Blind Inequality

By: Bijla Singh

Blind Inequality of Islam

In this section, we briefly look at how women are perceived in Islam. The following few points leave no doubt that women are not equal to men in Islam.

1)   Men are superior to women.

Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other. (4:34)

The famous commentator Ibn Kathir commented on (Q. 4:34) saying:

“Men are superior to women, and a man is better than a woman.”

God established the superiority of men over women by the above verse (the Qur'an 4:34) which prevents the equating of men and women. For here man is above the woman due to his intellectual superiority and his ability to administer and spend on the woman. (Tuffaha, Ahmad Zaky, Al-Mar'ah wal- Islam, Dar al-Kitab al-Lubnani, Beirut, first edition, 1985, p.36).

Men are considered superior physically and intellectually just because they are men. Hence, women are inferior and unequal.

2)   Muslims women are considered impure due to their menstrual cycle.

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. Surely Allah loves those who turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify themselves. (2:222)

On the other hand, Sikhi emphasizes purification of the mind. The Gurus teachings say that one cannot be pure by washing the body but purity of mind is the real pureness.  

They are not called pure, who sit down after merely washing their bodies. Only they are pure, O Nanak, within whose minds the Lord abides. ||2|| (Ang 472)

3)   Muslim women have to stay in secluded rooms in Mosques to pray and cannot join men in the same area. This does not represent equality.

A woman is closest to God’s face, if she is found in the core of her house. And the prayer of the woman in the house is better than her prayer in the mosque’ (Ihy'a 'Uloum ed-Din by Ghazali, Dar al-Kotob al-'Elmeyah, Beirut, Vol II, Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p. 65. Reported by Tirmizi as a true and good Ahadith)

On the other hand, Sikh women are encouraged to join the congregation and not forced to pray in secluded rooms. Safiyya Aslan realizing the equality given to Sikh women in Sikhi states in “Women’s Space in the Mosque: Sikhs Might Have a Solution” that  “The Sikh approach toward gender participation in their houses of worship could be used as a spatial and ethical model for designing and implementing new policies in mosques. It would be wise for mosque authorities to reconsider the division of space in mosques and readjust it to satisfy the needs of modern Muslims.”

4)   Muslims women are required to wear veil which is a sign of subjugation.

Veil was introduced in Islam to distinguish free women from slave women. This only suggests that instead of doing something for the betterment of womanhood (slaves in this case) Mohammad further solidified the slavery because to him women were nothing more than property of men.  Although these days women are not categorized as “free” or “slave” but nonetheless Muslim women are required to wear veils to cover their “beauty” to save themselves from molestation.

“O; Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go outside).  That will be better, that so they may be recognized and not molested”. (33:59)

Does this not imply that men are naturally lustful beasts and have no control over their lustful needs? Why should women suffer just because men cannot show bit decency to womanhood? If Islam was all about equality then why aren’t men required to wear veil and cover themselves up? Is it because Quran assumes that women have no lustful thinking and are just robots wondering about in the world?

If the whole purpose of making women wear veil is to protect them from evil intentions of men then looking with evil intention is a sin and the sinner should be punished not the victim; or is it devised to save men from not committing the sin? Then what prevents these men from looking at non-Muslim women? If some men have evil intentions, they will have it regardless of women wearing veil or not.

It would be more reasonable to declare that having ‘Evil Intention’ is a sin and if anyone commits it he should be punished instead of subjugating women to wear veil. It is degrading for women to be treated like a sexual object and not as a person.

5)   According to Islam, women are considered unintelligent and deficient in mind which is why Quran considers testimony of two women equivalent to a man.

And get two witnesses of your own men, and if there are not two men then a man and two women such as you choose for witnesses - so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her... (2:182)

[Mohammad said]: O womenfolk, you should give charity and ask much forgiveness for I saw you in bulk amongst the dwellers of Hell. A wise lady among them said: Why is it, Messenger of Allah, that our folk is in bulk in Hell? Upon this the Holy Prophet observed: You curse too much and are ungrateful to your spouses. I have seen none lacking in common sense and failing in religion but (at the same time) robbing the wisdom of the wise, besides you. Upon this the woman remarked: What is wrong with our common sense and with religion? He (the Holy Prophet) observed: Your lack of common sense (can be well judged from the fact) that the evidence of two women is equal to one man, that is a proof of the lack of common sense. (Sahih Muslim, Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, tr., Number 142)

The Prophet (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said: "Yes." He said: "This is because of the deficiency of her mind." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dr. Muhammad Matraji, Number 2658)

In order to justify the above verses, Muslims have resorted to making excuses and presenting absurd claims. In “Why two women Witnesses” Shamshad. M. Khan claims that due to menstruation “women can experience extraordinary psychological strains giving rise to depression, lack of concentration, slow-mindedness and short term memory loss.”  This is a complete blasphemy and an insult to a woman. The verses clearly state that “women have deficient mind”. In other words, the verses apply to all women and not just to those in their menstrual cycle.  The verses make no exceptions for those who are not having menstruation or have reached menopause. Even if we assume that women are unintelligent or deficient in mind, how does that make them unequal? In modern society, disabled and retarded people have equal rights because they are human and are not discriminated against. Therefore, women must have equal rights regardless of their intellectual level.

If two women witnesses are equal to one man then are four women witnesses equal to two men? This should completely eliminate the need for a male witness. But in Islam, male witness is required. If a male was to enter women’s dormitory and rape a woman he will not be charged of anything and will be safe since there would be no male witness present there.

