned in Torah of Jews. The Quran says that both men and women are capable of compliance or defiance of laws; both can err and commit mistakes. Therefore, it said: Satan misguided both of them (2:36) . Hence it is wrong to surmise that woman is responsible for all the sins committed in this world, and that the man is completely innocent. Quran has deeply discussed about the role of muslim woman.