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WOMEN in ISLAM EQUALITY DIFFERENCE

Allah wanted to confirm, clarify, ALLAH says in the Quran:

“And whoever does righteous
deeds, whether MALE or
FEMALE while being a believer –
they will enter the Paradise and
not the least injustice will be
done to them.” [An-Nisaa 4:124]
The concept of Women in Islam
has been misunderstood, mostly,
by Non-Muslims and also by
Muslims too. The reason behind
that is the improper knowledge of
Islam. Let us take a glance at the
Teachings of Islam and Muslim
Women’s role in Islamic Society.
In Islam Men and Women are
EQUAL but depending upon the
biological makeup, physiological
makeup and psychological makeup
Almighty Allah has given different
roles for men and women.
Sometimes the men are given a
degree of advantage and sometimes
the women are given the degree of
advantage. But overall, men and
women are equal.
Suppose, in a class 2 students (say
A and B) get 80 out of 100 in an
examination and both come first.
We examine the answer sheets,
suppose there are 5 Questions and
each question carries 20 marks,
now let us have a look at the
following table:
Marks obtained
Question by:
Numbers A B
QNO.1 15 20
QNO.2 20 20
QNO.3 10 15
QNO.4 20 10
QNO.5 15 15
If we analyze the total result, we
get that both the students got the
same marks, so, both are equal. But
they do differ in some questions (1,
2 and 3) where they supersede one
another. Similarly in Islam, Allah,
the Almighty gives the advantage
for some cases to men and
sometimes the advantage is given
to women in other cases. And in
some cases, both are identically
given the advantage. The
advantage is given to men and
women depending upon the role
and situation.
and perish all doubts about equality
between men and women in
religious duties, faith pillars, and
all kinds of Islamic pillars so Allah
says in the Quran:
“Verily, the Muslim men and
women, the believing men and
women, the men and the women
who are obedient (to Allah), the
men and women who are truthful,
the men and the women who are
patient, the men and the women
who are humble (before their
Lord Allah), the men and the
women who give Sadaqat (i.e.
Zakat, Charity and alms, etc.), the
men and the women who observe
Saum (fasting), the men and the
women who guard their chastity
and the men and the women who
remember Allah much with their
hearts and tongues - Allah has
prepared for them forgiveness and
a great reward (i.e. Paradise)”.
[Al-Ahzaab, 35]
So, this verse demonstrates that
Woman is not only equal to man in
humanity, transcendence, and
honor but also is equal to him in
having the same duties in the
respect of religious duties assigned
by Allah.
Allah says:
“O mankind! We created you
from a single pair of a male and a
female, and made you into nations
and tribes that you might get to
know one another. Surely the
noblest of you in the sight of Allah
is he who is the most righteous.
Allah is All-Knowledgeable, All-
Aware”. [Al-Hujraat49:13]
Clearly, the close and loved one to
Allah is the one who is more
righteous, be it man or woman.
Men and women are equal in
inheritance. This right was never
given to the women before, Islam
maintained the inheritance right for
women.
Allah says:
“There is a share for men and a
share for women from what is left
by parents and those nearest
related, whether, the property be
small or large – a legal share”.
[An-Nisaa 4:7]
“…And the male is not like the
female…” [Aal-Imran 3:36]
It is true that woman equals man in
a lot of issues. Yet, her physical
and mental structure is different
from man’s structure, and this kind
of difference doesn’t mean that
she is inferior but it means
integration (between the two
genders). These differences help
them match the functions that each
of them is charged with, and there
is a profound wisdom and a great
mercy in the differences and
distinctive features that the Creator
installed in the two genders.
According to scientists, women
have special physical features
suitable for the functions they are
assigned to by Allah. They have
glands that don’t exist in men;
these glands give the feminine
characters like smooth skin, nice
voice, shyness, and vulnerability.
Moreover, women in general (with
a few exceptions) are shorter (by
10 centimeter) than men in all
races, and the skeleton of a woman
is lighter than that of a man.
Man’s brain is heavier than that of
woman by 100 grams.
On average, men are about 10%
larger than women. This is a
pattern that persists from birth,
since boy infants tend to be larger
than girl infants.
Estimates vary, but the average
estimate is that men have about
30% more upper body strength
than women do. It has been
estimated that only one in twenty
women is as strong as the average
man.
Almost all men are able to
reproduce all the way into their
70s, while female fertility starts
decreasing after 35. At the age of
51, menopause occurs (it is the
process through which a woman
ceases to be fertile or menstruate).
Men and women differ in every
cell of their bodies because they
carry a differing chromosomal
pattern.
But REMEMBER Difference
doesn’t mean Inferiority.

