What is the role of women in the Islamic World?

Answer 1

Women, before Islam, were looked for as inferior to men. Even, after Jesus women were looked as evil souls and were deprived from having their own properties, signing contracts, doing business, expressing opinions, or even having their own opinions to whom they get married with. Islam is the first religion that settled the rules of woman rights and considers woman as complementary to man with each having equal rights. Muslim women were given rights in the 7th century that were only given to Western Christian women just in the 19th century. Refer to related link below for more information.

Mothers is Islam are highly honored even more than fathers.

Islam is a fair religion, it gives equal rights to women, Muslims who mistreat , abuse and suppress women are not the true followers of Islam . The oppression seen today is all a result of cultural and social influences. In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to God is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur'an says:

And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (2:226)

The Qur'an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression,'believing men and women' to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their respective duties, rights, virtues and merits.

Answer BSome non Muslims believe that women, in Islam, are viewed as utterly subservient to males. See their arguments below and accompanying hints on these arguments and seek the truth yourself:

1. Have sex with your women whenever and as often as you like. 2:223 [Hint: The verse is truncated. The the verse says (meaning English translation): {Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how ye will; but plan in advance and do some good act for your souls beforehand (foreplay sex) ; and fear Allah. And know that ye are to meet Him (in the Hereafter), and give (these) good tidings to those who believe. (223)}. This means don't approach in sex with other than your wife that you can approach whenever you want. However, you should have foreplay sex first with her to please yourselves and get her acceptance. When approaching your wife fear Allah (God) and be kind to your wife.]
2. Women have rights that are similar to men, but men are "a degree above them." 2:228 [Hint:again the verse says (meaning English translation): {... 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. (228)}. The men degree above wives is only in money spending. It is the Islam obligation that Husbands are responsible of all marriage expenditures even if the wives work and earn money. The wife money is for her own investment to her own choice. This is explained explicitly in verse 4:34 that says: {Men are the support of women as God gives some more means than others, and because they spend of their wealth (to provide for them)}
3. A woman is worth one-half a man. 2:282 [Hint: This is absolutely wrong. Only in two cases. First, in witness regarding money affairs, witness of two men is required or one man and two women. In other cases of witness, only woman witness is necessary. second, in inheritance by sons and daughters. the son inherit twice the daughter because it is the Islam obligation that Husbands are responsible of all marriage expenditures even if the wives work and earn money. The wife money is only for her own investment to her own choice. Accordingly, males are in more need of money than females.]
4. "Marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four." 4:3 [Hint: Again the verse is truncated and miss understood. The verse says{marry women who are lawful for you, two, three, or four; but if you fear you cannot treat so many with equity, marry only one}.Accordingly, it is conditional to marry more than one. You must treat them equally, get the approval of previous wife before the new marriage, each wife to have independent and same level residence and receive same expenditure and appreciation, .... Because of the difficulty to fulfill these many conditions it very rare and very seldom to find one marrying more than wife. It is not like some Christian denominations that allow unconditional polygamy with unlimited number of wives]
5. Males are to inherit twice that of females. 4:11 [Hint: This is only in one case. When the one passing away has sons and daughters. The son inherits twice the daughter because it is the Islam obligation that Husbands are responsible of all marriage expenditures even if the wives work and earn money. The wife's money is only for her own investment to her own choice. Accordingly, males are in more need of money than females. Other cases are quite different. For example, if one died and has one daughter and his parents are alive. His daughter inherits 1/2 his wealth. His parents each equally gets 1/6 of his wealth.]
6. Men are in charge of women, because Allah made men to be better than women. 4:34 [Hint: Allah made men better than women only in expenditures. Otherwise, they are equal or in some cases women are better than men. The verse 4:34 says: {Men are the support of women as God gives some more means than others, and because they spend of their wealth (to provide for them)}]
7. Don't pray if you are drunk, dirty, or have touched a woman lately. 4:43. [Hint: The statement is misleading and not correct. The verse says: {O you who believe, do not perform your service of prayer when you are intoxicated until you are sure of what you are saying, nor when in a state of seminal pollution (due to intercourse sex with wife), until you have taken a bath,...}. The verse is very. Don't pray when drunk. If you are in a state of seminal pollution due to sex with wife, you should take bath. Is there any wrong ?]
8. Women are feeble and are unable to devise a plan. 4:98 [Hint: Please read the the verse before this verse and the verse after it to understand the meaning. The verses 97-99 say, those who dye as unbelievers and claim that they were oppressed will be punished in the day of judgment because they didn't migrate to other lands. The exceptions are men, women, and children who are feeble and can't plan to migrate. Those will be forgiven by God. Is there any thing here against women?]
9. "Unto the male is the equivalent share of two females." 4:176 [Hint: Refer to the Hint under item # 3]
10. When it's time to pray and you have just used the toilet or touched a woman be sure to wash up. If you can't find any water, just rub some dirt on yourself. 5:6 [Hint: it means don't pray without ablution (minor or major ablution) if you used the toilet or made sex with your wife. If you don't find water make what is called 'Taiammum'. In taiammum, you beat the floor (or carpet or the like) once and wipe your face and another time and wipe your face as symbol for rituals before praying. What is wrong in this and what is against women in this?]

