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org

Women and Their Status In Islam

by Muhammad Adbul Aleem Siddiqui (R.A)

Reproduced with permission from World Islamic Mission (Canada)

History is silent as to whether there was any distinction in status between the male and the female
sexes during the beginnings of human civilization. In later days no doubt the female sex was regarded
as inferior to the male and the idea of inferiority developed to such an extent that the male sex not
only claimed a complete superiority over the female sex, but further arrogated to itself the right to
utilise and employ the female sex as it liked.

Surveying the history of the world on this point we find that in pre-Christian Europe and Greece, which
was the centre of light and learning for a long time and which provided philosophical and scientific
inspiration to the Europe of later days, regarded woman as something definitely inferior to man. She
was a subservient creature who had come into existence solely for the purpose of breeding citizens
for the state and soldiers for the army. Their great dramatist Euripedes puts into the mouth of Medea
the remark. "Women are impotent for good, but clever contrivers of all evils," Such degrading
conceptions led to a moral.degeneration which ultimately ruined the Greek society. The names of
virtuous women says Professor Lecky, scarcely appear in Greek history." (History of European
Morals, Vol:ll p. 307).

Conditions in Europe did not irnprove with the advent of Christianity. "Of the woman came the
beginning of sin and the wickedness of man and through her we all die. " Consequently, Paul, the
premier saint of Christendom, proclaimed: "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I
suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence, for Adam was
first formed than Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in
transgression." Other early Fathers were even more uncharitable and denounced women as "the
lance of the demon," "the gate of the Devil," "the road of iniquity." "the sting of the scorpion," a
daughter of falsehood, the sentinel of Hell," "the enemy of peace" and "of the wild beast, the most
dangerous." Nay, they went still further. The Greek Orthodox Church denied that woman had a soul
and at the Council of Macon, a Bishop vehemently asserted that a woman did not belong to the
human species. (Westermarck, p.663) A council held at Auxierre prohibited women [from receiving]
the Eucharist [with their bare] hands [or] to [go] near the altar during the celebration of the Mass on
the ground that she was an "unclean thing". "I may define man," says Principal Donaldson (Woman,
pp. 181, 182), "to be a male human being and woman to be a female human being . . . Now what the
early Christains did was to strike the 'male' out of the definition of man and 'human being' out of the
definition of woman. Man was [a] human being made for the highest and noblest purpose; woman
was a female made to serve only. She was on earth to influence the heart of man with every evil
passion. She was a fire[storm] continually striving to get alongside the male man-of-war to blow him
up into pieces."

In the Asian cradles of civilization [women were] no better off. Hinduism, which is the oldest among
the present day religions of the world, laid it down: 'In childhood a female must be subjected to her
father, in youth to her husband, when her husband is dead, to her sons; a woman must never be
independent'. (Manu, V 140). "The legislator Man", says the celebrated Hindu scholar, Sir R. G.
Bhandarkar,"is equally hard on women. It must be acknowledged that the estimate of the old Aryan of
womanly nature is not flattering to them generally. They are debarred from reading the Vedas; any
religious rite in which they alone are concerned is directed to be performed without Vedic Mantras.
Even the Bhagavad Gita gives expression to the general belief that it is only a sinful soul that is born
as woman, Vaisya or Sudra". (Collected Works, p. 46 1).

In Buddhism, says the Buddhist scholar, May Oung, "the idea of wedlock and its attendant worldly life,
is opposed to the ultimate and the annihilation of Desire, the striving for which must necessarily

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involve celibacy." (Buddhist Law, Par. 1, p. 2). In Buddhist ideology, therefore, according to the
historian Westermarck,"Woman are, of all the snares which the temper has spread for men, the most
dangerous; in women are embodied all the powers of infatuation which blind the mind of the world."

In pre-lslamic Arabia, the general conception of womanhood was of such a degraded type that her
very existence was considered ignominious for the family. Female infanticide was consequently
practiced on a wide scale. Those women, however, who escaped early death were allowed to live
only on sufferance. For, an Arab woman "had no rights; she could not inherit property; her person
formed part of the inheritance which came to the heir of her husband, and he was entitled to marry
her against her will. Hence sprung up the impious marriages of their sons with their stepmothers and
others of an even worse character. . ." "Polygamy was universal and quite unrestricted; equally so
was divorce at least as far as man was concerned; (Mohammed and Mohammedanism; Bosworth
Smith; p 82)

Such was the condition of the female sex in the world when Mohammed (may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) the Saviour of womanhood, stood up in Arabia and, through the
Divine Revelation of the Lord of the Universe Who created both the male and the female and Who
loves them equally, preached to the world that :

• females were just like males

• have equal rights

• have equal honour

• equal status in life

They were on no account to be treated as the property of the males. They have the right of ownership
of property in the same way that males have, though, no doubt under the principle of the division, the
female sex has some specialised duties to perform in life, just as the male sex has its own duties.

