Doubts about women's rights in Islam.
There is a lot of talk these days about women's rights and freedom, as secularists are trying to distort the image of women in Islam and show them as if they are deprived of rights and broken-winged. In their view, Islam differentiated between women and men in rights and made the relationship between them based on injustice and tyranny, not on peace and affection. This, from their point of view, requires a new reading of religion based on taking into account the rights that international agreements have given to women and trying to modify the concept of fixed religious texts to be consistent with these agreements.
First, it is useful to point out that Islam was and still is the first to give man his full rights. The capacity to own property is established for the fetus in his mother’s womb, and from the time he is born he is a full member of society, able to bear, carry, own and give according to certain rules. If he is young, his guardian takes care of that on his behalf. The words of Omar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, will remain resounding: “When did you enslave people while their mothers gave birth to them free?” And the legal principle will remain: “The free man is not at the mercy of the hand.” Man has the right to life, the right to inheritance, the right to belief, the right to ownership and many rights that groups have called for and applied to some people and not others.
The call to amend divine legislation is not a modern call, but rather one of the proposals that have been promoted since the beginning of the current century, and it does not go beyond the framework of Western proposals called for by Orientalists and their governments. Since that period, Islamic scholars have responded to these people with responses that are still valid today because they have not changed and have not brought anything new. Among the scholars who responded to the Orientalists, their masters and followers are Dr. Ali Abdul Wahid Wafi, Dr. Mustafa al-Siba’i, Dr. al-Bahi al-Kholi and others, may God Almighty have mercy on them in this world and the hereafter.
The scholars responded to everyone who dared to attack the religion by calling for a review of its legislation derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah and by demanding that the door be opened for ijtihad in matters that the attackers believe have been outdated. Among these issues are:
the right to discipline a woman, especially beating her;
the divorce formula given to the man;
the authority of the husband (guardianship);
and polygamy.
Inheritance and
testimony
We will present these ideas and then respond to them, God willing, but first we must clarify the following general points:
-1- Islam is a universal system for all times and places, and any misuse of this legislation is not due to the legislation itself, but rather to the people who misunderstand it or are ignorant of its provisions. "Islam has established its first pillar in its systems on the awakening of the Muslim's conscience, his integrity, and his observance of his Lord. For this, it has taken multiple paths that lead, if observed accurately and honestly, to the awakening of the Muslim's conscience and his not misusing the powers entrusted to him. The greatest evidence of this is that divorce does not occur among us in environments that are truly and sincerely religious except rarely, while it occurs in environments other than these, with no difference between the rich and the poor."
Hence, the misuse of divine legislation does not require its cancellation and reconsideration, but rather requires preventing such misuse by activating the religious deterrent that leads to this.
-2- Opening the door to ijtihad behind which some hide is unacceptable because those who call for this demand are people of whims who lack the minimum qualities of a mujtahid on the one hand, and because they aim to strike at the established legal texts in the Qur’an and Sunnah in service of Western interests declared in global declarations that aim to undermine the bonds of the Islamic family on the other hand. This is clear in the “Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,” which stated in its sixteenth article the most important foundations of equality between men and women, including:
“A- The same right to enter into marriage.
B- The same right to freely choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with her free and full consent.
C- The same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution.
D- The same rights and responsibilities as a mother, regardless of her marital status, in matters relating to her children; in all cases, the interests of the children shall be paramount.
E- The same rights to decide freely and responsibly the number of her children and the period between the birth of one child and to obtain information, education and the means to enable her to exercise these rights.” .
And - the same rights and responsibilities regarding guardianship, trusteeship, custody and adoption of children, or similar social institutional systems...
G - the same personal rights for husband and wife, including the right to choose a family name, profession and job.
These articles are in violation of Islamic law in most of them, except for item (b), which stipulates the freedom of women to choose a husband. As for the rest of the articles, they are in conflict with Islamic law, which gave women and men rights during marriage based on the following principles:
1- Equality: God Almighty said: (And women have rights similar to those against them, according to what is equitable), meaning that every right and duty for women is met by a right and duty for men, and whenever he asks her for something, he remembers that he must do the same, except for one thing, which is guardianship, and duties are divided according to the nature of each of them.
2- Guardianship: It means taking care of the affairs of the family, heading it and protecting its members, and this topic will be discussed later, God willing.
3- Consultation in family affairs, and consultation continues even after divorce in the affairs of children.
4- Dealing with them in kindness and good treatment, as Allah the Almighty says: (And live with them in kindness)
5- The woman should take care of her child in his early years and supervise the management of the house and the servants and obey her husband in what is good .
6- The spouses should cooperate in raising the children, as the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: (Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock).
7- The man should help his wife with housework, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to help his wives.
This is, in brief, a summary of women’s rights during marriage as approved by Islam. As for the demand for equality of rights between women and men, which is called for by some advocates of liberation who follow international declarations, it is due to their ignorance of women’s rights in Islam and their disregard for the biological differences between men and women, which led them to consider the relationship between men and women as a relationship of similarity and not a relationship of complementarity. You find them believing what others say about women being deprived of their rights in Islam, or believing what orientalists say about the necessity of interpreting texts that do not conform to current reality, raising the slogan of “historic texts” or the slogan of “expressing a current reality” with the aim of transforming the contents and dressing them in Western clothing. Thus, the man’s guardianship over his home, his right to discipline his disobedient wife, and his right to divorce become mere “historical phrases” that jurists have misinterpreted with the aim of “evaluating the role of men.”
