In Islam , woman reached a high status which has not been reached within any other religion before Islam , and which will not be reached in a following nation . when Islam honoured man , it regarded men and women equally . concerning rules of Islam , people are all being treated the same way in this life , as they will be rewarded equally in the hereafter .
Allah says ” And we have certainly honoured the children of Adam “ Al Israa 70
Allah also says ” There is a share for men and a share for women from what is left by parents and those nearest related “ Al Nisaa 7
besides he says ” And they (women) have rights (over their husbands as regards living expenses, etc.) similar (to those of their husbands) “ Al baqarah .
Moreover he – glory be to him – says ” The believers, men and women, areAuliya‘ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another “ Al tawbah 71
Allah says also “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small.” Al Israa 23,24
Also says ” So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and answered them), “Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female “ Al Imraan 195 .
” Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contenainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter) “ Al Nahl 97
” And whoever does righteous good deeds, male or female, and is a true believer in the Oneness of Allah (Muslim), such will enter Paradise and not the least injustice, even to the size of a Naqira (speck on the back of a date-stone), will be done to them “ Al-Nisaa 124
such honour gained by Muslim woman is considered a unique honour that can’t be found in any other religion or law , as in the roman civilization which agreed to consider woman as a slave , subordinate to men , and has no rights at all . a big conference has been held in Rome which research women affairs and reached that woman is a soulless being so she will not have the pleasure of the hereafter , and woman is considered filth .
In Athene women considered a piece of furniture , the used to be sold and bought , they also are considered filth and a result of devils’ deed .
Old Indian legislations decided that , epidemic , death , hell , snake poison , and fire , all that are considered better than woman , they also decided that woman’s right of life ends when her husband’s life ends , so she was to throw herself with her husband’s dead body while being burned , otherwise she will bear curse until the end of her life .
As for woman in Judaism , she was regarded in the old testament as the following : ” I turned my heart to know and to search out and to seek wisdom and the scheme of things, and to know the wickedness of folly and the foolishness that is madness , I find more bitter than death , the woman who is a snare , whose heart is a trap , and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare ” Ecclesiastes 7:25, 26
It is known that the old testament is believed and sanctified by both jaws and Christians
As for woman’s status in the middle , and modern ages it is clarified by the following facts
The Danish writer wieth kordsten explained the trend of the catholic church towards woman saying ( within the middle ages , there was a so limited care of European woman due to the trend of the catholic doctrine that considered woman a second-rank creature )
A conference has been held in France in 586 AD discussing woman’s status and whether she is considered a human or not ? and after discussion the members of this conference decided that she is a human but she was created as a servant for man .
The seventeenth article of the French stated ” a married woman – even though this marriage based on the system that separates from what she own and what her husband own – is not allowed to gift anything , transfer property , mortgage property , possess anything with or without exchange , without a written agreement from her husband or being a partner in the contract ”
In England , Henry VIII prohibited English woman from the recitation of the Bible , women still not considered as civilians till 1850 AD , they still with no personal rights till 1822 AD ( series of religions Comparison by Ahmed Shalaby vol 3 pp 210-213 )
AS FOR modern woman in America , Europe and other Industrial countries , she is considered a tacky creature consumed in commercial purposes , she is a part of the advertising campaigns , to the extent of stripping her clothes to be use as a model on which merchandise is displayed in the shop windows , her body and attaining such body is permitted due to laws enacted by men to make her a thing satisfying their desires everywhere .
She gains care as long as she can give in exchange , from her hands , intellect , or body ; but when she got older and lost the ability to give she finds her society – with all its individuals , and constitutions – do without her , and live alone at her home or in the psychiatric clinics .
Compare that with what was mentioned in the holly Quran
” The believers, men and women, are Auliya’ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another “ Al Taubah 71
Allah says also “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small.” Al Israa 23,24
When Allah honoured woman , he demonstrated to humanity that he created her to be a mother , a wife , a daughter , and a sister , and he made special laws for woman only and do not include man .
Derived from ” Islam , its fundamentals and principles ” by muhammed b Abdullah b Saleh Alsehemy
www.islam-qa.com
