Question 6 : Insulting women in Islam

Reply..

Insulting the Woman in the Bible

1_Horrible rights of women in bible

1 Corinthians 11:6 For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short.But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head.

Deuteronomy 25:11-12 When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, then you shall cut off her hand.Your eye shall have no pity.

Leviticus 21:9 "'If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.

Deuteronomy 22:13-14 If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,”.Deuteronomy 22:21 she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.

Matthew 5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.(So a divorced woman can't marry no more!! Why?!!)

1 Corinthians 11:9 Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.(The bible has no equal rights!!)

1 Timothy 2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.For Adam was first formed, then Eve.And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

Deuteronomy 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife,and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.(Why can't the woman marry who she likes?)

Deuteronomy 21:10-13 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.(Is this how you treat a woman?!)

2_Insulting the Woman in the Bible

Christian women were considered second or third class beings. They are always reprehensible and oppressed, and they are not allowed to speak in the houses of worship because they are considered as an unclean being.

- 1 Corinthians (14:34-35) Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law • And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

- 1 Corinthians 14:34 let your wives keep silent in the assemblies, for it has not been permitted for them to speak.

- Leviticus (15:19-24) And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even 

• And everything that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean 

• And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even 

• And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even • And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until the even 

• And if any man lies with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean.

The problem is that the Bible considers the menstrual cycles of women and her puerperium a sin must be repent of,  and there is nothing in the Bible about cleaning herself by water, or like what our lady Aisha (God be pleased with her) said that you follow the traces of blood with musk. But, if a Christian woman wants to cleanse from her menses then she has to bring two doves or pigeons to a priest and he will offer them before God so he will forgive her and cleanse her.

- Leviticus (12:6-7) And when the days of her purifying are fulfilled, for a son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon, or a turtledove, for a sin offering, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest • Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.

- Leviticus (12:2) Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.

- Leviticus (12:4-5) Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over. 5 If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

3_Marriage By Force in the Bible !!

Deuteronomy 25:5_6

5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfil the duty of a brother-in-law to her.6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. What If He Refuses ?!

Deuteronomy 25:7-12

 7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfil the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled. 11 If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, 12 you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.

4_Women’s right in Islam

Women’s right to be rewarded by God:

Never will I waste the work of a worker among you, whether male or female…(3:195) Whoso does that which is right, and believes, whether male or female, We will surely grant a happy life. And We will reward them according to the best of their actions. (16:97)

- Women’s right to choose their husbands and to be treated with kindness by husbands:

O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness that you may take away part of the dower [money given by the husband to the wife for the marriage contract] you have given them, except where they have been guilty of open lewdness; on the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and fairness. If you take a dislike to them it may be that you dislike a thing, and God brings about through it a great deal of good. (4:19) 

-Women’s Right to a dowry (marriage gift)

And give the women (on marriage) their dower as a free gift; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it and enjoy it with right good cheer. (4:4) But if you decide to take one wife in place of another, do not take back anything out of what you have given her, even though it may have been a heap of wealth. Will you take it back by slander and manifest sin? (4:20) 

-Women’s right to be financially provided for by husbands:

Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, Because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means….(4:34) Those of you who die and leave widows should bequeath for their widows a year’s maintenance and residence. But if they (the widows) leave (the residence) there is no blame on you for what they justly do with themselves. (2:240) 

-Women’s right to inheritance:

Men shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, and women shall have a portion of what the parents and the near relatives leave, whether there is little or much of it; a stated portion. (4:7).

-Women’s right to just deal with husbands who have more than one wife (Note that polygamy is allowed in the context of providing care for orphans left after war). Also the encouragement to marry only one wife to prevent injustice:

If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, Marry women of your choice, Two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with that number), then (marry) only one, or (the slave woman) whom you rightfully possess. That will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice. (4:3) You will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much to one of them (by giving her more of your time and provision) so as to leave the other hanging (i.e. neither divorced or married). (4:129) 

-Women’s right to be treated justly during the divorce process:

And when you divorce women and they have reached (the end) of their waiting term, then either keep them honourably or set them free honourably, and do not hold them against their will in order to harm (them), and whoever does so wrongs his own soul… (2:231) 

-The right of women to pledge allegiance to a leader:

