The foundations of Islamic beliefs, which are regrettably misconceived are

primarily that women should be highly treasured, valued, and respected. This is

evidently reinforced in the Qur’anic teachings, the Sunnah (teachings of the

prophet), and in the Islamic belief. However, majority of the Muslim communities

have not practiced these beliefs. This is contrary to the Islamic ideology as

women in Islamic history have been great leaders such as Aisha, the wife of the

Prophet who became a renowned scholar and one of the greatest sources of

Hadith literature. Furthermore, a vast population of female companions achieved

fame in works of spiritual, social, economical, and political aspects.

The general stereotypical question that arises when women are mentioned in

Islam is the sense of equality and the true status that a woman carries in the

religion of Islam. Muslims believe that the first Human Beings of Almighty God

were Adam and Eve who were both created from the same soul. To begin with,

the Qur’an locates the origins of both women and men in a single nafs (self), "O

Mankind, keep your duty to your Lord who created you from a single soul and

from it created its mate (of same kind) and from them twain has spread a

multitude of men and women...". [Noble Quran 4:1]. The Qur’an beautifully

expresses this point, "He (God) it is who did create you from a single soul and

therefrom did create his mate, that he might dwell with her (in love)..." [Noble

Quran 7:189], This verse provides a description of the beautiful relationship that

a man and a woman should share.

Both men and women have equality in the three main aspects of Islam which are
Islam, Iman and Ihsan.Women are obligedto follow the path prescribed to them.

The primary level is Islam (outward submission to God), that every woman is

obliged to testify that there is no Deity that has the right to be worshipped but

Allah and that Muhammad (PBUH) is His Messenger, to pray 5 times a day on

the prescribed times, to give charity (zakat), to observe fasts (swam) in the

Islamic month of Ramadan, and to make (hajj) pilgrimage to the House of God.

All these obligations come with a condition, as a woman is excused from prayer

and fasts in her menses, she does not have to give charity or make hajj if she

does not have the means. Likewise, it is an obligation on every woman to have

Iman, which is the inward belief in God and the unseen. The level of Iman

includes the woman to believe in Allah, His angels, His scriptures, His

Messengers, The Last Day, and to have faith in the decree of Allah (Qadr) that all

the good and evil consequences are by the permission of Almighty God. In

addition to this, both men and women are required to strive and struggle to enjoin

good and forbid evil hence evolving to a noble behaviour enacting truth, trust,

integrity, courage, respect, and humility. This is acquired by a man or woman

when they begin to grasp consciousness of God, like they worship God as if they

were to see Him, even though he/she is not able to see God she must have faith

that He can see whatever he/she does in secret and in public, this level of

submission towards God in Islam is called Ihsan (God consciousness). Therefore

men and women are both required to fulfill these duties which are commanded

with these three degrees of faith; Islam, Iman and Ihsan.

In the pre-Islamic traditions, women suffered torturous injustices in the pagan

Arab civilization. Women were perceived as objects or material property to be

disposed of at the whim of the male guardian. They were certainly not given any

sort of rights in regards to property or wealth whether from their parents or their

husbands. Pre-Islamic Arabs believed inheritance should only be given to men of

war. Women themselves were treated as a commodity or an item and were

inherited themselves by the debt collector if the woman’s husband died.

Moreover, Arab fathers increasingly felt that giving birth to a female child was a

disgrace and saw it as a bad omen. The Qur’an describes this as “(When the news

of (the birth of) a female is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is

filled with inward grief! He hides himself from the people because of the evil (and

shame) of that which he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonor, or bury

her in the dirt? Certainly, evil is their decision…)”[16:59] . Furthermore, the

oppression became so atrocious that some fathers began to bury their

female babies alive, (And when the female buried alive shall be questioned: for

what sin was she killed?)

[81:8-9]. The Quran condemns such actions completely and has given

women a sense of hope and equality especially in the horrific times of

Zulm (oppression) that they went through.

When Islam as a religion was established, women were given rights

like never before in terms of the spiritual aspect, the social aspect, the

economic aspect and political aspect.

