Women in Islam Vs Women in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
Eve's Fault?
The Judaeo-Christian conception of
the creation of Adam and Eve is narrated in detail in Genesis 2:4-3:24.
God prohibited both of them from eating the fruits of the forbidden
tree. The serpent seduced Eve to eat from it and Eve, in turn, seduced
Adam to eat with her. When God rebuked Adam for what he did, he put all
the blame on Eve.
"The woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Consequently, God said to Eve:
"I
will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will
give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will
rule over you."
To Adam He said:
"Because you listened to
your wife and ate from the tree ... Cursed is the ground because of
you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your
life..."
The Islamic conception of the first creation is found in several places in the Qur'an, for example:
"O
Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy as you wish but
approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. Then
Satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was
hidden from them and he said: 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest
you become angels or such beings as live forever.' And he swore to them
both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to
their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to
them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their
bodies. And their Lord called unto them: 'Did I not forbid you that tree
and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?' They said: 'Our Lord we
have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not
upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost' " (7:19:23).
A
careful look into the two accounts of the story of the Creation reveals
some essential differences. The Qur'an, contrary to the Bible, places
equal blame on both Adam and Eve for their mistake. Nowhere in the
Qur'an can one find even the slightest hint that Eve tempted Adam to eat
from the tree or even that she had eaten before him. Eve in the Qur'an
is no temptress, no seducer, and no deceiver.
Moreover, Eve is
not to be blamed for the pains of childbearing. God, according to the
Qur'an, punishes no one for another's faults. Both Adam and Eve
committed a sin and then asked God for forgiveness and He forgave them
both.
Eve's Legacy
The image of Eve as
temptress in the Bible has resulted in an extremely negative impact on
women throughout the Judaeo-Christian tradition. All women were believed
to have inherited from their mother, the Biblical Eve, both her guilt
and her guile. Consequently, they were all untrustworthy, morally
inferior, and wicked.
Old Testament
"I find more bitter
than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose
hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the
sinner she will ensnare....while I was still searching but not finding, I
found one upright man among a thousand but not one upright woman among
them all" (Ecclesiastes 7:26-28).
In another part of the Hebrew literature which is found in the Catholic Bible we read:
"No
wickedness comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman...Sin began
with a woman and thanks to her we all must die" (Ecclesiasticus
25:19,24).
"A woman should learn in quietness and full
submission. I don't permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a
man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam
was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a
sinner" (I Timothy 2:11-14).
If we now turn our attention to
what the Qur'an has to say about women, we will soon realize that the
Islamic conception of women is radically different from the
Judaeo-Christian one. Let the Qur'an speak for itself:
"For
Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and
women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient, for
men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in
charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their
chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise-- For
them all has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward" (33:35).
"The
believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another: they enjoin
what is just, and forbid what is evil, they observe regular prayers,
practice regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will
Allah pour His Mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise" (9:71).
"And
their Lord answered them: Truly I will never cause to be lost the work
of any of you, Be you a male or female, you are members one of another"
(3:195).
"Whoever works evil will not be requited but by the like
thereof, and whoever works a righteous deed -whether man or woman- and
is a believer- such will enter the Garden of bliss" (40:40).
"Whoever
works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily to him/her we
will give a new life that is good and pure, and we will bestow on such
their reward according to the best of their actions" (16:97).
It
is clear that the Qur'anic view of women is no different than that of
men. They, both, are God's creatures whose sublime goal on earth is to
worship their Lord, do righteous deeds, and avoid evil and they, both,
will be assessed accordingly. The Qur'an never mentions that the woman
is the devil's gateway or that she is a deceiver by nature. The Qur'an,
also, never mentions that man is God's image; all men and all women are
his creatures, that is all. According to the Qur'an, a woman's role on
earth is not limited only to childbirth. She is required to do as many
good deeds as any other man is required to do. The Qur'an never says
that no upright women have ever existed. To the contrary, the Qur'an has
instructed all the believers, women as well as men, to follow the
example of those ideal women such as the Virgin Mary and the Pharaoh's
wife:
"And Allah sets forth, As an example to those who believe,
the wife of Pharaoh: Behold she said: 'O my lord build for me, in
nearness to you, a mansion in the Garden, and save me from Pharaoh and
his doings and save me from those who do wrong.' And Mary the daughter
of Imran who guarded her chastity and We breathed into her body of Our
spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of
His revelations and was one of the devout" (66:11-13).
Shameful Daughters?
In
fact, the difference between the Biblical and the Qur'anic attitude
towards the female sex starts as soon as a female is born. For example,
the Bible states that the period of the mother's ritual impurity is
twice as long if a girl is born than if a boy is (Lev. 12:2-5). The
Catholic Bible states explicitly that:
"The birth of a daughter is a loss" (Ecclesiasticus 22:3).