O Prophet! If believing women come to you and pledge themselves to serve no other deity besides God, to commit neither theft nor adultery, nor child-murder, to utter no monstrous falsehoods of their own invention, and not to disobey you in any just matter, then accept their allegiance, and pray for Allah’s forgiveness upon them. Surely Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (60:12)

5_Verses from the Quran and Sunnah that indicate good treatment of women

The Quran enjoins good treatment of one's wife: she is to be honoured and treated kindly, even when one no longer feels love in one's heart towards her. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

2 – The Quran explains that women have rights over their husbands, just as their husbands have rights over them. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

3 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined kind treatment and honouring of one’s wife, and he described the best of people as those who are best to their wives. He said: “The best of you are those who are the best to their wives, and I am the best of you to my wives.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3895; Ibn Maajah, 1977; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

4 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) spoke a beautiful word concerning kind treatment of one’s wife, stating that when the husband feeds his wife and puts a morsel of food in her mouth, he earns the reward of doing an act of charity. He said,

5– And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Fear Allah with regard to women, for you have taken them as a trust from Allah and intimacy with them has become permissible to you by the words of Allah. Your right over them is that they should not allow anyone to sit on your furniture whom you dislike; if they do that then hit them but not in a harsh manner. And their right over you is that you should provide for them and clothe them on a reasonable basis.”

Narrated by Muslim, 1218.

6_Women and their status in ancient Islam.

Many of the female Companions accomplished great deeds and achieved fame, and throughout Islamic history there have been famous and influential scholars and jurists.

With regard to education, both women and men have the same rights and obligations. This is clear in Prophet Muhammad's saying:

God has endowed her with rights, such as to be treated as an individual, with the right to own and dispose of her own property and earnings, enter into contracts, even after marriage.

She has the right to be educated and to work outside the home if she so chooses.She has the right to inherit from her father, mother, and husband. A very interesting point to note is that in Islam, unlike any other religion, a woman can be an imam, a leader of communal prayer, for a group of women.

A Muslim woman also has obligations.

All the laws and regulations pertaining to prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage, doing good deeds, etc., apply to women, albeit with minor differences having mainly to do with female physiology.

Before marriage, a woman has the right to choose her husband.Islamic law is very strict regarding the necessity of having the woman's consent for marriage. The groom gives a marriage dowry to the bride for her own personal use.She keeps her own family name, rather than taking her husband's.

As a wife, a woman has the right to be supported by her husband even if she is already rich.She also has the right to seek divorce and custody of young children. She does not return the dowry, except in a few unusual situations.

Despite the fact that in many places and times Muslim communities have not always adhered to all or even many of the foregoing in practice, the ideal has been there for 1,400 years, while virtually all other major civilizations did not begin to address these issues or change their negative attitudes until the 19th and 20th centuries, and there are still many contemporary civilizations which have yet to do so.

In the midst of the darkness that engulfed the world, the divine revelation echoed in the wide desert of Arabia with a fresh, noble, and universal message to humanity:

A scholar who pondered about this verse states: "It is believed that there is no text, old or new, that deals with the humanity of the woman from all aspects with such amazing brevity, eloquence, depth, and originality as this divine decree."

Stressing this noble and natural conception, them Quran states:

The rest of this paper outlines the position of Islam regarding the status of women in society from its various aspects - spiritually, socially, economically and politically.

At a time when female children were buried alive inArabiaand women were considered transferable property, Islam honored women in society by elevating them and protecting them with unprecedented rights. Islam gave women the right to education, to marry someone of their choice, to retain their identity after marriage, to divorce, to work, to own and sell property, to seek protection by the law, to vote, and to participate in civic and political engagement.

In 610 C.E., God began to reveal the message of Islam to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (pbuh), inMecca. Muhammad (pbuh) called people towards the belief in one God and encouraged them to be just and merciful to one another. In reforming the pagan Arab society, he particularly transformed their mindset regarding the treatment of women. Islam abolished the practice of killing female children and raised the stature of women in society to one of dignity, esteem, and privilege.

At a time when the rest of the world, from Greece and Rome to India and China, considered women as no better than children or even slaves, with no rights whatsoever, Islam acknowledged

women's equality with men in a great many respects.