Islam and Women
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This is what Almighty God in His final testament, the Qur'an, and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said about FEMALES:
THE RIGHTS OF DAUGHTERS
Prophet Muhmmad (peace and blessings be upon him) gave women the right to not be forced into a marriage: A girl came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: "My father married me to his brother’s son so that he might raise his own status thereby." The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) gave her the choice, and she said: "I approve of what my father did, but I wanted women to know that their fathers have no right to do that."
"The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever has three daughters and is patient towards them, and feeds them, gives them to drink and clothes them from his riches, they will be a shield for him from the Fire on the Day of Resurrection.”
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) brought mercy to many victims of barbaric practices as it was he who outlawed the burying of baby girls alive which was common in pre-Islamic Arabia (and in many other societies and cultures). Under Shariah law killing children was outlawed in every land that was governed by it. This included the Indian subcontinent countries such as India and Pakistan where now (without Shariah) this abhorrent practice is rife. Allah mentions this issue in the Qur'an when He says, “When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned, for what crime she was killed.” [Qur’an 81:8-9]
THE RIGHTS OF WIVES
Allaah says “and live with them honourably” [Qur’an 4:19] “And they (women) have rights similar (to those of their husbands) over them to what is reasonable, but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them. And Allaah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.” [Qur’an 2:228]
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I urge you to treat women well.” And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of you is the one who is best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wives.”
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Unlike Hinduism, In Islam, the dowry is paid by the man to the woman not by the woman to the man. Allah says in the Qur'an, “And give to the women (whom you marry) their mahr (obligatory bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) with a good heart…” [Qur'an 4:4]
THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS
Allah says in the Qur'an, “And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour. And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: ‘My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was young.' ” [Qur'an 17:23, 24]
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THE RIGHTS OF MOTHERS
A man came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, who is most deserving of my good company?” He said: “Your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “Your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “Your mother.” He said: “Then who?” He said: “Then your father.”
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Islam and Conduct Between Men and Women
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From the Qur'an
In Islam, Almighty God (Allah) says in His final testament, the Qur’an (interpretation of the meaning):
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.” [Qur’an 24:30]
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“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like palms of hands or one eye or both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, etc.), and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms, etc.) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husband's sons, their brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.” (Qur’an 24:31)
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed (in some translations abused/hurt/molested). And Allah is Ever Oft¬Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 33:59)
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“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allah), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery, etc.) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner.” (Qur’an 33:32)
From Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
Islam forbids a man to be alone with a non-mahram woman (one who is not his wife or a close relative) even if he is teaching her the Qur’aan, which is the Book of Allaah. That is because the Shaytaan (Satan) would come between them. The Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No man is alone with a woman but the Satan will be the third one present.”
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “For one of you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle is better for him than that he should touch a woman who is not permissible for him.”
And ‘Aa’ishah said: “By Allaah, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) only took the oath of allegiance from the women in the manner prescribed by Allaah, and the hand of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) never touched the hand of any woman. When he had taken their oath of allegiance he would say, ‘I have accepted your oath of allegiance verbally.’”
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The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade non-mahrams (unrelated men) to enter upon women. He said: "Beware of entering upon women." One of the Sahaabah (his companions) said to him, "O Messenger of Allaah, what about the brother-in-law?" He said: "The brother-in-law is death!"
Al-Nawawi, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: What is referred to in the hadeeth is all the husband’s (male) relatives apart from his father and sons. People customarily take the matter of a man being alone with his brother’s wife as being of little consequence; to indicate the seriousness of the matter, it was likened to death. Indeed, one should be more cautious about the brother-in-law than about a stranger. The phrase "the brother-in-law is death" may have a number of meanings:
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That being alone with a brother-in-law may lead to disaster if a sin is committed, or may spell divorce for the woman if her husband cannot contain his jealousy; Or: Beware of being alone with a non-mahram woman – fear this as you fear death.
All this stems from Islam’s keenness to protect households, to avoid evil and to preserve marriages in the best possible way.
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