Women in Islam Versus Women in The Judaeo-Christian Tradition - The Myth &amp The Reality

6/4/2011 WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN T…
WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN THE

JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION:
THE MYTH &
THE REALITY
BY Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem
For other languages of this book click here
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. EVE'S FAULT ?
3. EVE'S LEGACY
4. SHAMEFUL DAUGHTERS ?
5. FEMALE EDUCATION ?
6. UNCLEAN IMPURE WOMAN ?
7. BEARING WITNESS
8. ADULTERY
9. VOWS
10. WIFE'S PROPERTY ?
11. DIVORCE
12. MOTHERS
13. FEMALE INHERITANCE ?
14. PLIGHT OF WIDOWS
15. POLYGAMY
16. THE VEIL
17. EPILOGUE
and Not es
1. INTRODUCTION
Five years ago, I read in t he Toront o St ar issue of July 3, 1990 an

art icle titled "Islam is not alone in pat riarchal doct rines", by
Gwynne Dyer. The art icle described t he furious react ions of the
participants of a conference on women and power held in
Mont real to t he comments of t he famous Egypt ian feminist Dr.
Nawal Saadawi. Her "polit ically incorrect" st at ement s included :
"the most rest rict ive element s t owards women can be found first in
http://www.sultan.org/articles/women.html 1/53
Judaism in t he Old Test ament then in Christ ianity and t hen in the
Quran"; "all religions are pat riarchal because t hey st em from
pat riarchal societ ies"; and "veiling of women is not a specifically
Islamic practice but an ancient cultural herit age wit h analogies in
sist er religions". The part icipant s could not bear sitt ing around
while t heir fait hs were being equated with Islam. Thus, Dr. Saadawi
received a barrage of criticism. "Dr. Saadawi's comments are
unaccept able. Her answers reveal a lack of underst anding about
ot her people's faiths," declared Bernice Dubois of the World
Movement of Mot hers. "I must protest " said panellist Alice Shalvi of
Israel women's net work, "t here is no concept ion of the veil in
Judaism." The article att ributed t hese furious protests to t he strong
t endency in t he West to scapegoat Islam for practices that are
just as much a part of the West 's own cult ural herit age. "Christ ian
and Jewish feminist s were not going t o sit around being discussed
in t he same cat egory as t hose wicked Muslims," wrot e Gwynne
Dyer.
I was not surprised t hat t he conference participants had held

such a negat ive view of Islam, especially when women's issues
were involved. In the West , Islam is believed t o be the symbol of
t he subordination of women par excellence. In order t o
underst and how firm this belief is, it is enough to ment ion that the
Minist er of Education in France, t he land of Volt aire, has recently
ordered t he expulsion of all young Muslim women wearing the veil
from French schools!1 A young Muslim st udent wearing a
headscarf is denied her right of education in France, while a
Catholic student wearing a cross or a Jewish st udent wearing a
skullcap is not. The scene of French policemen prevent ing young
Muslim women wearing headscarves from ent ering their high
school is unforget t able. It inspires t he memories of anot her equally
disgraceful scene of Governor George Wallace of Alabama in
1962 st anding in front of a school gate trying to block the
ent rance of black st udent s in order to prevent the desegregation
of Alabama's schools. The difference bet ween t he t wo scenes is
t hat t he black st udents had t he sympat hy of so many people in
t he U.S. and in the whole world. President Kennedy sent t he U.S.
Nat ional Guard t o force the ent ry of the black st udent s. The
Muslim girls, on the ot her hand, received no help from any one.
Their cause seems t o have very lit tle sympathy either inside or
out side France. The reason is t he widespread misunderst anding
and fear of anything Islamic in the world t oday.
What int rigued me t he most about t he Mont real conference was
one question : Were t he st atements made by Saadawi, or any of
her crit ics, fact ual ? In ot her words, do Judaism, Christ ianit y, and
Islam have the same concept ion of women? Are t hey different in
t heir concept ions ? Do Judaism and Christ ianit y , truly, offer
women a bet ter t reatment t han Islam does? What is the Truth?
It is not easy t o search for and find answers t o t hese difficult

quest ions. The first difficult y is t hat one has t o be fair and objective
or, at least, do one's ut most t o be so. This is what Islam t eaches.
The Quran has inst ructed Muslims t o say t he t rut h even if those
who are very close t o t hem do not like it: "Whenever you speak,
speak just ly, even if a near relat ive is concerned" (6:152) "O you
who believe stand out firmly for justice, as wit nesses to Allah, even
as against yourselves, or your parent s or your kin, and whet her it be
(against ) rich or poor" (4:135).
The ot her great difficulty is the overwhelming breadt h of the

subject . Therefore, during the last few years, I have spent many
hours reading the Bible, The Encyclopaedia of Religion, and the
Encyclopaedia Judaica searching for answers. I have also read
several books discussing the posit ion of women in different religions
writ t en by scholars, apologist s, and crit ics. The mat erial present ed
in t he following chapters represents t he import ant findings of t his
humble research. I don't claim t o be absolutely object ive. This is
beyond my limit ed capacit y. All I can say is t hat I have been
t rying, t hroughout t his research, to approach t he Quranic ideal of
"speaking just ly".
I would like to emphasize in t his int roduct ion t hat my purpose for
t his study is not t o denigrat e Judaism or Christ ianit y. As Muslims, we
believe in t he divine origins of both. No one can be a Muslim
wit hout believing in Moses and Jesus as great prophet s of God. My
goal is only t o vindicat e Islam and pay a tribut e, long overdue in
t he West , t o t he final trut hful Message from God t o t he human
race. I would also like to emphasize t hat I concerned myself only
wit h Doctrine. That is, my concern is, mainly, t he position of women
in t he t hree religions as it appears in t heir original sources not as
pract ised by t heir millions of followers in the world t oday. Therefore,
most of t he evidence cit ed comes from the Quran, t he sayings of
Prophet Muhammad, t he Bible, t he Talmud, and t he sayings of
some of t he most influent ial Church Fathers whose views have
contribut ed immeasurably t o defining and shaping Christ ianit y.

This int erest in t he sources relat es t o t he fact t hat underst anding a
cert ain religion from t he at tit udes and t he behaviour of some of it s
nominal followers is misleading. Many people confuse cult ure wit h
religion, many ot hers do not know what their religious books are
saying, and many ot hers do not even care.
2. EVE'S FAULT ?
The t hree religions agree on one basic fact : Both women and men
are creat ed by God, The Creat or of t he whole universe. However,
disagreement start s soon aft er t he creat ion of the first man,
Adam, and t he first woman, Eve. The Judaeo-Christ ian
concept ion of the creat ion of Adam and Eve is narrat ed in detail
in Genesis 2:4-3:24. God prohibit ed both of t hem from eating the
fruit s of the forbidden t ree. The serpent seduced Eve t o eat from it
and Eve, in t urn, seduced Adam t o eat wit h her. When God
rebuked Adam for what he did, he put all t he blame on Eve, "The
woman you put here with me --she gave me some fruit from the
t ree and I at e it." Consequently, God said t o Eve:
"I will great ly increase your pains in childbearing; wit h pain you
will give birt h t o children. Your desire will be for your husband and
he will rule over you."
To Adam He said:
"Because you list ened t o your wife and at e from t he t ree ....
Cursed is t he ground because of you; t hrough painful t oil you will
eat of it all t he days of your life..."
The Islamic concept ion of t he first creat ion is found in several

places in t he Quran, for example:
"O Adam dwell wit h your wife in t he Garden and enjoy as you
wish but approach not t his t ree or you run int o harm and
t ransgression. Then Sat an whispered t o t hem in order t o reveal t o
t hem t heir shame t hat was hidden from t hem and he said: 'Your
Lord only forbade you t his t ree lest you become angels or such
beings as live forever.' And he swore t o t hem bot h t hat he was
t heir sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought t hem t o t heir fall:
when t hey t ast ed t he t ree t heir shame became manifest t o
t hem and t hey began t o sew t oget her t he leaves of t he Garden
over t heir bodies. And t heir Lord called unt o t hem: 'Did I not
forbid you t hat t ree and t ell you t hat Sat an was your avowed
enemy?' They said: 'Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if
You forgive us not and best ow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall
cert ainly be lost ' " (7:19:23).
A careful look into t he two accounts of t he st ory of t he Creation

reveals some essent ial differences. The Quran, contrary t o the
Bible, places equal blame on both Adam and Eve for t heir
mistake. Nowhere in t he Quran can one find even t he slightest
hint that Eve t empt ed Adam t o eat from t he t ree or even t hat
she had eat en before him. Eve in t he Quran is no t empt ress, no
seducer, and no deceiver. Moreover, Eve is not t o be blamed for
t he pains of childbearing. God, according t o t he Quran, punishes
no one for anot her's fault s. Bot h Adam and Eve commit ted a sin
and then asked God for forgiveness and He forgave them both.
3. EVE'S LEGACY
The image of Eve as t empt ress in t he Bible has resulted in an

ext remely negative impact on women t hroughout t he Judaeo-
Christ ian tradit ion. All women were believed t o have inherit ed
from their mot her, the Biblical Eve, bot h her guilt and her guile.
Consequent ly, t hey were all untrust worthy, morally inferior, and
wicked. Menstruation, pregnancy, and childbearing were
considered t he just punishment for t he eternal guilt of t he cursed
female sex. In order to appreciat e how negat ive the impact of
t he Biblical Eve was on all her female descendants we have t o
look at t he writ ings of some of t he most import ant Jews and
Christ ians of all t ime. Let us st art wit h t he Old Test ament and look
at excerpt s from what is called t he Wisdom Lit erat ure in which we
find:
"I find more bit t er t han deat h t he woman who is a snare, whose
heart is a t rap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases
God will escape her, but t he sinner she will ensnare....while I was
st ill searching but not finding, I found one upright man among a
t housand but not one upright woman among t hem all"
(Ecclesiast es 7:26-28).
In another part of t he Hebrew lit erature which is found in the

Catholic Bible we read:
"No wickedness comes anywhere near t he wickedness of a

woman.....Sin began wit h a woman and t hanks t o her we all
must die" (Ecclesiast icus 25:19,24).
Jewish Rabbis listed nine curses inflict ed on women as a result of

t he Fall:
"To t he woman He gave nine curses and deat h: t he burden of t he

blood of menst ruat ion and t he blood of virginit y; t he burden of
pregnancy; t he burden of childbirt h; t he burden of bringing up
t he children; her head is covered as one in mourning; she pierces
her ear like a permanent slave or slave girl who serves her mast er;
she is not t o be believed as a wit ness; and aft er everyt hing--
deat h." 2
To t he present day, orthodox Jewish men in their daily morning

prayer recit e "Blessed be God King of t he universe t hat Thou has
not made me a woman." The women, on t he ot her hand, thank
God every morning for "making me according t o Thy will." 3
Another prayer found in many Jewish prayer books: "Praised be
God t hat he has not creat ed me a gentile. Praised be God t hat
he has not creat ed me a woman. Praised be God t hat he has not
created me an ignoramus." 4
The Biblical Eve has played a far bigger role in Christ ianit y t han in
Judaism. Her sin has been pivot al t o t he whole Christian fait h
because the Christian concept ion of t he reason for t he mission of
Jesus Christ on Earth st ems from Eve's disobedience t o God. She
had sinned and t hen seduced Adam t o follow her suit.
Consequent ly, God expelled bot h of t hem from Heaven t o Earth,
which had been cursed because of them. They bequeathed t heir
sin, which had not been forgiven by God, t o all t heir descendant s
and, t hus, all humans are born in sin. In order t o purify human
beings from their 'original sin', God had t o sacrifice Jesus, who is
considered t o be t he Son of God, on t he cross. Therefore, Eve is
responsible for her own mist ake, her husband's sin, t he original sin of
all humanit y, and t he deat h of t he Son of God. In ot her words, one
woman acting on her own caused t he fall of humanit y. 5 What
about her daught ers? They are sinners like her and have t o be
t reated as such. List en to t he severe tone of St . Paul in t he New
Testament :
"A woman should learn in quiet ness and full submission. I don't
permit a woman t o t each or t o have aut horit y over a man; she
must be silent . For Adam was formed first , t hen Eve. And Adam
was not t he one deceived; it was t he woman who was deceived
and became a sinner" (I Timot hy 2:11-14).
St. Tert ullian was even more blunt t han St . Paul, while he was
t alking to his 'best beloved sisters' in the fait h, he said: 6
"Do you not know t hat you are each an Eve? The sent ence of God
on t his sex of yours lives in t his age: t he guilt must of necessit y live
t oo. You are t he Devil's gat eway: You are t he unsealer of t he
forbidden t ree: You are t he first desert er of t he divine law: You
are she who persuaded him whom t he devil was not valiant
enough t o at t ack. You dest royed so easily God's image, man. On
account of your desert even t he Son of God had t o die."
St. August ine was fait hful t o t he legacy of his predecessors, he

wrot e t o a friend:
"What is t he difference whet her it is in a wife or a mot her, it is st ill

