The Distorted Image of Women in Islam By a former Non-Muslim, Sister Naasira Bint Ellison [Taken from the Hudaa
TROID Publications -
The Reign Of Islamic Da`awah
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Since the height of the feminist movement in
the late 70's there has been a magnifying glass placed over the status of
Muslim women. Unfortunately, the magnifying glass that has been used is an
unusual one. Unusual in the sense that it is very selective about which items
it will magnify; other items it will distort to such a degree that they will no
longer look familiar. I remember once reading in an "in depth"
article about the lives of Muslim women. This article "explained"
that at any time a man can divorce his wife by simply stating "I divorce
you, I divorce you, I divorce you". This article can lead anyone ignorant
of the Islamic ruling regarding divorce to believe that in less than five
seconds the woman is left with no husband and is left to care for herself (and
possibly children) by any means necessary. The question that immediately popped
up in my mind was, "Did the author innocently write that out of sincere
ignorance or was it another of the many attempts to degrade the religion of
Islam and its followers (muslims)?" It may be my own paranoia, but I tend
to believe it was the latter of the two.
The truth of the matter is that Islam has the
most humane and most just system of divorce that exists. Firstly, many options
are taken and tried before coming to the decision of the divorce. If the man
and woman decide that they can no longer live together successfully as a
husband and wife, the husband (in most cases, not always) pronounces the
divorce by saying "I divorce you". At this point the waiting period
begins. The waiting period lasts for three menstrual cycles to assure the woman
is not pregnant. This period allows the couple time to think about what they
are doing and if this is what they really want to do. There are no lawyers
involved to antagonise an already delicate situation.
In the case that it is realised, that the woman is pregnant, the waiting period
lasts the entire time she is pregnant. During the waiting period (whether the
woman is pregnant or not) the man is obligated to provide food, clothing and
shelter to the woman as he did before the divorce pronouncement. If the couple
carries the divorce through to the birth of the child and the woman suckles the
baby, the man is obligated to feed and clothe both his ex-wife for the time the
woman suckles (the maximum being two years). After this weaning, the child will
be provided for by the father until he/she is no longer in need of support.
It is quite ironic that in such an "advanced society" as America,
there are divorce cases in which women are being forced to pay alimony to their
ex-husbands. Can this and many other things we know about the American system
of divorce compare to the Islamic system of divorce?
I have also read stories wherein it is stated
that women are forced to marry men without their consent. This in no way
resembles the marriage system in Islam. In Islaam the woman marries the man of
her choice. She may even marry someone that her mother and/or father objects
to. The point is that it is the woman who makes the final decision as to whom
she will marry. Once the man and the woman decide that they are interested in
one another for marriage, a dowry is decided upon. A dowry is not a brides
price but, it is a gift from the groom to the bride. They agree upon a gift
that is affordable by the groom. In the time of the Prophet (sas), often things
such as livestock and money were given. This is a wise decision in the event
that a woman becomes divorced or widowed, she has some financial security to
fall back on even if it is for a limited amount of time. Once the man and woman
are married, the man is required to clothe, feed, shelter and educate her (or
allow her to be educated) in the same manner as he does himself.
The last distorted image that I will cover is that of the Muslim women's dress.
The western influenced media portrays our dress to be outdated and oppressive.
Needless to say however, I differ with these adjectives. Our dress code does
not hinder us from doing anything productive in our lives. Muslim women
maintain a variety of jobs, non of which are devalued nor hampered due to their
dress code. And as for the timing of muslims women's dress during these
contemporary times, it seems most appropriate due to decreasing morals in the
world today.
For those who say that Islamic dress is
outdated, they speak from great ignorance. The decreasing morality and trials
of this time makes Hijaab even more in need. More than ever before sex crimes
are rampant. Although this society tells women they can wear what they want to
wear, anytime a rape occurs the woman is the one put on trial an one of the
first questions is, "What were you wearing?" This concept seems as
though it is a set up directed against the so called contemporary woman. Also
there is a direct correlation between the respect a man has for a woman and the
amount of her body her body she displays flauntingly.
In conclusion, I hope this article helped to clear up some
distorted/misunderstood aspects of Islam and women. Women in Islam are
respected and held in high regard. We will never find success and/or solutions
to our problems until we realise that Allaah knows best and that this
disbelieving society will ruin itself.
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