Other issues:

1. Believing women must lower their gaze and be modest, cover themselves with veils, and not reveal themselves except to their husbands, relatives, children, and slaves. 24:31 [Hint: The first command, to lower gaze and be modest, is for both woman and men. Women are commanded to cover their whole bodies except their faces and hands (exactly as you notice in the pictures of the virgin Mary). This is also valid in Judaism and Christianity. What is wrong in this? Do you like women to reveal themselves to other than their husbands, close relatives, and children?]
2. Women must cover themselves when in public. 33:59 [Hint: Except face and hands as you notice in Virgin Mary picture. Refre to the hint above]
3. Those who "did wrong" will go to hell, and their wives will go to hell with them (no matter how they behaved). 37:22-23 {Hint: This groundless. The verses say:{Gather all the wicked together and their comrades, and those they had worshiped (22) Other than God," (the angels will be told), "then show them the way to Hell, (23)} The verses are very clear and have nothing against women]

Answer CFor Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God's praise, for them has God prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35)

This clearly contradicts the assertion of some the Christian Fathers that women do not possess souls and that they will exist as sexless beings in the next life. The Qur'an says that women have souls in exactly the same way as men and will enter Paradise if they do good :

Enter into Paradise, you and your wives, with delight. (43:70) Who so does that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, him or her will We quicken to happy life. (16:97)

The Qur'an admonishes those men who oppress or ill-treat women:

O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the dowry you have given them - except when they have become guilty of open lewdness. On the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If you take a dislike to them, it may be that you dislike something and God will bring about through it a great deal of good. (4:19)

Considering the fact that before the advent of Islam the pagan Arabs used to bury their female children alive, make women dance naked in the vicinity of the Ka'ba during their annual fairs, and treat women as mere chattels and objects of sexual pleasure -- possessing no rights or position whatsoever, these teachings of the Noble Qur'an were revolutionary. Unlike other religions, which regarded women as being possessed of inherent sin and wickedness, and men as being possessed of inherent virtue and nobility, Islam regards men and women as being of the same essence created from a single soul. The Qur'an declares:

O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate, and from this pair scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence God, through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and reverence the wombs (that bore you); for God ever watches over you. (4:1)

The Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, said, "Women are the twin halves of men". The Qur'an emphasizes the essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful simile:

They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them. (2:187)

Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering into the relationship of marriage, secure each other's chastity. The garment gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife's company and she in his. "The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to them." Islam does not consider woman "an instrument of the Devil", but rather the Qur'an calls her muhsana - a fortress against Satan because a good woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life. It is for this reason that marriage was considered by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, as a most virtuous act. He said: "When a man marries, he has completed one half of his religion." He enjoined matrimony on Muslims by saying: "Marriage is part of my way and whoever keeps away from my way is not from me (i.e. is not my follower)." The Qur'an has given the raison d'

Answer 2

Well that's a pretty controversal topic there ! One can't really say what's the Muslim point of view of Women because such a question objectifies women in a way that shouldn't be.Simply there's no point of view on women it's not like a commandment.There are however do's & don'ts when it come to women that were stated in the Quran,the Islamic holy book, and The Sunnah.Sunnah is the Arabic word for path.Muslims use this word to refer to the habits and teachings of Islam's prophet Mohamed,prayers be upon him. I'll try my best to fully explain all the possible aspects,good and bad,where Islam differentiates women and men,then you can make your own point of view.

Starting off with the things that I personally along with lots of people may find "bad" ;

1.First is the most famous one which is that polygamy is allowed in Islam.Many other religions allow polygamy such as Judaism (Biblical however outlawed in modern Judaism( ,Mormonism ,arguably Christianity & Buddhism.In Islam however there are a few regulations on polygamy ;1 man can take only up to 4 wives,no more and that man must treat them all as equal.

2.Prophet Mohammed had more than 4 wives.11 actually ,9 were at the same time.Lots of people preceive this as something against women and I can't say I disagree.

3.There's no law or commandment in Islam that clearly states that Muslim men can't marry a woman below a certain age.Prophet Muhammed married a 6 year old and consummated the marriage when she was 9.Also a big point against women in Islam.This however is not practiced in modern Islam and is not in anyway taken as Sunnah.

4."The Women of the Right".It's mentioned in Islam that a man may legally practice his marriage rights (have sex) with any number of women as long as that man is capable of supporting these women ,and any resultant children from them,financially at a level that she accepts and keeps on supporting them financially until he dies.This is however different from marriage.This is mentioned in the Quran however it wasn't practiced in the Sunnah and it's outlawed in modern Islam.

5.In inheritence ,women are only allowed half the share of a man if they were of the same degree of relation to the deceased.Many Islamic scholars view this arose because of the men's obligation to support women financially.Ofcourse you should always build your own opinion as long as you're well informed on the subject.Inheritence is a big thing in Islam and I would suggest that you read many other refrences and particularly a chapter in the Quran called " Al Nissa' ", directly translates to "The Women" .It's chapter 4,verses 7-14.There are many translated copies of the quran along with explanation online.

6.Hijab or veil is a must for Muslim women to wear.It's mentioned in the Quran that women must cover their hair ,arms till palms and legs till feet.Modesty in general is ecouraged in Islam as a virtue.Many people would regard this as female opression and see it as a lead cause to sexual frustration and concordingly rape in Muslim countries.I can't debate this without sounding too much pro-Islam so I urge you to listen to arguments from Muslim sheikhs and from anti-islamists ,and form your own opinion.

7.Women in general are asked to go easy on the perfume and jewellery ,not to seduce men around them.This however is not a must ,just favorable.

8.Men are not allowed to have sex with a woman if she's menstruating,even if that woman is their wife(as a general case Islam prohibits pre-marital sex and it is punished harshly by stoning or whipping.The Islamic punishments are however no longer used in modern Islamic world)

9.Married couples are not allowed to have sex during fasting.Muslim fasting is one month during the year ,called Ramadan,and goes by maintaining a no-eating or drinking rule from dawn till sun-set.Only after sunset that married couples may get "busy" :D

That's all the major highlights in general for the bad stuff.You can always reffer to anti Islam websites for more stuff however I strongly suggest that you check the references of any website you see and don't believe everything that's said about Islam unless you check for it yourself.I find wikislam.com to be a decent anti-Islam website that provides citations for most of its stuff,there are however many sources that they use that are neither trusted nor believed in by Islam.Only trust citations from the Quran and the Bukhari book.Anything else is just an unreliable source.