- The right to discipline the wife, especially beating her.
Those who call for invalidating the formula of beating found in the Holy Quran and the Noble Prophetic Sunnah base their claim on the fact that the rule of the right to discipline a woman, “especially beating her,” is a historical phrase that had great effectiveness in transferring the ignorant mentality from killing a woman to questioning beating her, and it is not a legal rule.
To respond to this matter, we will first cite some verses and hadiths that mentioned this matter, then we will cite the response, God willing. The Almighty says:
{Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given one more (strength) than the other and because they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So the righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding [in [the husband’s] husband’s absence as Allah would have guarded. But as for those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them and forsake them in bed and strike them. But if they obey you, seek not against them a way. Indeed, Allah is ever High and Grand.}
And he, may God bless him and grant him peace, said in the Farewell Pilgrimage: “Beware, treat women well, for they are like prisoners with you, and you have no control over them except that, unless they commit a clear indecency. If they do, then leave them alone in bed and beat them, but not severely. If they obey you, then seek no way against them, except that you have rights over your women and your women have rights over you. As for your rights over your women, they should not let anyone you dislike share your beds, and they should not allow anyone you dislike into your houses. Beware, their rights over you are that you should treat them well in their clothing and food.”
It is noticeable that these people, under the slogan of women’s humanity and dignity, take from the verse only what they want, which is the word “beating,” and they forget the sequence that was mentioned in the verse, where at the beginning there was praise for the believing woman who preserves the limits of her husband, and then the mention of the rebellious woman was mentioned. So the speech is related to a specific type of women, not all women. It is known that people’s natures differ from one person to another, and what benefits one does not benefit another. It is part of the justice of Islam that it mentioned the treatment for each case. As long as “there is in this world one woman out of a thousand women who can be reformed by this punishment,” then the law that misses this purpose is an incomplete law, because it prefers the destruction of the family to this procedure, and this is not the case with the law of Islam revealed by God.
In fact, “disciplining those who commit perversion and deviation, who are not helped by preaching or abandonment, is something that nature calls for and the system of society dictates. Nature has delegated it from sons to fathers, just as it has delegated it from nations to rulers. Without it, no family would survive and no nation would be righteous. The material wars that are based on iron and fire between civilized nations today are nothing but a type of this discipline in the eyes of the attackers and in the estimation of the laws regarding the phenomenon of war and fighting.”
God Almighty said: {But if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight against the one that transgresses until it returns to the command of God.}
In addition to that, the beating mentioned in the verse is conditional on it being a non-severe beating. The commentators have interpreted non-severe beating as a beating that is not severe or difficult, and beating is not considered such unless it is light and with a light instrument, such as a toothpick and the like.
The purpose of this beating is not to cause pain or extinguish anger, but rather to discipline, reform, correct and treat. It is assumed that the one who is being beaten is a rebellious woman, with whom preaching and abandonment have not worked. Therefore, light beating is a treatment to avoid divorce, especially since the rebelliousness of some women occurs without awareness or realization of the consequences of the destruction of homes and the disintegration of families.
The efforts of some advocates to invalidate the verse on beating under the pretext of equality will not help in stopping the beating process, as women will continue to be beaten secretly, as happens in Western countries, which are full of human laws that prohibit beating. An American study conducted in 1987 indicates that 79% of men beat women… (This was in 1987, so what is the percentage today?) The number of women who are beaten in their homes every year is estimated at six million women.
If this number is increasing in those countries that prohibit beating, then why is this number not found in our Islamic environments, even though our Sharia permits beating? Is it not because the rule of accommodation and affection is the basis, while admonition, abandonment, and beating are exceptional cases that are evaluated according to their controls, as God Almighty said at the end of the verse: {But if they obey you, then you have no right over them.}
-2- The divorce formula given to the man
Many contemporary people object to the fact that divorce is in the hands of the man and see in Tunisian legislation a solution where Article 31 of it states: "The court is the one that announces the divorce based on the request of one of the spouses due to the harm that has befallen him, and the one of the spouses who has been harmed shall be awarded compensation for the material and moral harm resulting from the divorce.
" Supporters of this law believe that "it is more appropriate because it is more fair. It frees the woman from a right that the husband clings to, which has become very unjust to her."
In fact, these proposals about divorce do not deviate much from what Western scholars and their followers among the writers call for, who want to implement French civil law. Here it is useful to point out the following points:
-1- The acceptance of the spouses of the Islamic union requires them to adhere to the provisions of Sharia, which are not devoid of some rights that the wife who fears for herself from the husband can use to protect herself, such as making the right of divorce her own and stipulating special conditions in the marriage contract.
-2- Islam restricts divorce to the husband for several reasons, the most important of which is that he is the first to be harmed by divorce from a financial standpoint, as he is the one who must pay the dowry and maintenance to his divorced wife and her children throughout the waiting period and custody. This makes him more self-controlled than a woman, who may not be charged anything for swearing the divorce oath.
