MUSLIM WOMEN IN MUSLIM SOCIETY

• The election
• Selected in the elected councils
• Assuming public positions and parliamentary posts
• General work

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Introduction

A woman is the “mother” referred to in the narration which states, “Paradise is under her feet” by al-Tabarani. She is also the one whom Allah has granted the right of the children towards her.

The woman is the daughter and the sister and wife which is a safe haven for the man and the man a dwelling for her.

( And one of His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find comfort in them. And He has placed between you compassion and mercy. Surely in this are signs for people who reflect) Surah Rum

The woman is half of society, and therefore half of the Islamic nation, and she is charged with the raising, guiding and improvement of all men and women. She is firm on the inculcation of principles and beliefs in all souls since childhood. 

The woman is not a demonic or impure creature – as some believe – but rather {Women are the sisters of men} as mentioned in the Hadith and as Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, says: 

(O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may ˹get to˺ know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware.) Surah Al-Hujurat

(So their Lord responded to them: “I will never deny any of you—male or female—the reward of your deeds. Both are equal in reward.) Surah Al Imran

(Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.) Surah al-Nahl

The texts of the Qur’an and the pure Sunnah does not indicate that Hawa (Peace be upon her) seduced Adam (Peace be upon him), by eating from the forbidden tree in Paradise. However, the Quranic texts are absolutely clear that the divine command was directed at both Adam and Hawa, collectively.

(O Adam! Live with your wife in Paradise and eat as freely as you please, but do not approach this tree, or else you will be wrongdoers.) Surah al-Baqarah

Then the act of repentance was done by both of them together( They replied, “Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be losers.” Surah Al- A'raf.

Thus, the religious responsibility of the woman is like that of the man, equally. She is individually and solely responsible for her belief in Allah and His Messenger ﷺ. In His wisdom, Allah has provided a parable for those who disbelieve in two women, just as He sets the parable for those who believe in two other women.

(Allah sets forth an example for the disbelievers: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot. Each was married to one of Our righteous servants, yet betrayed them.1 So their husbands were of no benefit to them against Allah whatsoever. Both were told, “Enter the Fire, along with the others!

And Allah sets forth an example for the believers: the wife of Pharaoh, who prayed, “My Lord! Build me a house in Paradise near You, deliver me from Pharaoh and his ˹evil˺ doing, and save me from the wrongdoing people.

˹There is˺ also ˹the example of˺ Mary, the daughter of ’Imrân, who guarded her chastity, so We breathed into her ˹womb˺ through Our angel ˹Gabriel˺.1 She testified to the words of her Lord and His Scriptures, and was one of the ˹sincerely˺ devout.)

Surah al-Tahrim

The woman bears the same duties and obligations in terms of learning the rulings of her religion regarding what she may require in her affairs. The legal limits (in application) are the same for men and women, so the male thief is like the female thief, and the adulterer is like the adulteress, and the life of the woman in the law of retaliation is like the life of a man.

Women participated in the First Pledge of Allegiance of Aqabah, as well as in the second Pledge of Allegiance. The first to believe in The Chosen One – The Prophet ﷺ- and who supported him until death was Khadija (Peace be upon her). Similarly, Sumayyah, (May God be pleased with her) was one of the foremost martyrs in the path of Allah.

On the authority of Al-Rabi` bint Mu`adh, she said, “We used to go on raids with the Messenger of God ﷺ,  giving water to the people, serving them, and returning the dead and wounded to the city of Medina”. Similarly, Muslim recorded on the authority of Umm Atiyyah (The Helper) who said, “We went on seven raids with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and I followed them on their travels. So I would prepare food for them, and treat wounds, as well as help patients. On the authority of Umm Salim, Abu Talha's wife, said that she took a dagger on the day of Hunayn. So when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked her, she said: I took it, in the event that any polytheist approaches me, then I will stab his stomach. So heﷺ did not deny her from doing it.

Marriage according to the Sharia is not valid except with the woman’s consent, satisfaction and approval. It is not permissible, according to the Sharia, to force her to marry someone she does not agree with.

The woman enjoys complete financial responsibility that does lessen the financial responsibility of the man. She has the right to own any form of wealth in terms of real estate, immovable property and fluid funds, just as the man enjoys them. 

She also has the right to dispose of her wealth in various prescribed ways of the Sharia. So she can sell, buy, barter, donate, bestow, lend, borrow, etc. Her actions are effective by her own will, and not dependent on the consent of her father, husband or brother.

The proven Hadith includes that women are mentally deficient, religiously deficient, and deficient in fortune, in line with what the texts mentioned of women’s rights for women and an integrated human entity as we have previously explained.

Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, has excused some acts of worship from women at specific times. He has exempted them from prayer and fasting during menstruation and lochia (postpartum bleeding). Similarly, he has made her share of inheritance different to that of men. Similarly, her testimony in matters of religion, sales contracts, and penal law is regarded as lacking to that of a man. This is the meaning of the hadith: “Women are deficient in reason and religious commitment.” 

It is absolutely certain that the lack of reason is not absolute or that it diminishes her human equality with men:

• Matters wherein the testimony of women are exclusively accepted without men.
• That transmission of a woman’s narration of the Prophetic hadith is unanimously accepted. 
• That the religious, doctrinal and devotional duties of women are completely independent.
• Her full and independent right to own, dispose of and conclude contracts.