There are three stages through which womenfolk will pass in life: (a) daughter (b) wife, and (c)
mother.

(a) DAUGHTER

Islam denounces in unequivocal terms the pre-Islamic inhumane custom of female infanticide and
commands people to love and cherish their daughters even more than their sons.

The Holy Qur'an says that on the Day of Judgment, the female infant who was buried alive will be
questioned: "For what crime wast thou murdered?" [Qur'an 81:8,9] Thus before the Almighty, the
victim herself will be able to give evidence against those who killed an innocent creature of Allah
simply for the sake of satisfying their vanity.

Allah again commands humanity:

"Kill not your children for fear of want. We shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily,
to kill them is a great sin. [Qur'an 17:31]

Fatimah was the youngest daughter of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). In dealing
with her, he set an example of fatherly love which is a model for mankind. "Fatimah," he would say,
"is a part of my being; whosoever annoys her annoys me" (Mishkat-ul-Masabih, XLIV:S)

He also emphasized preferential treatment towards the female sex and said "When you bring
anything for your children for distribution, begin with the girls first because the girls love their
parents more than the boys."

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(b) WIFE

Marriage in Islamic law is really a contract just like other civil contracts between two parties. As far as
the conditions of the contract are concerned, both the parties, the man and the woman, stand upon
the same level. Each party has certain rights and duties. Islam commands justice to be observed in
every contract, and so in the contract of marriage too justice should be observed.

The Holy Quran says:

"The women have rights similar to the rights against them, according to what is equitable." [Qur'an
2:228]

No doubt, under the principle of the distribution of labour, work should be divided between the pair.
The womenfolk have naturally to take care of their offspring until they grow up. They have to engage
themselves in bringing them up and so are not in a position to pay attention to securing their means of
livelihood. The men, therefore, have been made responsible for maintaining the family, including the
wife, and have been given the duty of securing all the requirments of the home. Thus we might say
that in a Muslim home, the husband is supposed to work as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the
wife as the Minister of the Interior.

The Holy Prophet is reported to have said : "A woman is the queen of her house." The Holy Quran
describes the position of the wife in a beautiful verse, "He created for you mates from among
yourselves that you might find solace in them and he ordained between you love and mercy," [Qur'an
30:21]

The Prophet said: "The most perfect of believers in faith is the best of them in morals and the
best of you are those who are kindest to your wives." In his famous Address at the Farewell
Pilgrimage, the Prophet again laid stress on the good treatment on womenfolk. He said: "O my
people, you have certain rights over your wives and so have your wives over you .... they are
Allah's trust in your hand. See that you treat them with all kindness."

Before this saviour of the female sex preached his Message, there was no limit for the males in
respect of the number of their wives. Islam really imposed a limit and allowed plurality of marriage
with the idea of abolishing adultery. Polygamy is permitted in place of illegal intercourse in cases
where it becomes difficult or rather impossible ill the interest of social health to restrict marriage to
strict monogamy. There are two definite occasions in the lives of human beings when polygamy
becomes necessary. For example, if the marriage proves fruitless, the husband can, in most cases,
be kept on the path of virtue and uprightness only by allowing a second marriage. Again, when there
is a surplus of women, as happens after men have died in wars, human society can be saved from
corruption and also extinction by the permission of marrying more than one wife.

The Holy Quran restricts the number of wives to four and also orders complete equality and justice
between them:

"And if you fear that you will not deal fairly towards the orphans, marry of the women who seem good
to you, two or three or four, and if you fear that you cannot do justice between them , then (marry)
only one." [Qur'an 4:3]

The conditions of the marriage contract are to be settled by the parties of the marriage. If, on the one
hand according to the Islamic teaching, the husbands are entitled to have the right of divorce, the
wives are also entitled to the right of fixing their dowry and niaintainence as they like, and they may
also take the authority of separating themselves from their husbands when they find it necessary to
do so. If agreement at a time of marriage is made with complete consideration, the parties stand
practically at the same level and there remains no possibility for the womenfolk to suffer.