-3- Restricting divorce to the husband and not announcing it to the judge except in extreme cases is due to the principle of concealment that Islam calls for, because “most of the reasons for divorce are matters that should not be announced, in order to preserve the dignity of the family, the reputation of its members, and the future of its daughters and sons.” 1- The failure to reduce divorce rates, which was proven by the divorce statistics recorded in Tunisia, as the number did not decrease, but on the contrary, it increased significantly. “Although the justification given for taking the power
of divorce away from the husband
and entrusting it to the judge was to protect the family by giving the judge the opportunity to review the couple and try to reconcile them, the reality proves that the percentage of successful reconciliations is very small. Out of 1417 divorce cases published in the Court of First Instance in Tunis in the judicial season 80-81, only ten of them achieved reconciliation, while it was believed that polygamy, placing the husband in charge of the marital bond and not fining him in favor of the wife were the main reasons for divorce, and that eliminating them would reduce divorce rates. Statistics prove that none of this happened.”
2- Some Western courts that are entrusted with divorce matters in an attempt to reduce the divorce rate resort to refusing divorce if it is not due to adultery. Therefore, the spouses often collude with each other to throw this accusation at each other in order to separate, and they may fabricate testimonies and fabricated facts to prove adultery so that the court may rule for divorce.
Which of the two cases is more honorable, better, and more worthy of dignity? For divorce to take place without scandals? Or for it to take place only after scandals?
-3- The authority of the husband (guardianship)
Those who oppose Islamic law object to the principle of guardianship, which some call “guardianship,” meaning by that to define guardianship as “evaluating the role of the man.” They ask: “Are these rights granted to the husband that support this authority given to him by the Qur’anic texts, or do they constitute a definition of “realistic cases” that translate the idea of the “role” specific to the man, which must be protected?”
The confusion in understanding the concept of guardianship is due to their considering the man’s leadership over the woman as a leadership based on tyranny and injustice, while in reality it is a leadership of mercy, affection, and protection from fear and hunger. If there was tyranny and domination by the man over the woman, then the man would have the right to extend his hand to his wife’s money or prevent her from trading with her money, and Islam prevents him from doing that, or to force her to change her religion, and it is known that Islam permits a Muslim to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman while each of them retains his religion.
This guardianship is based on the fact that the man is responsible for spending on the family, and it is not in keeping with justice at all that an individual is responsible for spending on a certain entity without being responsible for it and supervising its affairs. Modern democracies were built on this principle, and constitutional law scholars summarize this principle in the following phrase: “He who spends supervises” or “He who pays supervises.”
This is the origin. The husband is obligated to work, and the woman is not. If she loves, she works, and if she hates, she sits. How beautiful is what one of the famous writers, “Agatha Christie,” said when she said: “Women are fools: because their position in society is getting worse, day after day. We women act foolishly, because we have made great efforts over the past years to obtain the right to work… and equality in work with men. Men are not fools, for they have encouraged us to do so, announcing that there is absolutely no objection to the wife working and doubling the husband’s income.”
It is sad that we, women, have proven that we are the gentler sex, and then we return today to be equal in effort and sweat that were once the share of men alone.”
Those who call for invalidating the formula of beating found in the Holy Quran and the Noble Prophetic Sunnah base their claim on the fact that the rule of the right to discipline a woman, “especially beating her,” is a historical phrase that had great effectiveness in transferring the ignorant mentality from killing a woman to questioning beating her, and it is not a legal rule.
To respond to this matter, we will first cite some verses and hadiths that mentioned this matter, then we will cite the response, God willing. The Almighty says:
{Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given one more (strength) than the other and because they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. So the righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding [in [the husband’s] husband’s absence as Allah would have guarded. But as for those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them and forsake them in bed and strike them. But if they obey you, seek not against them a way. Indeed, Allah is ever High and Grand.}
And he, may God bless him and grant him peace, said in the Farewell Pilgrimage: “Beware, treat women well, for they are like prisoners with you, and you have no control over them except that, unless they commit a clear indecency. If they do, then leave them alone in bed and beat them, but not severely. If they obey you, then seek no way against them, except that you have rights over your women and your women have rights over you. As for your rights over your women, they should not let anyone you dislike share your beds, and they should not allow anyone you dislike into your houses. Beware, their rights over you are that you should treat them well in their clothing and food.”
It is noticeable that these people, under the slogan of women’s humanity and dignity, take from the verse only what they want, which is the word “beating,” and they forget the sequence that was mentioned in the verse, where at the beginning there was praise for the believing woman who preserves the limits of her husband, and then the mention of the rebellious woman was mentioned. So the speech is related to a specific type of women, not all women. It is known that people’s natures differ from one person to another, and what benefits one does not benefit another. It is part of the justice of Islam that it mentioned the treatment for each case. As long as “there is in this world one woman out of a thousand women who can be reformed by this punishment,” then the law that misses this purpose is an incomplete law, because it prefers the destruction of the family to this procedure, and this is not the case with the law of Islam revealed by God.
In fact, “disciplining those who commit perversion and deviation, who are not helped by preaching or abandonment, is something that nature calls for and the system of society dictates. Nature has delegated it from sons to fathers, just as it has delegated it from nations to rulers. Without it, no family would survive and no nation would be righteous. The material wars that are based on iron and fire between civilized nations today are nothing but a type of this discipline in the eyes of the attackers and in the estimation of the laws regarding the phenomenon of war and fighting.”
God Almighty said: {But if one of them transgresses against the other, then fight against the one that transgresses until it returns to the command of God.}
In addition to that, the beating mentioned in the verse is conditional on it being a non-severe beating. The commentators have interpreted non-severe beating as a beating that is not severe or difficult, and beating is not considered such unless it is light and with a light instrument, such as a toothpick and the like.
