Position of Woman in Shari’ah – 2

Position of Woman in Shari’ah – 2

1994 6 June 21-23 Position of Woman in Shari’ah – 2 (3243)

THE EXAMPLE OF MUSLIM WOMEN

Just as men function on different planes of religiosity, so do women have their own separate spheres of religious effectiveness.

Let us first consider their everyday level of existence on which adherence to their religion broadly means paying the dues of God and men in purely personal matters. In particular, it means true belief in God and the carrying out of His commandments; strict adherence to justice in all worldly transactions; withstanding the temptations of the self as instigated by Satan; paying what is due to God in terms of one’s wealth and life; giving the Hereafter priority over the present world; being guided by Islamic ethics in dealing with one’s family, relatives and friends; invariably dealing with all matters in the manner approved of by Islam.

Next in importance to these feminine duties is the training and nurturing of children. Most women become mothers, and the relationship between mother and child is of the utmost importance, because the mother’s influence can be used for ends which may be good or evil depending upon the mother’s own proclivities. As a Muslim of course, it is clearly her duty to use her maternal influence to bring her children up as moral beings. If they have deviated from the path of moral rectitude, it is her duty to reform them. Everything that she does, in fact, should be for their betterment.

Another domestic imperative is that the woman who is both wife and mother should organize her own and her family’s lives in such a way that they are free of problems. She herself should never create difficulties for her husband and children. In many cases, knowing ‘what not to do’ is more important than knowing ‘what to do.’ In such matters, women are liable to err because they are more emotional by nature. By creating unnecessary problems for their husbands and children, they destroy the peace and quiet of home life. Sometimes they unwittingly slip into wrong ways of thinking; they have all the necessities of life, but these things, perhaps because they have been attained without a struggle, gradually cease to please them. Then they begin to feel that there are so many things lacking in their lives and their own dissatisfaction begins to vitiate what had formerly been a healthy, familial atmosphere. Regardless of whatever else a woman does, if she can simply refrain from creating problems of this nature, she will to a large extent have succeeded in creating a wholesome, domestic atmosphere and a happy family circle.

On a higher plane, it is possible for talented women to further the cause of religion when the right opportunity presents itself. There are innumerable examples in Islamic history of such work having been successfully carried out by women.

A notable example is that of ‘Aishah, an extremely intelligent woman who was one of the Prophet’s wives. Being much younger than he was, she survived him by about fifty years, and, with her excellent, almost photographic memory, was able to continue to communicate in great detail everything that she had learned from him during their very close companionship. So that for about half a century she was able to fulfill a highly informative role. In short, she became a living cassette recorder for the ummah. Abdullah ibn al-’Abbas, a Companion of great stature, and one of the Qur’an’s best commentators, was one of ‘Aishah’s pupils. The greater part of his knowledge of religion was learnt from her. Similarly, many other Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet) and Tabi’un (companions of the Sahaba) acquired their religious knowledge from her. So here we have the very fine example of a Muslim woman imparting to others the religious knowledge which she had imbibed directly from the Prophet.

There were other examples of Muslim women’s intervention in religious matters, one of which occurred in the time of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Caliph. It concerned the amount of money or goods which had to be given as dower (given by the husband to the wife at the time of marriage as a token that he will meet all her expenses in future). In the Prophet’s lifetime this had been a very nominal amount, but with the increase in resources after the conquest of other countries, people had begun to apportion more substantial dowers. Feeling that this was an unhealthy trend, ‘Umar once addressed an assembly of his people from the pulpit, saying that he did not know who had increased the amount of dower to more than 400 dirhams. The Prophet and his Companions handed over 400 dirhams or even less. Nobody should fix a dower of more than 400 dirhams. If it comes to my knowledge that anyone has exceeded this amount, I will confiscate the excess amount for the State Treasury.’

When he had had his say, a woman got up from one corner of the gathering and said, ‘0 Commander of the Faithful, is the Book of God (Qur’an) to be followed or what you have to say?’ ‘Umar replied that it was certainly the Book of God that was to be followed. The woman then retorted, ‘You have just forbidden people to increase the amount of dower, whereas God says in His book: O believers, it is unlawful for you... to force them to give up a part of what you have given them...’1

The woman had actually misquoted the text, but ‘Umar did not choose to assert himself and simply said, ‘Everyone knows more than ‘Umar.’2 With these words he relented on the question of the dower. This is a telling example of a woman successfully holding forth on a religious matter at a public gathering.

1. Qur’an, 4:20.

2. AI-Baihaq, as-Sunan al-Kubra, Kitab as-Sudaq, 7/533.

Another example of a woman making a signal contribution to the spread of religious learning is that of the daughter of Imam Abu Ja’far Tahavi, (229-321 AH) the famous Traditionist whose book, Sharh Ma ‘ani al-Athar, is regularly included in the syllabuses of Arabic schools. He dictated his book of traditions to his daughter and, as he read out the Hadith, he would explain its finer points to her and then she would write it all down. The whole book was prepared in this way. This is one of the finest examples of a woman helping her family members in matters of religion.