It
was this very same idea of treating daughters as sources of shame that
led the pagan Arabs, before the advent of Islam, to practice female
infanticide. The Qur'an severely condemned this heinous practice:
"When
news is brought to one of them of the birth of a female child, his face
darkens and he is filled with inward grief. With shame does he hide
himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he
retain her on contempt or bury her in the dust? Ah! what an evil they
decide on?" (16:59).
It has to be mentioned that this sinister
crime would have never stopped in Arabia were it not for the power of
the scathing terms the Qur'an used to condemn this practice (16:59,
43:17, 81:8-9). The Qur'an, moreover, makes no distinction between boys
and girls. In contrast to the Bible, the Qur'an considers the birth of a
female as a gift and a blessing from God, the same as the birth of a
male. The Qur'an even mentions the gift of the female birth first:
"To
Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates
what He wills. He bestows female children to whomever He wills and
bestows male children to whomever He wills" (42:49).
In order to
wipe out all the traces of female infanticide in the nascent Muslim
society, Prophet Muhammad promised those who were blessed with daughters
of a great reward if they would bring them up kindly:
"He who is
involved in bringing up daughters, and accords benevolent treatment
towards them, they will be protection for him against Hell-Fire"
(Bukhari and Muslim).
"Whoever maintains two girls till they
attain maturity, he and I will come on the Resurrection Day like this;
and he joined his fingers" (Muslim).
Female Education?
The attitude of St. Paul in the New Testament:
"As
in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in
the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission
as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should
ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to
speak in the church." (I Corinthians 14:34-35)
How can a woman
learn if she is not allowed to speak? How can a woman grow
intellectually if she is obliged to be in a state of full submission?
How can she broaden her horizons if her one and only source of
information is her husband at home?
Now, to be fair, we should
ask: is the Qur'anic position any different? One short story narrated in
the Qur'an sums its position up concisely. Khawlah was a Muslim woman
whose husband Aws pronounced this statement at a moment of anger: "You
are to me as the back of my mother." This was held by pagan Arabs to be a
statement of divorce which freed the husband from any conjugal
responsibility but did not leave the wife free to leave the husband's
home or to marry another man. Having heard these words from her husband,
Khawlah was in a miserable situation. She went straight to the Prophet
of Islam to plead her case. The Prophet was of the opinion that she
should be patient since there seemed to be no way out. Khawla kept
arguing with the Prophet in an attempt to save her suspended marriage.
Shortly, the Qur'an intervened; Khawla's plea was accepted. The divine
verdict abolished this iniquitous custom. One full chapter (Chapter 58)
of the Qur'an whose title is "Almujadilah" or "The woman who is arguing"
was named after this incident:
"Allah has heard and accepted the
statement of the woman who pleads with you (the Prophet) concerning her
husband and carries her complaint to Allah, and Allah hears the
arguments between both of you for Allah hears and sees all things...."
(58:1).
A woman in the Qur'anic conception has the right to argue
even with the Prophet of Islam himself. No one has the right to
instruct her to be silent. She is under no obligation to consider her
husband the one and only reference in matters of law and religion.
Vows
According
to the Bible, a man must fulfill any vows he might make to God. He must
not break his word. On the other hand, a woman's vow is not necessarily
binding on her. It has to be approved by her father, if she is living
in his house, or by her husband, if she is married. If a father/husband
does not endorse his daughter's/wife's vows, all pledges made by her
become null and void:
"But if her father forbids her when he hears
about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself
will stand ....Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or
any sworn pledge to deny herself" (Num. 30:2-15)
In Islam, the
vow of every Muslim, male or female, is binding on him/her. No one has
the power to repudiate the pledges of anyone else. Failure to keep a
solemn oath, made by a man or a woman, has to be expiated as indicated
in the Qur'an:
"He [God] will call you to account for your
deliberate oaths: for expiation, feed ten indigent persons, on a scale
of the average for the food of your families; Or clothe them; or give a
slave his freedom. If that is beyond your means, fast for three days.
That is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn. But keep your oaths"
(5:89).
Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, men and women, used
to present their oath of allegiance to him personally. Women, as well as
men, would independently come to him and pledge their oaths:
"O
Prophet, When believing women come to you to make a covenant with you
that they will not associate in worship anything with God, nor steal,
nor fornicate, nor kill their own children, nor slander anyone, nor
disobey you in any just matter, then make a covenant with them and pray
to God for the forgiveness of their sins. Indeed God is Forgiving and
most Merciful" (60:12).
Mothers
In Islam,
the honor, respect, and esteem attached to motherhood are unparalleled.
The Qur'an places the importance of kindness to parents as second only
to worshipping God Almighty:
"Your Lord has decreed that you
worship none but Him, And that you be kind to parents. Whether one or
both of them attain old age in your life, Say not to them a word of
contempt, nor repel them, But address them in terms of honor. And out of
kindness, Lower to them the wing of humility, and say: 'My Lord! bestow
on them Your Mercy as they Cherished me in childhood' " (17:23-24).