The purpose of this beating is not to cause pain or extinguish anger, but rather to discipline, reform, correct and treat. It is assumed that the one who is being beaten is a rebellious woman, with whom preaching and abandonment have not worked. Therefore, light beating is a treatment to avoid divorce, especially since the rebelliousness of some women occurs without awareness or realization of the consequences of the destruction of homes and the disintegration of families.
The efforts of some advocates to invalidate the verse on beating under the pretext of equality will not help in stopping the beating process, as women will continue to be beaten secretly, as happens in Western countries, which are full of human laws that prohibit beating. An American study conducted in 1987 indicates that 79% of men beat women… (This was in 1987, so what is the percentage today?) The number of women who are beaten in their homes every year is estimated at six million women.
If this number is increasing in those countries that prohibit beating, then why is this number not found in our Islamic environments, even though our Sharia permits beating? Is it not because the rule of accommodation and affection is the basis, while admonition, abandonment, and beating are exceptional cases that are evaluated according to their controls, as God Almighty said at the end of the verse: {But if they obey you, then you have no right over them.}
-2- The divorce formula given to the man
Many contemporary people object to the fact that divorce is in the hands of the man and see in Tunisian legislation a solution where Article 31 of it states: "The court is the one that announces the divorce based on the request of one of the spouses due to the harm that has befallen him, and the one of the spouses who has been harmed shall be awarded compensation for the material and moral harm resulting from the divorce.
" Supporters of this law believe that "it is more appropriate because it is more fair. It frees the woman from a right that the husband clings to, which has become very unjust to her."
In fact, these proposals about divorce do not deviate much from what Western scholars and their followers among the writers call for, who want to implement French civil law. Here it is useful to point out the following points:
-1- The acceptance of the spouses of the Islamic union requires them to adhere to the provisions of Sharia, which are not devoid of some rights that the wife who fears for herself from the husband can use to protect herself, such as making the right of divorce her own and stipulating special conditions in the marriage contract.
-2- Islam restricts divorce to the husband for several reasons, the most important of which is that he is the first to be harmed by divorce from a financial standpoint, as he is the one who must pay the dowry and maintenance to his divorced wife and her children throughout the waiting period and custody. This makes him more self-controlled than a woman, who may not be charged anything for swearing the divorce oath.
-3- Restricting divorce to the husband and not announcing it to the judge except in extreme cases is due to the principle of concealment that Islam calls for, because “most of the reasons for divorce are matters that should not be announced, in order to preserve the dignity of the family, the reputation of its members, and the future of its daughters and sons.” 1- The failure to reduce divorce rates, which was proven by the divorce statistics recorded in Tunisia, as the number did not decrease, but on the contrary, it increased significantly. “Although the justification given for taking the power
of divorce away from the husband
and entrusting it to the judge was to protect the family by giving the judge the opportunity to review the couple and try to reconcile them, the reality proves that the percentage of successful reconciliations is very small. Out of 1417 divorce cases published in the Court of First Instance in Tunis in the judicial season 80-81, only ten of them achieved reconciliation, while it was believed that polygamy, placing the husband in charge of the marital bond and not fining him in favor of the wife were the main reasons for divorce, and that eliminating them would reduce divorce rates. Statistics prove that none of this happened.”
2- Some Western courts that are entrusted with divorce matters in an attempt to reduce the divorce rate resort to refusing divorce if it is not due to adultery. Therefore, the spouses often collude with each other to throw this accusation at each other in order to separate, and they may fabricate testimonies and fabricated facts to prove adultery so that the court may rule for divorce.
Which of the two cases is more honorable, better, and more worthy of dignity? For divorce to take place without scandals? Or for it to take place only after scandals?
-3- The authority of the husband (guardianship)
Those who oppose Islamic law object to the principle of guardianship, which some call “guardianship,” meaning by that to define guardianship as “evaluating the role of the man.” They ask: “Are these rights granted to the husband that support this authority given to him by the Qur’anic texts, or do they constitute a definition of “realistic cases” that translate the idea of the “role” specific to the man, which must be protected?”
The confusion in understanding the concept of guardianship is due to their considering the man’s leadership over the woman as a leadership based on tyranny and injustice, while in reality it is a leadership of mercy, affection, and protection from fear and hunger. If there was tyranny and domination by the man over the woman, then the man would have the right to extend his hand to his wife’s money or prevent her from trading with her money, and Islam prevents him from doing that, or to force her to change her religion, and it is known that Islam permits a Muslim to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman while each of them retains his religion.
This guardianship is based on the fact that the man is responsible for spending on the family, and it is not in keeping with justice at all that an individual is responsible for spending on a certain entity without being responsible for it and supervising its affairs. Modern democracies were built on this principle, and constitutional law scholars summarize this principle in the following phrase: “He who spends supervises” or “He who pays supervises.”
This is the origin. The husband is obligated to work, and the woman is not. If she loves, she works, and if she hates, she sits. How beautiful is what one of the famous writers, “Agatha Christie,” said when she said: “Women are fools: because their position in society is getting worse, day after day. We women act foolishly, because we have made great efforts over the past years to obtain the right to work… and equality in work with men. Men are not fools, for they have encouraged us to do so, announcing that there is absolutely no objection to the wife working and doubling the husband’s income.”
It is sad that we, women, have proven that we are the gentler sex, and then we return today to be equal in effort and sweat that were once the share of men alone.”