For the good stuff about women in Islam :

1.Female education and employment are highly encouraged and favored in Islam (regardless of the actual state of the current Muslim states ).

2.Divorce is allowed in Islam .I mention this even though it seems very silly to mention because many other religions don't allow divorce in their scriptures but the followers of those religions decided to disregard that fact anyway.

3.Islam clearly states that men and women are equal in life and in the after-life.To emphasize that ,Islam teaches that Adam and eve were originally one soul that split into two.the quran alse states that no gender in Islam is superior to the other.

4.Women in Islam have the right to keep their pre-marital possessions under all circumstances.At marriage the husband is obligated to give the wife a dowery,which she keeps .

5.If a woman gets raped ,there's absolutely no blame on her.Again I know this is very silly to mention but you'd be surprised that there are scriptures in other religions (Chrsitianity) that states that a raped woman should be punished.This ofcourse is disregarded in modern Christianity.

6.In testifying during a trial ,Islam states that there must be 2 women and 2 men to testify for the person in question to be held guilty.However the 2 women may be replaced by 1 man if there were no other witnesses.

7.Men are ordered to be kind and generous in bed with their wives.If a man leaves his bed leaving behind an unsatisfied women,Islam states that god bears him great punishment.I sadly can't provide solid citation on this one however all Muslims are taught so.It's probably a hadith however it's not mentioned in the quran.

8.I'm sorry of the following will offend the questioner or any one who may read this : Anal sex is not allowed between married couples.If a man has anal sex with his wife ,he legally can't have sex with her anymore and the couple are considered divorced.In that case the man is punished severly however the exact punishement is not agreed upon by all parties.

9.If a divorce is asked by one part of the relationship,man or woman,both of them must agree that they have to get divorced according to Islamic shariaa.If one end doesn't agree on the divorce then the motion for divorce is passed.In the case that both parties agree on the divroce ,Islam states that both parties should observe a waiting period of roughly 3 months for the divorce to be finalised.To prevent irrational decisions.

10.Some people consider that Islam prohibiting pre-marital sex and imposing hijab on women is a form of protecting them and their rights.This is highly controversal however ,it depends on how one looks at things.

I think these are the main points about pros and cons of Islam to women.As all religions ,Islam is very deep.I strongly urge you to make sure of everything you read and don't believe untrusted sources.As I said before the only sources you can trust on Islam are the Quran and the Bukhari book.The Bukhari book is the sum and explanation of all documented words of Islam's prophet Mohammed, prayers be upon him.Also a good advice whenever you're thinking about learning more about any religion and not just Islam is to direclty go to the source which is the scriptures and holy books.Nevermind the behaviour of the religion followers of this modern day.For example Israel is a Jewish state that occupies a foreign land and keeps on pulling raids on surrounding areas where palestenian civilians live,even though Judaism is a very peaceful religion.Christians caused many wars during the middle ages at the time of the crusaders ,and today the majority of christians drink and have pre-marital sex ,even though Jesus peace be upon him stood up for freedom and peace his whole life.In our day there are Muslim terrorists all over the world killing innocent civillians ,while Islam is supposed to be a peaceful religion.Refer to scriptures and books and form your own opinion out of them.Always listen to many sides of the same story and form your own side.Religions are very deep and very diverse,make sure you make the right decision before converting from one religion to the other.Refer to wikipedia when u have questions about religions ,they manage to take a very neutral stand to show the reader the whole truth from all possible sides.

I hope you find what you're looking for :)

Answer 3

Please if you want to know the role of Women in Islam then study the Holy Quran and Its Chapter 03 Surah Nisa (Women) then you clearly understand the role and importance of Women in Islam.

Answer 4

The Muslim women may play any role provided they follow certain rules of Islam. They are working as teachers, nurses, Accountants, doctors etc.