The Qur'an in several other places puts special emphasis on the mother's great role in giving birth and nursing:
"And
We have enjoined on man to be good to his parents: In travail upon
travail did his mother bear him and in two years was his weaning. Show
gratitude to Me and to your parents" (31:14).
The very special place of mothers in Islam has been eloquently described by Prophet Muhammad:
"A
man asked the Prophet: 'Whom should I honor most?' The Prophet replied:
'Your mother'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet
replied: 'Your mother'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The Prophet
replied: 'Your mother!'. 'And who comes next?' asked the man. The
Prophet replied: 'Your father'" (Bukhari and Muslim).
Among the
few precepts of Islam which Muslims still faithfully observe to the
present day is the considerate treatment of mothers. The honor that
Muslim mothers receive from their sons and daughters is exemplary. The
intensely warm relations between Muslim mothers and their children and
the deep respect with which Muslim men approach their mothers usually
amaze Westerners.
Epilogue
The one
question all the non-Muslims, who had read an earlier version of this
study, had in common was: do Muslim women in the Muslim world today
receive this noble treatment described here? The answer, unfortunately,
is: No. Since this question is inevitable in any discussion concerning
the status of women in Islam, we have to elaborate on the answer in
order to provide the reader with the complete picture.
It has to
be made clear first that the vast differences among Muslim societies
make most generalizations too simplistic. There is a wide spectrum of
attitudes towards women in the Muslim world today. These attitudes
differ from one society to another and within each individual society.
Nevertheless, certain general trends are discernible. Almost all Muslim
societies have, to one degree or another, deviated from the ideals of
Islam with respect to the status of women. These deviations have, for
the most part, been in one of two opposite directions. The first
direction is more conservative, restrictive, and traditions-oriented,
while the second is more liberal and Western-oriented.
The
societies that have digressed in the first direction treat women
according to the customs and traditions inherited from their forebears.
These traditions usually deprive women of many rights granted to them by
Islam. Besides, women are treated according to standards far different
from those applied to men. This discrimination pervades the life of any
female: she is received with less joy at birth than a boy; she is less
likely to go to school; she might be deprived any share of her family's
inheritance; she is under continuous surveillance in order not to behave
immodestly while her brother's immodest acts are tolerated; she might
even be killed for committing what her male family members usually boast
of doing; she has very little say in family affairs or community
interests; she might not have full control over her property and her
marriage gifts; and finally as a mother she herself would prefer to
produce boys so that she can attain a higher status in her community.
On
the other hand, there are Muslim societies (or certain classes within
some societies) that have been swept over by the Western culture and way
of life. These societies often imitate unthinkingly whatever they
receive from the West and usually end up adopting the worst fruits of
Western civilization. In these societies, a typical "modern" woman's top
priority in life is to enhance her physical beauty. Therefore, she is
often obsessed with her body's shape, size, and weight. She tends to
care more about her body than her mind and more about her charms than
her intellect. Her ability to charm, attract, and excite is more valued
in the society than her educational achievements, intellectual pursuits,
and social work. One is not expected to find a copy of the Qur'an in
her purse since it is full of cosmetics that accompany her wherever she
goes. Her spirituality has no room in a society preoccupied with her
attractiveness. Therefore, she would spend her life striving more to
realize her femininity than to fulfill her humanity.
Why did
Muslim societies deviate from the ideals of Islam? There is no easy
answer. A penetrating explanation of the reasons why Muslims have not
adhered to the Qur'anic guidance with respect to women would be beyond
the scope of this study. It has to be made clear, however, that Muslim
societies have deviated from the Islamic precepts concerning so many
aspects of their lives for so long. There is a wide gap between what
Muslims are supposed to believe in and what they actually practice. This
gap is not a recent phenomenon. It has been there for centuries and has
been widening day after day. This ever widening gap has had disastrous
consequences on the Muslim world manifested in almost all aspects of
life: political tyranny and fragmentation, economic backwardness, social
injustice, scientific bankruptcy, intellectual stagnation, etc. The
non-Islamic status of women in the Muslim world today is merely a
symptom of a deeper malady. Any reform in the current status of Muslim
women is not expected to be fruitful if not accompanied with more
comprehensive reforms of the Muslim societies' whole way of life. The
Muslim world is in need for a renaissance that will bring it closer to
the ideals of Islam and not further from them. To sum up, the notion
that the poor status of Muslim women today is because of Islam is an
utter misconception. The problems of Muslims in general are not due to
too much attachment to Islam, they are the culmination of a long and
deep detachment from it.
Abstract from the Article
Women in Islam Vs Women in the Judeo-Christian Tradition:
The Myth & The Reality
By Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem
