Islam and Women: Difference between revisions

One of the earliest and most important biographies of Muhammad, that of Ibn Ishaq, reports Muhammad to have described women as 'prisoners'.{{Quote||"Lay injunctions on women kindly, '''for they are prisoners with you having no control of their persons.''' You have taken them only as a trust from God, and you have the enjoyment of their persons by the words of God, so understand (T. and listen to) my words, O men, for I have told you.<ref> ibn Ishaq, p. 651</ref>}}In a hadith in Sahih Bukhari, Sad bin Ar-Rabi hands over his wives in a purely transactional manner, the spirit of which was reinforced by the institution of ''mahr''.{{Quote|{{Bukhari|3|34|264}}|Narrated Ibrahim bin Sad from his father from his grand-father: Abdur Rahman bin Auf said, "When we came to Medina as emigrants, Allah's Apostle established a bond of brotherhood between me and Sad bin Ar-Rabi'. Sad bin Ar-Rabi' said (to me), 'I am the richest among the Ansar, so '''I will give you half of my wealth and you may look at my two wives and whichever of the two you may choose I will divorce her''', and when she has completed the prescribed period (before marriage) '''you may marry her'''.'}}Women are also mentioned in classical Islamic texts in contexts which suggest them to be possessions along with animals.{{Quote |Ibn-i-Majah vol.3 no.1918 p.157| When one is given a woman, servant, or cattle, one should seize its forehead and pray to Allah.}}{{Quote|al-Tabari vol.9 p.113|Treat women well, for they are like domestic animals (awan) with you and do not possess anything for themselves.}}

==72 Virgins in Paradise==

:''Main Articles: [[72 Virgins]] and [[Authenticity of 72 Virgins Hadith]]''

Islamic law prohibits Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men. Islamic law permits men to marry up to four wives (alongside an unlimited number of concubines), while women are restricted to a single husband and are prohibited from any other form of sexual activity. Modern Islamic scholars differ on whether or not a bride may stipulate as a condition of her marriage that her husband remain monogamous.

===Control over movement and taking other wives===

Child marriage and sexual activity between adults and children are sanctioned by Islamic law and were practiced by Muhammad and his companions. As is the case within all contexts where sexual activity is permitted in Islam - namely, marriage and slavery - female consent is not required and the category of "rape" does not exist. The only restriction on sexual activity with children of any age within the contexts of marriage and slavery is that the child should not come to severe physical harm as a consequence of the encounter.

====Encouragement to marry and fondle young virgins====

{{Main|Wife Beating in Islamic Law|Wife Beating in the Qur'an|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Wife Beating}}Under Islamic law, women are obligated to obey their husbands in their domestic, social, professional, sexual and, to a limited extent, religious lives. Marital rape is not considered a crime. {{Quran|4|34}} instructs Muslims men to, among other things, beat their wives if they fear nushuz (a word of unclear meaning but to be compared with similar usage in {{Quran|4|128}}. Muslim scholars agree on the permissibility of the practice but disagree on the conditions for and nature of the beating permitted. Women are also accorded a number of rights under the ''nikah'' contract. Men are obligated to provide for their wives financially and not to be too harsh to them, although the meaning of this latter requirement is set by the marital and gender norms of 7th century Arabia, where wife-beating was commonplace and acceptable. Women whose husbands fail to fulfill these rights are eligible for requesting divorce.

===Segregation===

{{Main|Sex Segregation in Islam}}In Islamic law, unrelated women and men are not allowed to be alone together, have any sort of physical contact, engage in frivolous conversation, look at one another for any reason other than momentarily for the purpose of identification, or pray such that a woman is located in front of or adjacent to any man (women must stand behind men in prayer). Women are also instructed in the Quran to remain at home as much as possible and are required to live and travel under the supervision of a male guardian or relative.

''Mariyah the Copt'' was one of the prophet’s wives’ maids. Muhammad slept with her without any ceremony, which caused uproar among his wives. The controversy was finally was settled by divine intervention.  

 

''The Farewell Sermon'' (خطبة الوداع‎, Khuṭbatu l-Wadā') is Muhammad's last sermon before his death in 632 CE. The modern redacted and edited version of the sermon differs significantly from the original versions found in {{Abudawud||1900|Hasan}}, al-Tabari's History, and ibn Ishaq's ''Sirat'', Muhammad's order in the sermon to beat one's confirms the Qur'anic order of wife-beating in {{Quran|4|34}}. In al-Tabari's version, Muhammad also compares women to domestic animals, and in ibn Ishaq's version, quoted below, women are compared to prisoners.

{{Quote||"You have rights over your wives and they have rights over you. You have the right that they should not defile your bed and that they should not behave with open unseemliness. '''If they do, God allows you to put them in separate rooms and beat them''' but not with severity. If they refrain from these things they have the right to their food and clothing with kindness. Lay injunctions on women kindly, '''for they are prisoners with you having no control of their persons.''' You have taken them as a trust from God, and you have the enjoyment of their persons by the words of God, so understand…"<ref>Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 651</ref>}}

In Islamic law, there is no punishment merely for the shame caused upon a family by their female relations, nor to restore family honor by killing them. There are, however, punishments for various types of [[w:Zina|Zina]] (unlawful sexual relations) in Islam. Zina includes both fornication (when they are unmarried), for which the punishment is flogging, and adultery (when they are married, but not to each other), for which the punishment is death by stoning. These punishments are only to be applied by the authorities.

However, some statements about women and the rules to control them as outlined above in this article may contribute to the perceived social consequences of failing to exert such control and the underlying attitudes towards women and girls held by those who commit honor killing and honor violence. This includes such rules as those concerning parents and their children, a woman marrying without the approval of her wali, and zina. Underlining the seriousness in which some of these are regarded, certain punishments such as stoning, flogging, and even death by being thrown off a tall building are prescribed for sexual crimes in Islamic law, though these are to be carried out by the authorities. A connection is disputed by some on the basis that honor killing in the Muslim world is largely associated with certain countries like Pakistan and in parts of the Middle East and North Africa rather than universal. The problem has also been documented in a Hindu religious context in countries such as India and Nepal, particularly involving couples of differing castes.

The United Nations Population Fund estimated in September 2000 that as many as 5,000 women and girls fall victim to such killings each year.