4- Polygamy:
Women’s rights advocates object to the polygamy system approved by Islam and consider it a waste of women’s dignity, an injustice to their rights, and an attack on the principle of equality between them and men. In addition, this matter is a cause for constant conflict between the husband and his wives and between the wives with each other, thus spreading chaos and disorder in family life. Therefore, they call for following the example of Turkey and Tunisia, which abolished the polygamy system and imposed the monogamy system, although if these people had looked at the statistics of the courts in these two countries, they would have changed their opinion or some of their opinions.
The most prominent results of the abolition of polygamy are mentioned by Westerners themselves, who emphasize the imbalance that has affected society as a result of the increase in the number of women in general, as this number has increased to eight million women in America. An American girl named "Linda" sent a letter to the World Council of Churches in which she said: "Statistics have shown that there is a huge gap between the number of men and women. There are seven million and eight thousand more women than men in America. She concludes her letter by saying: I ask you to publish this letter of mine because it concerns all women, even those who are married. As long as the ratio between men and women is not equal, the certain result is that men will betray their wives, even if their marital relationship is based on a reasonable basis."
The increase in the number of women over the number of men has several justifications, some of which are natural, some of which are social, and some of which are private.
The natural justifications are represented in the laws that govern the human species with regard to the ratio between males and females, while the most important social justifications are due to two matters: one is due to the burdens of social life and the distribution of work between the sexes, all of which makes males more exposed to death than females and shorter in life than them, and the second is that a man is not able to marry according to social conditions unless he is able to provide for his wife, family and home at a level appropriate for him... while every girl is fit for marriage and capable of it as soon as she reaches puberty.
While the special justifications are represented in what sometimes occurs in married life of matters that make polygamy a necessary necessity, as the wife may be sterile, or she may become unfit for married life as a result of being afflicted with a physical or nervous illness or a disability.
Which of the following is more appropriate for a wife to be divorced while she is sick and needs care and attention, and for the man to be described with vile qualities such as disloyalty and meanness, as the well-known proverb says, “He ate her meat and threw her away as a bone.” Or would it be more honorable for the wife to marry another woman while preserving all of her material rights?
The polygamy system is optional and not compulsory and it only occurs with the woman’s consent. Many people try to remove this consent from Islamic jurisprudence, claiming that Islam has deprived women of their right to choose a husband. However, a look at this jurisprudence indicates that the jurists agree that the explicit permission and consent of an adult woman who has been married is required before signing the contract. This type of woman is usually the one who agrees to be second wives. As for the adult woman who has not been married, the jurists agree that her silence indicating consent is sufficient for the validity of the contract. However, if there is evidence of her refusal, there is a disagreement among the jurists. The Hanafis say that her guardian may not marry her off, while the Shafi’is say that it is permissible for the guardian of coercion (the father or grandfather) to marry her off, but with conditions, including:
1- That there is no enmity between him and her.
2- That he marries her to someone suitable, and suitability is considered in religion, family, and social status.
3- That the husband be able to pay the dowry in advance.
All of this makes the contract valid, although it is preferable for the guardian to choose whom she will accept.
As for the first wife, Islam does not forbid her from accepting the second wife, as Islam permits her, if she dislikes her husband’s marriage, to stipulate this in the contract, thus protecting herself from the experience.
This is from the legal point of view. As for reality, “the statistics published on marriage and divorce in Arab and Islamic countries indicate that the percentage of those married to more than one woman is very small, hardly reaching one in a thousand.
The reason for this is clear, which is the development of social life, the rise in the standard of living, and the increase in the expenses of children in their living, education, and health care.” In addition to the fear of the husband, especially the religious one, of injustice between wives, as it was reported from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “Whoever has two wives and leans toward one of them will come on the Day of Resurrection with one of his cheeks hanging down.”
At the end of the topic of polygamy, we emphasize that the proposal to reject polygamy serves Western goals based on birth control in order to weaken the Islamic nation and reduce the number of its children so that they do not constitute a force to be reckoned with in the future.
5- Inheritance
: The demand for equality in inheritance between men and women is not strange to Islam, but rather the beginnings of this matter began since the revelation. It was mentioned in one of the narrations about the reasons for the revelation of verse 32 of Surat An-Nisa in the words of God Almighty: {And do not wish for what God has given some of you over others. Men shall have a share of what they have earned, and women shall have a share of what they have earned. And ask God of His bounty. Indeed, God is ever Knowing of all things.} Umm Salamah, may God be pleased with her, said, “O Messenger of God, men fight and we do not, and we have half the inheritance.”
At first glance, it may seem that Islam has wronged the daughter by giving her half of her brother’s share of the father’s estate. However, this contradicts reality, as Islam has charged the man with things it has not charged the woman with. He is responsible for her expenses and the expenses of his children and even his sisters if they have no one to support them. However, the Sharia has not charged the woman with any responsibilities. The money she inherits from her father remains hers alone, with no one sharing it with her. The son’s share is “subject to decrease due to the successive, renewed obligations that Islam has imposed on him, and the daughter’s share is subject to increase due to the dowries and gifts she receives.”
As for the argument of today’s women that the woman works and provides for her home like the husband and shares in the burdens, this is why the historical ruling of this verse is negated. This statement is religiously rejected, even if the spouses agree to write the condition of the woman working in the contract, the contract is valid and the condition is void, unlike some Western laws, including French law, which stipulates the wife’s contribution to the expenses.
It is useful to point out here that the rule of halving in inheritance based on the Almighty’s saying: (For the male is the equal of the share of two females) is not a general rule, because there are cases in which the male and female are equal, such as in the case of the father’s share, who is male, being equal to the mother’s share, who is female, in the inheritance of their son.
