Sunday, September 26, 2010

Women in Islam.


Muslim apologists, including Muslim women, say that Islam has liberated women from pre Islamic oppression that prevailed in that time in Arabian Peninsula. They wanted every one to believe that Islam has given women their freedom and rights like right to divorce. But in reality, it is a different situation on the ground. One might have already heard about infamous triple talaq.

So, what is the position of Islam on women? When I thought on this, I felt it is much better to address like how Islam regards men? One wants the answer! It is like man is a walking Di*k on two legs. I felt deeply that position of women in Islam is nothing but reflection of Prophet Mohammad: He himself married 13 times and maintained sex slaves, with whom he had sex. Allah, all mighty, specifically reveled three verses ( 33:37, 33:50, 66:01) so that Prophet can satisfy his carnal desires. Of course some people say whole Koran is a reflection of his persona.

Another grandeur achievement of Islam, Muslims equally boast on this, is putting an end to pre Islamic Arabian custom of burying of girl child right after birth? But ask them, so, who gave birth to Mohammad, Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, Ali Talib and Ibn Abbas and about Khadija (Mohammad was her third husband), the first wife of Mohammad, being richest and successful business woman in Mecca. Well like many tenuous and false narrations invented by Muslims to gloss over ruthless and merciless violence initiated by Mohammad, to wrap the authoritarianism that exists in Islam in fine attire, this tale of burying girls at birth is one such. In fact even polyandry was in practice in Arabia at the time of Prophet Mohammad.

To be honest, all religions are oppressive towards women, which should explain that religion is like every natural evolution in a different way. There is nothing godliness to any religion, even if God exists, in the matters related to women. But the major difference between Islam and other religions is the scope and ability to carry out reforms. Today in the west and majority of Christian world, women more or less enjoy equal rights and freedom. In Asia, Hinduism is yet to realize this fully but overall emphasis is in this direction and there is seemingly no opposition to this process. But what about Islam?

If recent trends of radicalization are to be taken among the Muslims esp. youth then reforms in Islamic belief regarding any matter are difficult to achieve. This author believes Islam can not be reformed at all.

First, one has to ask whether there is a problem in present day Islamic world regarding treatment of women. The world has seen how Taliban treated its women when it was in power. Then again there are countries like Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia and Iran (Iran is a complex society) where discrimination against women exists in legalized forms. These countries call themselves strictly Islamic and base their majority of law on Sharia. Other Islamic countries too have incorporated Sharia in to their constitutions in varying degrees. Against this back ground, we hear that Islamic conservatives justify their positions with regard to women saying those laws are divinely ordained while Muslim feminists and liberals say Sharia (Koran + Sunna) can be interpreted in a different way.  This article is meant to throw some light on verses and Hadith, which should give an idea about Islamic theology, concerning women.

The problem is with the belief of Islam is itself, this becomes clear as one reads. It holds Koran to be infallible and sacred word of God valid for all times and it can not be changed or altered:
Al-Hilali (6:115): And the Word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice. None can change His Words. And He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.
The verses 6:34, 10:64 and 18:27 also say the same thing. Being a word of God, who is all knowing, nothing in Koran can be faulted or is false because God can not err. So, any meaningful reform directly contradicts what is prescribed in Koran and invalidates the Islamic belief that Koran, as direct word of God, is valid for all times.So, most seemingly moderate Muslims try to interpret Koran in a different way, with out much success, thus bringing themselves in confrontation with orthodox Muslim clerics, often endangering their lives too.

