Islam's stand on woman is a highly contentious issue. It is more so for those people who are not Muslims. They often want to know what rights and privileges Islam has granted to woman, a question that arises out of the claim that Islam is the latest and the modern religion of the world. The question becomes very important, when it is considered from the standpoint of Allah's claim. He is believed to have claimed that it is He who has established Islam and that, among all the religions of the world, Islam is the perfect one, which all humans should follow, if they want to earn His pleasure, and heaven in their next life.

But is Islam truly a perfect religion and does it require its followers to treat their women in the manner all humans are supposed to be treated? We need to examine the teachings of Islam to answer these critical questions as clearly as it is possible.

Above questions have perplexed many people in the past; it keeps on perplexing people of our time as well. And this perplexity emanated in the past, and it continues to emanate in our own time from certain claims Muslim Apologists make on the treatment of women by the people of pre-Islamic days. Those certain claims are the following:

1. Men in pre-Islamic days did not permit their women to move freely and to do business:

Even though no one has any documentary evidence to support the truthfulness of the above claim of the Muslim Apologists, but we can prove its falsity by relying on what we are able to read in some of the stories that were written by Muslim writers about the ways the Pagan men of the pre-Islamic days treated their women. They also tell us how the Pagan women conducted themselves in those days.

We learn from those writers that women in pre-Islamic days composed poems, recited them in the public and won prizes for the high quality of their compositions. They took part in the affairs of their cities, invested money in trade and participated in discussions relating to their investments.

Abu Sofian's wife was a famous woman of her time. She wielded considerable influence not only over her husband, but also over other men of Mecca. She participated in the battle of Uhud, which was initiated by the Meccan Pagans for avenging their defeat at the battle of Badr, by urging them to fight the Muslims with all their might so that their victory could wash away the shame they had suffered before at the hands of their enemy.

Abu Sofian's wife could not do what she is said to have done in the battle of Uhud, if she had no freedom of movement or the right to take part in a battle. The fact that she was able to go to the battlefield and mingle with the Pagan soldiers says a lot about the way the Pagan men treated or respected their women.

Khudeija, Muhammad's first wife, was another woman, who exemplified the way other women of her time led their lives. She was rich, and she managed her business not only by employing men, she also married the man of her choice, who was poor and a destitute, without facing any opposition from her Pagan society.

Islam took away the above rights from the Muslim women and turned them into the floor-mats of their men. I will say more on this issue later.

2. Islam granted women the right of inheritance:

This is another lie Muslim Apologists make use of to deceive not only the receptive non-Muslims, but also the illiterate and gullible Muslims.  In fact, women before the advent of Islam had the right to inherit, and this fact is discernible from the Quran itself. It says:

"If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one, or (captive) that your right hand possess. That will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice" (4:3).

The word [orphans] in the verse denotes female orphans. Since the content of the verse is not clear, Maulana Abul Ala Mududi explained it in the following words:

"Commentators have explained this in the following ways: 

(i). There is the view of Aisha who says that men tended to marry orphan girls who were under their guardianship out of consideration for either their property, beauty or because they thought they would be able to treat them according to their whims, as they had no one to protect them. After marriage, such men sometimes committed excesses against these girls. It is in this context that the Muslims are told that if they fear they will not be able to do justice to the orphan girls, then they should marry other girls whom they like. (This interpretation seems to be supported by verse 127 of this surah).

(ii). The second view is that of Ibn Abbas and his disciple Ikrimah who expressed the opinion that in the Jahiliyah period {period of ignorance} there was no limit on the number of wives a man could take. The result was that a man sometimes married as many as ten women and, when expenses increased because of a large family, he encroached on the rights either of his orphan nephews or other relatives. .." (Towards Understanding the Quran; vol. 1, p. 6).

Though I have a serious problem with the above interpretations of the verse, yet I have quoted them to prove that the orphan girls of the Pagan time did, indeed, inherit property from their parents, otherwise Muhammad would not have stated what we read in the above verse without laying its foundation. Ibn Abbas and Ikrimah's statement that the "man of Jahiliyah days encroached on the rights of his orphan nephews and other relatives" proves my point.

3. Islam has granted more rights and privileges to woman than any other religion of the world:

The fact that other religions, which a large number of humans practice even today, have much more derogatory and inhuman treatments prescribed for their women is not something that I should concern myself with, as I am told Allah has replaced all of them with Islam some fourteen hundred years ago. Knowing what Allah has said in the Quran, it will be improper for me as well as for others, who have read the Quran, to compare Islam's teachings with those of the defunct religions. After all, it is not a right thing for anyone to compare the teachings of a perfect and modern religion, as Islam is, with those of the antiquated, corrupted, ineffective and defunct religions.