6- Testimony:
Women's associations demand that Lebanese law be amended in line with international agreements that call for giving women full legal capacity and rights. They believe that Islam stands as an obstacle to equality between men and women in testimony, considering that "this issue of testimony contradicts the principle of equality between men and women, and that it is another manifestation of the inferiority of women in Islamic law." In response to their allegations, we emphasize that discrimination in testimony between men and women is not absolute, but rather varies from one case to another, and is divided into sections:
1- Testimony in which a woman's testimony is absolutely not accepted, which is the testimony of retaliation and punishments, because the topics of these issues arouse women's emotions and they are unable to bear them.
2- The testimony of a pledge of allegiance and a debt, in which the testimony of two men or a man and two women is required based on the Almighty’s saying: (And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. But if there are not two men, then
a man and two women from among those whom you accept as witnesses. So that if one of them errs, the other may remind her.) This distinction in this type of testimony is not an absurd distinction, but rather goes back to the innate and natural differences between men and women, as women, due to their less preoccupation with pledges, are more exposed than men to error, which is forgetting one part and remembering another part. The reason for women’s error more than men is due to the nature of their body’s composition, which makes them quickly affected, which exposes them to instability.
3- The testimony of cursing, in which the testimony of a man and a woman are equal, as in the case of cursing, which is the case in which an accusation of marital infidelity occurs. Allah the Almighty said: (And those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses except themselves - the testimony of one of them shall be four testimonies by Allah that he is of the truthful. And the fifth, "The curse of Allah be upon him, if he should be of the liars." And the punishment will be averted from her if she bears witness four times by Allah that he is of the liars. And the fifth, "The wrath of Allah be upon her, if he should be of the truthful.
" 4- The testimony of birth, establishing the lineage of the newborn, and breastfeeding are all testimonies that are given only by the woman and not the man, as was reported from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "It was narrated from Uqbah ibn al-Harith that he married Umm Yahya bint Abi Ihab. A woman came and said: "I breastfed you both." Uqbah asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said: How is that when it has been said? So he divorced her after a period of four months, and she married another husband."
It is clear to us from the above that the necessity of having two women as witnesses with one man is a matter specific to debts only and not to other types of witnesses, which negates the existence of discrimination in rights between men and women and negates the infringement of women’s dignity. Rather, the most important thing is that the true religion aims to provide guarantees in testimony and increase the certainty to deliver the right to its owners.
Women’s rights advocates object to the polygamy system approved by Islam and consider it a waste of women’s dignity, an injustice to their rights, and an attack on the principle of equality between them and men. In addition, this matter is a cause for constant conflict between the husband and his wives and between the wives with each other, thus spreading chaos and disorder in family life. Therefore, they call for following the example of Turkey and Tunisia, which abolished the polygamy system and imposed the monogamy system, although if these people had looked at the statistics of the courts in these two countries, they would have changed their opinion or some of their opinions.
The most prominent results of the abolition of polygamy are mentioned by Westerners themselves, who emphasize the imbalance that has affected society as a result of the increase in the number of women in general, as this number has increased to eight million women in America. An American girl named "Linda" sent a letter to the World Council of Churches in which she said: "Statistics have shown that there is a huge gap between the number of men and women. There are seven million and eight thousand more women than men in America. She concludes her letter by saying: I ask you to publish this letter of mine because it concerns all women, even those who are married. As long as the ratio between men and women is not equal, the certain result is that men will betray their wives, even if their marital relationship is based on a reasonable basis."
The increase in the number of women over the number of men has several justifications, some of which are natural, some of which are social, and some of which are private.
The natural justifications are represented in the laws that govern the human species with regard to the ratio between males and females, while the most important social justifications are due to two matters: one is due to the burdens of social life and the distribution of work between the sexes, all of which makes males more exposed to death than females and shorter in life than them, and the second is that a man is not able to marry according to social conditions unless he is able to provide for his wife, family and home at a level appropriate for him... while every girl is fit for marriage and capable of it as soon as she reaches puberty.
While the special justifications are represented in what sometimes occurs in married life of matters that make polygamy a necessary necessity, as the wife may be sterile, or she may become unfit for married life as a result of being afflicted with a physical or nervous illness or a disability.
Which of the following is more appropriate for a wife to be divorced while she is sick and needs care and attention, and for the man to be described with vile qualities such as disloyalty and meanness, as the well-known proverb says, “He ate her meat and threw her away as a bone.” Or would it be more honorable for the wife to marry another woman while preserving all of her material rights?
The polygamy system is optional and not compulsory and it only occurs with the woman’s consent. Many people try to remove this consent from Islamic jurisprudence, claiming that Islam has deprived women of their right to choose a husband. However, a look at this jurisprudence indicates that the jurists agree that the explicit permission and consent of an adult woman who has been married is required before signing the contract. This type of woman is usually the one who agrees to be second wives. As for the adult woman who has not been married, the jurists agree that her silence indicating consent is sufficient for the validity of the contract. However, if there is evidence of her refusal, there is a disagreement among the jurists. The Hanafis say that her guardian may not marry her off, while the Shafi’is say that it is permissible for the guardian of coercion (the father or grandfather) to marry her off, but with conditions, including:
1- That there is no enmity between him and her.
2- That he marries her to someone suitable, and suitability is considered in religion, family, and social status.
3- That the husband be able to pay the dowry in advance.