This is how situations develop: Koran says women should wear veil. Muslim liberals admit that Koran says this but emphasize that it also gives freedom to women to decide and women can not be forced. The trouble here is that they literally forget that Islam is all about submission to Allah and freedom of choice does not exist in submission and every command is valid for all time. At the best, freedom exists with in realm of Koran e.g. Koran says men can have 4 wives which means men can decide for themselves.
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Another area where rationalism goes against Koran is legal minimum age for women for marriage. Many Non Islamic countries passed this law prescribing the age limit. But in countries like Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, there is no law for this regulation. Recently Yemen Govt. tried to bring up a law to put an end to the child marriages, as the incidence is high. But massive protests against this law took place and these protestors were women and they were saying that this proposed law goes against law of Allah. Well this is what Koran says on regarding the physical condition (age limit) of women at the time of marriage:
Al-Hilali (65:4): And those of your women as have passed the age of monthly courses, for them the 'Iddah (prescribed period), if you have doubts (about their periods), is three months, and for those who have no courses [(i.e. they are still immature) their 'Iddah (prescribed period) is three months likewise, except in case of death]*. And for those who are pregnant (whether they are divorced or their husbands are dead), their 'Iddah (prescribed period) is until they deliver (their burdens), and whosoever fears Allâh and keeps his duty to Him, He will make his matter easy for him.
This verse is simply telling that men can marry the girls who have not attained puberty (prepubescent girls). Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of Islamic revolution said men can not only marry a girl of few days old, but they can even enjoy that baby sexually with out penetration.

Islam itself had the tradition of Prophet Mohammad marrying a girl, Aisha, his favorite wife, at the age of 6 or 7 years and consummating that marriage when Aisha reached 9 years. All Islamic sources, like Hadith of Bukhari and Sira, say the same thing. More over, Koran says that Muslims are to follow the example of Mohammad.
Narrated 'Aisha: That the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death). (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 64)
Narrated 'Ursa: The Prophet wrote the (marriage contract) with 'Aisha while she was six years old and consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old and she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death). (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 88)
The following are some news reports highlighting the problem, prevailing practice, in middle east.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/yemeni-child-bride-dies-of-bleeding-after-intercourse/story-e6freuz9-1225851570882 (A 13-year-old Yemeni girl who was forced into marriage died five days after her wedding when she suffered a rupture in her sex organs and hemorrhaging, a local rights organisation says. Ilham Mahdi al Assi died last Friday in a hospital in Yemen's Hajja province, the Shaqaeq Arab Forum for Human Rights said, quoting a medical report…)

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/23/saudi.arabia.child.marriage/index.html (A Saudi judge recently refused to annul a marriage between an 8-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man -- a union apparently arranged by the girl's father to settle his debts -- a lawyer in the case told CNN. On Saturday, the judge, Sheikh Habib Abdallah al-Habib, dismissed a petition brought by the girl's mother because she "is not the legal guardian of the girl," the woman's lawyer Abdullah al-Jutaili said. "Therefore, she cannot represent her daughter in these proceedings," al-Jutaili said. Her parents are separated, he said. According to the lawyer, the girl's father arranged the marriage in order to settle his debts with the man, who is "a close friend" of his.)

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/17/saudi.child.marriage/ ("It is incorrect to say that it's not permitted to marry off girls who are 15 and younger," Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the kingdom's grand mufti, said in remarks quoted Wednesday in the regional Al-Hayat newspaper. "A girl aged 10 or 12 can be married. Those who think she's too young are wrong and they are being unfair to her." The issue of child marriage has been a hot-button topic in the deeply conservative kingdom in recent weeks. Late last month, a Saudi judge refused to annul the marriage of an 8-year-old girl to a 47-year-old man.)

http://www.islamtribune.com/2010/03/21/yemen-women-oppose-proposed-child-marriage-ban.html (Thousands of Yemeni women, their faces covered in religious veils, demonstrated outside the parliament on Sunday to oppose proposed legislation banning the marriage of girls under 17. The protesters held up banners proclaiming "don't ban what Allah made permissible," or "stop violating Islamic sharia law in the name of rights and freedoms," an AFP correspondent said…..Rights activist Ahmed al-Qorashi warned last September that a huge proportion of girls in rural Yemen are married off under age 15, mainly due to financial reasons... …In 2008, a Yemeni court granted a divorce to an eight-year-old girl whose unemployed father forced her into an arranged marriage with a man 20 years her senior.)

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/783526--islamic-clerics-in-yemen-oppose-child-bride-ban 

http://abcnews.go.com/International/Health/painful-death-yemen-child-bride/story?id=8568884 (After days of  struggling through labor a 12-year-old "child bride" has died in Yemen, her baby a stillborn….)