Eve t he t empt ress t hat we must beware of in any woman......I
fail t o see what use woman can be t o man, if one excludes t he
funct ion of bearing children."
Centuries lat er, St . Thomas Aquinas st ill considered women as

defect ive:
"As regards t he individual nat ure, woman is defect ive and

misbegot t en, for t he act ive force in t he male seed t ends t o t he
product ion of a perfect likeness in t he masculine sex; while t he
product ion of woman comes from a defect in t he act ive force or
from some mat erial indisposit ion, or even from some ext ernal
influence."
Finally, t he renowned reformer Martin Lut her could not see any
benefit from a woman but bringing int o the world as many
children as possible regardless of any side effect s:
"If t hey become t ired or even die, t hat does not mat t er. Let
t hem die in childbirt h, t hat 's why t hey are t here"
Again and again all women are denigrat ed because of t he image

of Eve t he temptress, t hanks t o t he Genesis account. To sum up,
t he Judaeo-Christ ian concept ion of women has been poisoned by
t he belief in the sinful nat ure of Eve and her female offspring.
If we now t urn our at t ent ion to what t he Quran has to say about
women, we will soon realize t hat t he Islamic concept ion of women
is radically different from t he Judaeo-Christian one. Let t he Quran
speak for it self:
"For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for
devout men and women, for t rue men and women, for men and
women who are pat ient , for men and women who humble
t hemselves, for men and women who give in charit y, for men
and women who fast , for men and women who guard t heir
chast it y, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's
praise-- For t hem all has Allah prepared forgiveness and great
reward" (33:35).
"The believers, men and women, are prot ect ors, one of anot her:
t hey enjoin what is just , and forbid what is evil, t hey observe
regular prayers, pract ise regular charit y, and obey Allah and His
Messenger. On t hem will Allah pour His Mercy: for Allah is Exalt ed
in power, Wise" (9:71).
"And t heir Lord answered t hem: Truly I will never cause t o be lost
t he work of any of you, Be you a male or female, you are members
one of anot her" (3:195).
"Whoever works evil will not be requit ed but by t he like t hereof,

and whoever works a right eous deed -whet her man or woman-
and is a believer- such will ent er t he Garden of bliss" (40:40).
"Whoever works right eousness, man or woman, and has fait h,

verily t o him/her we will give a new life t hat is good and pure,
and we will best ow on such t heir reward according t o t he best of
t heir act ions" (16:97).
It is clear t hat t he Quranic view of women is no different t han t hat

of men. They, both, are God's creat ures whose sublime goal on
eart h is t o worship t heir Lord, do right eous deeds, and avoid evil
and t hey, bot h, will be assessed accordingly. The Quran never
ment ions t hat t he woman is t he devil's gat eway or that she is a
deceiver by nat ure. The Quran, also, never ment ions that man is
God's image; all men and all women are his creatures, t hat is all.
According t o t he Quran, a woman's role on eart h is not limit ed
only t o childbirt h. She is required t o do as many good deeds as any
ot her man is required to do. The Quran never says that no upright
women have ever exist ed. To t he cont rary, t he Quran has
inst ructed all t he believers, women as well as men, t o follow the
example of t hose ideal women such as t he Virgin Mary and the
Pharoah's wife:
"And Allah set s fort h, As an example t o t hose who believe, t he

wife of Pharaoh: Behold she said: 'O my lord build for me, in
nearness t o you, a mansion in t he Garden, and save me from

Pharaoh and his doings and save me from t hose who do wrong.'
And Mary t he daught er of Imran who guarded her chast it y and
We breat hed int o her body of Our spirit ; and she t est ified t o t he
t rut h of t he words of her Lord and of His revelat ions and was one
of t he devout " (66:11-13).
4. SHAMEFUL DAUGHTERS ?
In fact , t he difference between t he Biblical and t he Quranic

att it ude t owards t he female sex st arts as soon as a female is born.
For example, t he Bible stat es that the period of t he mot her's rit ual
impurit y is t wice as long if a girl is born t han if a boy is (Lev. 12:2-5).
The Cat holic Bible stat es explicit ly t hat :
"The birt h of a daught er is a loss" (Ecclesiast icus 22:3).
In cont rast t o t his shocking st at ement , boys receive special praise:
"A man who educat es his son will be t he envy of his enemy."
(Ecclesiast icus 30:3)
Jewish Rabbis made it an obligat ion on Jewish men t o produce

offspring in order to propagat e t he race. At t he same t ime, t hey
did not hide t heir clear preference for male children : "It is well for
t hose whose children are male but ill for t hose whose are female",
"At t he birth of a boy, all are joyful...at the birt h of a girl all are
sorrowful", and "When a boy comes int o t he world, peace comes
int o t he world... When a girl comes, not hing comes."7
A daught er is considered a painful burden, a pot ential source of

shame t o her father:
"Your daught er is headst rong? Keep a sharp look-out t hat she

does not make you t he laughing st ock of your enemies, t he t alk of
t he t own, t he object of common gossip, and put you t o public
shame" (Ecclesiast icus 42:11).
"Keep a headst rong daught er under firm cont rol, or she will abuse
any indulgence she receives. Keep a st rict wat ch on her
shameless eye, do not be surprised if she disgraces you"
(Ecclesiast icus 26:10-11).
It was t his very same idea of t reating daughters as sources of

shame t hat led the pagan Arabs, before t he advent of Islam, t o
pract ice female infant icide. The Quran severely condemned t his
pract ice female infant icide. The Quran severely condemned t his
heinous practice:
"When news is brought t o one of t hem of t he birt h of a female

child, his face darkens and he is filled wit h inward grief. Wit h
shame does he hide himself from his people because of t he bad
news he has had! Shall he ret ain her on cont empt or bury her in
t he dust ? Ah! what an evil t hey decide on?" (16:59).
It has to be ment ioned t hat t his sinist er crime would have never
st opped in Arabia were it not for the power of t he scathing terms
t he Quran used t o condemn t his pract ice (16:59, 43:17, 81:8-9). The
Quran, moreover, makes no distinct ion bet ween boys and girls. In
contrast t o t he Bible, t he Quran considers t he birth of a female as
a gift and a blessing from God, the same as the birth of a male.
The Quran even mentions t he gift of t he female birth first :
" To Allah belongs t he dominion of t he heavens and t he eart h. He

creat es what He wills. He best ows female children t o whomever
He wills and best ows male children t o whomever He wills" (42:49).
In order t o wipe out all t he t races of female infant icide in the

nascent Muslim society, Prophet Muhammad promised those who
were blessed with daught ers of a great reward if t hey would bring
t hem up kindly:
"He who is involved in bringing up daught ers, and accords

benevolent t reat ment t owards t hem, t hey will be prot ect ion for
him against Hell-Fire" (Bukhari and Muslim).
"Whoever maint ains t wo girls t ill t hey at t ain mat urit y, he and I
will come on t he Resurrect ion Day like t his; and he joined his
fingers" (Muslim).
5. FEMALE EDUCATION ?
The difference bet ween t he Biblical and t he Quranic concept ions

of women is not limit ed to t he newly born female, it ext ends far
beyond t hat . Let us compare t heir at t itudes t owards a female
t rying t o learn her religion. The heart of Judaism is t he Torah, the
law. However, according t o t he Talmud, "women are exempt from
t he st udy of t he Torah." Some Jewish Rabbis firmly declared "Let
t he words of Torah rat her be dest royed by fire t han impart ed t o
women", and "Whoever t eaches his daught er Torah is as though
he taught her obscenit y"8
The at t itude of St . Paul in the New Test ament is not brighter:
"As in all t he congregat ions of t he saint s, women should remain

silent in t he churches. They are not allowed t o speak, but must be
in submission as t he law says. If t hey want t o inquire about
somet hing, t hey should ask t heir own husbands at home; for it is
disgraceful for a woman t o speak in t he church." (I Corint hians
14:34-35)
How can a woman learn if she is not allowed t o speak? How can a
woman grow intellectually if she is obliged t o be in a st at e of full
submission? How can she broaden her horizons if her one and only
source of informat ion is her husband at home?
Now, to be fair, we should ask: is t he Quranic position any

different ? One short story narrat ed in the Quran sums its position
up concisely. Khawlah was a Muslim woman whose husband Aws
pronounced t his stat ement at a moment of anger: "You are to me
as t he back of my mot her." This was held by pagan Arabs t o be a
st atement of divorce which freed the husband from any conjugal
responsibilit y but did not leave t he wife free t o leave the
husband's home or t o marry anot her man. Having heard these
words from her husband, Khawlah was in a miserable sit uat ion. She
went st raight to t he Prophet of Islam to plead her case. The
Prophet was of the opinion t hat she should be pat ient since t here
seemed t o be no way out. Khawla kept arguing with the Prophet
in an att empt t o save her suspended marriage. Shortly, t he Quran
int ervened; Khawla's plea was accept ed. The divine verdict
abolished t his iniquitous custom. One full chapt er (Chapt er 58) of
t he Quran whose t it le is "Almujadilah" or "The woman who is
arguing" was named aft er this incident :
"Allah has heard and accept ed t he st at ement of t he woman

who pleads wit h you (t he Prophet ) concerning her husband and
carries her complaint t o Allah, and Allah hears t he argument s
bet ween bot h of you for Allah hears and sees all t hings...." (58:1).
A woman in t he Quranic concept ion has the right t o argue even

wit h t he Prophet of Islam himself. No one has t he right t o inst ruct
her t o be silent . She is under no obligat ion t o consider her husband
t he one and only reference in mat t ers of law and religion.
6. UNCLEAN IMPURE WOMAN ?
Jewish laws and regulat ions concerning menstruat ing women are
ext remely rest rict ive. The Old Test ament considers any
menst ruat ing woman as unclean and impure. Moreover, her
impurit y "infect s" others as well. Anyone or anyt hing she t ouches
becomes unclean for a day:
"When a woman has her regular flow of blood, t he impurit y of her

mont hly period will last seven days, and anyone who t ouches her
will be unclean t ill evening. Anyt hing she lies on during her period
will be unclean, and anyt hing she sit s on will be unclean.
Whoever t ouches her bed must wash his clot hes and bat he wit h
wat er, and he will be unclean t ill evening. Whoever t ouches
anyt hing she sit s on must wash his clot hes and bat he wit h wat er,
and he will be unclean t ill evening. Whet her it is t he bed or
anyt hing she was sit t ing on, when anyone t ouches it , he will be
unclean t ill evening" (Lev. 15:19-23).
Due t o her "contaminat ing" nat ure, a menstruating woman was

somet imes "banished" in order t o avoid any possibilit y of any
contact wit h her. She was sent to a special house called "the
house of uncleanness" for t he whole period of her impurit y. 9 The
Talmud considers a menst ruat ing woman "fat al" even wit hout any
physical cont act :
"Our Rabbis t aught :....if a menst ruant woman passes bet ween
t wo (men), if it is at t he beginning of her menses she will slay one
of t hem, and if it is at t he end of her menses she will cause st rife
bet ween t hem" (bPes. 111a.)
Furt hermore, t he husband of a menstruous woman was forbidden

t o ent er t he synagogue if he had been made unclean by her even
by t he dust under her feet . A priest whose wife, daught er, or
mot her was menst ruating could not recit e priest ly blessing in the
synagogue. 10 No wonder many Jewish women st ill refer t o
menst ruat ion as "the curse." 11
Islam does not consider a menstruat ing woman t o possess any

kind of "cont agious uncleanness". She is neit her "unt ouchable" nor
"cursed." She pract ises her normal life wit h only one restrict ion: A
married couple are not allowed t o have sexual int ercourse during
t he period of menst ruation. Any other physical contact bet ween
t hem is permissible. A menst ruating woman is exempt ed from
some rit uals such as daily prayers and fast ing during her period.
7. BEARING WITNESS
Another issue in which t he Quran and the Bible disagree is the

issue of women bearing wit ness. It is t rue that t he Quran has
inst ructed t he believers dealing in financial t ransact ions t o get
t wo male wit nesses or one male and t wo females (2:282).
However, it is also t rue t hat t he Quran in ot her sit uat ions accept s
t he t est imony of a woman as equal t o t hat of a man. In fact the
woman's test imony can even invalidate t he man's. If a man
accuses his wife of unchast it y, he is required by t he Quran t o
solemnly swear five t imes as evidence of t he wife's guilt . If the wife
denies and swears similarly five t imes, she is not considered guilty
and in eit her case the marriage is dissolved (24:6-11).
On the other hand, women were not allowed t o bear witness in

early Jewish societ y. 12 The Rabbis counted women's not being
able t o bear wit ness among t he nine curses inflicted upon all
women because of t he Fall (see t he "Eve's Legacy" sect ion).
Women in t oday's Israel are not allowed t o give evidence in
Rabbinical court s. 13 The Rabbis just ify why women cannot bear
wit ness by cit ing Genesis 18:9-16, where it is st ated t hat Sara,
Abraham's wife had lied. The Rabbis use this incident as evidence
t hat women are unqualified t o bear wit ness. It should be not ed
here that this st ory narrat ed in Genesis 18:9-16 has been
ment ioned more than once in the Quran without any hint of any
lies by Sara (11:69-74, 51:24-30). In t he Christ ian West, bot h
ecclesiast ical and civil law debarred women from giving test imony
unt il late last cent ury. 14
If a man accuses his wife of unchast it y, her test imony will not be
considered at all according to t he Bible. The accused wife has t o
be subjected t o a t rial by ordeal. In t his t rial, the wife faces a
complex and humiliat ing rit ual which was supposed t o prove her
guilt or innocence (Num. 5:11-31). If she is found guilt y after t his
ordeal, she will be sent enced t o deat h. If she is found not guilt y,
her husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing.
Besides, if a man takes a woman as a wife and t hen accuses her of

not being a virgin, her own t est imony will not count . Her parent s
had t o bring evidence of her virginit y before the elders of the
t own. If t he parent s could not prove t he innocence of t heir
daught er, she would be st oned t o deat h on her father's doorst eps.
If t he parent s were able t o prove her innocence, t he husband

would only be fined one hundred shekels of silver and he could not
divorce his wife as long as he lived:
"If a man t akes a wife and, aft er lying wit h her, dislikes her and
slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, 'I married t his
woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her
virginit y,' t hen t he girl's fat her and mot her shall bring proof t hat
she was a virgin t o t he t own elders at t he gat e. The girl's fat her
will say t o t he elders, 'I gave my daught er in marriage t o t his
man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said I did
not find your daught er t o be a virgin. But here is t he proof of my
daught er's virginit y.' Then her parent s shall display t he clot h
before t he elders of t he t own, and t he elders shall t ake t he man
and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and
give t hem t o t he girl's fat her, because t his man has given an
Israelit e virgin a bad name. She shall cont inue t o be his wife; he
must not divorce her as long as he lives. If, however, t he charge is
t rue and no proof of t he girl's virginit y can be found, she shall be
brought t o t he door of her fat her's house and t here t he men of
t he t own shall st one her t o deat h. She has done a disgraceful
t hing in Israel by being promiscuous while st ill in her fat her's house.
You must purge t he evil from among you." (Deut eronomy 22:13-21)
8. ADULTERY
Adult ery is considered a sin in all religions. The Bible decrees the
deat h sentence for bot h the adult erer and t he adulteress (Lev.
20:10). Islam also equally punishes both t he adult erer and the
adult eress (24:2). However, t he Quranic definition of adult ery is
very different from t he Biblical definit ion. Adult ery, according t o
t he Quran, is the involvement of a married man or a married
woman in an ext ramarit al affair. The Bible only considers the
ext ramarit al affair of a married woman as adult ery (Levit icus 20:10,
Deut eronomy 22:22, Proverbs 6:20-7:27).
"If a man is found sleeping wit h anot her man's wife, bot h t he
man who slept wit h her and t he woman must die. You must
purge t he evil from Israel" (Deut . 22:22).
"If a man commit s adult ery wit h anot her man's wife bot h t he
adult erer and t he adult eress must be put t o deat h" (Lev. 20:10).
According t o t he Biblical definition, if a married man sleeps wit h an

unmarried woman, this is not considered a crime at all. The married
man who has ext ramarital affairs wit h unmarried women is not an
adult erer and t he unmarried women involved wit h him are not
adult eresses. The crime of adultery is commit t ed only when a man,
whet her married or single, sleeps wit h a married woman. In t his
case t he man is considered adult erer, even if he is not married,
and t he woman is considered adult eress. In short , adult ery is any
illicit sexual int ercourse involving a married woman. The
ext ramarit al affair of a married man is not per se a crime in the
Bible. Why is t he dual moral st andard? According t o
Encyclopaedia Judaica, the wife was considered t o be the
husband's possession and adult ery const it ut ed a violat ion of the
husband's exclusive right t o her; t he wife as t he husband's
possession had no such right t o him. 15 That is, if a man had sexual
int ercourse wit h a married woman, he would be violating the
propert y of anot her man and, t hus, he should be punished.
To the present day in Israel, if a married man indulges in an

ext ramarit al affair wit h an unmarried woman, his children by t hat
woman are considered legit imat e. But , if a married woman has an
affair wit h anot her man, whet her married or not married, her
children by t hat man are not only illegit imate but t hey are
considered bast ards and are forbidden to marry any ot her Jews
except converts and ot her bast ards. This ban is handed down t o
t he children's descendant s for 10 generations unt il t he taint of
adult ery is presumably weakened. 16
The Quran, on t he ot her hand, never considers any woman to be

t he possession of any man. The Quran eloquent ly describes the
relat ionship bet ween t he spouses by saying:
" And among His signs is t hat He creat ed for you mat es from
among yourselves, t hat you may dwell in t ranquillit y wit h t hem
and He has put love and mercy bet ween your heart s: verily in
t hat are signs for t hose who reflect " (30:21).
This is t he Quranic concept ion of marriage: love, mercy, and

t ranquillit y, not possession and double standards.
9. VOWS
According to t he Bible, a man must fulfil any vows he might make

t o God. He must not break his word. On t he ot her hand, a
woman's vow is not necessarily binding on her. It has t o be
approved by her fat her, if she is living in his house, or by her

husband, if she is married. If a fat her/husband does not endorse his
daught er's/wife's vows, all pledges made by her become null and
void:
"But if her fat her forbids her when he hears about it , none of her
vows or t he pledges by which she obligat ed herself will st and
....Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any
sworn pledge t o deny herself" (Num. 30:2-15)
Why is it t hat a woman's word is not binding per se ? The answer is

simple: because she is owned by her fat her, before marriage, or by
her husband after marriage. The fat her's control over his daught er
was absolut e t o the ext ent that , should he wish, he could sell her!
It is indicated in t he writings of t he Rabbis t hat : "The man may sell
his daught er, but t he woman may not sell her daughter; t he man
may bet rot h his daught er, but t he woman may not betrot h her
daught er." 17 The Rabbinic lit erat ure also indicat es t hat marriage
represent s the t ransfer of cont rol from the father t o t he husband:
"bet rothal, making a woman the sacrosanct possession--the
inviolable propert y-- of t he husband..." Obviously, if t he woman is
considered to be the propert y of someone else, she cannot make
any pledges t hat her owner does not approve of.
It is of int erest to note t hat t his Biblical instruct ion concerning

women's vows has had negat ive repercussions on Judaeo-
Christ ian women t ill early in t his cent ury. A married woman in the
West ern world had no legal st at us. No act of hers was of any legal
value. Her husband could repudiat e any cont ract , bargain, or
deal she had made. Women in t he West (t he largest heir of the
Judaeo-Christ ian legacy) were held unable to make a binding
contract because they were practically owned by someone else.
West ern women had suffered for almost t wo thousand years
because of t he Biblical at t it ude t owards women's posit ion vis-à-vis
t heir fat hers and husbands. 18
In Islam, the vow of every Muslim, male or female, is binding on

him/her. No one has t he power t o repudiate t he pledges of
anyone else. Failure t o keep a solemn oat h, made by a man or a
woman, has t o be expiat ed as indicat ed in t he Quran:
"He [God] will call you t o account for your deliberat e oat hs: for
expiat ion, feed t en indigent persons, on a scale of t he average
6/4/2011 expiat ion, feed t en indigent
WOMEN persons,
IN ISLAM on aINscale
VERSUS WOMEN T… of t he average
for t he food of your families; Or clot he t hem; or give a slave his

freedom. If t hat is beyond your means, fast for t hree days. That is
t he expiat ion for t he oat hs you have sworn. But keep your oat hs"
(5:89).
Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, men and women, used

t o present t heir oat h of allegiance to him personally. Women, as
well as men, would independent ly come to him and pledge t heir
oat hs:
"O Prophet , When believing women come t o you t o make a

covenant wit h you t hat t hey will not associat e in worship
anyt hing wit h God, nor st eal, nor fornicat e, nor kill t heir own
children, nor slander anyone, nor disobey you in any just mat t er,
t hen make a covenant wit h t hem and pray t o God for t he
forgiveness of t heir sins. Indeed God is Forgiving and most
Merciful" (60:12).
A man could not swear t he oat h on behalf of his daughter or his

wife. Nor could a man repudiat e the oath made by any of his
female relat ives.
10. WIFE'S PROPERTY ?
The three religions share an unshakeable belief in t he import ance

of marriage and family life. They also agree on the leadership of
t he husband over the family. Nevert heless, blat ant differences do
exist among the three religions with respect t o t he limit s of t his
leadership. The Judaeo-Christian tradition, unlike Islam, virt ually
ext ends t he leadership of t he husband int o ownership of his wife.
The Jewish t radit ion regarding t he husband's role towards his wife
st ems from t he concept ion that he owns her as he owns his slave.
19 This conception has been t he reason behind t he double
st andard in t he laws of adultery and behind the husband's ability
t o annul his wife's vows. This conception has also been responsible
for denying t he wife any control over her propert y or her earnings.
As soon as a Jewish woman got married, she complet ely lost any
control over her propert y and earnings to her husband. Jewish
Rabbis assert ed t he husband's right t o his wife's propert y as a
corollary of his possession of her: "Since one has come into the
possession of t he woman does it not follow t hat he should come
int o t he possession of her propert y t oo?", and "Since he has
acquired the woman should he not acquire also her property?" 20
acquired the woman should he not acquire also her property?" 20
Thus, marriage caused t he richest woman t o become pract ically
penniless. The Talmud describes t he financial situation of a wife as
follows:
"How can a woman have anyt hing; what ever is hers belongs t o
her husband? What is his is his and what is hers is also his...... Her
earnings and what she may find in t he st reet s are also his. The
household art icles, even t he crumbs of bread on t he t able, are
his. Should she invit e a guest t o her house and feed him, she
would be st ealing from her husband..." (San. 71a, Git . 62a)
The fact of t he mat t er is t hat t he propert y of a Jewish female was

meant t o att ract suitors. A Jewish family would assign t heir
daught er a share of her father's est at e t o be used as a dowry in
case of marriage. It was t his dowry t hat made Jewish daught ers
an unwelcome burden to their fat hers. The father had t o raise his
daught er for years and then prepare for her marriage by providing
a large dowry. Thus, a girl in a Jewish family was a liabilit y and no
asset. 21 This liabilit y explains why t he birt h of a daught er was not
celebrated wit h joy in the old Jewish societ y (see t he "Shameful
Daughters?" section). The dowry was t he wedding gift present ed
t o t he groom under terms of t enancy. The husband would act as
t he pract ical owner of the dowry but he could not sell it . The bride
would lose any cont rol over t he dowry at the moment of marriage.
Moreover, she was expect ed t o work aft er marriage and all her
earnings had t o go t o her husband in ret urn for her maint enance
which was his obligat ion. She could regain her propert y only in t wo
cases: divorce or her husband's death. Should she die first , he
would inherit her property. In t he case of t he husband's death, the
wife could regain her pre-marital property but she was not ent it led
t o inherit any share in her deceased husband's own propert y. It
has t o be added t hat t he groom also had t o present a marriage
gift to his bride, yet again he was t he pract ical owner of t his gift as
long as t hey were married. 22
Christ ianit y, unt il recent ly, has followed t he same Jewish t radit ion.
Bot h religious and civil aut horities in t he Christian Roman Empire
(aft er Const ant ine) required a propert y agreement as a condition
for recognizing the marriage. Families offered t heir daught ers
increasing dowries and, as a result , men tended to marry earlier
while families postponed t heir daught ers' marriages until later t han
had been cust omary. 23 Under Canon law, a wife was ent it led t o
rest it ution of her dowry if t he marriage was annulled unless she was
rest it ution of her dowry if t he marriage was annulled unless she was
guilty of adultery. In this case, she forfeited her right t o t he dowry
which remained in her husband's hands. 24 Under Canon and civil
law a married woman in Christ ian Europe and America had lost
her property right s until lat e nineteenth and early t went iet h
centuries. For example, women's rights under English law were
compiled and published in 1632. These 'right s' included: "That
which the husband hat h is his own. That which the wife hath is the
husband's." 25 The wife not only lost her propert y upon marriage,
she lost her personalit y as well. No act of her was of legal value. Her
husband could repudiat e any sale or gift made by her as being of
no binding legal value. The person wit h whom she had any
contract was held as a criminal for part icipat ing in a fraud.
Moreover, she could not sue or be sued in her own name, nor
could she sue her own husband. 26 A married woman was
pract ically t reated as an infant in the eyes of t he law. The wife
simply belonged t o her husband and t herefore she lost her
propert y, her legal personalit y, and her family name. 27
Islam, since t he sevent h century C.E., has granted married women