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Islam enjoins justice, equity and straightforwardness. Therefore if those who claim to be Muslims do
not observe Islamic principles, then it is their fault and Islam can on no account be accused for that. If
today people misuse the permission for polygamy and try to hide their lustftil actions under the cloak
of Islamic legality, it is their fault and they deserve the most severe punishment at the Court of the All-
Knowing Allah who knows what is in their hearts.

(c) MOTHER

As mothers, the status of women has been raised by Islam to such an extent that nothing higher is
conceivable.

The Holy Quran says:

Your Lord has commanded that you shall worship none but Him and goodness to your parents. If
either or both of them reach old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt, nor repel them,
but address them in terms of honour. And make yourself submissively gentle to them with
compassion and say: O my Lord bestow on them compassion even as they cherished me in my
childhood.[Qur'an 17 23-24]

It is reported that when the Prophet was questioned by a disciple as to who after God and his Prophet
should be revered most, the Prophet said "Your mother." When questioned "Who, after the mother?"
The Prophet said "Your mother." He was again asked "And, then, who after the mother? " He again
replied: "Your mother". The man put the question for the fourth time and the Prophet then answered:
"Your father." This Tradition shows that the position of the mother in the eyes of her sons and
daughters should be three times higher than that of the father.

It is reported that once a disciple came to the Prophet and said "O Prophet Of Allah, on a hot day in
the desert of Arabia, in the sunny noon when the stones and sands were burning like fire, my mother
and I were travelling by foot without any shoes. I carried my mother on my shoulders so that she may
not suffer the pain of walking bare-footed on the hot sands and stones. Could I pay the reward of the
pains she had to bear in bringing me up?" The Prophet replied:"No, not even a fraction of the pain
she suffered at the time you were born."

In Islam the best action of worship is the performance of Pilgrimage to Mecca, i.e., the Hajj, and the
reward to a person who performs the Hajj properly is that all his past sins are pardoned and he
receives a high rank in the estimation of Allah. But in expressing the dignity of the mother, the Holy
Prophet said: "One who looks at the face of his mother with sentiments of reverence and love
once, is rewarded as if he had performed the Pilgrimage." The people asked him, what if he
looked twice, to which he replied: "It is as if he had performed two Pilgrimages, and thrice, as
if he had performed three Pilgrimages and so on.

In this respect, the Prophet himself set a model for the world. Once Halimah, the lady who nursed him
in his childhood came to see him. The Prophet was sitting with his disciples. As soon as he saw her,
he stood up with reverence and spread his mantle on the floor and requested his foster-mother to
take her seat there.

It is quite evident from the above that the respect which a mother receives from her children in Islam
is the highest to which no other wordly relationship can aspire.

The doors of spiritual elevation are open to woman in the same way as they are open to men. They
are commanded to educate themselves in the same way as the men, and if they attain a high position
in learning, then even the men are expected to learn and benefit from their knowledge and wisdom. It
is reported that after the Prophet's death, his disciples used to visit Ayesha, the wife of the Prophet,
and seek knowledge from her. Islamic history is resplendent with a long list of the names of the ladies
who received the highest honour in society, the highest degree in learning and the highest
qualifications in different branches of human activity. It was through the influence of other societies,
which were not Muslim, that the idea of the inferiority of the female sex already existing in those

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societies spread to the uneducated class among the Muslims, who knew very little about the
teachings of Islam. If they had known the teachings of lslam, they would have known that in Islam the
female sex deserves the same position, the same respect and the same diginity as the
members of the male sex who, in their turn, are not allowed to degrade and insult them and
make them their tools. To touch them with a bad intent is considered a sin and even to glance at
them with a bad motives is counted as adultery in Islam. That is why in the Holy Quran men are
commanded :

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for
greater purity for them." [Qur'an 24:30]

The ladies too have been commanded in similar terms:

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they
should not display their beauty and their ornaments except what (must ordinarly) appear thereof, that
they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands,
their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers'
sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess, or the male
servants not having need (of women), or small children who have not attained knowledge of what is
hidden of women; and let them not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden
embellishment." [Qur'an 24:31]

There is an important point in this connection which might be elucidated here with advantage. Every
human being is endowed with a mind, and the more the mental faculty is trained, the more willpower
is increased. The training of this faculty is done through the exercise of concentration. The student of
hypnotism forms an idea and concentrates upon it to such an extent that for a certain moment, he
forgets other things. Through this training he achieves a strong power which sometimes enables him
to make other persons his objects and influence them with an idea in his mind. For instance, he forms
an idea that X is having a headache. He makes X object, and within a few minutes, X feels that he
has a headache. Similarly, if he wants to attract Y towards himself, Y is attracted because the
hypnotist's willpower influences that of Y. This willpower varies in its strength from man to man just as
we say, regarding an engine, that it has ten, twenty or a hundred horse power, similarly we say of a
hypnotist that he possesses ten, twenty or a hundred men's willpower.

