Status of women

INTRODUCTION: The status of women in society is neither a new issue nor is it a fully settled one. Before the advent of Islam the women were treated in a very inhuman manner, young ones were killed in a very small ages, besides the wives and sisters were also considered as a bad omen in the society. After the advent of Islam, Islam considers both men and women equally human and grants them equal human rights. Though their tasks and functions may sometimes differ, they both have opportunities for achieving may perfection and closeness to God. The following verse from the HOLY QURAN and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) supports this argument. ALLAH SAYS: “O mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify with one another. Indeed the noblest of you in the sight of God is the most God wary among you. Indeed God is All-knowing, All-aware.

Similarly our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “All people are equal, as the teeth of a comb. There is no claim of merit of an Arab and Non-Arab, or a white over a black person or a male over a female. Only ALLAH fearing people merit a preference with GOD.” So after Islam Women are given a place in a society and are given an honour to live in a society. This all is discussed in detail given.
WOMEN AS MOTHER

After Allah and his Messenger Muhammad (PBUH), the most beloved and respected person to a Muslim should be his MOTHER! Allah has given the mother such status that He says,
“Paradise lies under the feet of mother.”
Obedience and respect towards your mother is a very important duty in Islam and is similar to performing Salaah and keeping fast. To hurt your mother in any way is the second biggest sin and those who commit this evil sin will be harshly punished by Allah in the hereafter or maybe even in this world!
Allah loves and cares for us more than anybody else, and he especially loves those people who love and care for others. Similarly, he becomes very angry with those people who hurt other people in any way. Allah the All-Knowing, knows that in this world nobody is more loving and caring towards another person than the way that a mother is towards her child. Only Allah and his Messenger (PBUH) love you more than your mother!
Only Allah knows what your mother does for you, He sees your mother feeling pain whilst she tries to give you whatever you want. He sees your mother’s love and kindness. Pleased by your mother’s actions, Allah has given her a very high status and many virtues and rewards. Allah has ordered us, in various places of the Holy Qur’an, to be good to our mothers. He has told us to look after them even more when they are old and weak. He has taught us to be gentle to our mothers and speak to them in a nice manner. He has also told us to supplicate to Him for our Mothers with this prayer,
AN ISLAMIC REFERENCE: One day a man came to see the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). It seemed that he wants to ask something but couldn't quite work it out. So he asked the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). "Tell me, O Prophet of Allah! I have many relatives and many friends whom I love, and whom I wish to care for and help. But I often find it difficult to decide which of them has the greatest claim upon me? Which of them should come first?” The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) replied immediately, "Your mother should come first and before all others."
The man was very pleased to have this clear guidance from the Prophet Muhammad, (PBUH), but of course there were all his other relatives and his friends, so he asked again: "And after my mother, who has the greatest claim upon me?"
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) replied this second time surprised him "Your mother!”. The man asked the question again, "What I want to know is, after my mother, who has the greatest claim upon me? Again the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny said "your mother!"
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had now said it three times. He once again turned to the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his progeny and said, "and after my mother, who comes after her? Is there anyone besides her?" The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) then replied "after your mother, your father." So that shows the Importance of Mother in our religion ISLAM.

STATUS OF MOTHER IN LIGHT OF QURAN:
The Qur'an repeats its mention of the struggles of the mother in yet another passage:
"And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims."
“Paradise lies under the feet of mother.”

STATUS OF MOTHER IN LIGHT OF HADITH: The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) showed us the importance of serving one's mother (parents) in the following narration reported by Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud:
I asked the Noble Prophet (PBUH), 'O Messenger of Allah, what is the best deed?' He (PBUH) replied: 'Prayer offered on time.' I asked, 'What is next in goodness?' He (PBUH) replied, 'To be dutiful and kind to one's parents.' I further asked, 'What is next in goodness?' He (PBUH) replied, 'Jihad in the Allah's cause’. Just as the Prophet (PBUH) said that kindness to one's parents was of the best deeds, he also said that disobedience to them was amongst the major sins:
"The greatest sins are to associate partners in worship with Allah, to be undutiful or unkind to one's parents, to kill a soul forbidden by Allah and to bear false witness." Indeed one man enquired, asking our blessed Nabi (PBUH): ‘O Prophet (PBUH), if I carry my mother for miles to Hajj and then carry her during Hajj, have I fulfilled what I owe?’ Our Messenger (PBUH) replied: ‘You have not even fulfilled the right of one contraction she had while she bore you’. Each of us should appreciate what we have in our mothers. They are our teachers and our role models. Every day with them is an opportunity to grow as a person. Every day away from them is an opportunity missed.
WOMEN AS DAUGHTER

Before Islam, the birth of a daughter in a family was not an occasion for rejoicing, but was regarded with humiliation. The practice of killing female children was rampant. The pagan Arabs used to bury alive their daughters with the fear that these girls will grow up and will get married to some men who will be called their sons-in-law. Children are a great gift from Almighty Allah to all parents. Parents must think of their children as such treasures that the all the wealth and material resources are worthless as when compared to one’s children. One should thank Almighty Allah for blessing them with children whether they are boys or girls. Daughters are without doubt a great blessing from Almighty Allah. They are a means of salvation and a path to Jannah for their parents. It has been stated that when parents rejoice at the birth of a daughter, this is greater than making Tawaaf of the Kaaba seventy times. Muslims should also remember that the family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is from his beloved daughter Sayyidah Fatima Zahra (R.A).