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/International/yemeni-bride-11-hospitalized-genital-injuries/story?id=10362500 (An 11-year-old Yemeni girl who was was married to a man in country's Hajja province was hospitalized today with genital injuries, said a human rights group in Sanaa. It was the second incident involving a child bride in the last week. A 13-year-old girl died after being sexually assaulted by her adult husband. Both girls were married in the country's rural Hajja province……… An average of eight women die each day in Yemen due to child marriage, many of them in childbirth, according to the Arabic Sisters Forum. The group runs a hotline for victims of domestic violence and has been lobbying in support of a minimum marriage age now under consideration by the Yemeni parliament. Pushing against the proposed law is the strong hand of Islamic conservatives in Yemen. Clerics have declared women like Amal Basha apostates from Islam for opposing child marriage, which they see as divinely ordained.)
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Similarly, the issue related to wearing of veil. Recently few cases of women being forced or even threatened to wear veil have been reported by Media. The latest incident reported involves a girl of 23 years old, Rayhana, from Kerala. Similarly, a lady lecturer is given ultimatum of wearing veil or quit her job by Muslim Students Union of an Islamic University in Kolkata. What was the reaction to these from so called Muslim secularists? Well most of them are Islamic wolves in sheep clothes. But this is not the problem; it is reluctance on the part of the institutions to deal with this kind of threats due to vote bank politics. The undeniable fact in India is that there is neither law nor secular responsibilities when it comes to the so called Muslim minority; more horrible is they say they are discriminated. For these 'oppressed' Muslims secularism means others should tolerate their intolerance towards Non Muslims.

http://expressbuzz.com/states/kerala/rayana-gets-police-protection/198807.html%20-%2018/08/2010 (Rayana R Khasi, 23, a Muslim engineering graduate who received threats for not wearing purdah, was given police protection on Monday. The High Court had ordered that Rayana and her family be given police protection in view of the threat from some sources for not wearing purdah.) Look at the sad state. High Court has to interfere. Why are we paying taxes from which these politicians and others are given salaries?

http://sify.com/news/kerala-girl-defies-threats-wears-jeans-not-burqa-news-national-kjsoubifebc.html (An aeronautical engineer by qualification and preparing for the civil services exam, a 23-year-old Muslim girl here refuses to wear the burqa and often sports jeans despite constant threats to her life…….Rayana has the full support of her family. She has had police protection since Aug 17, thanks to a court order, after increased threats in the last two months……'Then my neighbours started advising me and since then there have had anonymous callers on my mobile telling me they will have no choice but to kill me because I continue to defy the burqa,' said Rayana………Rayana is putting up a brave face. Despite constant threats in the last two months, she is trying her best to concentrate on her studies for the examination next month.) She is definitely courageous. But this author's advise to her would be to move to some where for some time, if she wants to have her way. May be she has no idea about how ugly our political system is. People say the problem is due to few Islamic extremists;So should we say Rayhana's relatives and neighbors are Islamic extremists? No, they are Muslims. Actually, I read somewhere, this threat also was made because those who threatened her felt she converted to Christianity. Then those who leave Islam to any other religion have to be killed according to Islamic belief and law. One can see now that, they are neither terrorists or extremists; they are following their religion to the last letter.

http://www.indiaeveryday.com/kerala/fullnews-give-moral-support-to-rayana-1184-1776233.htm(A public discussion, held here on Monday, on the topic ‘Is purdah necessary for Islam’ emphasised the need to formulate a collective forum to offer moral support to Rayana Khasi, who has been receiving threats from fundamentalists for refusing to wear purdah…..Inaugurating the debate, P K Sainaba, member of the State Women’s Commission………The Holy Quran does not even mention the purdah and the religion never demands that women should wear purdah. The tradition of wearing purdah was imposed in Kerala owing to the influence of Gulf countries, she said……Historian M Gangadharan ……The police and politicians are passive about the incident, he said. He also demanded that the cops should show their nerve to expose those affluent hands which work to create disintegration among people in the name of purdah. The ministers of Kerala should also come forward to react, he said....) This is what I say about the problem itself; their refusal to accept the problem. Another thing, I can not understand how foolish they could be to expect some response from politicians. This fight for rights is will be over before it began. Sorry folks! This is India and it is Islamic secularism and tolerance! Understand this.

http://sify.com/news/woman-not-allowed-to-teach-after-burqa-refusal-news-education-kh4v4daagec.html (A lady teacher in West Bengal's first Muslim university, the Aliah University, was not allowed to teach after she refused to wear the burqa (veil) inside the varsity premises. Sirin Middya, a guest lecturer of the university, along with eight other lady teachers got a 'diktat' from the leaders of the students' union to wear burqa and attend the college. 'I was asked by the leaders of the student's union to wear burqa and attend the college and if I don't abide by the diktat, they won't allow me to attend the college. Then after a few days as we were entering the university campus, they started shouting slogans 'those who are against purdah system should go to hell',' Middya told IANS.)