Now it is clear that a human being can influence other human beings through willpower, and can
create in his object, ideas which conform to those existing in his own mind. So, when a male casts a
lustful glance at a female, his passions will arise, sexual thoughts will come to his mind, and if he
possesses any willpower, the same ideas will be automatically produced in the mind of a female. And
if hundreds of such masculine eyes fall upon that lady with the same motives and ideas behind them,
she is bound to be affected by the poisonous radiations of the sexual thoughts injected into her brain
through the influence of the willpower of the males, though she herself may be absolutely pure in
heart and blotless in character. In a society which allows promiscuous intermingling of sexes, the
atmosphere must necessarily remain charged with what might be called "sexual thought-waves" of
which the consequences for womanhood can be nothing else but disastrous.

The importance of a woman in society cannot be over-estimated. She is the mother of humanity. She
brings up the child in her womb for nine months, feeds him at her breast for at least two years and is
mainly responsible for his training at least up to the age of six or seven.

It is a well known fact of medical science that mentality of the mother affects the mentality of her
children just as, or even more than, her physical qualities influence their physical build. Islam,
therefore, commands women to keep themselves away from places where there may be the slightest
chance of their being infuenced by an evil force or evil idea so that their chastity and purity may be
preserved and the mentality of their offspring may be safe from corruption. This is why Allah says in
the Holy Quran,

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"O wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women; if you fear Allah, be not soft in speech lest
he in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire; and speak a speech that is just. And
stay quietly in your houses and do not make a dazzling display like that of the former times of
ignorance; and establish regular prayer, and give regular charity and obey Allah and His Apostle.
Allah only desires to remove all abomination from you, O people of the household, and to purify you a
(thorough) purifying."[Qur'an 33:32,33]

"There is no blame on them (the women) (if they appear unveiled) before their fathers, nor their sons,
nor their brothers, nor their brothers' sons, nor their sisters' sons, nor their own women, nor of what
their right hand's possess. And fear Allah; surely Allah is a witness of all things," [Qur'an 33:55] "

"O Prophet tell your wives and your daughters and the believing women that they cast their outer
garments over their persons (when abroad). This will be more proper, that they should be known as
such and not molested. And Allah is oft-Forgiving and most-Merciful." [Qur'an 33:59]

Examples of the way in which the above commandments were interpreted by the Prophet can be
seen in the Prophet's beloved daughter Fatimah, and his beloved wives, Khadijah and Ayesha.
Nowhere do we find any evidence that the Prophet's wives or his daughters were ever seen with an
open face and an open head in front of strangers save at the time of performing acts of worship like
prayer or pilgrimage. In the requirements of prayer it is laid down that the body of the woman must be
entirely covered except her face and hands. There is also an express injuction in the hadith that no
woman should put on a veil during the pilgrimage. In the prayer and pilgrimage, men are strictly
forbidden from gazing at the faces of the womenfolk and they have been warned to remember that
the female servants of Allah are in the presence of their Creator.

Thus with respect to their position in life, their inherent rights as human beings and their relations with
Allah men and women are on an equal plane in Islam. This was the teaching of the Holy Prophet
(peace and blessings be upon him). And this too is the verdict of the Holy Quran for Allah says,

"Never will I waste the work of a worker among you, whether male or female. You are members, one
of another."[Qur'an 3:195]

The above article was taken from: http://muslim-canada.org/women.htm

Position of Woman in Islam

By Dr Muhammed Fazlur Rahman Ansari (ra-may God have mercy on him), PhD Philosophy

Sourced from: http://www.sufi.co.za reprinted with the kind permission of Irshaad Soofie

What should the position of women be in Muslim society?

