WOMEN IN ISLAM

loophole by which to exclude women from the application of this condition. The Muslims had not put forward this condition of the pact, but the delegates of the Quraysh had dictated the Makkans and the actual wording. It seems that when one of them, called Suhayl ibn ‘Amr, was dictating, he was thinking of both men and women, but the actual word he chose to convey “any person” (inclusive of both men and women) was rajul, which in Arabic is used only for men. Most probably, this was why the Prophet could legitimately refuse—according to Imam Zuhri—to hand over Umm Kulthum bint ‘Uqbah to her brothers when they came to him to demand her return. Razi is another person who records the Prophet on this occasion as having explained that “the condition applied to men and not to women.” (Ibn Hajar al-‘Athqalani, Fath al-Bari, Vol. 9, pp. 345) This was a divine succour for Muslim women. Islam Holds Women in High Esteem Referring to men and women, verse 195 of chapter 3 of the Quran says, “You are members one of another.” Further to this, a man and a woman are considered as ‘two halves of a whole.’ (Sunan Abi Dawood, Hadith No. 236) Another important fact is that the whole of the human race comes from Adam and Eve. Two other verses of the Quran state: “Glory be to God, who created in pairs all things that the earth produces.” (36: 36)