The Reawakening of the Muslim Woman
By Ashur Shamis
A classic article by Ashur
Shamis, first published in The Muslim magazine in
1977.
INTRODUCTION
This message on the role of women in Islam is based entirely
on the Qur'an and Sunnah. It attempts to demolish and invalidate
the contemporary misconceptions which exist among Muslims on
this subject. It attempts to strengthen the confidence of Muslim
women in confronting the misguided trends of modern times.
"May Allah brighten the face of a being who assimilated
the principles of Islam and transmitted them righteously".
The writer of this message, though relying on the basic sources
of Islam, does in no way restrict the potentialities and qualities
of women. He has no intention of limiting any rights of women
that have been naturally bestowed by Allah. However, the approach
adopted attempts to put right, in a consistent manner, the injustices
which have been imposed on Muslim women.
This message is primarily addressed to Islamic workers, men
and women, so that they should resort to the Qur'an in this issue
and pioneer a bold movement of women led by those who seek guidance
only from Islam. It is difficult to visualise the existence of
a complete Islamic movement without the presence of women, or
in the absence of their activities.
This study is directed in general to the Muslim nation. It
is essential to have the correct concept of women in Islam, and
the knowledge of how to implement it in practice, it there is
to be an Islamic revival and the building of a new and pure culture.
But how can Muslim women be reawakened? This is the central
question of this pamphlet. The answer is two-fold:
- The first concerns the Shari'ah and the formulation of Muslim
behaviour in its light;
- The second concerns the practice of these principles in day-to-day
life. Through this, women will become conscious of their responsibilities
to Islam-its values and aims-and to society-its problems and
challenges for reconstruction.
This pamphlet covers the first part. The second has not been
published because it should be the outcome of local and regional
"ijtihad" (finding solutions, in an Islamic spirit,
to problems about which a clear injunction is not to be found
in the Qur'an and Sunnah). Furthermore it requires an atmosphere
of intellectual freedom which is not available at the time of
writing. Before we leave you with this message, we pray to Allah
to bless the writer and his struggle. We also pray that he is
comforted in this period of his arrest with the companionship
of Allah.
PART 1: WITH REFERENCE TO MUSLIM BELIEF
Summary:
Woman has been delegated responsibility; Islam addresses her
directly; she needs no intermediary from among men. A woman in
Islam is an independent human being. Responsibility for her actions
and beliefs has been delegated to her directly, and no intermediary
is required. Once she is adolescent and has knowledge of Islam,
she is accountable for her actions. A woman's response to the
call of Allah will not be sincere unless it is voluntary and
stems from a genuine interest. It cannot be offered in proxy
through a father, husband or other relative. For example in the
early years of the nubuwwa (prophetic mission) groups of people
pledged themselves to the Prophet. Both men and women participated
in these pledges. People acted as individuals in accepting or
rejecting the Islamic call, irrespective of their sex or family.
Fatima bint Al-Khattab accepted Islam while her brother was
then a kafir; Zainab bint Rasool Allah-her husband was kafir;
Umm Salim bint Malhan-her husband was kafir; Hawa bint Yazid
underwent bullying by her husband Qais ibn Al-Hatim for being
a Muslim; Umm Kulthum bint Uqba lbn Maieth was the sole member
in her family to accept Islam, and migrated; Haritha bint Al-Muammil,
her sister Umm Abbis Ar-Rumiya, and Summaya bint Khabbath were
tortured and persecuted for becoming Muslim; Um Habiba bint Abi
Sufyan persevered the hardships of emigration, and later when
her husband Abdullah ibn Jahsh accepted Christianity, she persisted
in her belief.
Women, through the strength of their faith, propagated Islam
amongst their relatives in various ways: Umm Sharik Al-Quraishiya
Al-Amiriya- through secret means among women-until this was discovered
and she was tortured and expelled by the Meccans; Umm Salim who
insisted that her fiancée become Muslim as a condition
for marriage.
She said,
"By Allah, a man like you Abatalha should not be refused,
but you are an unbeliever, and I am a Muslim. So it is not lawful
for me to marry you, but if you accept Islam then that is my
dowry."
Just as acceptance of Islam is a woman's personal decision,
so also are her actions. Worship is based on one's intentions.