I have got a complaint, that letter is in my pocket and I have been requested very fervently and very
vehemently asked to speak on this. I don’t know about [Recording interrupted: Transcribers Note:
probably he said: I don’t know about many of the customs I see today.] They are the heritage of the
older cultures from which Islam got 95% of those converts who are now in this world. I mean 5%
these are the descendants of the children of the companions of the prophet e, who might be called the
original Muslims, so to say. Then the conversion went on and consequently the present day
population of the Muslims which is seven hundred million and out of these I am sure that 95% are
those who have not seen the prophet; just like that they import these things! They brought their
notions from their cultures.

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When you read the ancient cultures or the pre-Islamic cultures you find, that in almost every culture
women was exploited as cattle. Meaning those great scholars and philosophers, the likes of Aristotle,
even he said about women that when nature ceased to produce a man, a woman was the result.
Meaning that woman is the defective result, not actually wanted by nature, but a result of nature’s
failure. Such derogatory notions were to be found in the pre-Islamic cultures and if there are Muslims
(depicting this in their attitude) today it is there heritage and not anything that Islam has taught.

According to the Holy Qur'aan, men and women have been created from the same essence. Islam
does not believe in the theory which says that Eve was created from the rib of Adam. According to the
Holy Qur'aan, men and women have been created from the same essence, and consequently both
are equally honorable and their spiritual status, moral status, legal status as human beings is
different. Then, according to Islam, in accordance with the conditions that might be there, the
conditioned status, as you might call it; in this connection there is a sort of a relation.

In connection with the conditioned status, the mother, according to Islamic theology, is three times
more honorable than man as the father. The Holy Prophet Muhammad e said, ‘Paradise lies by the
[1]
feet of the mother ’. He has not said this about the father. So, woman as mother is three times
superior to man as father[2]. Woman as a daughter is twice more honorable than man as son. Woman
as sister is twice more honorable than man as brother. Woman as wife is the equal of her husband.

The Holy Qur'aan has clearly laid down [The 2nd Sura, al-Baqara [The Heifer], verse 228]

And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them, according to what is equitable…

The mutual obligations between the husband and wife, as far as the legal status is concerned, they
are exactly the same, they are on par. It is not that women is inferior in a manner, it is not so. Then
the Holy Qur'aan says something which is absolutely natural and rational and that thing is that
physically, man is stronger than women. Consequently man is capable of shouldering more
obligations in connection with the obligations towards the family. All these obligations have been
placed on the shoulders of man and not on the shoulders of women.

[3]
Although the woman has been given the economic freedom to earn for herself , but the economic
unit of the family is really man who has also been made the head of the family. If he likes the head
that wears the crown, he has been crowned, but crowned with the crown of thorns. The Holy Qur'aan
and the Hadith are very clear on this. He has been made the protector of the honor, property and life
of all those other interests which might be there. He is the guardian of his wife. The obligations have
been placed upon his shoulders in connection with the affairs of the family. As you know there cannot
be any institution unless there is a unity policy that there can be only one head in a state, in a family,

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in an educational institution or industrial organization. That is the natural law just as there is only one
head for the entire universe i.e. God. So this division has been given to man, when the husband and
wife are both alive.

But as I said, (regarding man being the head of the family) it’s a crown of thorns. If the husband finally
finds in connection with the policies of the family, that he has to use his power of veto, then he cannot
use this power of veto as a dictator, according to the Holy Qur'aan. The law has been laid down about
Muslim society that all Muslims have got to behave in terms of mutual consultation, in a spirit of
harmony and magnanimity. The verse of the Holy Qur'aan is [the 42nd Sura, Shura (consultation).
Verse 38]

(Believers are those) who conduct their affairs by mutual Consultation (and not arbitrarily);

All their affairs of the followers of Islam are to be conducted on the basis of mutual consultation. This
naturally means that two parties who are consulting, one another are considered under the law as
equal to one another. Consultation cannot be done with a slave. Consultation is always with a free
person.

It is a fact, that woman is more delicate in her personality, biologically and psychologically: and it is
easier to damage a woman, than to damage a man. Men are polygamous by nature whilst women are
monogamous by nature. She feels very hurt when her husband wants to play any trick on her. So in
this connection, Islam has taken great care, to appeal to the Muslim men, to be very careful about the
rights of women.