6)   The Quran allows men to beat their wives into subservience. If a wife doesn’t listen to her husband, the husband should admonish her. If that doesn’t work, he is to make her sleep in a separate bed. If the wife still doesn’t respect her husband’s authority, even after she has been banished to another bed, the husband is told to physically punish her.

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. Therefore the righteous women Are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband’s) absence What Allah would have them guard. As to those women On whose part ye fear Disloyalty and ill-conduct, Admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); But if they return to obedience, Seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, Great (above you all). (4:34)

Why shouldn’t women have the same rights to beat their husbands? Just because they are physically different doesn’t mean they are less equal. The verse above has been discussed in details in The Abusive Book.

7)   Islamic marriage further degrades women by giving them the status of a “sex toy”. In Islamic marriage women are slaves and their primary duty is to satisfy their husbands’ sexual needs.

The institution of marriage remained very different for men to what it was for women, and the rights accorded to husbands were distinct from those accorded to wives. In fact it is probably not accurate to use the term 'rights of the woman' since a woman under the Islamic system of marriage has no human rights unless we consider that a slave has rights under a slave system. Marriage, in so far as women are concerned, is just like slavery to the slave, or the chains of serfdom to the serf. (Nawal El Sa'dawi, The Hidden Face of Eve, Zed Press, London, 1980, pp. 139-140)

Your wives are as a tilth (a field to be ploughed) unto you, so approach your tilth when or how ye will. (2:223)

Umar [one of the Caliphs] was once talking when his wife interjected, so he said to her: 'You are a toy; if you are needed we will call you.' (Al-Musanaf Vol. 1 Part 2, p. 263)

Another contemporary scholar wrote:

"The marriage contract is designed by the legislator so that the husband may benefit from the sexual organ of the woman and the rest of her body for the purpose of pleasure. As such the husband owns by the marriage contract, this exclusive benefit." ('Abd ar-Rahman al-Gaziri, al-Fiqh 'ala al-Mazahib al-Arba'a, Dar al-Kutub al- 'Elmeyah, 1990, vol. 4, p. 7)

8)   A man is allowed to have up to four wives and unlimited number of sex slaves. Such is not the case with women.

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 (a captive) that your right hands possess, that will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing injustice. (4:3)

Where is the equality since women are not allowed to have multiple husbands? Why should women be treated differently in this case? What duties are there preventing women from having multiple spouses? Muslims argue that polygamy is allowed only and only if the husband can “treat” and “provide” equally to all of his wives. Such reasoning is ludicrous. Marital life stands on love, affection and companionship. How can a Muslim love all of his wives equally since Mohammad himself could not even do that for he loved Ayesha more than any of his wives?

Why are men allowed to have multiple wives? The answer is simple: to fulfill their lustful desires.

Some men have such a compelling sexual desire that one woman is not sufficient to protect them [from adultery]. Such men therefore preferably marry more than one woman and may have up to four wives. (Ihy'a 'Uloum ed-Din by Ghazali, Dar al-Kotob al-'Elmeyah, Beirut, Vol II, Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p.34)

Islam does not teach anything close to controlling the mind and lustful needs. Instead, it gives men to have more wives and sex slaves (right hands possess). Did Mohammad presume that women have no sexual needs and therefore do not deserve to be satisfied by their husbands? Very well so and it could only be because he thought of women no more than personal property and a sex toy to be played with.

9)   Divorce process in Islam gives all rights to the husband and none to the wife.

It is very painstaking and cumbersome for women while men are not obligated to anything. Women do not have the right to divorce their husbands. Only men have this right. If a man says “Talaq” three times to his wife, they have to get divorce. This cannot be reversed which makes it clear that any Muslim under the influence of frustration or anger can simply destroy the relationship and the lives of his children. A woman on the other hand has no right or say in this. If Islam preached equality then the woman would also have the right to say the same word three times to get a divorce. But this is not the case. Man has more rights and final say. There is little to no room for thinking and communication. Once the word “Talaq” has been said it brings the hell process only for women. Divorced woman cannot remarry her previous husband. She first has to marry someone else, consummate the marriage and get divorce in the same manner and only then she can remarry her previous husband.

This practice of inequality makes women suffer an inconsiderable amount. Assume a man says “Talaq” three times in anger and gets a divorce. Now, he wants to remarry his wife and the woman wants the same as they both love each other very much. But this cannot happen. The woman has to marry someone else and consummate the marriage. If she gets a divorce from her newly-wedded husband only then can she remarry the love of her life. If her new husband refuses to give divorce, her whole life is ruined and she is forced to spend her life with someone she doesn’t love. This traps her in a loveless marriage and the husband is given no punishment. Even if the woman gets a divorce the very next day, she still has to undergo humiliation as she will have to spend a night with someone she doesn’t consider her life partner. It is a woman who gets trapped, punished and is forced to go through humiliating process. Where is the so-called equality? It exists no where in Islam.

The list of inequalities in Islam is endless. We conclude this section by quoting Shamas-ul-ulema maulvi Hafiz Nazir Ahmad:

Women are so created that they cannot compete with men in worldly or spiritual pursuits. Lack of physical strength precludes the possibility of their taking part in Jehad. Their duty is to bear children, suckle them, and to bring them up. At certain times they are disallowed from observing fasts or saying Namaz. (Al Quran-UI-Azma page 101 Taj Co. Ltd Karachi)

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