The reward or retribution for a woman's actions are decided without
man's recommendation. The family is not a collective unit when
it comes to accountability to Allah. The individual accounts
for himself or herself alone.
On the Day of Judgement there is to be no union between husband
and wife concerning their fate. Neither can provide relief to
the other.
The Qur'an contains numerous verses which place emphasis on
individual accountability:
". . . And they are all coming
to Him on the Day of Judgement individually . . .";
". . . On the Day that a being
flees from his brother, mother and father, wife and children
. . .";
". . . the one who acts righteously,
be it male or female . . .";
". . . Allah gave an example
to those who disbelieved, the wife of Noah, and the wife of Lut
. . .";
". . . And Allah gave an example
to those who believed, the wife of Pharaoh . . .".
PART 2: WITH REFERENCE TO ISLAMIC LAW
Summary:
The basis is that there is a unified and self-consistent law;
the message is general and addressed to both men and women; particular
rules cannot be made if there is no basis for them in the Shari'ah.
The Shari'ah is but a practical expression of the requirements
of belief. Separate Shari'ahs do not exist for men and women.
Within the body of the Shari'ah there are only a limited number
of rulings that are separate for men and women, so that in each
case, religious adherence may more closely match their human
nature. The basis is a single, unified and self-consistent Shari'ah.
Particular rules cannot be made if there is no evidence for them
in the Shari'ah.
Whether in the Fard ul Ain (a duty compulsory on the individual),
prayer, fasting, zakat, pilgrimage, zikr, or in the matters of
conduct, trustworthiness, fairness, charity, ihsan, piety, decency,
men and women have an equal responsibility.
Woman also has a duty in the fard ul Kifaya (collective responsibility
which protect the integrity of religion. She should be prepared
to perform these obligations, and is as responsible as a man
if these duties are not undertaken.
Woman is exempted from some obligations such as providing
economic support to the family, attending congregational prayer,
or taking part in war. She is not obliged to do any of these
if her help is not required by man. However, she can participate
in these activities if she so desires though it becomes obligatory
if man has failed to do them.
No one can prevent women from doing righteous deeds in everyday
life. The Prophet ordered them to give charity, and they responded
to his command. They attended congregational prayer, even Fajr
and isha, during the time of the Prophet.
Women like Hamna bint Jahsh, Al-Rabie bint Muawiz, Laila Al-Ghifariah,
Umm Al-Dahak, served in the battlefield by supplying warriors
with water, nursing the wounded and carrying them to safety.
Women like Safia bint Al-Mutailib, Nusaibah bint Kaab, Umm Haram
and her sister Umm Salim participated in actual fighting.
The Shari'ah has bestowed on woman the same responsibility
and freedom given to man. She can engage herself for marriage
to a man, verbally or in writing. She can refuse or leave a man
who is imposed on her. However, the marriage contract should
be attended by a guardian, and for a divorce to be valid, it
must take place before a judge.
The case of Imama bint AI-Asmad Al-Mughiri is an example of
engagement by writing. As examples of verbal engagements there
are the instances of the women who offered themselves in marriage
to the Prophet.
A woman cannot be compelled to believe. A wife of Christian
or Jewish faith should not be compelled to Islam. Women can acquire
unlimited knowledge. The Prophet placed emphasis on educating
women. They used to attend the study groups which met to listen
to him. A woman is free to express her opinion-for example Our
Mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, used to make verdicts
(fatwa) in the presence of the Prophet, and later in the presence
of his successors.
It is well known that in Islam woman has the right of possession.
In the Shariah woman has a responsibility to participate both
in family and general affairs. Asma bint Abu Bakr and Zubair
ibn Al-Awwam have consulted each other over their children's
affairs, even after divorce.
Woman can contribute in political issues, elections and criticism.
Al-Bidaya Wai-Nihaya refers to the contribution of women to
the shura after the khalifa of Umar. She can attend Muslim gathering
(refer to the sahih hadiths (authentic traditions) on attendance
of women to Eid-prayer even those who did not pray, and the celebrations
of Abyssinians).
There are no practices exclusively for men, apart from the
responsibilities described earlier which were obligatory for
men and optional for women.