All of this makes the contract valid, although it is preferable for the guardian to choose whom she will accept.
As for the first wife, Islam does not forbid her from accepting the second wife, as Islam permits her, if she dislikes her husband’s marriage, to stipulate this in the contract, thus protecting herself from the experience.
This is from the legal point of view. As for reality, “the statistics published on marriage and divorce in Arab and Islamic countries indicate that the percentage of those married to more than one woman is very small, hardly reaching one in a thousand.
The reason for this is clear, which is the development of social life, the rise in the standard of living, and the increase in the expenses of children in their living, education, and health care.” In addition to the fear of the husband, especially the religious one, of injustice between wives, as it was reported from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “Whoever has two wives and leans toward one of them will come on the Day of Resurrection with one of his cheeks hanging down.”
At the end of the topic of polygamy, we emphasize that the proposal to reject polygamy serves Western goals based on birth control in order to weaken the Islamic nation and reduce the number of its children so that they do not constitute a force to be reckoned with in the future.
5- Inheritance
: The demand for equality in inheritance between men and women is not strange to Islam, but rather the beginnings of this matter began since the revelation. It was mentioned in one of the narrations about the reasons for the revelation of verse 32 of Surat An-Nisa in the words of God Almighty: {And do not wish for what God has given some of you over others. Men shall have a share of what they have earned, and women shall have a share of what they have earned. And ask God of His bounty. Indeed, God is ever Knowing of all things.} Umm Salamah, may God be pleased with her, said, “O Messenger of God, men fight and we do not, and we have half the inheritance.”
At first glance, it may seem that Islam has wronged the daughter by giving her half of her brother’s share of the father’s estate. However, this contradicts reality, as Islam has charged the man with things it has not charged the woman with. He is responsible for her expenses and the expenses of his children and even his sisters if they have no one to support them. However, the Sharia has not charged the woman with any responsibilities. The money she inherits from her father remains hers alone, with no one sharing it with her. The son’s share is “subject to decrease due to the successive, renewed obligations that Islam has imposed on him, and the daughter’s share is subject to increase due to the dowries and gifts she receives.”
As for the argument of today’s women that the woman works and provides for her home like the husband and shares in the burdens, this is why the historical ruling of this verse is negated. This statement is religiously rejected, even if the spouses agree to write the condition of the woman working in the contract, the contract is valid and the condition is void, unlike some Western laws, including French law, which stipulates the wife’s contribution to the expenses.
It is useful to point out here that the rule of halving in inheritance based on the Almighty’s saying: (For the male is the equal of the share of two females) is not a general rule, because there are cases in which the male and female are equal, such as in the case of the father’s share, who is male, being equal to the mother’s share, who is female, in the inheritance of their son.
6- Testimony:
Women's associations demand that Lebanese law be amended in line with international agreements that call for giving women full legal capacity and rights. They believe that Islam stands as an obstacle to equality between men and women in testimony, considering that "this issue of testimony contradicts the principle of equality between men and women, and that it is another manifestation of the inferiority of women in Islamic law." In response to their allegations, we emphasize that discrimination in testimony between men and women is not absolute, but rather varies from one case to another, and is divided into sections:
1- Testimony in which a woman's testimony is absolutely not accepted, which is the testimony of retaliation and punishments, because the topics of these issues arouse women's emotions and they are unable to bear them.
2- The testimony of a pledge of allegiance and a debt, in which the testimony of two men or a man and two women is required based on the Almighty’s saying: (And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. But if there are not two men, then
a man and two women from among those whom you accept as witnesses. So that if one of them errs, the other may remind her.) This distinction in this type of testimony is not an absurd distinction, but rather goes back to the innate and natural differences between men and women, as women, due to their less preoccupation with pledges, are more exposed than men to error, which is forgetting one part and remembering another part. The reason for women’s error more than men is due to the nature of their body’s composition, which makes them quickly affected, which exposes them to instability.
3- The testimony of cursing, in which the testimony of a man and a woman are equal, as in the case of cursing, which is the case in which an accusation of marital infidelity occurs. Allah the Almighty said: (And those who accuse their wives but have no witnesses except themselves - the testimony of one of them shall be four testimonies by Allah that he is of the truthful. And the fifth, "The curse of Allah be upon him, if he should be of the liars." And the punishment will be averted from her if she bears witness four times by Allah that he is of the liars. And the fifth, "The wrath of Allah be upon her, if he should be of the truthful.
" 4- The testimony of birth, establishing the lineage of the newborn, and breastfeeding are all testimonies that are given only by the woman and not the man, as was reported from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "It was narrated from Uqbah ibn al-Harith that he married Umm Yahya bint Abi Ihab. A woman came and said: "I breastfed you both." Uqbah asked the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said: How is that when it has been said? So he divorced her after a period of four months, and she married another husband."
It is clear to us from the above that the necessity of having two women as witnesses with one man is a matter specific to debts only and not to other types of witnesses, which negates the existence of discrimination in rights between men and women and negates the infringement of women’s dignity. Rather, the most important thing is that the true religion aims to provide guarantees in testimony and increase the certainty to deliver the right to its owners.
Conclusion
Islam has given women rights and imposed duties on them that they must observe when they demand any right that may not be consistent with what Islam has imposed on them. Among these rights are those demanded by international agreements, the application of which conflicts with Islamic law in several aspects, including:
1- They do not satisfy Muslim women because most of the rights they demand have been practiced by Muslim women for fourteen centuries.
2- The rights that Islam has legislated for women are fixed because they are documented by Quranic verses and noble prophetic hadiths, and are therefore binding on both men and women alike.
3- These agreements have overlooked an important aspect, which is the spiritual and ideological aspect.
4- Women's rights in international trends are not fixed rights because they are human-made.
5- These agreements, with all their articles, have overlooked the distinctive characteristics of each part of the two parts of the same soul, I mean masculinity and femininity and the physical and physiological differences between them.
In conclusion, we ask Allah Almighty to make Muslim women steadfast in their religion and guide them against the conspiracies that are being hatched against them that aim to destroy them by destroying their families and pushing them to go against their nature. International agreements do not care about women’s happiness or misery, but rather care about bigger issues that affect the major countries that drafted them, the most important of which is birth control in developing countries so that they do not constitute a force that poses a threat to them in the future. This was emphasized by Henry Kissinger, the advisor to the former US President in 1974 AD, when he said: “There are 13 countries, six of which are Muslim countries with high population density, and the United States has political and strategic interests in them. Therefore, policies must be implemented to reduce their population so that they do not become more powerful than they are now.”
This is what is being planned for us, so is there anyone who will listen or consider… Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Index
The Holy Quran
and the books of the Noble Prophetic Sunnah.
1- Dr. Mustafa al-Siba’i, Women between Jurisprudence and Law, Islamic Office, Beirut, Sixth Edition, 1404 AH, 1984 AD.
2- Dr. Samia Abdul Mawla Al-Shaar, Foundations of Women’s Freedom in Islamic Legislation, Dar Al-Falah Publishing, First Edition, 1420 AH, 1999 AD.
3- Dr. Samia Abdul Mawla Al-Shaar, Research entitled “Methodology of Convergence between Islamic Jurisprudence and Personal Status Laws”.
4- Muhammad Rashid Al-Awid, For the True Liberation of Women, Dar Ibn Hazm, Beirut, First Edition, 1413 AH, 1993 AD.
5- Sheikh Rashid Al-Ghannouchi, Women between the Qur’an and the Reality of Muslims, Maghreb Center for Research and Translation, London, Third Edition, 1421 AH, 2000 AD.
6- Fida Abdul Razzaq Al-Qasir, The Peaceful Woman between Islamic Law and Western Delusions, Al-Rayyan Foundation, Beirut, First Edition, 1420 AH, 1999 AD.
7- Dr. Ali Abdel Waheb Wafi, Women in Islam, Dar Nahdet Misr for Printing and Publishing, Cairo, second edition.
Praise be to God.
Islam has given women rights and imposed duties on them that they must observe when they demand any right that may not be consistent with what Islam has imposed on them. Among these rights are those demanded by international agreements, the application of which conflicts with Islamic law in several aspects, including:
1- They do not satisfy Muslim women because most of the rights they demand have been practiced by Muslim women for fourteen centuries.
2- The rights that Islam has legislated for women are fixed because they are documented by Quranic verses and noble prophetic hadiths, and are therefore binding on both men and women alike.
3- These agreements have overlooked an important aspect, which is the spiritual and ideological aspect.
4- Women's rights in international trends are not fixed rights because they are human-made.
5- These agreements, with all their articles, have overlooked the distinctive characteristics of each part of the two parts of the same soul, I mean masculinity and femininity and the physical and physiological differences between them.
In conclusion, we ask Allah Almighty to make Muslim women steadfast in their religion and guide them against the conspiracies that are being hatched against them that aim to destroy them by destroying their families and pushing them to go against their nature. International agreements do not care about women’s happiness or misery, but rather care about bigger issues that affect the major countries that drafted them, the most important of which is birth control in developing countries so that they do not constitute a force that poses a threat to them in the future. This was emphasized by Henry Kissinger, the advisor to the former US President in 1974 AD, when he said: “There are 13 countries, six of which are Muslim countries with high population density, and the United States has political and strategic interests in them. Therefore, policies must be implemented to reduce their population so that they do not become more powerful than they are now.”
This is what is being planned for us, so is there anyone who will listen or consider… Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.
Index
The Holy Quran
and the books of the Noble Prophetic Sunnah.
1- Dr. Mustafa al-Siba’i, Women between Jurisprudence and Law, Islamic Office, Beirut, Sixth Edition, 1404 AH, 1984 AD.
2- Dr. Samia Abdul Mawla Al-Shaar, Foundations of Women’s Freedom in Islamic Legislation, Dar Al-Falah Publishing, First Edition, 1420 AH, 1999 AD.
3- Dr. Samia Abdul Mawla Al-Shaar, Research entitled “Methodology of Convergence between Islamic Jurisprudence and Personal Status Laws”.
4- Muhammad Rashid Al-Awid, For the True Liberation of Women, Dar Ibn Hazm, Beirut, First Edition, 1413 AH, 1993 AD.
5- Sheikh Rashid Al-Ghannouchi, Women between the Qur’an and the Reality of Muslims, Maghreb Center for Research and Translation, London, Third Edition, 1421 AH, 2000 AD.
6- Fida Abdul Razzaq Al-Qasir, The Peaceful Woman between Islamic Law and Western Delusions, Al-Rayyan Foundation, Beirut, First Edition, 1420 AH, 1999 AD.
7- Dr. Ali Abdel Waheb Wafi, Women in Islam, Dar Nahdet Misr for Printing and Publishing, Cairo, second edition.
Praise be to God.
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