The above examples show the nature and extent of the contribution which can be made by believing Muslim women to the cause of Islam.

WOMANHOOD IN ISLAM

Fear of God and honouring one’s fellow men – this is the twin foundation of Islam laid down in the Qur’an in these words:

Mankind, fear your Lord who created you from one soul and created man’s mate from the same soul, from these two scattering on earth many men and women. Fear God, in whose name you entreat one another, and be careful not to sever your ties of kinship. Allah is watching over what you do.1

1. Qur’an, 4:1.

The words, ‘and created man’s mate from the same soul’ have been explained as meaning that first Adam was created from earth; then a rib was taken from his body, out of which Eve – his mate – was formed. But there is nothing in the Qur’an to support this theory. It is a biblical explanation, not a Qur’anic one. Here is what the Book of Genesis has to say about the creation of Eve:

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made hi woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.1

1. Bible, Genesis, 2:21-23.

From this biblical tradition comes the theory that Eve was created from Adam’s rib. This story has been given credence by some commentators of the Qur’an, who have used it to explain Eve’s creation ‘from the same soul as Adam.’ But this notion does not stand up in the face of established fact, and it has been proven that, over the centuries, the Bible has been subjected to alteration and additions. Its present form is no longer as the prophets originally taught it. Along with prophetic inspiration, it has received a fair injection of human interpolation. For this reason, one cannot rely on explanations given in the Bible, nor is it proper to explain verses of the Qur’an in the light of biblical statements.

Neither in the verse of the Qur’an quoted above, nor in any other verse of the Qur’an, is there any mention of Eve having been created from Adam’s rib. The Qur’an says only that Eve was created from ‘it.’ What this ‘it’ refers to is the point in question. Most of those commentators who have penetrated deep in to the meaning of the Qur’an have taken ‘it’ to refer to ‘species’: Eve was created – not from Adam himself – but from the same species as Adam. This is the explanation given – among others –Muslim Asfahani, and it is this explanation that fits in with other verses of the Qur’an.

In several verses of the Qur’an the word for ‘soul’ (nafs) has been used to mean ‘species.’ Such verses of the verse quoted above. A selection of them is given here:

God has created for you spouses, of your own kind. 1

And of His signs is that He has created for you – of your own kind – spouses, that you might take comfort in them.2

Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you spouses of your own kind, and the cattle He has also created in pairs.3

1. Qur’an, 16:72

2. Qur’an, 30:21.

3. Qur’an, 42:11.

From a perusal of these verses, one can see that the same word has been used for the spouses of ordinary human beings as was used for Adam’s spouse in the verse quoted above. Just as Eve was created from Adam’s nafs, so other women have also been created from the same nafs – or kind – as their male counterparts.

Clearly there is no question, in these other verses, of inferring that every female spouse has been created from the body of the male. There is no alternative but to take the word nafs, occurring in these verses, as meaning ‘kind.’ God has created for you spouses of your own kind, the Qur’an is telling us, in order that they may provide you with true companionship in your journey through life.

To summarize, women and men are from the same species. Biologically speaking, women have not been extracted from the bodies of their male counterparts. God fashioned them according to His Will, just as He fashioned men in accordance with His Almighty Will and Power.

SAYINGS OF THE PROPHET

Now we come to certain sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, in which the Arabic word dil‘ has been mentioned for the word ‘rib’. The first thing that has to be remembered here is that these traditions are about ordinary women, and do not refer to the creation of Adam and Eve. It is the manner of every woman’s creation that is being dealt with, not specifically that of Eve. One of the relevant sayings is as follows:

Treat women well, for they have been created from a rib.1

1. AI-Bukhari, Sahih, Kitab an-Nikah (Fath al-Bari, 9/207).

Now this cannot be taken to mean that women have actually been created from a rib, for this has no connection with the point conveyed in the rest of the sentence, which is that women should be treated well. A correct interpretation of the word ‘rib’ has to be one that fits in with the underlying purpose behind the Prophet’s statement.

The statement, ‘women have been created from a rib,’ should be taken metaphorically, not literally. What the Prophet wished to convey was this: ‘Women are akin to a: rib and should be treated with due consideration.’ There is another tradition which explains what this means. ‘A woman is like a rib,’ said the Prophet, ‘If you try to straighten it, it will break.’2

2. Ibid., p. 206.

This saying of the Prophet Muhammad, related in the Sahih of both Bukhari and Muslim – the most authentic collections of traditions – makes it clear that women are like ribs; they are not actually created from ribs. The allusion is figurative not literal. Light is also cast on the meaning of the metaphor. Ribs break when one tries to straighten them. So it is with women. Rather than try to straighten them, it is better to let them be.

