WOMEN IN ISLAM

SHAPING THE FAMILY AND SOCIETY exerted a powerful influence; once again, people forgot their doctrinal differences and rallied around her. She emphasized pure divine love, which alone could minimize all these differences. The above examples show the nature and extent of the contribution that can be made by believing Muslim women to the cause of Islam. Just as men function on different planes of religiosity, so do women have their separate spheres of religious effectiveness. Preserving their femininity, innumerable Muslim women participated in various religious and worldly activities. WOMEN’S SPIRITUAL ROLE IN LATER MUSLIM HISTORY Islam established gender equality in society. Of men and women, the Quran states: “You are members, one of another.” (3:195) According to a tradition, the Prophet of Islam observed: “Men and women are two halves of a single unit.” (Sunan Abi Dawud, Hadith No. 236) Such teachings in the Quran and Hadith ushered in a new age of gender equality in the Muslim world of the time. With this freedom, women could play a significant role in society, particularly the women who belonged to the royal families. They had more opportunities and more exposure. They were also highly educated according to the standard of the time. One of these was Maryam Zamani, Emperor Akbar’s mother.