Question:

I am extremely interested in how your religion and culture view women, marriage and the education of women.

Answer:

The questions you have asked appear simple, but these have been treated in big volumes. We shall try to give you some tips, particularly relating to contemporary issues about women’s lot in the Muslim communities. While reading our statements below, stay informed please, that this is the religious and Islāmic cultural position as we understand and it carries general consensus. What you find practiced in various Muslim societies and different regions, are either local customs, adapted Islāmic forms and blends, or some modes based on specific juridical interpretations, which carry their relative weight, but not binding for all.

Now let us outline essential points, wholly derived from the two main sources of Islam – Qur’ān and Sunnah.

i)       As human beings, and as servants of God Almighty, both man and woman are absolutely equal. Together they make the humanity. Without one, there will be none. Where man has rights, woman also enjoys equal rights. Whether it be punishment or reward (here or in the Hereafter), sex makes no distinction. The (wrong) interpretation of the Biblical tradition that “woman was the cause of the Original Sin”, is baseless. According to the Qur’ān, both Adam and Eve (peace be upon them) fell prey to Devil’s temptation, yet both were absolved of the sin, when they besought God’s forgiveness. They were not thrown out on Earth as punishment, but brought here as vicegerents of God, to take test, and fulfill God’s Mission, for an assigned period, only known to Him.

ii)      Because of their different physical natures and psychological predilections, it was but judicious to assign appropriate role to each, most suitable for them and fully in accordance with the overall socio-economic and demographic demands. Man is mostly outsider and woman is generally insider. As a consequence of this difference in their role, man is made solely responsible to bear the household expenditure, no matter even if the house-wife was rich because of her personal possessions, and the man was poor (she has full proprietary rights but as she is not financially burdened, her share in inheritance in most cases is half that of man. But she can invest and increase her personal assets). If a wife helped the family financially, it would be her special favour, not a right of the husband or others.

iii)    The marriage is a totally free and open contract between two equal parties. No marriage will be legitimate unless the girl/lady has given her consent, free of all doubts and, without even a bit of coercion. That is why the necessity of two responsible and acceptable witnesses to testify before an open assembly that the lady’s consent was true and free. Note here please, that the Muslim society is a segregated one and the lady does not join the assembly to testify herself. If however, the marriage ceremony is intra-family, where women and men can freely join, the lady may be asked to give consent in person.

iv)   As man is made to provide for family livelihood according to his financial status, he is given two privileges (in fact, responsibilities). One that he will head and administer the family unit. The Qur’ānic Arabic word used for this purpose is qawwām which means one who manages, provides and takes care. The generally held notion that man through this Divine Command has been made  “master” or “ruler” is wrong.

The second privilege (again, duty) is that only he can announce divorce. Yet, there are two exceptions to this as well:

a)      If during the marriage contract a clause is provided that the right of divorce stands transferred to the wife [various forms suggested by the jurists], then it is she who will exercise it in the manner agreed. The lady has the right to refuse marriage, if she demands the transference but is denied. [We will explain under reasons below that she should not ordinarily ask for the divorce right, though legally, she can].

b)      Wife has the right of separation through khula‘, which means seeking divorce from the husband. She can move the court of law, which can compel the husband or even issue one-sided decree. While processing the case, the court is disallowed through a decree by Ĥađrat ‘Umar, the second Caliph, to ask her reasons for separation. It may, however, ascertain to its satisfaction that the lady was not under some emotional spell and was really serious to leave. In the case of wife seeking separation, a provision is that, if the husband so demands (which he is advised by the Prophet – peace be upon him - not to) then the lady will have to pay back the dower [mah’r] or anything received from the husband as special favour. This does not include what is noted under (ii) above and which is termed as nafaqah.

Now, let us examine, why the instrument of the divorce is assigned to man. It is generally interpreted that man will be more cautious and afraid of announcing divorce because arranging another marriage and raising a family afresh is not that easy socially and financially. But this is only partially true. The real reason appears that as divorce generally hurts more and deeply the woman, and Islāmic Law and teachings tend always to favour women folk more, God, the All-Wise, saw it more fit to minimize the chances of divorce. A Prophetic saying goes that” among the legally sanctioned acts, the one that is most distasteful and unliked by God, is divorce. In all probability, if women were given the right of divorce, equal to men, the chances of separation will be (more than) doubled. This is however, our own opinion to be either consented or contested by jurists and social science specialists.

v)  Having made the above four points, it seems only re-emphasizing that both men and women have equal right to education. Here we make two references:

a)      The first revelation to Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him) was in the form of five brief verses of Qur’ān [Chapter 96, al-‘Alaq, also called Iqrā], as follows:

Read in the name of your Lord and Cherisher who created; Created man out of a (mere) clot (something that clings like leach); Read, and your Lord is Most Bountiful; He Who taught with (the use of) Pen; Taught man that he knew not.

One can see how much space the words read, pen, teaching and knowledge occupied in this brief statement – six times in five small verses. And this revelation addresses (through the Prophet), the whole humanity, made of men and women.

b)   An authentic saying/command of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is: to seek knowledge, is obligatory for every Muslim man (and woman). (Note: unless otherwise specified, in the Qur’ānic (and ĥadīth) dictum man means person – both sexes).

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