t he independent personalit y which the Judaeo-Christian West
had deprived t hem until very recently. In Islam, t he bride and her
family are under no obligat ion what soever t o present a gift to the
groom. The girl in a Muslim family is no liability. A woman is so
dignified by Islam t hat she does not need t o present gift s in order
t o at t ract pot ent ial husbands. It is the groom who must present
t he bride wit h a marriage gift . This gift is considered her property
and neit her t he groom nor t he bride's family have any share in or
control over it . In some Muslim societ ies today, a marriage gift of a
hundred t housand dollars in diamonds is not unusual. 28 The bride
ret ains her marriage gifts even if she is lat er divorced. The husband
is not allowed any share in his wife's property except what she
offers him wit h her free consent. 29 The Quran has st at ed it s
position on this issue quit e clearly:
"And give t he women (on marriage) t heir dower as a free gift ;

but if t hey, Of t heir own good pleasure, remit any part of it t o
you, t ake it and enjoy it wit h right good cheer" (4:4)
The wife's propert y and earnings are under her full cont rol and for
her use alone since her, and t he children's, maint enance is her
husband's responsibilit y. 30 No mat ter how rich t he wife might be,
she is not obliged to act as a co-provider for the family unless she
herself volunt arily chooses t o do so. Spouses do inherit from one

anot her. Moreover, a married woman in Islam retains her
independent legal personality and her family name. 31 An
American judge once comment ed on the rights of Muslim women
saying: " A Muslim girl may marry t en t imes, but her individuality is
not absorbed by that of her various husbands. She is a solar planet
wit h a name and legal personalit y of her own." 32
11. DIVORCE
The t hree religions have remarkable differences in their att it udes

t owards divorce. Christ ianit y abhors divorce alt oget her. The New
Testament unequivocally advocat es t he indissolubility of marriage.
It is att ributed to Jesus to have said, "But I t ell you t hat anyone
who divorces his wife, except for marit al unfaithfulness, causes her
t o become adulteress, and anyone who marries t he divorced
woman commit s adult ery" (Mat t hew 5:32). This uncompromising
ideal is, wit hout a doubt , unrealist ic. It assumes a state of moral
perfection that human societ ies have never achieved. When a
couple realizes t hat their married life is beyond repair, a ban on
divorce will not do t hem any good. Forcing ill-mated couples t o
remain t ogether against t heir wills is neit her effect ive nor
reasonable. No wonder t he whole Christ ian world has been
obliged t o sanct ion divorce.
Judaism, on t he ot her hand, allows divorce even without any

cause. The Old Testament gives the husband t he right t o divorce
his wife even if he just dislikes her:
"If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing t o him

because he finds somet hing indecent about her, and he writ es
her a cert ificat e of divorce, gives it t o her and sends her from his
house, and if aft er she leaves his house she becomes t he wife of
anot her man, and her second husband dislikes her and writ es her
a cert ificat e of divorce, gives it t o her and sends her from his
house, or if he dies, t hen her first husband, who divorced her, is
not allowed t o marry her again aft er she has been defiled" (Deut .
24:1-4).
The above verses have caused some considerable debat e among

Jewish scholars because of t heir disagreement over the
int erpret ation of t he words "displeasing", "indecency", and "dislikes"
ment ioned in t he verses. The Talmud records their different
opinions:
"The school of Shammai held t hat a man should not divorce his
wife unless he has found her guilt y of some sexual misconduct ,
while t he school of Hillel say he may divorce her even if she has
merely spoiled a dish for him. Rabbi Akiba says he may divorce her
even if he simply finds anot her woman more beaut iful t han she"
(Git t in 90a-b).
The New Testament follows the Shammait es opinion while Jewish

law has followed t he opinion of t he Hillelit es and R. Akiba. 33 Since
t he Hillelit es view prevailed, it became the unbroken t radit ion of
Jewish law t o give t he husband freedom to divorce his wife
wit hout any cause at all. The Old Test ament not only gives the
husband t he right t o divorce his "displeasing" wife, it considers
divorcing a "bad wife" an obligat ion:
"A bad wife brings humiliat ion, downcast looks, and a wounded
heart . Slack of hand and weak of knee is t he man whose wife
fails t o make him happy. Woman is t he origin of sin, and it is
t hrough her t hat we all die. Do not leave a leaky cist ern t o drip or
allow a bad wife t o say what she likes. If she does not accept your
cont rol, divorce her and send her away" (Ecclesiast icus 25:25).
The Talmud has recorded several specific act ions by wives which
obliged t heir husbands t o divorce t hem: "If she at e in t he st reet, if
she drank greedily in t he st reet , if she suckled in t he st reet, in every
case Rabbi Meir says t hat she must leave her husband" (Git . 89a).
The Talmud has also made it mandatory t o divorce a barren wife
(who bore no children in a period of t en years): "Our Rabbis
t aught : If a man t ook a wife and lived wit h her for ten years and
she bore no child, he shall divorce her" (Y eb. 64a).
Wives, on t he ot her hand, cannot init iat e divorce under Jewish

law. A Jewish wife, however, could claim t he right to a divorce
before a Jewish court provided t hat a strong reason exists. Very
few grounds are provided for t he wife t o make a claim for a
divorce. These grounds include: A husband with physical defect s
or skin disease, a husband not fulfilling his conjugal responsibilities,
et c. The Court might support the wife's claim t o a divorce but it
cannot dissolve the marriage. Only t he husband can dissolve the
marriage by giving his wife a bill of divorce. The Court could
scourge, fine, imprison, and excommunicate him to force him t o
deliver the necessary bill of divorce t o his wife. However, if the
deliver the necessary bill of divorce t o his wife. However, if the
husband is st ubborn enough, he can refuse t o grant his wife a
divorce and keep her tied t o him indefinit ely. Worse st ill, he can
desert her wit hout granting her a divorce and leave her
unmarried and undivorced. He can marry another woman or even
live wit h any single woman out of wedlock and have children from
her (these children are considered legit imate under Jewish law).
The desert ed wife, on t he other hand, cannot marry any ot her
man since she is still legally married and she cannot live with any
ot her man because she will be considered an adulteress and her
children from t his union will be illegitimat e for ten generat ions. A
woman in such a posit ion is called an agunah (chained woman).
34 In the Unit ed St ates t oday t here are approximat ely 1000 t o
1500 Jewish women who are agunot (plural for agunah), while in
Israel t heir number might be as high as 16000. Husbands may
ext ort t housands of dollars from t heir t rapped wives in exchange
for a Jewish divorce. 35
Islam occupies t he middle ground bet ween Christianity and

Judaism wit h respect t o divorce. Marriage in Islam is a sanct ified
bond t hat should not be broken except for compelling reasons.
Couples are instruct ed t o pursue all possible remedies whenever
t heir marriages are in danger. Divorce is not t o be resort ed t o
except when t here is no ot her way out . In a nut shell, Islam
recognizes divorce, yet it discourages it by all means. Let us focus
on t he recognit ion side first . Islam does recognize t he right of bot h
partners t o end t heir mat rimonial relationship. Islam gives the
husband the right for Talaq (divorce). Moreover, Islam, unlike
Judaism, grant s t he wife t he right t o dissolve t he marriage t hrough
what is known as Khula'. 36 If t he husband dissolves t he marriage
by divorcing his wife, he cannot retrieve any of the marriage gift s
he has given her. The Quran explicit ly prohibit s the divorcing
husbands from t aking back t heir marriage gift s no mat ter how
expensive or valuable these gift s might be:
"But if you decide t o t ake one wife in place of anot her, even if
you had given t he lat t er a whole t reasure for dower, t ake not t he
least bit of it back; Would you t ake it by slander and a manifest
wrong?" (4:20).
In t he case of the wife choosing to end t he marriage, she may

ret urn t he marriage gift s t o her husband. Returning the marriage
gift s in t his case is a fair compensat ion for t he husband who is keen
t o keep his wife while she chooses to leave him. The Quran has
inst ructed Muslim men not t o take back any of t he gifts t hey have
given to t heir wives except in t he case of t he wife choosing t o
dissolve t he marriage:
"It is not lawful for you (Men) t o t ake back any of your gift s except
when bot h part ies fear t hat t hey would be unable t o keep t he
limit s ordained by Allah. There is no blame on eit her of t hem if she
give somet hing for her freedom. These are t he limit s ordained by
Allah so do not t ransgress t hem" (2:229).
Also, a woman came to t he Prophet Muhammad seeking the

dissolut ion of her marriage, she t old t he Prophet that she did not
have any complaints against her husband's character or manners.
Her only problem was that she honestly did not like him to the
ext ent of not being able t o live wit h him any longer. The Prophet
asked her: "Would you give him his garden (t he marriage gift he
had given her) back?" she said: "Y es". The Prophet t hen inst ruct ed
t he man to take back his garden and accept t he dissolution of
t he marriage (Bukhari).
In some cases, A Muslim wife might be willing to keep her marriage

but find herself obliged t o claim for a divorce because of some
compelling reasons such as: Cruelt y of the husband, desertion
wit hout a reason, a husband not fulfilling his conjugal
responsibilit ies, et c. In these cases t he Muslim court dissolves t he
marriage. 37
In short, Islam has offered t he Muslim woman some unequalled

right s: she can end t he marriage t hrough Khula' and she can sue
for a divorce. A Muslim wife can never become chained by a
recalcit rant husband. It was t hese right s t hat ent iced Jewish
women who lived in t he early Islamic societ ies of t he sevent h
century C.E. to seek t o obt ain bills of divorce from t heir Jewish
husbands in Muslim courts. The Rabbis declared these bills null and
void. In order to end this practice, t he Rabbis gave new rights and
privileges t o Jewish women in an att empt t o weaken the appeal
of t he Muslim courts. Jewish women living in Christian count ries
were not offered any similar privileges since t he Roman law of
divorce pract iced t here was no more at tract ive t han t he Jewish
law. 38
Let us now focus our att ention on how Islam discourages divorce.
Let us now focus our att ention on how Islam discourages divorce.
The Prophet of Islam t old t he believers t hat:
"among all t he permit t ed act s, divorce is t he most hat eful t o

God" (Abu Dawood).
A Muslim man should not divorce his wife just because he dislikes
her. The Quran instruct s Muslim men t o be kind t o their wives even
in cases of lukewarm emotions or feelings of dislike:
"Live wit h t hem (your wives) on a foot ing of kindness and equit y. If
you dislike t hem it may be t hat you dislike somet hing in which
Allah has placed a great deal of good" (4:19).
Prophet Muhammad gave a similar inst ruction:
" A believing man must not hat e a believing woman. If he dislikes

one of her t rait s he will be pleased wit h anot her" (Muslim).
The Prophet has also emphasized t hat t he best Muslims are those
who are best to t heir wives:
"The believers who show t he most perfect fait h are t hose who
have t he best charact er and t he best of you are t hose who are
best t o t heir wives" (Tirmidt hi).
However, Islam is a practical religion and it does recognize t hat

t here are circumst ances in which a marriage becomes on the
verge of collapsing. In such cases, a mere advice of kindness or self
rest raint is no viable solution. So, what to do in order to save a
marriage in t hese cases? The Quran offers some practical advice
for t he spouse (husband or wife) whose part ner (wife or husband)
is t he wrongdoer. For the husband whose wife's ill-conduct is
t hreat ening t he marriage, t he Quran gives four t ypes of advice as
det ailed in t he following verses:
"As t o t hose women on whose part you fear disloyalt y and ill-
conduct , (1) Admonish t hem, (2) refuse t o share t heir beds, (3)
beat t hem; but if t hey ret urn t o obedience seek not against
t hem means of annoyance: For Allah is Most High, Great . (4) If you
fear a break bet ween t hem, appoint t wo arbit ers, one from his
family and t he ot her from hers; If t hey wish for peace, Allah will
cause t heir reconciliat ion" (4:34-35).
The first t hree are to be tried first . If they fail, t hen the help of the
families concerned should be sought . It has t o be not ed, in the
light of t he above verses, that beat ing t he rebellious wife is a
t emporary measure that is resort ed to as t hird in line in cases of
ext reme necessit y in hopes that it might remedy t he wrongdoing
of t he wife. If it does, the husband is not allowed by any means t o
continue any annoyance t o the wife as explicit ly ment ioned in the
verse. If it does not, the husband is st ill not allowed t o use t his
measure any longer and t he final avenue of t he family-assist ed
reconciliat ion has to be explored.
Prophet Muhammad has instruct ed Muslim husbands t hat t hey

should not have recourse t o these measures except in ext reme
cases such as open lewdness commit ted by t he wife. Even in these
cases t he punishment should be slight and if t he wife desist s, the
husband is not permit ted t o irrit at e her:
"In case t hey are guilt y of open lewdness you may leave t hem
alone in t heir beds and inflict slight punishment . If t hey are
obedient t o you, do not seek against t hem any means of
annoyance" (Tirmidt hi)
Furt hermore, the Prophet of Islam has condemned any

unjustifiable beat ing. Some Muslim wives complained t o him t hat
t heir husbands had beat en t hem. Hearing t hat , t he Prophet
cat egorically st at ed that :
"Those who do so (beat t heir wives) are not t he best among you"
(Abu Dawood).
It has to be remembered at t his point that t he Prophet has also

said:
"The best of you is he who is best t o his family, and I am t he best

among you t o my family" (Tirmidt hi).
The Prophet advised one Muslim woman, whose name was