There is no dominance of man over woman except within the
framework of the marital life, established on the principles
of willingness, consultation and ihsan (right conduct).
Within this man has the responsibilities of economically supporting
the family, of enjoining the good, and meting gentle punishment
in cases of extreme deviation by women (Ta'deeb). Parental
supervision and discipline applies equally for both sons and
daughters.
Public life is not a field for men only. There is no segregation
between men and women in situations where Muslims gather; prayer
(refer to the command of the Prophet not to prevent women from
the mosque, even during the night, and his order to let the women
attend Eid prayers; Hajj, despite all overcrowding in performing
the rituals and study circles (Majlis).
The Prophet, peace be upon him, preached to men and women
in the same place. The questions put by both men and women even
related to marital relationships. At one of these joint study
groups a woman once questioned the Prophet, why he remarked that
women would outnumber men in Hell. Once when the Prophet arranged
a special study circle solely for women he explained that this
was done for practical reasons. The growing size of the joint
meetings had meant that women had not been able to hear properly.
Woman can go out for her needs, to the market, shopping or
on business, even if she is subjected to inconvenience and rudeness.
The Prophet permitted women to go out for business even after
the verse on veil, hiiab (The Clans, 33) for his wives was revealed.
The verse on women's garments (The Light, verse 31) followed
incidents of misbehaviour in the streets of Medina. Righteous
women were subjected to rudeness from men passing the time by
the side of the streets.
In this situation, the Prophet did not forbid women from leaving
their homes, but instead gave them instructions on how to dress
outside. The Prophet also told the men to observe the "rights
of the streets" i.e. to lower their gaze on seeing women.
Qibla'Umm bani Ammar is an example of a woman who conducted
trade. Al-Shifa binti Abdullah ibn Abdishams, was appointed by
Umar to be in charge of part of the shopping Centre. There is
no isolation between men and women within the home. Women can
receive family guests, talk to them and serve them. The Prophet
use to visit women like, Khawla binti Qais, AI- Shifa binti Abdullah,
Malika binti AI-Harith, Ummu Waraqa binti Abduiiah. He used to
eat or say prayers in their houses. Even the bride used to serve
guests herself (refer to hadith of Ummu Usaid, the bride of Abu
Usaid AI-Sa'idi). The Prophet visited the house of lyas ibn AI-Bakeer
without the wife being segregated.
Many rulings were specifically directed to the wives of the
Prophet, since their status is unlike that of other women. Their
accountability is doubled be it in reward or punishment, as stated
in the Qur'anic verse (The Clans, 33) that a wife of the Prophet
should not appear before men, not even if only her face and hands
were exposed, which is permissible for other Muslim women. From
the text of the verse, it is obviously restricted to the wives
of the Prophet. It contains injunctions on the stay of women
in the Prophet's house and the way the Muslims should speak to
his wives. A further injunction forbids the Prophet's wives from
remarrying. The circumstances of the revelation (Asbabal-Nuzool),
confirm its exclusiveness to the wives of the Prophet only.
Many authentic Hadiths state that it is a confirmation of
Umar's comment on the prolonged stay of the guests on the wedding
day of Zainab binti Jahsh, the Prophet's wife.
Islamic social life is directed to serving Allah, and if communication
between men and women is permitted, it is a test which a Muslim
should avail as an aspect of worship. It is prohibited to exploit
the relation between men and women as a chance for sexual enjoyment
outside lawful marital and family relations. There is no place
in the Islamic faith for flirting sexual inclinations that enslave
the people, their energy and relations.
Adultery is forbidden as are confessions of sexual desires
of a man for a woman. The Prophet has forbidden meetings in privacy
between an unmarried man and woman, and also entering the house
of a lonely woman, except in a group. However, privacy of individuals
is respected: there is the hadith of the woman from Ansar who
came to the Prophet. He took her in privacy to the side of the
road, but within sight of people, before giving her advice.
A prolonged gaze or stare of a man to a woman or vice versa
is forbidden because such a gaze invites temptations. Actually,
the gaze should be lowered the moment a temptation arises (refer
to the order in the Qur'an to lower the gaze-the Light verse
31-32) and the Prophet's order not to prolong the gaze.
The prohibition is not for any gaze-it is for glance intended
to arouse sexual seduction. For example there is the hadith of
Al-Fadi ibn Abas, who stared with admiration at a beautiful woman.
The Prophet said after he turned away the face of Al-Fadl "I
have seen a boy and girl and I expected seduction".
Overcrowding of men and women to the extent of direct contact
of bodies is not allowed except in a practical issue like Hajj.
Wherever, men and women are to be together, in houses, streets,
gatherings or public occasions, then the situation must be adjusted
to the teachings of the Prophet.
There must be sufficient room so that breaths remain apart.
The Prophet also advised that a special entrance for women should
be set up in mosques. He also advised separating crowds of men
and women in the streets. He advised all men to wait in the mosque
until all women were out.
Men and women are forbidden to expose their bodies or intend
to seduce one another by appearance or gestures. The Qur'an ordered
women to hide their ornaments except those that appear casually
and not to show more than their faces or hands and not to go
outside with perfume on. The Prophet repeatedly warned against
those women who tempted by body movements. The Qur'an also warned
men who confront and try to tempt women.
No relation between men and women is allowed if this paves
the way to temptation and illegal sexual relations. The Qur'an
warned against approaching adultery. This is the framework for
situations which are not mentioned above.
Therefore, greeting women is allowed and also talking to them
with decent intention and in the manner the Prophet used to.
Families are allowed to
gather and eat together at home or otherwise taking into account
the above precautions. Persons engaged for marriage and divorcees
are given some freedom in meeting and talking with each other
(refer to the hadiths on engagement and the hadith of Mughaith
who used to chase his wife Buraidah in the streets of Medina
asking for the reconciliation she had refused).
The occurrence of temptation is dependent on three factors.
- First, self control, which is part of one's upbringing and
resistance to temptation.
- Second, the subject of discussion between the man and the
woman.
- Third, the environment in which the meeting takes place.
There is no justification for the isolation of women in Muslim
societies. Some Muslims are doing this, on the grounds of avoiding
the greater evil (Sadu Al-tharai).
Such practices deprive women from the benefits of Muslim society,
such as co-operation, learning and other sincere and benevolent
actions. Women should enjoin what is right and forbid what is
wrong and should show concern about communal life and collaborate
for the establishment of the Islamic social order.
"The believers, men and women
are protectors, one of another: they enjoin what is just and
for- bid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice
regular charity, and obey God and His Apostle. On them will God
pour His mercy: for God is Exalted in power, Wise." (Repentance,
8:71).
The Muslim
April-July 1977
THE REAWAKENING OF THE MUSLIM WOMAN
Part II
Muslims today have neglected many teachings of Islam including
those relating to the status of women. Whenever the faith of
male believers is not deeply rooted they tend to become unfair
to women and oppress them. This can be seen from the fact that
most Qur'anic decrees relating to women are actually restraints
upon men forbidding them to transgress the rights of women. Only
a few decrees are concerned with restraining women. Consider
the following Qur'anic injunctions:
And if you have divorced women and
they have reached their term, do not debar them from marrying
their husbands if they have agreed together willingly. (2:232)
And if you have divorced women and
they have reached their term, then retain them in kindness or
release them in kindness. Retain them not to their hurt so that
you transgress (the limits). (2:231 )
0 you who believe! it is not lawful
for you to inherit women against their will . . . (4:190)
And it is not lawful for you that
you take from them (women) any of that which you have given them
. . . These are the limits of God; transgress them not. (2:229)
Lodge them where you lodge according
to your means and harass them not so as to make life difficult
for them. (65:6)
Qur'anic verses dealing with ila' (forswearing of wives),
divorce and iddah (waiting period of approximately four months
after divorce) have all or nearly all been revealed to put an
end to social traditions which had long been oppressive to women
and which placed them in the agonising position of being neither
happily married or divorced.
The verse dealing with inheritance was revealed to re-establish
a right of the Muslim woman. In addition to the above, Qur'anic
verses were revealed condemning the dislike for and the prejudice
against newly-born girls and their burial alive. Moreover, there
are numerous sayings of the Prophet prohibiting men from insulting
women, detaining or battering them. These sayings commend the
good upbringing and educating of women and generally enjoin fair
treatment for them.
