by Dr. Ali Shehata
Some Controversial Women’s Issues Today – Q&A
There is a lot of discussion these days about Muslim women being
barred from praying in mosques. Is there any valid reason or truth to this
statement?
Muslim women are NOT in any way forbidden from praying in mosques per the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh. In fact, there are a number of hadith which mention women going to the mosque for various reasons (like attending the Prophet’s women’s only classes) and others which specifically give them the right to pray in the mosque. The Prophet Muhammad pbuh said,
Do not prevent the female servants of God (women) from going to the mosques of God. [Bukhari]
Thus, a woman may go to the mosque whether it is for religious seclusion (I’tikaaf), congregational prayers, classes, or even to receive personal advice from a scholar. It is important though that she respects the sanctity of the mosque by dressing appropriately and acting with humility and modesty; qualities required of all, be they men or women.
Much of the controversy that has erupted today can often be broken into two categories: the ever present problem of culture based ignorance, and issues of limited space. The first category is self-explanatory, in that such people do not know their religion. Whereas in the second case, there exist some small mosques where there is not even sufficient space for men to pray. In Islam, men are required to pray in the mosque, whereas women are exempted from this. Thus, in mosques where there is significant over-crowding, Muslim women are encouraged to allow men to complete their obligations and to try to attend either bigger mosques with more space or to return to those smaller mosques at times of less traffic; so as to show the most consideration to their brothers in faith. This in fact is commonly done throughout many predominantly Muslim countries like Egypt, which have dedicated women’s prayer and learning facilities in certain larger mosques.
You cited the relevant Biblical verse from the Old Testament
wherein women are valued at between 50% and 60% the value of a man. Isn’t this
inferior view of women the same as the Quranic verses which confer only half
the inheritance of the male for the female, and also where the testimony of a
woman is equal to half of a man’s?
No. The general rule is that the female share of the inheritance is half that of the male's, but exceptions do occur such as when the mother receives an equal share to that of the father. The general rule of providing the man twice as much inheritance as the female, if taken in isolation from other legislations concerning men and women, does at first seem clearly unfair. But in order to understand the rationale behind this rule, one must take into account the fact that the financial obligations of men in Islam far exceed those of women.
Firstly, the groom must provide his bride with a marriage gift (dowry). This gift becomes her exclusive property and remains so even if she is later divorced by him. The bride though is under no obligation to present any gifts to her groom. Secondly, the Muslim husband is charged with the maintenance of his wife and children which means providing food, shelter, clothing and other necessities. The wife, on the other hand, is not obliged to help him in this regard, even if she works. Her property and earnings are for her use alone, except what she may voluntarily offer her husband. Thirdly, the man is obligated to care for the parents whereas the woman has no such obligation, no matter how wealthy she may be. Hence, the provision of giving more inheritance to the man is directly connected with the fact that he is required to spend upon others with that money. The money the woman receives from inheritance has no requirements upon it and can be entirely spent on what she wants, or used in charity to help others.
As regards the issue of testimony, yes the testimony of one woman is equal to that of half of a man—but only in cases of financial or business transactions where two men cannot be found. In some other legal proceedings though, the testimony of a woman is the only admissible testimony in the court, as in issues of virginity, breastfeeding, etc. Conversely, in criminal proceedings women do not testify at all according to most Muslim legal opinions.
With regards to the most important testimony in Islam though—the testimony of a person reporting a hadith—the testimony of a woman carries the exact same weight as that of a man. Thus, there is no validity associated with the claim that the testimony of the woman carries less weight due to some mental deficiency on the part of the woman, for nothing in Islam takes a higher priority than the preservation of scripture—a mission that many Muslim women successfully and nobly attended to throughout the history of Islam. Prophetic Hadith have been narrated by women on the authority of the Messenger of God, and they have the same authenticity as those narrated by men. No scholar has ever rejected a woman’s narration simply on the basis that she is a female.
One should also keep in mind that women in both Judaism and Christianity have absolutely no scriptural right to testify in any legal matter whatsoever. All rights to testify in today’s societies are based on secular laws and not religious ones.
Thus, in summary, neither the issue of testimony, nor that of inheritance demonstrates that a woman is half of a man in the view of Islam, but only shows the different roles and obligations that they have in these two separate arenas.
Although women in virtually all Western nations have now secured
the right to vote, why is it that women in a number of predominantly Muslim
nations have yet to achieve this right?
The answer to this question again revolves around the central theme of “Muslim countries” today being based far more on culture than on any substantial amount of Islam. Looking into the earliest part of Islamic history, we see that during the election process of the third Caliphate, the famed Companion `Abd al-Rahman ibn `Awf took it upon himself to poll every person living in Madinah as to their opinion regarding who should take charge of the Islamic state. This process of course involved him asking every woman living in Madinah, as well as a large segment of the young people too. As a result of his efforts, he declared, I have sought the opinion of every person in Madinah—man, woman and youth—and have found that all of them prefer `Uthman as Caliph over Ali. Ibn al-ʻArabi¯, M.A. (n.d.). Al-ʻAwa¯ṣim min al-qawa¯ṣim. al-Qa¯hirah: Maktabat Da¯r al-Tura¯th
This indicates to us that even those women who remained concealed in their homes were consulted on the matter. Hence, to deny a woman the right to vote can not be based upon any Islamic evidence, and is in fact contrary to the established practice among the Companions which would herein qualify as consensus (ijma’a).
Many of the Islamic positions regarding Women and their Rights sound
good in theory, but why is it then that women in predominantly Muslim countries
appear to have such few rights?
Stanford University student Saimah Ashraf answers this question best in her award winning article, Shattering Illusions: Western Conceptions of Muslim Women, when she writes:
Islam in its original state gave women privileges and imposed no harsh restrictions or double standards upon them. However, with the progression of time, the rights of Muslim women began deteriorating, and today, very few Muslim countries adhere to the Islamic ideal in their treatment of women. This deviance from Islam can be seen when evaluating the rights that women possess in different countries. Ashraf, S. (1997). Shattering Illusions: Western Conceptions of Muslim Women. Retrieved from: https://www.islamawareness.net/Women/shattering.html
So unfortunately what many people in the West see today is not Islam, but instead it is the dying remains of backward cultures that bury, instead of represent, Islam in most cases. It is sincerely hoped that by returning to a better understanding of Islamic scriptures and its early history that women will once again be given the honor they so richly deserve by the very words of God. This is indeed the only way that women will attain true success, which in Islam not only means in this material world, but in the more important sense of the Hereafter.
