MUHAMMAD: TRUE LIBERATOR OF WOMEN

Sexual differences are a fact of biology, but what societies attach to sexual differences is human cultural creation. These differences in value and behaviour assigned to women and men are embodied in gender roles. Thus gender is cultural construct; sex is a biological condition.1

The above assertion is not far from what is known in Islamic teachings in the days of the Prophetsaw of Islam. It is generally known and acknowledged by the simple minded and the earliest Muslims themselves that Muslim women never raised any gender debate. They were not the type of contemporary feminists. They were freed of all social shackles and chains; hence they were not trapped into believing that once they made a social breakthrough of any sort, they were sexually equal to men. They understood their rights as well as their responsibilities.  They knew that the purpose of the entire life is beyond gender. Earliest Muslim Women rose to become everlasting examples and models for all the women to come after them.  The credit of this position of women goes to no one but the Holy Prophet Muhammadsaw.

To appreciate what the efforts of the Prophetsaw were in raising the pedestal of women; let us look at their pre-Islamic conditions and positions.

The free encyclopedia known as Wikipedia has the following to say:

Women in the Arab world, as in other areas of the world, have throughout history experienced discrimination and have been subject to restrictions of their freedoms and rights. Some of these practices are based on religious beliefs, but many of the limitations are cultural and emanate from tradition rather than religion. These main constraints that create an obstacle towards women's rights and liberties are reflected in laws dealing with criminal justice, economy, education and healthcare. Women enjoyed no rights whatsoever and were treated no better than a commodity. Not only they were enslaved, but they could also be inherited as a possession. They were subordinate to their fathers, brothers, and husbands. In some instances, women were chattels, effectively property. A woman had no share in inheritance because she was regarded as unwise and incapable of effectively managing her inherited property. There were also patterns of homicidal abuse of women and girls, including instances of killing female infants considered to be a liability. The Qur'an mentions that the Arabs in Jahiliya (the period of ignorance or pre-Islamic period) used to bury their daughters alive… The motives were twofold: the fear that an increase in female offspring would result in economic burden, as well as the fear of the humiliation frequently caused by girls being captured by a hostile tribe and subsequently preferring their captors to their parents and brothers... [And]…during times of famine, especially, poorer families were likely to kill a daughter, regarding her as a burden on a starving family.2

Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddeen Mahmud Ahmadrd writes about the condition of women prior to the advent of Holy Prophetsaw of Islam:

At the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and before, woman was placed in a condition in which she was not the owner of her property; her husband was regarded as the owner of her property. She did not have a share in the property of her father. Nor could she inherit the property of her husband… When married, she was either assigned to her husband for good as his property, and in no circumstances could she be separated from him; or in the alternative, it was given to the husband to divorce her but not given to her to separate herself from the husband, however afflicted she might have been. Should the husband desert her, cease to discharge his obligations towards her or run away from her, there was no law to protect her. It was obligatory on her to be resigned to her lot, and work for a living both for herself and her children. The husband was entitled, out of bad temper, to beat his wife; she was not to raise a voice against it. Should the husband die, the wife, in some countries, fell into the hands of her husband’s relatives, who could then marry her to whomsoever they liked, either in charity or in return of some benefits received. In some places, on the other hand, she was merely the property of her husband. Some husbands would sell their wives or lose them in gambling and betting, and when they did so, they were all considered to be within their rights. A woman had no right over her children whether in her position of dependence as wife, or in a position of independence of her husband. In domestic affairs she had no privilege. Even in religion she had no status. Of the abiding spiritual blessings, she was to have no share. In consequence, husbands used to squander the property of their wives and abandon them without providing for their subsistence. She could not, even out of her own property, give away, in charity, or help her relatives except with the consent of her husband, and a husband who looked with greed on the property of his wife could hardly give his consent in such a matter. Of the property of her parents, to whom children are bound by a most deep and affectionate tie, woman was deprived of all share... Married life, instead of being a life of happiness, became for her a life of misery… In the education or upbringing of their children, the mothers were not consulted and they had no rights over their children. If the father and mother separated, the children were handed over to the father. Woman had nothing to do with the household. Whenever the husband liked, he could drive her out of the house, and she was condemned to wander about homelessly.3

 The above analysis x-rays the position of the womenfolk before the advent of Islam. With the coming of the Holy Prophetsaw, things generally changed for better. Reason for this is not farfetched. Muhammadsaw was a Mercy for all mankind. The Holy Qur’an declares that:

We have not sent you but as a mercy for mankind [21:108]

And at another place, the Prophetsaw was described beautifully that he was always desirous to see everyone in good condition. The Holy Qur’an says:

Surely, a Messenger has come unto you from among yourselves; grievous to him is that you should fall into trouble; he is ardently desirous of your welfare; and to the believers he is compassionate, merciful. [9:128]

In view of the above, the Prophetsaw, through the beautiful teachings revealed to him by God Almighty, worked tirelessly to see that all the categories of human beings are placed on their respective natural position.  

To look at the detailed efforts of the Holy Prophetsaw in liberating woman from her shackles of ordeal earlier described, we have the following thoughts.

Wikipedia, in its analysis, says:

The Marxist writer, Valentine M. Moghadam, argues that "The dowry, previously regarded as a bride-price paid to the father, became a nuptial gift retained by the wife as part of her personal property." Under Islamic law, marriage was no longer viewed as a "status" but rather as a "contract", in which the woman's consent was imperative. "Women were given inheritance rights in a patriarchal society that had previously restricted inheritance to male relatives/family members."  Annemarie Schimmel states that "compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law, to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work." William Montgomery Watt states that Muhammad, in the historical context of his time, can be seen as a figure who promoted women’s rights and improved things considerably. Watt explains: "At the time Islam began, the conditions of women were terrible – they were considered a sign of weakness, they were buried alive, they had no right to own property, were supposed to be the property of the man, and if the man died everything went to his sons." Muhammad, however, by, "instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, marriage, education and divorce, gave women certain basic safeguards." The Quran expresses two main views on the role of women. It both stresses the equality of women and men before God in terms of their religious duties (i.e. belief in God and his messenger, praying, fasting, paying zakat (charity), making hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca/ Medina)) and places them "under" the care of men (i.e. men are financially responsible for their wives). In one place it states: "Men are the maintainers and protectors of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women)." The Quran explains that men and women are equal in creation and in the afterlife, but not identical. Surah an-Nisa' 4:1 states that men and women are created from a single soul (nafs wahidah). One person does not come before the other, one is not superior to the other, and one is not the derivative of the other. A woman is not created for the purpose of a man. Rather, they are both created for the mutual benefit of each other.[Quran 30:21]4

Let us look at what the Holy Quran itself says on the status of women. It emphasizes that God in His perfect wisdom has created all species in pairs, and so men and women have been created of the same species. It says:

O mankind, be mindful of your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from the two created and spread many men and women; and fear Allah, in Whose name you appeal to one another, and fear Him particularly respecting ties of relationship. Verily, Allah watches over you. (4:2)

He it is Who has created you from a single soul and made there from its mate, so that the male might incline towards the female and find comfort in her.” (7:190)

He created you from a single being; then of the same kind made its mate.

(39:7)

He has made for you mates of your own kind. (42:12)

Woman’s spiritual equality with man is also repeatedly stressed in the

Holy Quran.  For instance it is said:

For men who submit themselves wholly to Allah, and women who submit themselves wholly to Him and men who believe and women who believe, and men who obey Allah and women who obey Him, and men who are truthful and women who are truthful, and men who are steadfast and women who are steadfast, and men who are humble and women who are humble, and men who give alms and women who give alms, and men who fast and women who fast, and men who guard their chastity and women who guard their chastity, and men who remember Allah much and women who remember Him, Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.5 (33:36)

….Allah will turn in mercy to believing men and believing women; Allah is Most Forgiving, Ever Merciful. (33:74)

It is, therefore, clear from the above that women are placed side by side with men when it comes to religious obligations and rewards.

To sum up the efforts of the Holy Prophetsaw in liberating women, Hadhrat Mirza Bashirudeen Mahmud Ahmadrd writes:

Woman, in short, was to have an independent status. All the spiritual rewards were to be open to her. She was to command the highest excellences of life after death and even in this life she could take part in the different departments of civil administration. In this regard she was to have the same consideration paid to her claims as that accorded to man. This is the teaching which the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) promulgated at a time when the standards of the world were altogether opposed to it. Through these injunctions, he reclaimed women from the slavery which had been their lot for thousands of years, to which they were forced in every land, and the yoke of which every religion had put on their neck. 6

From the foregoing, it is quite clear how the Prophetsaw of Islam was the true liberator of Women in view of their status prior to the advent of Islam.