Those who said Koran does not say anything on veil are wrong completely; Koran specifically suggests veil to women in two verses 33:59 and 24:31.
YUSUFALI (033.059): O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Al-Hilali (33:59): O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e.screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allâh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Does this mentioning of ‘not molested’ give permission to Muslim men to rape and molest those women not wearing veil? Probably no. If they do molest, whose fault is that? At least we know the answer from some Muftis (read from here). Instead of emphasizing inner virtues, why control the external environment so brutally? Oh! This author knows about the verse telling Muslim men to lower their gaze and guard modesty (24:30); but yet again putting basic ethics in and as divine revelation will not serve the purpose any better.

What should be upheld here, basic freedom to wear clothes they like or religious enforcement by extremists in the name of religion? Should Govt. pass law telling Muslim women to wear veil? Well, reticence on the part of Govt. to deal with Islamists is tantamount to countenancing radical agenda of Islamists. These incidents are only a presage to what is to happen in this country. Look at the insolent remarks of mullahs in response to one women’s (Present President of India) call for liberalism in Islam from the below news report (Year 2007):

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1954650.ece (The leading candidate for the Indian presidency has enraged Muslim leaders by urging her fellow women to stop wearing the veil. Pratibha Patil claimed that veils were only introduced to India in the 16th century to protect women from Muslim invaders, and were no longer needed........But today several Muslim leaders were calling for the Indian Prime Minister to find another candidate before the nominations deadline, accusing Ms Pratil of of insulting Islam........Maulana Khalid Rashid, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said that it was God who had asked women to wear a veil and that this was enshrined in the Koran, the Muslim holy book. The board is the highest authority for Muslims in India on laws governing personal matters.........“Any statement against the veil means an opinion against Allah and the Koran which no Muslim will tolerate,” Rashid told the Associated Press news agency.........Maulana Hasanul Badr, a Muslim cleric, said it was the duty of Muslim women to cover their bodies.“Why do politicians interfere inour religious matters? It has become a fashion to pass judgment on Islam,” he said. “The statement is a clear reflection of Patil’s mind-set about Islam and Muslims. It is better that the United Progressive Alliance change its presidential candidate and opt for a more secular person for this post,” he said……)

Above report also gives an idea about how emboldened Islamists are; they more or less imply that Muslims only trust them (religious leadership) and they should be recognized as parallel Govt. for Muslims. They completely understand the impotence of politicians, culpability of useful idiots like Marxist-Leftist intellectuals and moral cowardice of media. It is not difficult to see that their presumptuous agenda is all about pushing as much as Sharia law on this country. They will only recognize the Govt. for appropriating funds from infidel taxes for their religious activity e.g. Hajj pilgrimage and Govt.’s Rs 1000 Crores subsidy for this. For them it is like Jizya; it does not really matter in what form or under what name the taxes from infidels serve their religious advance.

The mentioning of this veil controversy here is just to highlight the situations where orthodox and conservatism clash with freedom.
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Another issue related to misogyny in Islam is Koran giving the permission to Muslim Husbands to beat their wives. Domestic violence exists in all religions and societies. But what sets apart this Islamic directive and abuse from others is, like mentioned above, it negates the abilities of Govt. making proper laws to contain this abuse from becoming endemic. Some critics call it dancing around the verse 4:34 as Muslim politicians and leaders reject outright violence against women but accept a level of aggression that seems to fit their contemporary definitions of domestic violence . But the age old problem is how does one draw the limit? Islam literally tells men are superior to women and are guardians of women i.e. women have no freedom as the following verse says (‘lightly’ is a word added by Yusuf Ali in the verse 4:34):

YUSUFALI (004:034): Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).
It is recognized that the prevailing view in the Islamic world is the notion of using physical punishment as a disciplinary action, especially for controlling or mastering women who ‘enjoy being beaten’ is divinely ordained.

