Muslim
countries linger behind the developed World in almost all fields: economic,
social, political, cultural. etc. The reasons for this backwardness are many, but
none can be attributed to Islam itself. Because when Muslims understood Islam,
they became the first world for centuries unparalleled by any other nation.
They understood the Quran, and the teachings of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)
which emphasized the elements of development. Examples of this can be found in
the stories of the prophets who had professions such as David who was well
versed in the art of making steel shields. The Quran also mentioned nations
that had constructed great civilization such as the people of Yemen, Iraq
Egypt...etc. In short, they lived a civilized and comfortable life.
Women were
mentioned in the Quran in different contexts. Though they were mentioned most
of the time as human beings responsible for their deeds and will either be
rewarded or punished. The Quran mentioned the story of the two daughters of
Shuaib in the context of doing some work because their father was an old man.
It mentioned the rights of women in inheritance. The role of women as mothers
shows the hardships of this job and the obligations of the children towards
their mothers.
The actual
position of women in Islam can be found in the Prophet’s biography and the
centuries that followed. In this paper I intend to examine few cases of women
in the Islamic History who have reached very high level of recognition within
the stated standards of Islam.
The first
woman is Khadijah who was the first wife (and the only one for twenty-five
years) of the Prophet(pbuh) was a noble businesswoman. Her wealth was a great
assist to the Prophet in his life. The second woman is ‘Aisha who was one of
the best learned persons of the companions of the Prophet. She played a leading
role in the teaching of Islam because of her intelligence, vast knowledge of
Arabic literature, and her being very close to the Prophet. She had a political
role after the assassination of ‘Uthman Ben ‘Affan -the third Caliph.
During the
life of the Prophet many women appeared on the scene as women of wisdom and
knowledge. Some women participated in the military activities such as Nusaibah
(Um ‘Amarah) who defended the Prophet in the Battle of Uhud.
One of the famous traditions of the Prophet is: “learning
is a necessity for every Muslim.” which means both males and females. There is another famous Tradition: “Women are
the equal of men.”
The course of
Islamic History had witnessed many women who have contributed to the
development of the Islamic societies in all fields, and they were from all
walks of life. Islam has always given equal opportunity for women and men to
actualize themselves. An example of such women is Um Abdullah -the last ruler
of Granada- who was called ‘Aishah al- Hurrah (The free woman). She tried to
persuade her son to continue the struggle against the Spanish Monarch and not
to surrender. Then when her son finally accepted the truce with the Spanish
army and left Granada, she said her famous statement: “Cry like women over the
kingdom which you could not defend like men.”
It was not
until recently and with the dominance of Western civilization that women
development has come to be a controversial issue. It has never been so in
Islamic History. Not because women were satisfied with the status quo, but
because Islam has given women full attention by understanding the nature of
women and devising the rules that strengthens the compatibility of the roles of
men and women in the society.
This paper
will investigate the foundations of the development of Muslim Women as seen by
some modern Islamic thinkers such as the ones mentioned in the work of Fahmi Jadaan
and the book of Mustapha al-Sibiei (Woman between the Law and Sharia.) It would
also look refer to some Western literature in this field such as the book of
Barbara Stowasser and Judith Tucker(editor). Moreover, books criticizing Islam
in this field will be studied analytically.
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