My heart aches when I see people saying that Islam gives no rights to women and that it lowers their status, instead of elevating it. Such people say such things only because of lack of knowledge of Islamic history. They are not aware of the condition of Arabia before Islam and after it. Such people probably do not know a lot about Islam and give their reviews about the religion without proper information.
To talk about elevation of the status of women, we should first look at the conditions of Arabia before Islam. That was the time of ignorance when women were treated as articles of faith. Women had no rights, and they could be bought or sold. Moreover, a man could marry as many women as he wanted, and sometimes, sons inherited their father’s wives. Women were also given no right to inheritance. Apart from that, one major and very brutal practice of those ignorant people was that they used to bury their daughters alive. When a girl was born to anybody, he felt shame and buried her alive. Thus, there were no rights for women at that time, and they had to do nothing but suffer.
Then came our beloved Prophet (Peace be upon Him) who is also the seal of the prophets. He brought with him the teachings of Islam. God’s message started being revealed in him, and slowly and gradually the status of women was elevated.
So how was this status elevated? The burying of the daughters was prohibited. In fact, it was considered as an act that deserved severe anger and punishment. Apart from that, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon Him) came with a number of teachings regarding women.
We see that the Islamic teachings and laws are all similar for men and women. Where five times prayers are compulsory for men, they are also compulsory for women. Where fasting and charity are binding upon men, so they are for women, Thus; all these obligations are equally binding and the reward is also similar for both men and women.
Islam also gave women rights to inheritance and to own property. Previously women got no share from inheritance, but Islam gave them rights to inherit. Women were also given the freedom of choice for choosing a husband. Nobody can get her married to a man she does not wish to marry.
Moreover, Islam demands that women be respected. They should cover up themselves and that their beauty should not be shown to any man. Her beauty is only for her husband to see, and thus Islam made it obligatory for a woman to cover herself up when she goes out of the house. This is to make sure that no body gazes at her with bad intentions. This is also to protect her chastity. Woman are just like the jewels that are kept hidden from everybody’s eyes. This is because jewels are so beautiful that they can attract some people’s bad intentions. Same goes for women.
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