‘Women have been created from ribs,’ and ‘Women are like ribs’, are just two different ways of saying the same thing. There is a difference in the mode of expression of the two statements, but there is no difference in meaning. It is common in every language for metaphors to be expressed directly, without the use of the words ‘like’ or ‘as.’ For instance, if one wishes to pay tribute to a person’s bravery, one can say that he is like a lion. But there is not as much force in saying that a person is ‘like a lion’ as there is in saying that he ‘is a lion.’ Examples of such usage abound in every languages, including English. A notable one is to be found in the poem, “Morte d’ Arthur,” by the celebrated poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson:

…More things are wrought by prayer

Than this world dreams of, wherefore, let thy voice,

Rise like a fountain for me night and day

For what are men better than sheep or goats

That nourish a blind life within the brain,

If knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer

Both for themselves and those who call them friend?

For so the whole round earth is every way

Bound by gold chains about the feet of God.

In this last line the poet does not mean that the world is physically tethered to the feet of God by chains, but merely wishes to indicate the unbreakable bonds that exist between God and this world. In referring to the chains as ‘golden,’ he suggests the very great beauty and value of these bonds. By referring to the ‘feet’ of God, rather than any other part of Him, he suggests the humble position of man in God’s divine scheme. It is, indeed, a very rich metaphor. To return to the metaphor of the rib, in saying that if one tries to straighten a woman one will break her, the Prophet was referring to her delicate nature. Physically, women are weaker than men; psychologically, they are more highly strung, more prone to emotional upset. This is a fact of life which every one realizes, irrespective of whether he is educated or not, A father, for instance, will not be as hard on a daughter as he might be on his son, for he knows that boys are made of sterner stuff than girls. The latter tend to break under severe pressure. For this reason females are more prone to suicide than males. Sometimes a trivial matter can drive a woman to suicide, or cause her to have a nervous breakdown. In likening a woman to a rib, the Prophet was expressing this fact of life in metaphorical terms. Ribs have a slight curve in them. There is good reason for them to be made that way. They should be left in their natural state. No attempt should be made to straighten them. The Prophet used a parable to explain the delicacy of women’s nature, pointing out that they should be treated in accordance with their nature. Their delicate emotional constitution should always be borne in mind. God has created them that way, and He has done so for good reason. They should be treated kindly. If they have to be told something, it should be done tactfully, in a gentle tone. Abruptness and severity will break them, as a rib is broken by any attempt to straighten it. Once, when the Prophet was on a journey, he saw some women riding on a camel. The man leading the camel made to drive the animal on faster, forgetting that this would cause undue discomfort to his passengers. So the Prophet said to the camel-driver: ‘You have glass cases there. Be gentle with them.’1

1. Al-Bukhari, Sahih, Kitab al-Adab, (Fath al-Bari, I0/454).

MODERN RESEARCH

In recent times, it has been accepted as fact, on a purely academic level, that fundamental, inborn differences do exist between men and women. A detailed article on the Status of Women in the Encyclopaedia Britannica includes a section on ‘Scientific Studies of Male-Female Differences.’ Here the author points out physical differences in the respective constitutions of the male and female of the human species. ‘With respect to personality traits,’ he writes, ‘men are characterized by greater aggressiveness, dominance and achievement motivation, women by greater dependency, a stronger social orientation, and the tendency to be more easily discouraged by failure than men.’1

1. Encyclopaedia Britannica (1984), 19/907.

And there are a number of latter-day scientific experiments to back this up. Researchers have found greater dependence and docility in very young girls, greater autonomy and activity in boys. One such experiment was conducted in the U.S. When a barrier was set up to separate youngsters from their mothers, boys tried to knock it down; girls cried helplessly.

There are personality differences between the sexes too. Some distinctions turn up remarkably early. At New York University, for example, researchers have found that a female infant stops sucking a bottle and looks up when someone comes into the room; a male pays no attention to the visitor.

Scientific researchers almost unanimously agree that hormones help determine how people feel and act. Thus the male female differences are entirely genetic in nature. The passivity found in women is due to the particular nature of the female hormone. Differences between male and female hormones exist from birth; they are not acquired later, as would be the case if they stemmed from differences in environment.

The tenets of Islam are based wholly on nature. This is because Islam is the religion of nature. The laws Islam requires us to follow are, in fact, our own instinctive human requirements expressed in legal terms. And the teaching of Islam with respect to women are no exception. They too are based on nature. Modern, psychological, biological and anatomical research proves women to be more passive than men. This is the way their Maker has fashioned them. The nature of their womanhood, the special part they have to play in society, demand that they should be just as they have been – made that is, relatively delicate as compared to men.

It is this fact of nature on which Islamic teachings have been based. Because of women’s delicate constitution, Islam teaches men to be gentle with them. That way they will not lose heart or become too despondent to perform their special duties in life. Women are not like iron and steel ribs, fragile and delicate. It is best to let them be, in their natural state. If one treats them as though they were tough metal, one will only break them.

(TO BE CONTINUED)