Fat imah bint Qais, not to marry a man because the man was
known for beat ing women:
"I went t o t he Prophet and said: Abul Jahm and Mu'awiah have
proposed t o marry me. The Prophet (by way of advice) said: As t o
Mu'awiah he is very poor and Abul Jahm is accust omed t o
beat ing women" (Muslim).
It has t o be not ed that t he Talmud sanct ions wife beat ing as

chast isement for the purpose of discipline. 39 The husband is not
rest rict ed t o t he ext reme cases such as t hose of open lewdness. He
rest rict ed t o t he ext reme cases such as t hose of open lewdness. He
is allowed to beat his wife even if she just refuses t o do her house
work. Moreover, he is not limited only t o t he use of light
punishment. He is permitt ed t o break his wife's stubbornness by the
lash or by starving her. 40
For the wife whose husband's ill-conduct is t he cause for the

marriage's near collapse, t he Quran offers t he following advice:
"If a wife fears cruelt y or desert ion on her husband's part , t here is
no blame on t hem if t hey arrange an amicable set t lement
bet ween t hemselves; and such set t lement is best " (4:128).
In t his case, t he wife is advised to seek reconciliat ion wit h her

husband (wit h or wit hout family assist ance). It is not able that the
Quran is not advising t he wife t o resort t o t he t wo measures of
abst ent ion from sex and beat ing. The reason for t his disparity
might be to prot ect t he wife from a violent physical reaction by
her already misbehaving husband. Such a violent physical
reaction will do bot h t he wife and the marriage more harm t han
good. Some Muslim scholars have suggest ed t hat the court can
apply these measures against t he husband on the wife's behalf.
That is, t he court first admonishes t he rebellious husband, t hen
forbids him his wife's bed, and finally execut es a symbolic beat ing.
41
To sum up, Islam offers Muslim married couples much viable advice
t o save t heir marriages in cases of t rouble and t ension. If one of
t he part ners is jeopardizing t he mat rimonial relat ionship, t he ot her
partner is advised by the Quran t o do what ever possible and
effect ive in order t o save t his sacred bond. If all t he measures fail,
Islam allows t he part ners to separat e peacefully and amicably.
12. MOTHERS
The Old Test ament in several places commands kind and

considerate t reat ment of the parent s and condemns those who
dishonor them. For example, "If anyone curses his fat her or mot her,
he must be put to deat h" (Lev. 20:9) and "A wise man brings joy t o
his fat her but a foolish man despises his mother" (Proverbs 15:20).
Alt hough honoring t he fat her alone is ment ioned in some places,
e.g. "A wise man heeds his father's inst ruct ion" (Proverbs 13:1), the
mot her alone is never mentioned. Moreover, t here is no special
emphasis on treat ing the mot her kindly as a sign of appreciation of
emphasis on treat ing the mot her kindly as a sign of appreciation of
her great suffering in childbearing and suckling. Besides, mot hers

do not inherit at all from t heir children while fathers do. 42
It is difficult t o speak of the New Test ament as a script ure t hat

calls for honoring the mother. To t he cont rary, one get s the
impression t hat the New Testament considers kind treat ment of
mot hers as an impediment on t he way t o God. According to the
New Test ament , one cannot become a good Christ ian wort hy of
becoming a disciple of Christ unless he hat es his mot her. It is
att ributed t o Jesus t o have said:
"If anyone comes t o me and does not hat e his fat her and
mot her, his wife and children, his brot hers and sist ers--yes, even
his own life--he can not be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
Furt hermore, t he New Testament depicts a pict ure of Jesus as

indifferent to, or even disrespectful of, his own mot her. For
example, when she had come looking for him while he was
preaching to a crowd, he did not care to go out t o see her:
"Then Jesus' mot her and brot hers arrived. St anding out side, t hey
sent someone t o call him. A crowd was sit t ing around him and
t hey t old him, 'Your mot her and brot hers are out side looking for
you.' 'Who are my mot her and my brot hers?' he asked. Then he
looked at t hose seat ed in a circle around him and said,' Here are
my mot her and my brot hers! Whoever does God's will is my
brot her and sist er and mot her.' " (Mark 3:31-35)
One might argue that Jesus was trying to t each his audience an
import ant lesson t hat religious ties are no less import ant t han
family ties. However, he could have t aught his list eners t he same
lesson wit hout showing such absolute indifference to his mot her.
The same disrespect ful at t it ude is depict ed when he refused t o
endorse a st at ement made by a member of his audience blessing
his mother's role in giving birt h t o him and nursing him:
"As Jesus was saying t hese t hings, a woman in t he crowd called

out , 'Blessed is t he mot her who gave you birt h and nursed you.' He
replied, 'Blessed rat her are t hose who hear t he word of God and
obey it .' " (Luke 11:27-28)
If a mother wit h the st at ure of t he virgin Mary had been treat ed

wit h such discourtesy, as depict ed in t he New Test ament , by a son
of t he st at ure of Jesus Christ , t hen how should an average
6/4/2011
of t he st at ure of WOMEN
JesusINChrist
ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN T…
, t hen how should an average
Christ ian mother be t reat ed by her average Christ ian sons?
In Islam, t he honor, respect , and est eem at t ached to motherhood

is unparalleled. The Quran places t he importance of kindness t o
parent s as second only t o worshipping God Almight y:
"Your Lord has decreed t hat you worship none but Him, And t hat
you be kind t o parent s. Whet her one or bot h of t hem at t ain old
age in your life, Say not t o t hem a word of cont empt , nor repel
t hem, But address t hem in t erms of honor. And out of kindness,
Lower t o t hem t he wing of humilit y, and say: 'My Lord! best ow on
t hem Your Mercy as t hey Cherished me in childhood' " (17:23-24).
The Quran in several ot her places puts special emphasis on the

mot her's great role in giving birth and nursing:
"And We have enjoined on man t o be good t o his parent s: In

t ravail upon t ravail did his mot her bear him and in t wo years was
his weaning. Show grat it ude t o Me and t o your parent s" (31:14).
The very special place of mothers in Islam has been eloquently

described by Prophet Muhammad:
"A man asked t he Prophet : 'Whom should I honor most ?' The
Prophet replied: 'Your mot her'. 'And who comes next ?' asked t he
man. The Prophet replied: 'Your mot her'. 'And who comes next ?'
asked t he man. The Prophet replied: 'Your mot her!'. 'And who
comes next ?' asked t he man. The Prophet replied: 'Your fat her'"
(Bukhari and Muslim).
Among t he few precept s of Islam which Muslims st ill faithfully

observe to the present day is t he considerate t reatment of
mot hers. The honor that Muslim mot hers receive from t heir sons
and daught ers is exemplary. The intensely warm relat ions bet ween
Muslim mot hers and t heir children and t he deep respect wit h
which Muslim men approach t heir mot hers usually amaze
West erners. 43
13. FEMALE INHERITANCE ?
One of t he most import ant differences bet ween the Quran and
t he Bible is t heir at t itude towards female inherit ance of the
propert y of a deceased relat ive. The Biblical att it ude has been
succinct ly described by Rabbi Epst ein: "The cont inuous and
unbroken t radit ion since t he Biblical days gives t he female
unbroken t radit ion since t he Biblical days gives t he female
members of t he household, wife and daught ers, no right of

succession to t he family est at e. In t he more primitive scheme of
succession, t he female members of t he family were considered
part of the est at e and as remot e from t he legal personalit y of an
heir as t he slave. Whereas by Mosaic enactment t he daught ers
were admit ted t o succession in t he event of no male issue
remained, t he wife was not recognized as heir even in such
condit ions." 44 Why were the female members of t he family
considered part of t he family estat e? Rabbi Epst ein has the
answer: "They are owned --before marriage, by t he fat her; aft er
marriage, by t he husband." 45
The Biblical rules of inherit ance are out lined in Numbers 27:1-11. A
wife is given no share in her husband's est ate, while he is her first
heir, even before her sons. A daughter can inherit only if no male
heirs exist . A mother is not an heir at all while the fat her is. Widows
and daught ers, in case male children remained, were at the
mercy of t he male heirs for provision. That is why widows and
orphan girls were among t he most destit ut e members of the
Jewish society.
Christ ianit y has followed suit for long t ime. Both t he ecclesiast ical
and civil laws of Christendom barred daught ers from sharing wit h
t heir brothers in t he fat her's patrimony. Besides, wives were
deprived of any inherit ance right s. These iniquit ous laws survived
t ill lat e in t he last cent ury46.
Among t he pagan Arabs before Islam, inherit ance right s were

confined exclusively t o t he male relatives. The Quran abolished all
t hese unjust cust oms and gave all the female relat ives inherit ance
shares:
"From what is left by parent s and t hose nearest relat ed t here is a

share for men and a share for women, whet her t he propert y be
small or large --a det erminat e share" (4:7).
Muslim mot hers, wives, daught ers, and sist ers had received
inherit ance rights thirt een hundred years before Europe
recognized t hat t hese right s even exist ed. The division of
inherit ance is a vast subject wit h an enormous amount of details
(4:7,11,12,176). The general rule is that t he female share is half the
male's except t he cases in which the mot her receives equal share
t o t hat of t he father. This general rule if t aken in isolation from
t o t hat of t he father. This general rule if t aken in isolation from
ot her legislat ions concerning men and women may seem unfair. In
order t o underst and the rationale behind this rule, one must t ake
int o account t he fact t hat the financial obligat ions of men in
Islam far exceed t hose of women (see t he "Wife's propert y?"
sect ion). A bridegroom must provide his bride wit h a marriage gift .
This gift becomes her exclusive propert y and remains so even if she
is lat er divorced. The bride is under no obligat ion t o present any
gift s t o her groom. Moreover, t he Muslim husband is charged wit h
t he maint enance of his wife and children. The wife, on t he ot her
hand, is not obliged t o help him in this regard. Her propert y and
earnings are for her use alone except what she may volunt arily
offer her husband. Besides, one has t o realize that Islam
vehement ly advocat es family life. It st rongly encourages yout h t o
get married, discourages divorce, and does not regard celibacy as
a virt ue. Therefore, in a t ruly Islamic society, family life is the norm
and single life is t he rare exception. That is, almost all marriage-
aged women and men are married in an Islamic society. In light of
t hese facts, one would appreciate that Muslim men, in general,
have great er financial burdens than Muslim women and thus
inherit ance rules are meant to offset t his imbalance so t hat the
society lives free of all gender or class wars. After a simple
comparison bet ween t he financial right s and dut ies of Muslim
women, one British Muslim woman has concluded t hat Islam has
t reated women not only fairly but generously. 47
14. PLIGHT OF WIDOWS
Because of t he fact that the Old Test ament recognized no

inherit ance rights t o t hem, widows were among t he most
vulnerable of the Jewish population. The male relatives who
inherit ed all of a woman's deceased husband's estate were t o
provide for her from t hat est at e. However, widows had no way t o
ensure t his provision was carried out , and lived on the mercy of
ot hers. Therefore, widows were among t he lowest classes in
ancient Israel and widowhood was considered a symbol of great
degradation (Isaiah 54:4). But t he plight of a widow in t he Biblical
t radit ion ext ended even beyond her exclusion from her husband's
propert y. According t o Genesis 38, a childless widow must marry
her husband's brother, even if he is already married, so t hat he can
produce offspring for his dead brother, t hus ensuring his brot her's
name will not die out .
"Then Judah said t o Onan, 'Lie wit h your brot her's wife and fulfill
your dut y t o her as a brot her-in-law t o produce offspring for your
brot her' " (Genesis 38:8).
The widow's consent to t his marriage is not required. The widow is

t reated as part of her deceased husband's property whose main
funct ion is to ensure her husband's posterit y. This Biblical law is st ill
pract iced in t oday's Israel. 48 A childless widow in Israel is
bequeat hed to her husband's brother. If t he brot her is t oo young
t o marry, she has t o wait unt il he comes of age. Should the
deceased husband's brot her refuse to marry her, she is set free and
can t hen marry any man of her choice. It is not an uncommon
phenomenon in Israel t hat widows are subjected to blackmail by
t heir brot hers-in-law in order to gain t heir freedom.
The pagan Arabs before Islam had similar practices. A widow was
considered a part of her husband's propert y to be inherited by his
male heirs and she was, usually, given in marriage t o the deceased
man's eldest son from another wife. The Quran scathingly
att acked and abolished t his degrading cust om:
"And marry not women whom your fat hers married--Except what
is past -- it was shameful, odious, and abominable cust om indeed"
(4:22).
Widows and divorced women were so looked down upon in the