According to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in 2002, over 90% of married women surveyed in that country reported being kicked, slapped, beaten or sexually abused when husbands were dissatisfied by their cooking or cleaning, when the women had ‘failed’ to bear a child or had given birth to a girl instead of a boy, or had an illicit affair. (click here to read the full report)

Note: Suggested to read the following link: http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/wife-beating.htm#_Toc160373822.

Koran says Allah has given Men advantage over women and testimony of one man in the court of law is equal to testimony of two women.
YUSUFALI (002:228): …….. And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them, according to what is equitable; but men have a degree (of advantage) over them. And Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.
YUSUFALI(002:282): …….Let his guardian dictate faithfully, and get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her……..
YUSUFALI (004:003): If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice.
It sanctions polygamy and even introduces the concept of temporary marriage (muta marriage).
This Muta Marriage is PROSTITUTION BY ANY OTHER NAME.  Muta Marriage is a short term contractual relationship, lasting hours or a few days, where the man gives something of value to a woman and they “marry” and engage in sex for an agreed length of time. Once the contractual time expires the marriage is over and they go their own ways. This is legalized Islamic prostitution. Men get satisfaction and women get something of value, be it money, or clothing, or even a Quranic recital. One can read from below that Koran prescribes this:
Al-Hilali (4:24): Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those (captives and slaves) whom your right hands possess. Thus has Allâh ordained for you. All others are lawful, provided you seek (them in marriage) with Mahr (bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) from your property, desiring chastity, not committing illegal sexual intercourse, so with those of whom you have enjoyed sexual relations, give them their Mahr as prescribed; but if after a Mahr is prescribed, you agree mutually (to give more), there is no sin on you. Surely, Allâh is Ever All-Knowing, All-Wise.
YUSUFALI (005:087): O ye who believe! make not unlawful the good things which Allah hath made lawful for you, but commit no excess: for Allah loveth not those given to excess.
We used to participate in the holy wars carried on by the Prophet and we had no women (wives) with us. So we said (to the Prophet ). "Shall we castrate ourselves?" But the Prophet forbade us to do that and thenceforth he allowed us to marry a woman (temporarily) by giving her even a garment, and then he recited: "O you who believe! Do not make unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful for you." (Volume 6, Book 60, Number 139 (Sahih Bukhari))
There is a conflict here. There are ahadith from Sahih Bukhari (most authentic and respected Hadith) that indicate Mohammad banned this kind of contractual marriage. Some scholars say that that command was for that particular episode (Khaybar War) and not for all time, so they uphold the validity in the light of verse 5:87 and another ahadith from Bukhari itself. Others say that this command is valid for all time and reject the validity of Muta. What ever it be, Sunni Islam discourages this practice while Shia Islam upholds this system of Muta Marriage.

Koran even permits men to freely replace one wife in place of another wife by divorcing. This practice exists even today. Some rich Muslims have 3 permanent ones and reserve the fourth position for this purpose; marry, divorce, then marry another. Grandson of Mohammad married about 50 times using the following verse:
PICKTHALL (4:20):  And if ye wish to exchange one wife for another and ye have given unto one of them a sum of money (however great), take nothing from it. Would ye take it by the way of calumny and open wrong?
One can easily see how Islam treats women. Can it be called equality? Lets not go for this feminist theory. Can what is mentioned in Koran be called humane? It is more like it is trying to satisfy sexual desire of men assuming all men are like beasts hungry for sex. What needs to be noted is, if meaningful laws have to be made to help women, then it goes against basic Koranic teachings resulting in what is called dancing around the issue. Orthodox clerics have no inhibition to declare that divine ordinances related to women are very practical and realistic. Liberals argue that Mohammad treated women kindly. Note the word ‘kindly’. That’s it. All Mohammad said was men have rights over women and women have rights over men like right to food and clothing. He told men to be kind to women. But Men are even kind to pet animals like dogs and cattle.

Having studied how Islam is a fascist system, I am not surprised by the way Islam treats its women. Subjugation of women is necessity for success of fascist system.