Having cleared a huge misconception that occupies the minds and hearts of the Muslim Apologists in particular and that of the ordinary Muslims in general, I now want to delve in the Quran to find out what Allah has told the Muslim men about women and their abilities and disabilities.

Allah does not like daughters, because (1) they grow up wearing trinkets and (2) they cannot give a clear account in a dispute (43:18).

He does not like women, because they are easily susceptible to forgetfulness and to the commission of errors (2:282).

Because women are not liked by Allah, He granted men a degree of advantage over them (2:229). Because men have a degree of advantage over their women, Allah has granted the right of marriage to Muslim men (2:237). Muslim women cannot marry, it being the prerogative of their men only.

As because Muslim women have no right to marry, they also do not have the right to divorce their husbands, even in situations where they find them to be brute or impotent. Muslim women can gain their freedom from their husbands only if they are able to induce them to utter the words of divorce with some gifts or compensation (2:229).

Because Muslim women are bereft of all essential and important rights, Allah has authorized the Muslim men to treat them as their personal property.  Here is what He has said about the Muslim women in the Quran:

"They ask thee concerning women's courses. Say: They are a hurt and a pollution: So keep away from women in their courses, and do not approach them until they are clean. But when they have purified themselves, ye may approach them in any manner, time or place ordained for you by Allah. For Allah loves those who turn to Him constantly and He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean (2:222)."

Without knowing that courses are essential for women to be able to conceive and to give birth to children, Allah asked Muslim men to avoid sex with unclean and impure women. But once they have become pure and clean, Muslim men can engage them in sexual act "in any manner, time or place" of their choosing. This permission precludes Muslim men from preparing their women with foreplay.

Which means that Muslim men can rape their women whenever they choose to commit this crime. Since Muslim men can rape their women at will, Allah has described Muslim women's status in the following words:

"Your wives are as a tilth unto you: So approach your tilth when or how ye will: But do some good act {i.e. pray to Allah} for your souls beforehand; and fear Allah, and Allah knows that ye are to meet Him (in the Hereafter) and give (these) good tidings to those who believe (2:223)."

Maulana Abul Ala Mududi explains the import of the verse thus:

"That is, God's purpose in the creation of women is not merely to provide men with recreation {note: Only men are entitled to recreation through sexual act}. Their mutual relationship is like that between a farmer and his tilth {the word tilth means: tillage; the physical condition of cultivated soil in relation to plant growth etc.}. A farmer approaches his field not just for the sake of pleasure {beg your pardon!}, but to acquire produce." (Towards Understanding the Quran; Vol. 1, p. 173).

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, one of the respected scholars of Islam, holds identical opinion on the word [tilth]. But other scholars of Islam, such as al-Suyuti, say that 'This verse was revealed about penetrating women in their anus', (True Guidance, pt. 5, pp. 48-49), hence the words "ye may approach them in any manner, time or place" in verse 2:222.

Al-Suyuti's view is confirmed by the following hadith:

 

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 50:

Narrated Nafi':

"Whenever Ibn 'Umar recited the Qur'an, he would not speak to anyone till he had finished his recitation. Once I held the Qur'an and he recited Surat-al-Baqara from his memory and then stopped at a certain Verse and said, 'Do you know in what connection this Verse was revealed?' I replied, "No." He said, and 'It was revealed in such-and-such connection.' Ibn 'Umar then resumed his recitation. Nafi added regarding the verse: 'So go to your tilth when or how you will' Ibn 'Umar said, "It means one should approach his wife in .....".

Umar's last sentence is relative to penetrating women in their anus. He left his statement unfinished, perhaps, feeling that no dignified man should say that such a despicable act was sanctioned by Allah.

Prof. Hasan lent credence to my assumption. He is a translator of Sunaan Abu Dawood. He explained hadith 2157 by relying on the practice of the Shia: According to him, Shia men are allowed to have anal intercourse with their women (Note 1483, Vol. 2, p. 579).

Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, echoed exactly what Allah thought about women. Imam Ghazali reports him saying as: "There will remain no greater danger for the people after my death than women. Fear the world of women." (Ihya Uloom ediDin, volume 3, p.86).

Based on what I have discussed in this write up, is there any reason for any sensible man or woman to say that Islam requires its male followers to treat their women kindly and humanely and, also, if Allah a.k.a. Muhammad had any good feeling towards the weaker sex of the human beings?