Biblical t radit ion t hat t he high priest could not marry a widow, a
divorced woman, or a prostit ute:
"The woman he (t he high priest ) marries must be a virgin. He must

not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by
prost it ut ion, but only a virgin from his own people, so he will not
defile his offspring among his people" (Lev. 21:13-15)
In Israel t oday, a descendant of t he Cohen cast e (the high priest s

of t he days of t he Temple) cannot marry a divorcee, a widow, or a
prost itut e. 49 In t he Jewish legislat ion, a woman who has been
widowed t hree times wit h all t he t hree husbands dying of nat ural
causes is considered 'fat al' and forbidden to marry again. 50 The
Quran, on t he other hand, recognizes neit her cast es nor fatal
persons. Widows and divorcees have t he freedom to marry
whomever t hey choose. There is no stigma at t ached to divorce or
widowhood in t he Quran:
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WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN T…
"When you divorce women and t hey fulfil t heir t erms [t hree
menst ruat ion periods] eit her t ake t hem back on equit able t erms
or set t hem free on equit able t erms; But do not t ake t hem back
t o injure t hem or t o t ake undue advant age, If anyone does t hat ,
he wrongs his own soul. Do not t reat Allah's signs as a jest " (2:231).
"If any of you die and leave widows behind, t hey shall wait four
mont hs and t en days. When t hey have fulfilled t heir t erm, t here is
no blame on you if t hey dispose of t hemselves in a just manner"
(2:234).
"Those of you who die and leave widows should bequeat h for t heir
widows a year's maint enance and residence. But if t hey [t he
widows] leave (t he residence) t here is no blame on you for what
t hey just ly do wit h t hemselves" (2:240).
15. POLYGAMY
Let us now t ackle t he import ant quest ion of polygamy. Polygamy is

a very ancient pract ice found in many human societ ies. The Bible
did not condemn polygamy. To the cont rary, t he Old Test ament
and Rabbinic writings frequent ly at test t o t he legalit y of
polygamy. King Solomon is said t o have had 700 wives and 300
concubines (1 Kings 11:3) Also, king David is said to have had
many wives and concubines (2 Samuel 5:13). The Old Test ament
does have some injunct ions on how t o dist ribute t he propert y of a
man among his sons from different wives (Deut . 22:7). The only
rest rict ion on polygamy is a ban on taking a wife's sist er as a rival
wife (Lev. 18:18). The Talmud advises a maximum of four wives. 51
European Jews cont inued to pract ice polygamy unt il the
sixt eenth cent ury. Orient al Jews regularly pract iced polygamy
unt il t hey arrived in Israel where it is forbidden under civil law.
However, under religious law which overrides civil law in such
cases, it is permissible. 52
What about t he New Testament ? According t o Fat her Eugene

Hillman in his insightful book, Polygamy reconsidered, "Nowhere in
t he New Testament is t here any explicit commandment t hat
marriage should be monogamous or any explicit commandment
forbidding polygamy." 53 Moreover, Jesus has not spoken against
polygamy t hough it was pract iced by t he Jews of his societ y.
Fat her Hillman st resses t he fact t hat the Church in Rome banned
polygamy in order t o conform t o the Greco-Roman cult ure (which
6/4/2011 polygamy in order tWOMEN
o conform t oVERSUS
IN ISLAM the Greco-Roman
WOMEN IN T… cult ure (which
prescribed only one legal wife while tolerating concubinage and
prost itut ion). He cit ed St. August ine, "Now indeed in our time, and
in keeping wit h Roman custom, it is no longer allowed to t ake
anot her wife." 54 African churches and African Christ ians often
remind t heir European brot hers t hat t he Church's ban on
polygamy is a cultural tradition and not an aut hentic Christ ian
injunct ion.
The Quran, t oo, allowed polygamy, but not wit hout restrictions:
"If you fear t hat you shall not be able t o deal just ly wit h t he
orphans, marry women of your choice, t wo or t hree or four; but if
you fear t hat you shall not be able t o deal just ly wit h t hem, t hen
only one" (4:3).
The Quran, cont rary t o the Bible, limit ed the maximum number of
wives t o four under t he st rict condit ion of treat ing the wives
equally and justly. It should not be underst ood t hat the Quran is
exhort ing the believers t o practice polygamy, or t hat polygamy is
considered as an ideal. In ot her words, the Quran has "tolerated"
or "allowed" polygamy, and no more, but why? Why is polygamy
permissible ? The answer is simple: there are places and times in
which there are compelling social and moral reasons for polygamy.
As t he above Quranic verse indicates, the issue of polygamy in
Islam cannot be understood apart from communit y obligat ions
t owards orphans and widows. Islam as a universal religion suit able
for all places and all t imes could not ignore these compelling
obligat ions.
In most human societ ies, females out number males. In t he U.S.

t here are, at least, eight million more women t han men. In a
count ry like Guinea t here are 122 females for every 100 males. In
Tanzania, t here are 95.1 males per 100 females. 55 What should a
society do towards such unbalanced sex rat ios? There are various
solut ions, some might suggest celibacy, others would prefer female
infanticide (which does happen in some societies in the world
t oday !). Ot hers may t hink t he only out let is t hat t he societ y should
t olerat e all manners of sexual permissiveness: prost it ut ion, sex out
of wedlock, homosexualit y, et c. For ot her societ ies , like most
African societ ies t oday, t he most honorable outlet is to allow
polygamous marriage as a cult urally accept ed and socially
respect ed inst it ution. The point t hat is oft en misunderstood in the
West is t hat women in ot her cultures do not necessarily look at
West is t hat women in ot her cultures do not necessarily look at
polygamy as a sign of women's degradat ion. For example, many
young African brides , whether Christ ians or Muslims or ot herwise,
would prefer t o marry a married man who has already proved
himself t o be a responsible husband. Many African wives urge t heir
husbands to get a second wife so t hat they do not feel lonely. 56 A
survey of over six t housand women, ranging in age from 15 t o 59,
conduct ed in the second largest cit y in Nigeria showed t hat 60
percent of t hese women would be pleased if their husbands t ook
anot her wife. Only 23 percent expressed anger at t he idea of
sharing with anot her wife. Sevent y-six percent of the women in a
survey conduct ed in Kenya viewed polygamy posit ively. In a
survey undertaken in rural Kenya, 25 out of 27 women considered
polygamy t o be bett er than monogamy. These women felt
polygamy can be a happy and beneficial experience if t he co-
wives cooperat e wit h each ot her. 57 Polygamy in most African
societies is such a respect able inst itut ion t hat some Protest ant
churches are becoming more t olerant of it . A bishop of the
Anglican Church in Kenya declared t hat , "Alt hough monogamy
may be ideal for t he expression of love bet ween husband and
wife, t he church should consider that in cert ain cult ures polygyny is
socially accept able and that t he belief t hat polygyny is cont rary
t o Christ ianit y is no longer tenable." 58 Aft er a careful st udy of
African polygamy, Reverend David Git ari of t he Anglican Church
has concluded t hat polygamy, as ideally pract iced, is more
Christ ian t han divorce and remarriage as far as t he abandoned
wives and children are concerned. 59 I personally know of some
highly educat ed African wives who, despit e having lived in the
West for many years, do not have any object ions against
polygamy. One of them, who lives in t he U.S., solemnly exhorts her
husband to get a second wife to help her in raising t he kids.
The problem of t he unbalanced sex ratios becomes truly

problematic at t imes of war. Native American Indian t ribes used
t o suffer highly unbalanced sex rat ios aft er wartime losses. Women
in t hese t ribes, who in fact enjoyed a fairly high st atus, accept ed
polygamy as the best prot ection against indulgence in indecent
act ivit ies. European set t lers, without offering any ot her
alternative, condemned t his Indian polygamy as 'uncivilised'. 60
Aft er t he second world war, t here were 7,300,000 more women
t han men in Germany (3.3 million of them were widows). There
were 100 men aged 20 t o 30 for every 167 women in that age
group. 61 Many of t hese women needed a man not only as a
group. 61 Many of t hese women needed a man not only as a
companion but also as a provider for t he household in a t ime of
unprecedented misery and hardship. The soldiers of t he vict orious
Allied Armies exploit ed t hese women's vulnerability. Many young
girls and widows had liaisons with members of the occupying
forces. Many American and Brit ish soldiers paid for t heir pleasures in
cigaret tes, chocolat e, and bread. Children were overjoyed at the
gift s t hese st rangers brought. A 10 year old boy on hearing of such
gift s from ot her children wished from all his heart for an
'Englishman' for his mot her so that she need not go hungry any
longer. 62 We have t o ask our own conscience at t his point : What
is more dignifying t o a woman? An accept ed and respect ed
second wife as in t he nat ive Indians' approach, or a virt ual
prost itut e as in the 'civilised' Allies approach? In ot her words, what
is more dignifying t o a woman, the Quranic prescript ion or the
t heology based on t he cult ure of t he Roman Empire?
It is interest ing t o note t hat in an international youth conference

held in Munich in 1948 the problem of t he highly unbalanced sex
rat io in Germany was discussed. When it became clear t hat no
solut ion could be agreed upon, some part icipant s suggest ed
polygamy. The init ial react ion of t he gat hering was a mixt ure of
shock and disgust . However, after a careful st udy of t he proposal,
t he part icipant s agreed t hat it was the only possible solut ion.
Consequent ly, polygamy was included among t he conference
final recommendations. 63
The world today possesses more weapons of mass destruct ion t han
ever before and t he European churches might , sooner or later, be
obliged t o accept polygamy as t he only way out . Father Hillman
has t hought fully recognized this fact , "It is quit e conceivable t hat
t hese genocidal t echniques (nuclear, biological, chemical..) could
produce so drast ic an imbalance among t he sexes t hat plural
marriage would become a necessary means of survival....Then
contrary to previous cust om and law, an overriding nat ural and
moral inclination might arise in favour of polygamy. In such a
sit uat ion, t heologians and church leaders would quickly produce
weighty reasons and biblical texts t o just ify a new concept ion of
marriage." 64
To t he present day, polygamy continues t o be a viable solution t o

some of the social ills of modern societies. The communal
obligat ions t hat t he Quran ment ions in association with the
permission of polygamy are more visible at present in some West ern
societies t han in Africa. For example, In t he Unit ed Stat es t oday,

t here is a severe gender crisis in t he black communit y. One out of
every t wenty young black males may die before reaching t he age
of 21. For t hose bet ween 20 and 35 years of age, homicide is the
leading cause of death. 65 Besides, many young black males are
unemployed, in jail, or on dope. 66 As a result , one in four black
women, at age 40, has never married, as compared with one in
t en whit e women. 67 Moreover, many young black females
become single mot hers before t he age of 20 and find t hemselves
in need of providers. The end result of t hese t ragic circumstances is
t hat an increasing number of black women are engaged in what
is called 'man-sharing'. 68 That is, many of t hese hapless single
black women are involved in affairs with married men. The wives
are often unaware of t he fact that other women are 'sharing' t heir
husbands with t hem. Some observers of t he crisis of man-sharing in
t he African American communit y strongly recommend consensual
polygamy as a temporary answer to t he shortage of black males
unt il more comprehensive reforms in the American societ y at large
are undertaken. 69 By consensual polygamy t hey mean a
polygamy t hat is sanct ioned by t he communit y and t o which all
t he part ies involved have agreed, as opposed t o t he usually
secret man-sharing which is det riment al bot h t o t he wife and t o
t he communit y in general. The problem of man-sharing in the
African American communit y was the t opic of a panel discussion
held at Temple University in Philadelphia on January 27, 1993. 70
Some of t he speakers recommended polygamy as one pot ential
remedy for t he crisis. They also suggested t hat polygamy should
not be banned by law, particularly in a societ y that t olerat es
prost itut ion and mist resses. The comment of one woman from the
audience t hat African Americans needed t o learn from Africa
where polygamy was responsibly pract iced elicit ed enthusiast ic
applause.
Philip Kilbride, an American ant hropologist of Roman Catholic