The weakening of religious commitment on the part of man (as
we have said) tends to lead to aggression against woman because
she is created with a degree of softness and emotionalism. Moreover
she is distracted by her normal physiological functions from
attending fully to her religious duties or becoming heavily involved
in public life and becoming fortified by such involvement. For
these reasons it was easy for man in the age of Ignorance (Jahiliyyah)
to oppress her. Such oppression has been practised in many human
societies . . . Man persuades himself that women are terribly
deficient by nature and so prevents them from leading a public
life. This prevention in its own right adds to their weakness
and deficiency thus in turn confirming men's erroneous belief
concerning women and given added justification for their maltreatment
and oppression.
The traditional tendency to oppress women is clearly manifested
in societies which are dominated by men's whims and fantasies
with respect to women, for instance, Arabian, Persian and Indian
societies. Although Islam spread in those societies, its teachings
were not always properly understood and some residual cultural
influences of pre-lslamic times continued to linger in spite
of the general dominance of Islamic forms. One serious consequence
of this is that the newly converted societies began to attribute
those residual non-Islamic cultural influences to the corpus
of the doctrines of the new religion. In this way, non-Islamic
traditions acquired the force of being part of the religion itself
and of its legal system, the Shari'ah. The influence of these
traditions over the lives of people became greater because they
now possessed religious sanction. Many ploys were used to modify
the Shari'ah so that the non-Islamic traditions could be harmonized
with it. One of these was to compare the various Qur'anic verses
relating to the status of women. The verses which seemed to allow
more freedom for women were explained away by saying that they
were abrogated. Others where restraints and restrictions are
emphasised were firmly upheld. Rules relating to the general
appearance and the public behaviour of Muslim women were greatly
enlarged upon. The tendency here has been to be very strict and
meticulous about detail. But when it came to rules which affirm
women's rights and allow them certain freedoms the tendency (of
some of the traditional jurists) was to narrow down the significance
and scope of those rights and liberties as much as possible.
Yet another ploy has been to apply rules that were meant to be
applied to the private life of the Prophet and his wives to the
generality of Muslim women.
One of the most recurring legalistic arguments used to constrain
the life of Muslim women is the misguided application of the
principle of Sad adh-dharaa'i (i.e., the closure and prohibition
of the means to forbidden practices-in other words, whatever
leads to haram is also haram). This principle has led to the
laying down of very strict rules for the conduct of Muslim women.
The justification for these rules has always been that they are
necessary for averting infatuation and seduction which is deemed
to be the inevitable result of women's immodest behaviour. The
approaches to the enacting of those rules were characterised
by a great deal of caution and reservation.
Although a more balanced approach for Islamic jurisprudence
will be to weigh the possibilities of seduction against the possibilities
of the realization of the public good which could result from
the participation of Muslim women in public affairs, the traditional
Muslim societies tend to favour caution and conservatism . .
. Such policies and tendencies of traditional Muslim societies
tend to favour caution and conservatism . . .Such policies and
tendencies of traditional Muslim societies resulted in the weakening
and destruction of the basic balance in the objective of religion.
The basic fabric of Muslim society which had been laid down by
the Prophet has been largely changed (by such traditional conservatism).
One of the best known arguments for changing some rules governing
social relationships is the claim that the rules of the Qur'an
and the Sunnah were meant for the virtuous society of the Prophet's
era. But people have changed after him and later ages and generations
became corrupt. It thus became imperative that there should be
a general tightening up of the rules of conduct. If Muslims were
really sincere in this claim, then they would have applied it
to every rule in their life. But in fact the general pattern
in Muslim thought has been to take the Qur'anic texts literally
and to become rigid and inflexible. They take texts literally
even when it is quite clear that those texts concerned specific
space-time events of the Prophet's era. They were only inclined
to accept flexibility and modification in the case of women because
such flexibility tends to confirm their whims of framing laws
that are far more rigid and restrictive (than they had been in
the time of the Prophet).