To an extent that in connection with the husband and the wife, the Holy Prophet Muhammad e has
made it the standard of the dignity and honor of a mumin as to how nicely and excellently he behaves
towards his wife. He may be doing some other things in his life, which might be good, but the Holy
Prophet Muhammad e says that if he is not good to his wife, then he cannot be regarded as a good
man in any sense of the word. The proclamation is,

khairukum, khairukum li ahlihi wa anna khairukum li ahli

The best of you is he who is best to his wife

That is the standard. The Holy Prophet Muhammad e was so careful about it and viewed it so
seriously that when he gave the Charter of Human Rights, at the time of the Farewell Pilgrimage, he
mentioned the women, especially the wives as something sacred. He said to the Muslims, ‘O
Muslims! Remember that your wives are a trust of God in your hands. Be careful, you will be called to
account on the Day of Judgment by God Almighty’.

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As regarding the word ‘trust’, remember that a ‘trust’ is always something sacred. If a human being
places something in trust with another human being, that trust is something regarded in every moral
code as inviolable. It is considered as sacred. Remember, that if there is something which is a trust
from God, who is All Holy, The Greatest, The Really Real and The Creator. How important must this
trust be?

So if there are men in Muslim society who cannot honor the women and can be so irrational and
unnatural in their outlook, that although the first human being, whom they come to know in their
consciousness is a woman, their mother, they can be so irrational and unnatural as to misbehave
towards women with all that has been said in the Holy Qur'aan and by the Holy Prophet Muhammad
e.

May I tell them that according to Islam the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has said, ‘If
you love God, love His creatures’. If you have the attitude of veneration for God, revere the human
beings, your fellow beings, because the Holy Qur'aan has laid down the law, about which I spoke on
another occasion that every human being, by virtue of being a human being is honorable.

The Holy Qur'aan says, in the 17th Sura, Bani Israeel [The Children of Israel], Verse 70:

We have honored the children of Adam

Every human being is born honorable, free and equal. So if a woman becomes a wife of a man, it is
not manly but unchivalrous on the path of that man to behave in any manner except in the honorable
way towards his wife since it is the law of Islam that every woman is honorable because her function
is to be the mother of mankind and ‘the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world’. She is in a way
more important than man because it is her who has given birth to all the great teachers of mankind. It
is in her lap that every civilization begins, and may I tell you it also dies in the lap of a woman. So be
careful about your womenfolk, if you don’t want all your Islamic culture and your values to die out one
day. If you don’t take care of them, give them the proper education that they need, give them that
status which Islam has given to them then remember your culture is going to ultimately die out and all
that you stand for will not remain. The peace of the society cannot be there. So if anyone is torturing
the women or being unjust to them, one should be very careful for one is committing a major sin that
God Almighty will not forgive.

Lastly, a third problem is that in the pre-Islamic cultures, if you read the books about it, e.g.
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, you will find those notions about women whereby she was
exploited as chattels. In this modern civilization, this modern western culture which all of us have
adopted, here again very unfortunately women are being exploited. This culture proclaims that it
stands for the emancipation of women but the Devil has played a very big trick here. The
emancipation is not for the emancipation of women but only for the emancipation of evil. Not from evil
but the emancipation of evil.

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They say that man and women are equal under the modern western culture but what do they mean?
They don’t mean what Islam means. The modern culture wants to exploit women, using diplomacy
which is the mark of the present day world and of modern civilization. It wants to exploit women as a
toy. The pre-Islamic cultures wanted to exploit women as a serf and as chattels whilst this modern
western culture wants to exploit women as a toy, so that the poor women may not be able to
understand what is happening to her. This anesthesia which was not known before has been found
out in this modern age. They induce anesthetic and then operate, our surgeons. This society and
culture does the same thing to womanhood. What do they mean when they say that man and women
are equal?

Firstly, according to Islam it is the duty of man to earn for the family, to undertake and undergo all the
hardships, for the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

Women is the queen of her home

She is the ruler of the home to the extent that when the husband comes home, he should ask her
permission to enter. Don’t think that the Muslim woman has not been given any duties. Islam feels
that what she does inside the home is the most important job. She brings up those who are born in
that family teaches them all the values and culture. She lays the foundation of that social order in
which she lives and the children are born in. She looks after the home and provides that for which a
man earns peace and comfort in the home. Her role is very important. What does this (modern)
philosophy say? It says because man and woman are equal and since man goes to the office to earn
the daily bread, the woman should not sit like a queen, but she should also go out to earn since men
and women are equal. This culture says, ‘Why are you sitting at home and why are you comfortable!
You also undergo all these hardships, Go to a factory or office and earn’. What a beautiful notion of
equality.