Before we close this address, it is important to clarify two vital issues through which some writers point criticizes Islam in general and Muhammadsaw in particular. The issues are: the woman’s share of inheritance and her position in giving testimony of evidence.

One of the veres of the Holy Qur’an through which the critics cast their negative lens on Islam and its Prophet is Chapter 4 verse 12.  Commenting on the verse, Mirza Bashiruddeen Mahmud Ahmadrd writes on the true position of theory of Inheritance in Islam:

Islam prescribes suitable shares for all near relatives in the property of a deceased person without distinction of sex or order of birth. Children, parents, husbands and wives are the principal heirs who, if alive, get suitable shares in all circumstances, other relations having a title only in special cases. A male has been given double the share of a female because he has been made responsible for the maintenance of the family. The Islamic law of inheritance is perfect and it safeguards against all evils that result from laws prescribed by, or in vogue in, other faiths and communities. It aims at a fair distribution of wealth and equal chances of progress of all. 7

The Holy Qur’an latter says:

For everyone leaving an inheritance We have appointed heirs, parents and near-relations, and also husbands and wives to whom you are bound by solemn covenants. So give all of them their appointed shares. Surely, Allah watches over all things. (4:34).

Sir, Zafrullah Khanrd also has this to say:

The Islamic system of succession and inheritance, set out in 4:12-13 and 177, aims at a wide distribution of property. If a person should die leaving his or her surviving parents, wife or husband, sons and daughters, they all share in the inheritance; the general rule being that the share of a male is double that of a female in the same degree of relationship. In this there is no discrimination against female heirs in view of the obligation of the male to provide for his family, while the female has no such obligation. In practice the rule works out favourably for female heirs. A Muslim may not dispose of more than one-third of his assets by testamentary directions. Legacies, whether for charity or in favour of non-heirs, must not exceed one-third of net assets; nor may the share of an heir be augmented or diminished by testamentary direction. There is no room for discrimination between the heirs under the Islamic system of inheritance, like, for instance, primogeniture, or exclusion of females.8 [Emphasis mine]

And on giving evidence, the Holy Qur’an says:

Procure two witnesses from among your men; and if two men be not available, then one man and two women, of such as you like as witnesses, so that if either of the two women should be in danger of forgetting, the other may refresh her memory. (2:283).

Sir Zafrullah Khanrd gives adequate explanation on the position of the verse and the entire position of women in giving testimony:

A direction designed to secure the preservation of testimony relating to civil transactions, which requires that they must be reduced to writing, is sometime mistakenly seized upon as evidence of discrimination against females. There is here not the slightest trace of discrimination. The normal rule is that women should be safeguarded against the contingency of having to appear as witnesses in judicial proceedings. Therefore, normally a woman should not be called upon to attest a document recording a transaction. This rule may be relaxed in an emergency. But then another difficulty would arise. In the case of male witnesses their memory of a transaction that they attest as witnesses would be refreshed when they met socially and the transaction was recalled for one reason or another. In the case of a document recording a transaction, which is attested by one male and one female witness, the female witness, under the Islamic social system… would not normally have frequent occasion to meet the male witness and talk to him, so that there would be little chance of her memory of the transaction being refreshed. To overcome this lack of opportunity of refreshing the memory, it is wisely provided that where only one male witness is available two female witnesses may be called upon so that, in the very words of the text, one may refresh the memory of the other. This provision is concerned only with the preservation of evidence, and does not deal with the weight to be attached to the testimony of a male or female witness.9

Dear reader, without doubt, from the Holy Qur’an and in the eyes of writers and historians, Holy Prophetsaw was indeed the True Liberator of Women.

Thank you for your patience.

Endnotes:

1. [Hay, M.J and Stichter, S, 1984, African Women of South Sahara, London, Longman, pp88]
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women in Arab societies. Last Retrieved 15.12.2012
3. http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Muhammad-the-liberator-of-women.html.          Last Retrieved 15.12.2012
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women in Islam. Last Retrieved 15.12.2012
5. Khan, M.Z. 2008, Women In Islam, U.K, Islam International Publications, pp3
6. http://www.alislam.org/library/books/Muhammad-the-liberator-of-women.html.          Last Retrieved 15.12.2012
7. Ahmad, M.B.M, (1988), The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary, U.K: Islam International Publications Ltd, vol. 2, pg 502
8. Khan, op.cit pp24-25
9. Khan, op.cit pp25-26