Most of the time material from Koran is quoted to show Islamic position on women. Below, some ahadith concerning women are quoted.
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Quotes from Hadith:
  1. Allah's Apostle said, "If at all there is bad omen, it is in the horse, the woman, and the house." (Sahih, Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 32)
  2. The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 33)
  3. Allah's Apostle said, "The woman is like a rib; if you try to straighten her, she will break. So if you want to get benefit from her, do so while she still has some crookedness." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 113)
  4. The Prophet said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt (trouble) his neighbor. And I advise you to take care of the women, for they are created from a rib and the most crooked portion of the rib is its upper part; if you try to straighten it, it will break, and if you leave it, it will remain crooked, so I urge you to take care of the women." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 114)
  5. The Prophet said, "A woman should not fast (optional fasts) except with her husband's permission if he is at home (staying with her)." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 120)
  6. The Prophet said, "If a man Invites his wife to sleep with him and she refuses to come to him, then the angels send their curses on her till morning." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 121)
  7. The Prophet said, "If a woman spends the night deserting her husband's bed (does not sleep with him), then the angels send their curses on her till she comes back (to her husband)." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 122)
  8. The Prophet said, "I looked at Paradise and saw that the majority of its residents were the poor; and I looked at the (Hell) Fire and saw that the majority of its residents were women." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 126)
  9. The Prophet disliked that one should go to one's family at night (on returning from a journey). (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 170)
  10. The Prophet said, "If you enter (your town) at night (after coming from a journey), do not enter upon your family till the woman whose husband was absent (from the house) shaves her pubic hair and the woman with unkempt hair, combs her hair" Allah's Apostle further said, "(O Jabir!) Seek to have offspring, seek to have offspring!" (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 173)
  11. The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 826)
  12. The Prophet said: "I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful." It was asked, "Do they disbelieve in Allah?" (or are they ungrateful to Allah?) He replied, "They are ungrateful to their husbands and are ungrateful for the favors and the good (charitable deeds) done to them. If you have always been good (benevolent) to one of them and then she sees something in you (not of her liking), she will say, 'I have never received any good from you." (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 28)
  13. Once Allah’s Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o ‘Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, “O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women).” They asked, “Why is it so, O Allah’s Apostle ?” He replied, “You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.” The women asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?” He said, “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?” They replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?” The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in her religion.” (Sahih Bukhari Vol1 Book 6 #301)
  14. Rifa'a divorced his wife whereupon 'AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. 'Aisha said that the lady (came), wearing a green veil (and complained to her (Aisha) of her husband and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating). It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah's Apostle came, 'Aisha said, "I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!" ...... Allah's Apostle said, to her, "If that is your intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifa'a unless Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you."....... (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 715)
  15. A wife must not seek divorce from her husband without a serious cause. If she does, she will not enter paradise. If she can prove her case, she will be awarded decree only if she returns all that her husband had bestowed on her as an entitlement or outright gift. A woman who seeks Khula, cannot expect settlement! (Ibn-e-Majah, vol. 1, page 571)
  16. Woman has a religious duty to produce the maximum number of children;:" The Prophet said "Getting married is my basic doctrine. Who so does not follow my example, is not my follower. Marry, so that I can claim preference over other communities (Jews and Christians) owing to commanding a greater number of followers." (Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, page 518 and 523, SUNAN)
  17. "If women comply with your commands, do not molest them listen carefully, they have a right over you that you take care of their food and wear." (Ibn-e-Majh, Vol. 1, p 519)
  18. "If I were to order someone to prostrate before other than God, I would have commanded woman to prostrate before her husband. If a husband tells his wife to keep carrying a load of stones from that red mountain to that black mountain, she must obey him whole heartedly. "(Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, ch. 592, p 520)