herit age, in his provocat ive book, Plural marriage for our t ime,
proposes polygamy as a solution to some of t he ills of t he American
society at large. He argues t hat plural marriage may serve as a
pot ential alternative for divorce in many cases in order t o obviat e
t he damaging impact of divorce on many children. He maint ains
t hat many divorces are caused by t he rampant ext ramarital
affairs in the American society. According t o Kilbride, ending an
affairs in the American society. According t o Kilbride, ending an
ext ramarit al affair in a polygamous marriage, rat her than in a
divorce, is bet t er for t he children, "Children would be bet t er served
if family augment at ion rather than only separation and dissolution
were seen as options." Moreover, he suggest s that other groups will
also benefit from plural marriage such as: elderly women who face
a chronic short age of men and t he African Americans who are
involved in man-sharing. 71
In 1987, a poll conducted by t he st udent newspaper at the

university of California at Berkeley asked t he st udent s whet her
t hey agreed t hat men should be allowed by law t o have more
t han one wife in response t o a perceived short age of male
marriage candidat es in California. Almost all of the student s polled
approved of t he idea. One female st udent even st at ed t hat a
polyganous marriage would fulfil her emot ional and physical needs
while giving her great er freedom t han a monogamous union. 72 In
fact , t his same argument is also used by t he few remaining
fundamentalist Mormon women who still pract ice polygamy in the
U.S. They believe t hat polygamy is an ideal way for a woman t o
have bot h a career and children since t he wives help each ot her
care for t he children. 73
It has to be added t hat polygamy in Islam is a mat t er of mut ual

consent . No one can force a woman t o marry a married man.
Besides, t he wife has t he right t o st ipulate t hat her husband must
not marry any ot her woman as a second wife. 74 The Bible, on the
ot her hand, sometimes resorts t o forcible polygamy. A childless
widow must marry her husband's brot her, even if he is already
married (see t he "Plight of Widows" sect ion),regardless of her
consent (Genesis 38:8-10).
It should be noted t hat in many Muslim societ ies t oday the

pract ice of polygamy is rare since t he gap between t he numbers
of bot h sexes is not huge. One can, safely, say t hat the rat e of
polygamous marriages in t he Muslim world is much less t han the
rat e of ext ramarital affairs in the West . In ot her words, men in the
Muslim world t oday are far more st rictly monogamous than men in
t he West ern world.
Billy Graham, the eminent Christ ian evangelist has recognized t his
fact : "Christianity cannot compromise on t he quest ion of
polygamy. If present -day Christ ianit y cannot do so, it is t o it s own
det riment . Islam has permitt ed polygamy as a solut ion t o social ills
det riment . Islam has permitt ed polygamy as a solut ion t o social ills
and has allowed a cert ain degree of lat it ude t o human nat ure
but only wit hin t he st rict ly defined framework of the law. Christ ian
count ries make a great show of monogamy, but act ually t hey
pract ice polygamy. No one is unaware of the part mist resses play
in West ern societ y. In this respect Islam is a fundament ally honest
religion, and permit s a Muslim t o marry a second wife if he must ,
but st rict ly forbids all clandest ine amat ory associat ions in order t o
safeguard t he moral probit y of the communit y." 75
It is of int erest t o not e t hat many, non-Muslim as well as Muslim,

count ries in t he world t oday have out lawed polygamy. Taking a
second wife, even w ith t he free consent of the first wife, is a
violat ion of the law. On t he ot her hand, cheat ing on the wife,
wit hout her knowledge or consent , is perfect ly legit imat e as far as
t he law is concerned! What is t he legal wisdom behind such a
contradict ion? Is the law designed t o reward deception and
punish honesty? It is one of t he unfat homable paradoxes of our
modern 'civilised' world.
16. THE VEIL
Finally, let us shed some light on what is considered in the West as

t he great est symbol of women's oppression and servit ude, the veil
or t he head cover. Is it t rue that there is no such t hing as t he veil in
t he Judaeo-Christ ian t radit ion? Let us set t he record straight .
According t o Rabbi Dr. Menachem M. Brayer (Professor of Biblical
Lit erat ure at Y eshiva University) in his book, The Jewish woman in
Rabbinic lit erat ure, it was t he cust om of Jewish women t o go out
in public with a head covering which, somet imes, even covered
t he whole face leaving one eye free. 76 He quot es some famous
ancient Rabbis saying," It is not like t he daught ers of Israel to walk
out wit h heads uncovered" and "Cursed be t he man who let s the
hair of his wife be seen....a woman who exposes her hair for self-
adornment brings povert y." Rabbinic law forbids t he recit at ion of
blessings or prayers in the presence of a bareheaded married
woman since uncovering the woman's hair is considered
"nudity".77 Dr. Brayer also ment ions t hat "During t he Tannait ic
period t he Jewish woman's failure t o cover her head was
considered an affront t o her modest y. When her head was
uncovered she might be fined four hundred zuzim for t his offense."
Dr. Brayer also explains that veil of the Jewish woman was not
6/4/2011 Dr. Brayer also explains
WOMENthat veil
IN ISLAM of the
VERSUS Jewish
WOMEN IN T… woman was not
always considered a sign of modest y. Sometimes, the veil
symbolized a st ate of distinct ion and luxury rather t han modest y.

The veil personified t he dignit y and superiority of noble women. It
also represent ed a woman's inaccessibilit y as a sanct ified
possession of her husband. 78
The veil signified a woman's self-respect and social status. Women

of lower classes would oft en wear t he veil to give t he impression of
a higher standing. The fact that t he veil was t he sign of nobility
was the reason why prost it ut es were not permitt ed to cover t heir
hair in t he old Jewish society. However, prostit utes oft en wore a
special headscarf in order t o look respect able. 79 Jewish women in
Europe cont inued t o wear veils unt il t he ninet eent h century when
t heir lives became more int ermingled wit h t he surrounding secular
cult ure. The external pressures of t he European life in the
nineteenth century forced many of them t o go out bare-headed.
Some Jewish women found it more convenient t o replace t heir
t radit ional veil with a wig as another form of hair covering. Today,
most pious Jewish women do not cover t heir hair except in the
synagogue. 80 Some of t hem, such as t he Hasidic sect s, st ill use the
wig. 81
What about t he Christian t radition? It is well known that Catholic

Nuns have been covering t heir heads for hundreds of years, but
t hat is not all. St. Paul in the New Test ament made some very
int eresting st at ements about the veil:
"Now I want you t o realize t hat t he head of every man is Christ ,

and t he head of t he woman is man, and t he head of Christ is
God. Every man who prays or prophesies wit h his head covered
dishonours his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies
wit h her head uncovered dishonours her head - it is just as t hough
her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she
should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman t o
have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A
man ought not t o cover his head, since he is t he image and glory
of God; but t he woman is t he glory of man. For man did not
come from woman, but woman from man; neit her was man
creat ed for woman, but woman for man. For t his reason, and
because of t he angels, t he woman ought t o have a sign of
aut horit y on her head" (I Corint hians 11:3-10).
St. Paul's rat ionale for veiling women is t hat t he veil represents a
sign of t he aut horit y of the man, who is t he image and glory of
sign of t he aut horit y of the man, who is t he image and glory of
God, over t he woman who was created from and for man. St .
Tert ullian in his famous t reat ise 'On The Veiling Of Virgins' wrote,
"Young women, you wear your veils out on t he streets, so you
should wear t hem in t he church, you wear t hem when you are
among st rangers, t hen wear t hem among your brot hers..." Among
t he Canon laws of t he Cat holic church today, t here is a law t hat
requires women t o cover t heir heads in church. 82 Some Christ ian
denominat ions, such as the Amish and t he Mennonites for
example, keep t heir women veiled t o t he present day. The reason
for t he veil, as offered by t heir Church leaders, is t hat "The head
covering is a symbol of woman's subjection to t he man and t o
God", which is the same logic int roduced by St . Paul in t he New
Testament . 83
From all t he above evidence, it is obvious that Islam did not invent
t he head cover. However, Islam did endorse it. The Quran urges
t he believing men and women to lower their gaze and guard t heir
modest y and t hen urges the believing women t o ext end t heir
head covers t o cover the neck and t he bosom:
"Say t o t he believing men t hat t hey should lower t heir gaze and
guard t heir modest y......And say t o t he believing women t hat
t hey should lower t heir gaze and guard t heir modest y; t hat t hey
should not display t heir beaut y and ornament s except what
ordinarily appear t hereof; t hat t hey should draw t heir veils over
t heir bosoms...." (24:30,31).
The Quran is quite clear that t he veil is essent ial for modest y, but
why is modest y import ant? The Quran is st ill clear:
"O Prophet , t ell your wives and daught ers and t he believing
women t hat t hey should cast t heir out er garment s over t heir
bodies (when abroad) so t hat t hey should be known and not
molest ed" (33:59).
This is t he whole point, modesty is prescribed to prot ect women

from molest at ion or simply, modest y is prot ect ion. Thus, t he only
purpose of t he veil in Islam is prot ection. The Islamic veil, unlike the
veil of t he Christian t radition, is not a sign of man's aut horit y over
woman nor is it a sign of woman's subject ion t o man. The Islamic
veil, unlike t he veil in t he Jewish t radit ion, is not a sign of luxury and
dist inct ion of some noble married women. The Islamic veil is only a
sign of modest y wit h t he purpose of prot ect ing women, all
women. The Islamic philosophy is t hat it is always bett er to be safe
women. The Islamic philosophy is t hat it is always bett er to be safe
t han sorry. In fact , t he Quran is so concerned wit h protect ing
women's bodies and women's reput at ion t hat a man who dares
t o falsely accuse a woman of unchastit y will be severely punished:
"And t hose who launch a charge against chast e women, and

produce not four wit nesses (t o support t heir allegat ions)- Flog
t hem wit h eight y st ripes; and reject t heir evidence ever aft er: for
such men are wicked t ransgressors" (24:4)
Compare t his st rict Quranic at t itude wit h the ext remely lax
punishment for rape in t he Bible:
" If a man happens t o meet a virgin who is not pledged t o be

married and rapes her and t hey are discovered, he shall pay t he
girl's fat her fift y shekels of silver. He must marry t he girl, for he has
violat ed her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives" (Deut .
22:28-30)
One must ask a simple quest ion here, who is really punished? The
man who only paid a fine for rape, or t he girl who is forced t o marry
t he man who raped her and live wit h him unt il he dies? Anot her
quest ion t hat also should be asked is this: which is more prot ective
of women, t he Quranic st rict at titude or the Biblical lax at tit ude?
Some people, especially in t he West, would tend t o ridicule the

whole argument of modest y for protect ion. Their argument is t hat
t he best prot ect ion is t he spread of educat ion, civilised behaviour,
and self rest raint. We would say: fine but not enough. If 'civilization'
is enough protect ion, t hen why is it t hat women in North America
dare not walk alone in a dark street - or even across an empty
parking lot ? If Educat ion is t he solut ion, t hen why is it t hat a
respect ed universit y like Queen's has a 'walk home service' mainly
for female st udent s on campus? If self rest raint is t he answer, t hen
why are cases of sexual harassment in t he workplace report ed on
t he news media every day? A sample of those accused of sexual
harassment , in the last few years, includes: Navy officers,
Managers, Universit y professors, Senators, Supreme Court Just ices,
and the President of the United States! I could not believe my eyes
when I read t he following st at ist ics, writ ten in a pamphlet issued
by t he Dean of Women's office at Queen's Universit y:
In Canada, a woman is sexually assaulted every 6 minut es,
1 in 3 women in Canada will be sexually assault ed at some

1 in 3 women in Canada will be sexually assault ed at some
t ime in t heir lives,
1 in 4 women are at the risk of rape or at tempted rape in her

lifet ime,
1 in 8 women will be sexually assaulted while at t ending

college or university, and
A st udy found 60% of Canadian university-aged males said

t hey would commit sexual assault if t hey were certain t hey
wouldn't get caught .
Somet hing is fundamentally wrong in t he societ y we live in. A

radical change in the societ y's life style and cult ure is absolut ely
necessary. A culture of modest y is badly needed, modesty in dress,
in speech, and in manners of bot h men and women. Otherwise,
t he grim st at ist ics will grow even worse day after day and,
unfort unat ely, women alone will be paying t he price. Act ually, we
all suffer but as K. Gibran has said, "...for t he person who receives
t he blows is not like t he one who count s t hem." 84 Therefore, a
society like France which expels young women from schools
because of their modest dress is, in the end, simply harming it self.
It is one of the great ironies of our world t oday that t he very same
headscarf revered as a sign of 'holiness' when worn for t he purpose
of showing the aut hority of man by Cat holic Nuns, is reviled as a
sign of 'oppression' when worn for t he purpose of prot ect ion by
Muslim women.
17. EPILOGUE
The one quest ion all the non-Muslims, who had read an earlier
version of t his st udy, had in common was: do Muslim women in the
Muslim world today receive t his noble treatment described here?
The answer, unfortunat ely, is: No. Since this question is inevit able in
any discussion concerning t he st atus of women in Islam, we have
t o elaborate on t he answer in order t o provide t he reader wit h the
complet e pict ure.
It has t o be made clear first t hat t he vast differences among