STATUS OF DAUGHTER IN LIGHT OF QURAN: The wonderful change brought about in the status of women by Islam is evident from an early revelation. The verse of the Quran reads: “He (Allah) grants females to whom He pleases and grants males to whom He pleases, or He grants them both males and females”. Note here that the female is mentioned before the male; thus one daughter actually has precedence over one son. It is mentioned in Quran at another place,

ALLAH says: "And when the news of (the birth of) a female (child) 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 of that whereof he has been informed. Shall he keep her with dishonor or bury her in the earth? Certainly, evil is their decision." So the position of daughters in Islam is very clear and the encouragement that it gives for them, and also the hatred it has for those who hate them or are grieved at their births! We know from this that hatred in some souls toward something - if found - is not a true judgement upon that thing and this is explained in the Quran, as Allah (SWT) says:

"If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good."

STATUS OF DAUGHTER IN LIGHT OF HADITH:

The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself was most loving and affectionate towards his daughters. There are numerous traditions enjoining kind treatment of one’s daughters, including one which says that if a believer cares for three daughters, brings them up properly and gets them married, he will go to Paradise. Also, the education of one’s daughters is just as important as that of one’s sons, because the seeking of knowledge is obligatory for both Muslim men and Muslim women, and there must be no distinction between the two.
There are many hadeeths (sayings of Prophet Muhammad, PBUH) which tell of the value of daughters in Islam.
“Anyone who has three daughters and provides for them, clothes them and shows mercy to them will definitely enter the Garden.” A man from the people said, “And two daughters, Messenger of Allah?” He said, “And two.”
“Shall I show you the greatest sadaqa (or one of the greatest forms of sadaqa)?” He replied, “Yes, indeed, Messenger of Allah!” He went on, “To provide for your daughter when she is returned to you and you are her sole source of provision.”
“There is no Muslim who has two daughters and takes good care of them but that he will enter the Garden.”
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) has stated that when a boy is born, then he brings one Noor (light) and when a girl is born, then she brings two Noors. It has been narrated in a Hadith that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) has stated that if parents are kind and generous towards their daughters, then they will be so close to the Holy Prophet ((PBUH) in Jannah, like one finger is to the next. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) has also stated that the person who is faced with hardship due to his daughters, and makes Sabr (is patient), then his daughters will be a Purdah (curtain) between him and Hell.
The crux of one narration states that one who loves his daughters and withstands the hardship of grooming and getting them married, then Almighty Allah makes Jannah Waajib (compulsory) on him and keeps him protected from the Fire of Hell.
Daughters are a gift from Almighty Allah. Those parents who are kind towards them, then Almighty Allah is generous towards such parents. Those who are merciful to their daughters, Almighty Allah is Merciful towards them." The great Saint also said, "When a girl is born to a family, then between the parents and Hell, there shall be a distance of five hundred years."
It has been stated that when parents rejoice at the birth of a daughter, this is greater than making Tawaaf of the Kaaba seventy times. Muslims should also remember that the family of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is from his beloved daughter Sayyidah Fatima Zahra (R.A). So one should rejoice on the birth of daughters, love and guide them and give them that which is due to them from your belongings. Do not deprive them of their inheritance as they also have say in this. Remember! Daughters are a blessing and not a burden.