  19. The Prophet said: "When wife vexes her husband, then houris of paradise utter curses on her saying, 'may God destroy you because he is with you only for a short time; he will shortly leave you to come to us.' (Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, p 560)
  20. " ..... women had become bold with their men, and so the Prophet authorised beating them. As a result seventy women, during one evening, gathered at the residence of the Prophet to complain ruefully against their husbands, who they thought, were not good people." (Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, p 553)
  21. The Prophet said: "When a woman dies, if her husband was pleased with her, she goes to paradise. (Mishkat_al-Masabih, Vol. 2, p 102)
  22. The Prophet said: "On the Day of Judgement, a husband shall not be questioned for beating his wife." (Mishkat_al-Masabih, Vol. 2, p 105)
  23. The Prophet said: "When a man calls his wife to bed and she refuses and he is angered, then angels keep cursing her all night…. even the Master of Sky (God) is annoyed with her until husband is reconciled with her." (Mishkat_al-Masabih, Vol. 2, p 100)
  24. The Prophet said, "A woman's evidence carries half the weight of that of a man…. it is owing to lack of wisdom on their part. However, they are also injurious to the dignity of faith and cannot be allowed to say prayer during the period of menstruation or observe fasting." (Mishkat_al-Masabih, Vol. 1, p 19)
  25. The Prophet said, "Beware of women because the calamity that the Israelite suffered was caused by women." (Mishkat_al-Masabih, Vol. 2, p 70)
  26. The Prophet said, "Misfortune is a part of womanhood, residence and horse." (Mishkat_al-Masabih, Vol. 2, p 70)
  27. The Prophet said: "No woman should perform a marriage ceremony of another woman or her own because such a woman is the true seducer." (Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 78)
  28. If a woman refuses to come to bed when invited by her husband, she becomes a target of the curses of angels. Exactly the same happens if she deserts her husband's bed. (Bokhari, Vol. 7, p 93)
  29. A woman in many ways is deprived of the possession of her own body. Even her milk belongs to her husband. (Bokhari, Vol. 7, p 27)
  30. "Again, if a man is in a mood to have sexual intercourse, the wife must come immediately even if she is baking bread at a communal oven (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 428)
  31. The Prophet declared from the pulpit at Hajj, a wife must not spend anything belonging to her husband without his permission, and this prohibition equally applied to buying foodstuff. (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 265)
  32. The Prophet unintentionally looked at a woman and was aroused. He went home and had intercourse with Zainab (one of his pretty wives). He said, “Woman faces you as Devil. If you are affected by her charm, have intercourse with your wife because she has the same thing as the woman who affected you.” (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 428)
  33. The Prophet said, “Woman has been created from a rib which is twisted. If you try to straighten it, you will break it. It is desirable to make the best use of it as it is.” (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 440)
  34. Prophet said, ”The woman whose husband remains happy at night, and every night, she will be admitted into paradise.” (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 4 28)
  35. The Prophet said that he had not left for man any calamity which could hurt him except woman. (Tirmzi, Vol. 2, p 286)
  36. A woman is not a believer if she undertakes a journey which may last three days or longer, unless she is accompanied by her husband, son, father or brother. ( Tirmzi, p 431)
  37. Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: A woman, an ass and a dog disrupt the prayer, but something like the back of a saddle guards against that. (Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1034)
  38. 'Urwa b. Zubair reported: 'A'isha asked: What disrupts the prayer? We said: The woman and the ass. Upon this she remarked: Is the woman an ugly animal? I lay in front of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) like the bier of a corpse and he said prayer.(Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1037)
  39. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife. (Abu Dawood, Book 11, Number 2142)
  40. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If one of you marries a woman or buys a slave, he should say: "O Allah, I ask Thee for the good in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her; I take refuge in Thee from the evil in her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her." When he buys a camel, he should take hold of the top of its hump and say the same kind of thing. (Abu Dawood, Book 11, Number 2155)
  41. A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: I have found a woman of rank and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? He said: No. He came again to him, but he prohibited him. He came to him third time, and he (the Prophet) said: Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples (People of other religions) by you. (Abu Dawood, Book 11, Number 2045)
  42. Mu'awiyah asked: Apostle of Allah, what is the right of the wife of one of us over him? He replied: That you should give her food when you eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, do not strike her on the face, do not revile her or separate yourself from her except in the house. (Abu Dawood, Book 11, Number 2137)
P.S. In fact one can write more on this topic as I left some topics like the laws governing incidents of rape and inheritance. But as the post became too long, I omitted these. But if one has read the ahadith mentioned above, they can get an idea about overall position of women in Islam.

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