WOMEN IN ISLAM | UMAR FAROOQ

JIBREEL DAWAH
Special Status of Women:
 As a MOTHER:
A man came to the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him)
asking: O Messenger of Allah,
who among the people is the most
worthy of my good
companionship? The Prophet said,
your mother. The man said then
who is next: the Prophet said, your
mother. The man further asked,
and then who is next? The Prophet
said, your mother. The man further
asked, and then who is next? Only
then did the Prophet say, your
father. [Al Bukhari]
Here, the mother gets 3 times more
compassion, love and respect from
the children as compared to the
father.
MUHAMMAD PBUH said:
“Be at your Mother’s feet as there is
the Paradise.” [Ibn Majah]
 As a DAUGHTER
MUHAMMAD PBUH said:
“Whoever looks for two girls till
they attain maturity, will come
with me on the Day
Resurrection like this”.
messenger of Allah (PBUH)
joined his two fingers illustrating
this”. [Muslim]
This is a glad tiding to all of you,
whoever has two daughters whom
he rears according to Islam, looks
after, and be good to, is granted
paradise.
 As a Wife
Allah says in the Quran:
“And they (women) have rights
similar (to those of their
husbands) over them to what is
reasonable.” [Al-Baqarah 2:228]
MUHAMMAD PBUH said: “This
world is a provision, and the best
provision of this world is a
righteous wife.” [Narrated by
Muslim, 1467; Ibn Majah, 1855]
And MUHAMMAD PBUH also said:
“Only an honorable man treats
women with honor and integrity.
And only a mean man humiliates
women”. [Ibn Asaker, Al Jami As-
Sagheer]
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Influential Muslim Women
 Aafia Siddiqui: Neuro-
Scientist with degrees
from MIT and Brandeis
University.
 Fowzia Siddiqui: Medical
Doctor, Clinical Researcher,
Honorary Director of Clinical
Neurophysiology, NICH Karachi.
 Fatima bint Muhammad Al-
Fihriya Al-Qurashiya: First
degree-awarding educational
institution in the world, The
University of Al-Quaraouiyine.
 Mariam al-Asturlabi: She made
sophisticated astrolabes at first.
 Sutayta Al-Mahmali: Excelled
in Arabic literature, Hadith and
Jurisprudence as well as
mathematics.
 Zaynab Al-Shahda: Famous
Muslim Female Calligrapher
 Lubna of Cordoba: A skilled
mathematician and presided over
the royal library, which consisted
of over 500,000 books.
of
The
 Rufayda al-Aslamiyyah: First
nurse in Islamic history
 Al-Shifaa bint Abdullah al
Qurashiyah al Adawiyah: Nurse
and medical practitioner.
 Zubayda bint Abu Ja'far al-
Mansur: She was a patron of the
arts and poetry.
 Dr. Mubeena Ramzan: She is
the second personality from the
valley, Kashmir to be listed in the
book, “The Muslim 500”.
 3 Women of Saheeh
International: Saheeh
International (a publishing
house) was founded in 1986
by 3 Muslim women. Since
then they have translated,
edited and authored a variety
of Islamic materials.
 Zainab-Al-Ghazali: Egyptian
activist, she founded Muslim
Women's Association, which
had a membership of 3
Million people.
WOMEN IN ISLAM | UMAR FAROOQ
E-mail: jibreeldawah@gmail.com
Muslim Women Scholars
AMRAH BINT ABDUR RAHMAN
The great Caliph Umar b. ‘Abdul
‘Aziz used to say: “If you want to
learn hadith go to Amrah.” Imam
Zuhri, who is credited with
compiling the first systematically
edited compilation of hadith,
would recommend: “Go to Amrah,
she is a vast vessel of hadith.”
AYESHA BINT ABDUL HADI
She used to teach in the grand
mosque of Damascus. She was
appointed by the Sultan of that
time as the “Master of Hadith”
and taught the compilation of
Imam Bukhari.
SHUHADAH BINT AHMAD AL-
IBRII
She showed such great knowledge
of hadith, giving speeches on
history, linguistics and literature -
such that she became known as
'Fakhr-un-Nisa (Pride of the
women).
ZAYNAB BINT SULAYMAN
Her teaching skills on Hadith gave
her the name 'Mustanadud-
Dameshyak' (A lady authorized
from Damascus).
ZUMARRAD KHATUN
She was the sister of Sultan Salah-
ud-Din Ayyubi. She was known
“Satt-ush-Shaam” (Queen of
Syria) because of her knowledge;
she founded a grand institution that
was best in the Islamic World.
FATIMA BINT MUHAMMAD
She was known as Shahdah, the
Writer, received the proud title
of Musnida Asfahan (the great
hadith authority of Asfahan).
UMM UL KHAYR
She reached such a high level of
knowledge that she was given the
title “Jamal-un-Nisa” (Elegance
of women).
FATIMA AL-JUZDANI
Ibn Kathir, the student of Ibn
Taymiyya, has written in Al-
Bidaya w’al-Nihaya: “She
reformed society by enjoining good
and forbidding evil; she
accomplished what men are unable
to do, that is to say, she did more
than the male scholars of her time.”
…and the list goes on uncounted…