The Rights of Women in Islam

context of his time, the Prophet Muhammad is seen as a figure who promoted women’s rights and improved the status of women considerably during his time. He also highlighted how the women of those pre-Islamic days had no rights whatsoever and that after the death of a man, whatever he owned went to his sons and not to his wife. However, the Prophet Muhammad, by instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education, and divorce, gave women certain fundamental rights. (Maan, McIntosh, 1999) Under Islam, marriage was not considered as just a status but as a contract, where the consent of the woman was imperative. The relationship formed by marriage in Islam is described in the Quran as a ‘firm contract’ (4:21). It is the same as any other contract, where rights and responsibilities bind a man and a woman together in a vital partnership, making them companions for life. The Prophet had said, “Beware, your women have rights over you, and you have rights over your women.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 20695). Even what once was’ bride-price’ became a nuptial gift that the woman could retain as her own. (Esposito, 2005, p. 79/ Khadduri, 1978). The Quran says, “And give the women their dowers willingly…” (4:4). The dower is in no way a payment for conjugal rights. It symbolizes in material form the responsibility a man has to fulfill regarding his wife until his last breath. Annemarie Schimmel writes that compared to the pre-