WOMEN IN ISLAM — An Intellectual Role

T HE Quran declares that all the tenets and the teachings of Islam rest on the basic principle that Islam is a religion of nature. According to the Islamic belief, God is the creator of woman as well as man. It is God who sent the sacred book—Al Quran and according to its belief, both are the creations of the one and the same God. A woman is a phenomenon of nature and the Quran is a statement of the laws of nature. According to Islamic belief, both men and women are born as equal partners in life. In a fine-expression of gender equality, the Quran declares: “Never will I waste the work of any of you, be he male or female: You are members, one of another…”(THE QURAN 3: 195) We find a similar meaning in the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet of Islam): Men and women are two equal halves of a single unit. (Al Tirmizi) We see that both the sacred scriptures of Islam make it clear that neither sex is inferior or superior to the other. However, studies in biology and psychology show that the sexes are different in nature, each being designed for a different purpose. So, the Islamic maxim runs: Equal in respect, but different in role. Despite being equal, each has a different sphere of action. That is, in their contribution to social activity, men and women undertake work which is suitable for each, for example tough physical work will be undertaken by men while the women deal with the lighter work. Women’s role as supporters In the early period of Islam, both the sexes were fully active in different fields of life, from housework to agriculture, and from horticulture to worship in the mosque. Everywhere women were visible and active. Gradually there came about a division of labour, which is justifiable not WOMEN IN ISLAM An Intellectual Role