Secondly, if a person can allow his young son to go out in the darkness of the night and to come back
at midnight or thereafter and he cannot be questioned since he is a male, so the girls also should be
accorded this privilege since men and women are equal. How does this culture behave towards the
women? Even our womenfolk in the West, for whenever I go to Europe and America I talk to them,
they are absolutely unconscious about what is happening. This is the effect of the anesthetic.

Try to analyze the situation. As the civilization is advancing, man retains all his clothing i.e. his felt hat,
jacket, coat, pants etc. The poor woman has been asked to become more and more naked everyday.
Why? Trace the history (as to the cause of this). When this modern peculiar, atheistic, materialistic,
sensualistic culture was being born and it was yet in its infancy i.e. it had not yet grown.

Try to know what the dress of a woman was a hundred years ago. Women of United States, Canada,
Holland, Germany, France and all these countries where this culture was born would wear an apron
and a long shirt covering right to the feet. Then this new philosophy came and addressed them. It
said, ‘My good girl, you are young in years but you look like a grandma’. The poor confused girl asked
that philosophy, since for a young girl to look like a grandma is not a compliment. ‘What should I do?’

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She was told, ‘Take a pair of scissors and cut your frills. Be modern! Don’t be conservative and
outdated’. So the poor girl took the pair of scissors and cut the frills a little below the knee. This was
the maxi skirt. She cut half of her sleeves so that a portion of her body may be exposed. She then
asked that wise exponent of that philosophy, ‘Do I look pretty now?’ She was told, ‘Not yet!’ So the
poor girl took the pair of scissors again and cut the entire sleeve, the high neck and another portion of
the frill (of her skirt). Again she asked ‘Do I look pretty?’ The answer was, ‘Not yet!’ This argument
went on until the mini, mini skirt was born and there was talk in the world of fashion that nobody can
be modern in this modern western civilization until she knows what is bottomless and what is topless.

In the meantime They said that, ‘We honor the women; have great respect for them so if we have to
increase our sales it is only the women who can be the salesgirl and not man’. What was the idea
behind it? Erotic! The erotic tendency in man was being exploited, so that if a girl was standing at the
counter, there would be more sales and the businessman will earn more money. The poor girl did not
understand as to what was happening. Then they went a step further. They said, ‘We honor women
and we are going to place the woman on every advertisement and signboard by making her naked or
semi-naked’.

Am I wrong? I am not! I have been round the world five times, I have been to so many countries and I
have seen so many of these adverts right on the roads. Women have been tainted appearing more
than half naked. Why? Eroticism! Man wants to exploit the women. He wants to see her naked too
satisfy the meanest and the basest erotic instinct. The poor woman is playing into the hands of men. I
have heard in my young days that Paris is the home of fashion, so when I had the first opportunity to
go to France, I made it a point to go to the houses of fashion to find out who is inventing these
fashions for these ladies. Believe me there was not a single women in those houses of fashion, it was
men who were inventing those fashions.

Finally the permissive society came into existence. This was as far back as 1921 and much water has
since flowed down the Mississippi. In 1921 Judge Ben Lindsey, the president of the Juvenile Courts of
the USA wrote his book, ‘Revolt of the Modern Youth’. He gave statistical figures and in 1921, he
wrote that, ‘to my knowledge it would probably be impossible in the USA to come across a boy or girl
immediately above the age of 8 or 9 years who did not have a sexual experience’. The commission
appointed in England to look after the affairs of and to check morals in the educational institutions of
Britain recorded that 99% of girls of the high school going age carried contraceptives along with their
books.

Things have continued. I don’t know whether you read them here or not, but they are relayed through
the international press, through Time, Life, Spectator and so many others. Now laws are being
passed in these very advanced, civilized countries, the first being the USA, the great leader of the
world, the thinker of civilization for all mankind, which carries its sixth fleet in the Mediterranean and
seventh fleet in the Pacific as it is the Super Power of the world. They passed a law, and I want
Muslim ladies to take note of this, the law of The Validity Of Companionate Marriage. What is
Companionate Marriage? It is a law that a man and a woman can live as husband and wife just for the
sake of experimenting. Be it for one, two, three or five years. Just to experiment whether, when they
marry, how happy their life would be. To see whether they are fit for one another as husband and
wife, this permission is granted under the law of the USA that a man and woman can live like this for
years.

