Islam Gives Women Complete Freedom

first aid to the wounded in battle. Asma, Abu Bakr’s daughter, looked after her camels and the date orchard. Thus, we can see that Islam exalts the position of women. It holds men and women to be equal in respect but different in role, precisely as they were created. So far as practical home management is concerned, the man is held responsible. However, this does not mean a woman cannot shoulder these responsibilities. If she can bear this burden, no objection will be raised from any quarter. One example of this can be found in the Quran regarding the people of Sheba. They lived in Yemen. The famous dam of Marib made their country very prosperous and enabled it to attain a high degree of civilisation. The Quran tells us that they were ruled by a woman (27:23) without disapproving of her rule. Bilqis, the Queen of Sheba, was sagacious, even more so than the men in her court. She did not want to embroil her country in war, while the men advised her to confront her enemies, Solomon’s army. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the Commentator of the Quran, writes: “In Bilqis, we have a picture of womanhood, gentle, prudent, and able to tame the wilder passions of her subjects.” It is an accepted principle with the commentators of the Quran that when the Quran reports something without any disapproval, it means the Quran has approved of that. So, when we look at this incident in the light of the Quran, we find the status of women even higher than that of