If there was a deficiency in her mind, then her financial affairs and contracts that she concludes would depend on what complements the deficiency in her mind.

In the Qur’an,

Surely ˹for˺ Muslim men and women, believing men and women,1 devout men and women, truthful men and women, patient men and women, humble men and women, charitable men and women, fasting men and women, men and women who guard their chastity, and men and women who remember Allah often—for ˹all of˺ them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.}Surah al-Ahzab

And the guardianship contained in the Almighty’s saying,( Men are the caretakers of women) 

Allah has clarified it further and said, (as men have been provisioned by Allah over women and tasked with supporting them financially.)

It is specifically applicable to the family only and with regard to common matters between the husband and wife. It is known that the husband does not have guardianship over his wife's financial behaviour.

The principle, then, is equality between men and women, however, the exceptions come from the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, who is the Creator, and He is the Most Knowledgeable of His creation.

Allah Almighty differentiated and distinguished between women and men in matters. He has made for women specificities corresponding with their basic function in life, as is the case for men. This differentiation is intended to be complementarity between them, and a necessity of life.

Women's right to be elected, to be a member of parliaments, and to hold public office

Firstly: Women and the right to participate in the election of members of parliament and the like.

There is no text to be found in the glorious Sharia that prohibits women from participating in this matter. Rather, His saying, Blessed and Exalted be He:

(The believers, both men and women, are guardians of one another. They encourage good and forbid evil, establish prayer and pay alms-tax, and obey Allah and His Messenger. It is they who will be shown Allah’s mercy. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise) Surah At-tawba

(Let there be a group among you who call ˹others˺ to goodness, encourage what is good, and forbid what is evil—it is they who will be successful) Surah Al-Imran

It includes a directive for women to participate in choosing the first solution and contract in a legal way, and this participation may be obligatory and necessary, when the laws specify the granting of the right to vote for all.

Secondly: Women assume the duties of membership in parliaments and the like.

There is nothing in the approved texts to prevent women from assuming duties of parliamentary membership. Previously mentioned texts support and confirm her participation in elections which also applies to her election as a member. Some have prevented these rights with claims that we will quickly address.

1. Women are generally ignorant and she has no knowledge of politics, and deceiving them is easy.

An ignorant woman is like an ignorant man, not all women are ignorant. Similarly, not all men are educated, or experienced in public affairs, and they might not be easily deceived. The discussion in this matter is concerned with the origin of the right, not about the conditions for ensure adequate performance of that right. The priority here is to thus educate and educate all people and help them fulfill their rights.

2.         Women are subject to menstruation, lochia (postpartum bleeding) and pregnancy, which may hinder her from performing such duties.

The truth is that a man also suffers from diseases and many other things which may impact on his capability to work, and membership in parliaments is as any other duty, job or responsibility. Parliamentary membership is not for the young but mostly reserved for those who have seasoned experience and of an advanced age. In this case, women may have been devoid of such concerns just as the matter is left to the owners of the right to choose.

3.         They also view that assumption and participation in these positions may act as a form of encouragement to excessive exposure and unlawful mixing of the sexes. The Muslim woman is commanded by Allah to adhere to her lawful dress code, whenever she leaves her home, and same is applicable in politics and other activities.

Thirdly: The assumption of public positions by women

The general and agreed upon directive with regard to the women assuming public posts is that it is not permissible for women to assume “Major leadership”. This directive is extended to the analogy of the office of presidency of the state in our current situation.

As for assuming position in the judiciary, then the jurists have differed regarding this matter. Some of them have permitted it such as al-Tabari and Ibn Hazm, and some of them have absolutely prohibited it, as the majority of jurists have. There are some jurists who have facilitated it and have permitted it in certain cases and prevented it in other cases such as Imam Abu Hanifa (May Allah be pleased with him).

As long as the matter remains under Ijtihad (The independent or original interpretation of problems not precisely covered by the Qurʾān) then Tarjih (preponderance) should be done in accordance to the legal principles of Sharia, followed by the pursuit of the best interest of the Muslims subject to legal controls, and then subject to the circumstances and conditions peculiar to society, then it is also possible.

As for employment other than that, then there is nothing preventing its pursuit. The same applies to a woman working as a professional doctor, teacher, nurse and other forms of occupations which she or society may require.

Important note

A distinction must be made between an individual having a right, and between how this right is being used, the conditions for that, and the appropriate conditions for the use of this right. Also, if societies differ in terms of social conditions, traditions, and varying degrees of cultural and intellectual maturity, then it would be considered acceptable for the progression of the use of rights according to the conditions of society and settings of society, and that the use of the right be in light of those settings.

It should also be pointed put that the Western model for the treatment of women and their social position, underestimation of their modesty and honour, is completely and utterly unacceptable. The model is founded on the liberal philosophy that contradicts the noble principles of Sharia, its morals and values, and in Islamic societies, Islamic principles, morals and values must be prevailing and considered with utmost care and appreciation, in combination with sincere humility before Allah, the Blessed and Exalted.

Praise be to Allah first and foremost, and may His blessings be upon our Master Muhammad ﷺ and his family and companions.