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Read the statistics. When these Companionate Marriages, as they are called end in failure then what
happens? Sixty to seventy percent of these marriages when they are consummated end in divorce
the very same year. What must be happening to the womenfolk? Are women meant for this, that she
may have no honorable place in society? She must go about in the darkness of the night searching
for someone. Go to London, New York, Denmark, Scandinavia, Germany and France and see as I
have seen, naked men and women, in the bright sunshine, on the roads. Laws are being passed in
Denmark and Scandinavia that this may not be regarded as immorality. I ask the Muslim women to
view the progress of the permissive society. It started with the comment, ‘You look like a Grandma’.
Where has it carried womanhood and human society?

I have read in the health report of the USA that 80% of Americans suffer from the virus of syphilis.
This great country with enormous resources, medicine and money is all the time manufacturing
antibiotics so that this virus may not become active. (Inaudible sector) Where is this nation going?
May I ask you where are you going? I ask all those who are adopting this civilization, this poison
thinking they will be considered as progressive if they do it? Are you ready for death? If you are not,
then regard every aspect of this permissive society as pure poison.

To the Muslim women I say, stick to your Islamic Culture. Don’t try to compromise with this. Don’t try
to be modern. All that glitters is not gold. All that is modern is not good. Take from this modern
civilization what is really healthy and good, but don’t be blind. What is happening in this world today?
All the communities that live in South Africa whether, Muslim, Christian or Hindu must build up a
united front against the intrusion of this permissive society; building walls of steel around them. If they
don’t then very naturally and logically, the same will happen to them that have happened to others.
God forbid! May God protect you. May God guide us on the right path.

May God enable us to live our lives as His servants. May He endow us with the spirit of love for Him
and may He bestow upon us the blessing of living for the highest values which have been taught by
the highest teachers of mankind. God bless you all.

Transcribed by Irshad Soofi

[1]
Mishkaat al-Masaabih, page 421

[2]
Ryaad al-Saliheen page 163

[3] th
Holy Qur'aan, 4 Sura, Nisaa [The Women], Verse 32

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Shaykh Pirzada on the "Eminent Role of Women in Islam" (with

English Subtitles):

http://mihpirzada.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=196&Itemid=4
9

For more on women in Islam please do also visit: http://www.islam786.org/sisterspage.htm

And: http://www.islam786.org/discoverislam.htm

Discover the Peace and Beauty of Traditional Islam:

http://www.islam786.org/newmuslims.htm

Please do download Islam, Jihad, Terrorism and Wahabiism at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/11023715/Islam-Jihad-Terrorism-and-Wahabiism

Do also download: 'Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him) the Prophet' by Prof K.S. Rama
Krishna Rao - A Non-Muslim's Views at:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/11441349/Mohammed-Peace-Be-Upon-Him-the-Prophet-by-
Prof-KS-Ram-a-Krishna-Rao-A-NonMuslims-Views

Also see:
http://www.alhabibali.org/english/

This Islamophobic propaganda is a smoke screen to take the light of the real oppression in the
world. Where people are really being oppressed in the world today are the Palestinians who
are being oppressed in their own land, Palestine. PLEASE visit the following links:

From Jew to Jew: Why We Should Oppose the Israeli Occupation of the West Bank and
Gaza, A Jewish Voice For Peace Publication:
http://ifamericansknew.com/cur_sit/jew2jew.html

The Origin of the Palestine-Israel Conflict, Published by Jews for Justice in the Middle East:
http://ifamericansknew.com/history/origin.html

Facts and Figures on the Apartheid Wall and Israel's Colonial Settlements:
http://stopthewall.org/news/factsheets.shtml

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Living with the Holocaust

The Journey of a Child of Holocaust Survivors

Sara Roy, PhD, Senior Research Scholar, Harvard University,Center for Middle
Eastern Studies: http://www.ifamericansknew.org/download/sara_roy.pdf

Also do see:
http://www.duaatalislam.com/

MUST WATCH videos on the Ethnic Cleansing

of Palestine made by Israeli Historian Ilan
Pappe:
http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=nav
client&rlz=1T4ADBR_enZA269ZA305&q=ilan+pap
pe&um=1&ie=UTF-
8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=titl
e
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by
Israeli Historian Ilan Pappe:
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwicahd
ukorg-21/detail/1851684670/202-
7916191-2494215

Official website of Israeli Historian Ilan

Pappe: http://ilanpappe.com/

Israeli soldiers break the silence-their testimonies:

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http://www.breakingthesilence.org.
Do also visit www.StopTheWall.org www.IfAmericansKnew.com and
www.PalestineRemembered.com

For breaking news from the ground visit: http://electronicintifada.net

Also see: http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/en/

I hope you will consider the above.

Thank You

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