WOMEN AS SISTER

Sisters are the member of the great nation of Islam, the best nation ever produced for mankind. No other nation on earth has more great men, leaders, conquerors and ladies than this nation. It is the nation of guidance and the straight religion. Your ancestors, great women of Islam, were one of the main reasons for this great nation to take this great place among all nations. Allah, who granted Islam to this nation, made a high place for Muslim women, and decreed that they share in the responsibilities of enjoining truth, forbidding evil and raising the flag of Islam.
QURAN SAYS:
"The believers, men and women, are loyalists of one another, they enjoin righteousness and forbid evil, they offer their prayers perfectly and give the Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah will leave His Mercy on them. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise."
Islam is the religion which gives prime importance to the sisters. Women as sisters have sufficient rights in Islam as they are also given a share in property.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 11-14:
Allah (thus) directs you as regards your children's (inheritance): to the male a portion equal to that of two females: if only daughters two or more their share is two-thirds of the inheritance; if only one her share is a half. For parents a sixth share of the inheritance to each if the deceased left children; if no children and the parents are the (only) heirs the mother has a third; if the deceased left brothers (or sisters) the mother has a sixth. (The distribution in all cases is) after the payment of legacies and debts. Ye know not whether your parents or your children are nearest to you in benefit. These are settled portions ordained by Allah and Allah is All-Knowing All-Wise.”
REFERENCE FROM PROHPHET’S (PBUH) LIFE: Shayma (foster sister of Prophet (PBUH)) was older than the Prophet (PBUH). While living in the same house as God’s Messenger during her childhood, she spent a lot of her time at his service. She would feed him, embrace him with love and mercy, hold him by the hand and take him for walks.
During the Hunayn campaign which took place between the Hawazin tribe and the Muslims and which the Prophet himself participated in, there were severe clashes and a significant amount of goods and property were taken as spoils. Many people were taken as prisoners of war. The Prophet Muhammad’s foster sister Shayma was among those taken prisoner.
To those who treated her harshly while she was being taken prisoner Shayma said, wanting to quell the situation: “Know that, by God, I am the milk-sister of your Prophet.” For many years had passed since. They separated her from among the other prisoners and took her to the Prophet. When she arrived in his blessed presence she said, “O God’s Messenger! I am your foster-sister,” to which he asked, “What is your sign and proof?” In response, Shayma said, “O Prophet of God, You had bitten me in your childhood. Here is the scar!” She then began to recount all her memories of that day.
When the Prophet saw the scar he remembered and recognized his foster sibling. He spread out his cloak and invited her to sit with him. He approached with great affection and tenderness. A great many years had passed and his childhood memories were now flashing before his very eyes. He was very emotional and tears welled up in his eyes. He immediately inquired about her mother Halima and father Harith.
When Shayma told the Prophet that both had passed away, he became very sorrowful. The Prophet Muhammad did all that he possibly could to please her and make her feel welcome. Addressing her, the Prophet said:
“If you so wish, you may live with me in affection and honor and I will be at your service, or I will give you provision and you can go back to your people.” Shayma replied that she wanted to embrace Islam but wished to return to her tribe. Before Shayma took leave of the Prophet he gave her a handsome gift and told her he would give her more later on upon his return from Ta'if. We can clearly see the importance of a sister in Islam by the incident written above. As she was the foster sister of PBUH yet she was given an honour by him.

WOMEN AS WIFE

Like the rights and status of woman, the position of wife in Islam is also a subject of misconception in past history as in the modern world. Now-a-days Woman Day is observed all over the world and the main slogan is about woman's status and rights. But considering the result of such observance, a question arises "Does it elevate a woman's status or give her the desirable right?" The West has made woman an object of enjoyment and fun, deceiving her in the disguise of Savior of Woman and thus her status is being degraded. In Islam, the rights and status of a wife is described precisely in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In fact, only Islam gives her the worthy and glorious position. A woman becomes wife through marriage. She has the right to select her partner. As marriage is a sacred contract the selection process before marriage must be considered carefully by the man and woman. Wives in Islam are considered mates to their "other half." The prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) taught his followers to get married and fulfill and complete the "other half" of their religion or way of life.

STATUS OF WIFE IN LIGHT OF QURAN: Allah (SWT) instructs men to be nice to their wives and to treat them well to the best of their ability: “…And live with them in kindness…”
In case a man has two wives, Allah (SWT) says:
“You will never be able to do perfect justice between wives even if it is your ardent desire, so do not incline too much to one of them so as to leave the other hanging. And if you do justice, and do all that is right, and fear Allah by keeping away from all that is wrong, then Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful ". A man should not hate his wife because if he dislikes something in her, he will find something he likes about her if he gives it a chance. One way to be aware of what he likes in his wife is for the husband to make a list of a half dozen things he appreciates about her.
Allah Says: “And among His Signs is this that He created for you wives (spouses) from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for people who reflect.”
At another place Allah says: “And give to the women their Maher with a good heart; but if they, of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it and enjoy it without fear of any harm.”
"And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women."
STATUS OF WIFE IN LIGHT OF HADITHS: The Holy Prophet said:
“Treat women nicely, for a woman is created from a rib, and the most curved portion of the rib is its upper portion (probably hinting towards her tongue). So if you try to straighten it, it will break (meaning divorce, as mentioned in the hadith of Sahih Muslim), but if you leave it as it is, it will remain crooked. So treat them nicely”
A companion asked the Prophet of God what is the right of a wife over her husband?’ He replied: “That you feed her when you eat and clothe her when you clothe yourself and do not strike her face. Do not malign her and do not keep apart from her, except in the house.”
Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient.
Prophet Muhammad said:
"The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manners and kindest to his wife."
The prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered his companions never to mistreat their wives. He scolded them and admonished them, saying "How could you treat them like animals in the day and then want to be intimate with them at night."
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said it all in a simple sentence:
"The best of you are the best to their wives; and I am the best to my wives."
A woman is to be treated as God has endowed her, with rights, such as to be treated as an individual, with the right to own and dispose of her own property and earnings, enter into contracts, even after marriage. She has the right to be educated and to work outside the home if she so chooses. She has the right to inherit from her father, mother, and husband. A very interesting point to note is that in Islam, unlike any other religion, a woman can be an imam, a leader of communal prayer, for a group of women.

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