However, the claim that Qur'anic rules were only meant for
an ideal society such as existed in the Prophet's time, presupposes
a nation that is excessive in its veneration for that society
and in its belief in its impeccable purity. It considers that
first society of the Prophet as if all its individuals were of
the same type as the four rightly guided caliphs. It also deals
with it as if it was completely . . . free of the misguided or
hypo- critical residues of pre-isiamic Arabian Ignorance (jahiliyyah).
These residual elements were not completely wiped away from all
minds and souls by nascent Islam. Aspects of these residual elements
in Muslim behaviour can be noticed by students of the history
of the first Muslim society. Whatever the present state of our
society, the true approach of Islam is to reform its malpractices
and corruption, not to be defeated by them and change the Islamic
way of life to suit circumstances. Muslim thought and practice
have ended up by changing many of the principles relating to
women, even those that are grounded in the creed itself or in
the Shari'ah. Thus she is not addressed on the basis of faith
or on the need to conform to Islamic patterns of behaviour and
education, except indirectly as a dependant and follower of man.
For example, she has no free- dom either in the choice of a husband
whom she could love or in separating from a husband whom she
detests. She has no right of being consulted as a wife or of
being treated kindly. More often, there is no possibility of
her owning anything or becoming involved in trade or doing what
she likes with her possessions; she could even be deprived of
her rightful share of inheritance by various stratagems.
When the role of woman in public life was terribly reduced,
the family neglected its duty of educating her and of making
her aware even of her personal religious duties, not to mention
other duties of a more far-reaching nature. All she could become
was a wife and the concept of a good wife has not always included
the requirement that the woman should be of a religious character.
As for the sphere of public life, the Muslim woman was deprived
of the possibility of contributing something towards the reform
of society. She may still contribute something in the material
field but she is exploited in the process. Moreover when she
works she is often not motivated at all by any moral or spiritual
considerations; she is not brought up to be motivated by such
religious ideas.
Perhaps the most cruel thing that has happened to the Muslim
woman has been her isolation from public life. Her appearance-even
her voice-in public was pronounced an indecency. Her physical
presence where men were present was termed unlawful mingling.
She became imprisoned in the home in the very same way she would
have been so imprisoned if it had been proved that she had committed
an indecency. The justification for her imprisonment in the home
was said to be the need for her to devote herself to the upbringing
of her children and the service of her husband. But, alas, she
was prepared neither by knowledge nor by practical experience
for the task of looking after the home. How can anyone who has
been isolated from public life be fit to be an educator? . .
.
(The author in the final section deals with the historical
background to the position of women in western society. He argues
that the present degrading permissiveness of western society
which has stripped women of her dignity and humanity was the
result of the revolt against the sickly religious institutions
of medieval Europe. He suggests that some institutions which
have developed in Muslim society are similar to those of medieval
Europe in so far as women are concerned.
The following are his concluding remarks:
If the traditionalists among us therefore insist on their
rigid ways what had befallen medieval Europe (i.e., the growth
of rampant secularism and the rejection of religion as such)
will most certainly befall them at an even quicker pace than
they might think. The revolt against the traditional status of
women is no doubt coming very soon.
If the Islamists are called upon by their faith to bridge
the distance between the ideal Islamic legislation for the role
of women and the actual present conditions of Muslim women, then
so do the modern trends of social change at this juncture call
upon them, in a most urgent fashion, to take the initiative and
hasten to bring about the Islamic reform before the matter gets
out of control and before the non-Islamic trends grow even more
powerful and irresistible.
The Islamists must be wary lest their fear of foreign modernizing
invasion of the West and the sexual permissiveness that comes
in its wake would lead them into an erroneous and ill-fated attempt
to preserve the outmoded accretions and to overhaul or patch,
thinking that this is the lesser of the two evils. Conservatism
is, as we have maintained, a poor response and is not productive.
A better course of action for the Islamists is to try to lead
the efforts which seek to improve the lot of women and deliver
them from the man-made status of traditional ways so that Muslim
society would not be left vulnerable to every advocate of westernization
who might wish to steer it away from the straight path of Islam,
exploiting and drawing support from people's unhappiness with
the present status of women.
This article is based on a translation for THE MUSLIM of
the booklet "Kayta Tanhad At-Mar'at", published by
the Islamic Movement, Sudan, 1976.
The Muslim
December 1977
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