From the spiritual aspect, the Qur’an states, men and women have the

same spirit, no one is superior to each other except in righteous deeds

which helps us eliminate furthermore the concept of father rule and

the misconception of islam being a patriarchal society. In addition to

this, there are many more examples of the Quranic teachings as

antipatriarchal as Barlas argues that “Quranic epistemology is

inherently anti patriarchal in as much as a Quranic worldview”, the

worldview foundation deriving from the rejection of the patriarchal

imaginary of god the father, or prophets as fathers, or

fathers/husbands as (divinely ordained) rulers. However, the Quranic

view portrays teachings that God is beyond sex/gender and sexual

affinity.

Islam being the complete code of life, provides a guide of conduct in

every matter. Hence it also defines very clear instructions about the

social role of women. Islam sees women in their respective societal

roles and elevates their status in every aspect amongst which are

women as Mothers, as wives and as daughters. Not only does Islam

reserve the rights for women but it also requires that they shall be

treated with utmost dignity, respect and kindness. Islam announces

huge rewards for people who love and respect their daughters as the

hadith mentions “Whosoever has a daughter and he does not bury her alive,

does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, God will enter him into
Paradise. [Ibn Hanbal, No. 1957]. Moreover Islam reserves equal rights for

female education as it does for males. Hence both men and women are equally

instructed to acquire knowledge to their best and it is their right to be provided

with education by their parents. Therefore, to stop females from accessing

education/knowledge and prohibiting them from the social environment is

completely against the Islamic ideology. Furthermore, Islam also entails the

rights of women as wives, which allows them to marry on their own will, and

requires a kind treatment towards them from their husbands. A husband and wife

are clothing for each other according to Islamic teachings and they reserve equal

rights over each other. However the accepted differential in roles is based on the

grounds of biological and physical differences in both sexes. Yet these

differences do not hinder women from being a part of the society. Men are only

allowed to engage in polygyny if they can do justice. However it clearly instructs

to marry one woman if he is unable to do justice. The highest status that islam

reserves for women is in her role as a mother, which is one of the toughest roles

in our society. Women have been given strength by The Divine to fulfill this

responsibility and also elevated the status of a mother 3 times higher than the

father. Islam clearly instructs children to show kindness towards their parents and

the emphasis is more towards a mother. A man came to Prophet Muhammad

(peace and blessings be upon him) asking:

O Messenger of God, who among the people is the most worthy of my good

company? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, Your mother.

The man said then who else: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
said, Your mother. The man asked, Then who else? The Prophet (peace and

blessings be upon him) said, Your mother. The man asked, Then who else? Only

then did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say, Your father. [Al-

Bukhari and Muslim]

As per the political aspect of a woman in an Islamic society, equality

and justice between men and woman is always emphasized in the

teachings of the Qur’an. Islam allows its women to hold positions in

public offices and participate in public affairs. The history of Muslim

countries do account for a lot of examples of women, who were

involved actively in public affairs in all social and political areas, and

led the governance of their nations.

In terms of Economic aspect, in Islam, a woman holds all the justified

rights in terms of assets and monetary items. A woman is allowed to

buy, sell, and mortgage or lease her own property without any

intervention of a man. These rights were not given to a women before

the arrival of Islam, but the divine revelations of Allah mentioned

about the significance of a woman’s right on her money, real estate or

other properties. The role of women has evolved in 20th century, when

there participation was encouraged by the modern society, but Islam

has been encouraging and emphasizing on those rights since its

inception.

Many people argue that Muslim women are not allowed to seek
employment. The answer to that question is, Muslim women have

been essentially given two sacred roles, of a mother and a wife and

furthermore the teachings of the Qur’an never mention any refusal

against seeking employment for a woman. Role of woman as a mother

and a wife is highly significant because she is solely responsible to

fulfill her family’s needs at home and this must not be referred to as

“idleness”. The Quran also states:

"Unto men (of the family) belongs a share of that which Parents and near kindred

leave, and unto women a share of that which parents and near kindred leave,

whether it be a little or much - a determinate share." [Noble Quran 4:7]

In reality, Islam gives women the maximum possible financial

security. When a woman gets married, her possessions are not

transferred to her husband. She is not obliged to spend any of her

wealth on her family. Women are also entitled to “Mahr” (gift) and in

the case of a divorce the woman has full rights to receive alimony on

certain grounds.