Muslim societ ies make most generalizat ions t oo simplist ic. There is a
wide spectrum of at tit udes towards women in the Muslim world
t oday. These at tit udes differ from one societ y t o another and
wit hin each individual society. Nevertheless, cert ain general trends
6/4/2011 WOMEN
wit hin each individual IN ISLAM
society. VERSUS WOMEN IN
Nevertheless, T… ain general trends
cert
are discernible. Almost all Muslim societies have, to one degree or
anot her, deviat ed from t he ideals of Islam with respect to the

st atus of women. These deviat ions have, for t he most part, been in
one of t wo opposite direct ions. The first direct ion is more
conservat ive, rest rict ive, and traditions-orient ed, while t he second
is more liberal and Western-orient ed.
The societ ies t hat have digressed in t he first direct ion t reat women
according t o the customs and t radit ions inherited from t heir
forebears. These traditions usually deprive women of many right s
grant ed to t hem by Islam. Besides, women are treat ed according
t o standards far different from t hose applied t o men. This
discriminat ion pervades t he life of any female: she is received wit h
less joy at birt h 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 t o behave immodestly
while her brot her's immodest act s are t olerat ed; she might even
be killed for commit t ing what her male family members usually
boast of doing; she has very lit t le say in family affairs or community
int erests; she might not have full cont rol over her propert y and her
marriage gift s; and finally as a mot her she herself would prefer t o
produce boys so that she can at tain a higher st at us in her
community.
On the ot her hand, t here are Muslim societ ies (or certain classes
wit hin some societies) t hat have been swept over by the West ern
cult ure and way of life. These societies oft en imitate unthinkingly
what ever t hey receive from t he West and usually end up
adopt ing the worst fruit s of West ern civilizat ion. In t hese societies,
a t ypical "modern" woman's top priorit y in life is t o enhance her
physical beaut y. Therefore, she is often obsessed wit h her body's
shape, size, and weight. She t ends t o care more about her body
t han her mind and more about her charms than her int ellect . Her
abilit y to charm, at tract , and excit e is more valued in t he society
t han her educat ional achievement s, int ellect ual pursuit s, and
social work. One is not expect ed to find a copy of t he Quran in her
purse since it is full of cosmet ics that accompany her wherever she
goes. Her spirit ualit y has no room in a societ y preoccupied with her
att ractiveness. Therefore, she would spend her life striving more t o
realize her femininit y t han t o fulfil her humanit y.
Why did Muslim societies deviate from t he ideals of Islam? There is

Why did Muslim societies deviate from t he ideals of Islam? There is
no easy answer. A penet rat ing explanat ion of t he reasons why
Muslims have not adhered t o t he Quranic guidance wit h respect

t o women would be beyond t he scope of t his st udy. It has t o be
made clear, however, that Muslim societ ies have deviated from
t he Islamic precept s concerning so many aspect s of their lives for
so long. There is a wide gap bet ween what Muslims are supposed
t o believe in and what t hey actually pract ice. This gap is not a
recent phenomenon. It has been there for cent uries and has been
widening day aft er day. This ever widening gap has had disast rous
consequences on t he Muslim world manifested in almost all
aspects of life: polit ical t yranny and fragment ation, economic
backwardness, social injust ice, scientific bankrupt cy, int ellect ual
st agnat ion, et c. The non-Islamic st at us of women in t he Muslim
world today is merely a sympt om of a deeper malady. Any reform
in t he current st at us of Muslim women is not expected t o be fruit ful
if not accompanied wit h more comprehensive reforms of the
Muslim societ ies' whole way of life. The Muslim world is in need for a
renaissance t hat will bring it closer t o t he ideals of Islam and not
furt her from t hem. To sum up, the not ion that t he poor st at us of
Muslim women today is because of Islam is an ut t er
misconception. The problems of Muslims in general are not due t o
t oo much att achment to Islam, t hey are the culmination of a long
and deep detachment from it.
It has, also, t o be re-emphasized that the purpose behind t his

comparative study is not, by any means, t o defame Judaism or
Christ ianit y. The position of women in t he Judaeo-Christ ian
t radit ion might seem fright ening by our late t went iet h century
st andards. Nevertheless, it has to be viewed within t he proper
hist orical context. In other words, any object ive assessment of the
position of women in t he Judaeo-Christ ian tradit ion has t o t ake
int o account t he hist orical circumstances in which t his tradition
developed. There can be no doubt t hat the views of t he Rabbis
and the Church Fathers regarding women were influenced by the
prevalent at tit udes towards women in t heir societies. The Bible
it self was writ t en by different aut hors at different times. These
aut hors could not have been impervious to t he values and the
way of life of the people around t hem. For example, the adultery
laws of t he Old Test ament are so biased against women t hat t hey
defy rational explanat ion by our mentalit y. However, if we consider
t he fact t hat t he early Jewish t ribes were obsessed with t heir
genet ic homogeneit y and ext remely eager t o define themselves
apart from t he surrounding t ribes and t hat only sexual misconduct
by t he married females of t he tribes could threat en these
cherished aspirat ions, we should then be able t o understand, but
not necessarily sympathize wit h, t he reasons for t his bias. Also, the
diat ribes of t he Church Fathers against women should not be
det ached from t he cont ext of the misogynist Greco-Roman
cult ure in which t hey lived. It would be unfair t o evaluate the
Judaeo-Christ ian legacy wit hout giving any considerat ion t o the
relevant hist orical cont ext .
In fact , a proper understanding of the Judaeo-Christian historical

context is also crucial for understanding the significance of the
contribut ions of Islam to world hist ory and human civilizat ion. The
Judaeo-Christ ian tradition had been influenced and shaped by
t he environments, condit ions, and cult ures in which it had exist ed.
By the sevent h cent ury C.E., t his influence had dist ort ed the
original divine message revealed t o Moses and Jesus beyond
recognit ion. The poor st at us of women in the Judaeo-Christ ian
world by t he sevent h cent ury is just one case in point . Therefore,
t here was a great need for a new divine message t hat would
guide humanit y back t o t he st raight pat h. The Quran described
t he mission of t he new Messenger as a release for Jews and
Christ ians from the heavy burdens t hat had been upon them:
"Those who follow t he Messenger, t he unlet t ered Prophet , whom
t hey find ment ioned in t heir own Scriptures--In the Law and the
Gospel-- For he commands them what is just and forbids t hem
what is evil; he allows t hem as lawful what is good and prohibit s
t hem from what is bad; He releases t hem from t heir heavy burdens
and from t he yokes that are upon them" (7:157).
Therefore, Islam should not be viewed as a rival t radit ion t o

Judaism or Christ ianit y. It has t o be regarded as the
consummat ion, complet ion, and perfect ion of t he divine
messages that had been revealed before it .
At t he end of t his st udy, I would like t o offer the following advice

t o the global Muslim communit y. So many Muslim women have
been denied t heir basic Islamic rights for so long. The mist akes of
t he past have t o be correct ed. To do t hat is not a favor, it is a
dut y incumbent upon all Muslims. The worldwide Muslim
community have to issue a chart er of Muslim women's right s based
on t he inst ruct ions of t he Quran and the teachings of t he Prophet
on t he inst ruct ions of t he Quran and the teachings of t he Prophet
of Islam. This chart er must give Muslim women all the right s
endowed t o them by their Creat or. Then, all the necessary means
have t o be developed in order t o ensure t he proper
implement at ion of t he chart er. This charter is long overdue, but it
is bett er lat e t han never. If Muslims worldwide will not guarantee
t he full Islamic right s of t heir mot hers, wives, sist ers, and daught ers,
who else will ?
Furt hermore, we must have the courage t o confront our past and
reject outright t he tradit ions and cust oms of our forefat hers
whenever they cont ravene t he precept s of Islam. Did t he Quran
not severely crit icize t he pagan Arabs for blindly following the
t radit ions of their ancest ors? On the other hand, we have t o
develop a crit ical att it ude towards what ever we receive from the
West or from any other cult ure. Int eract ion wit h and learning from
ot her cult ures is an invaluable experience. The Quran has
succinct ly considered t his int eract ion as one of t he purposes of
creation: " O mankind We created you from a single pair of a male
and a female, and made you int o nat ions and t ribes, that you
may know each ot her" (49:13). It goes without saying, however,
t hat blind imit at ion of ot hers is a sure sign of an utt er lack of self-
est eem.
It is t o the non-Muslim reader, Jewish, Christ ian, or ot herwise, t hat

t hese final words are dedicat ed. It is bewildering why t he religion
t hat had revolut ionized t he stat us of women is being singled out
and denigrat ed as so repressive of women. This percept ion about
Islam is one of t he most widespread myt hs in our world t oday. This
myt h is being perpet uated by a ceaseless barrage of sensat ional
books, articles, media images, and Hollywood movies. The
inevitable out come of these incessant misleading images has
been tot al misunderstanding and fear of anyt hing related t o
Islam. This negat ive port rayal of Islam in the world media has t o
end if we are to live in a world free from all traces of discriminat ion,
prejudice, and misunderst anding. Non-Muslims ought to realize the
existence of a wide gap bet ween Muslims' beliefs and pract ices
and t he simple fact t hat t he act ions of Muslims do not necessarily
represent Islam. To label t he st at us of women in t he Muslim world
t oday as "Islamic" is as far from t he trut h as labelling t he position of
women in t he West t oday as "Judaeo-Christ ian". Wit h t his
underst anding in mind, Muslims and non-Muslims should start a
process of communication and dialogue in order to remove all
process of communication and dialogue in order to remove all
misconceptions, suspicions, and fears. A peaceful future for the
human family necessit at es such a dialogue.
Islam should be viewed as a religion t hat had immensely improved

t he st at us of women and had grant ed them many rights that the
modern world has recognized only t his century. Islam st ill has so
much to offer t oday's woman: dignity, respect, and protection in
all aspect s and all st ages of her life from birt h unt il deat h in
addition to t he recognition, the balance, and means for the
fulfilment of all her spirit ual, int ellect ual, physical, and emot ional
needs. No wonder most of t hose who choose t o become Muslims in
a count ry like Brit ain are women. In t he U.S. women convert s t o
Islam out number male convert s 4 t o 1. 85 Islam has so much t o
offer our world which is in great need of moral guidance and
leadership. Ambassador Herman Eilt s, in a test imony in front of the
commit tee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of
t he United St at es Congress on June 24th, 1985, said, "The Muslim
community of the globe t oday is in the neighbourhood of one
billion. That is an impressive figure. But what to me is equally
impressive is that Islam t oday is t he fast est growing monot heist ic
religion. This is somet hing we have t o take int o account .
Somet hing is right about Islam. It is att racting a good many
people." Yes, somet hing is right about Islam and it is t ime to find
t hat out . I hope this st udy is a step on t his direct ion.
NOTES
1. The Globe and Mail, Oct . 4,1994.
2. Leonard J. Swidler, Women in Judaism: t he Stat us of Women in

Format ive Judaism (Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press, 1976) p. 115.
3. Thena Kendath, "Memories of an Ort hodox yout h" in Susannah

Heschel, ed. On being a Jewish Feminist (New York: Schocken
Books, 1983), pp. 96-97.
4. Swidler, op. cit ., pp. 80-81.
5. Rosemary R. Ruet her, "Christ ianity", in Arvind Sharma, ed.,

Women in World Religions (Albany: St at e University of New York
Press, 1987) p. 209.
6. For all t he sayings of t he prominent Saint s, see Karen Armst rong,

6/4/2011 6. For all t he sayingsWOMEN IN ISLAM
of t he VERSUS WOMEN
prominent INsee
Saint s, T… Karen Armst rong,
The Gospel According t o Woman (London: Elm Tree Books, 1986)
pp. 52-62. See also Nancy van Vuuren, The Subversion of Women
as Pract iced by Churches, Wit ch-Hunters, and Ot her Sexist s
(Philadelphia: West minist er Press) pp. 28-30.
7. Swidler, op. cit ., p. 140.
8. Denise L. Carmody, "Judaism", in Arvind Sharma, ed., op. cit ., p.

197.
10. Ibid., p. 138.
11. Sally Priesand, Judaism and t he New Woman (New Y ork:

Behrman House, Inc., 1975) p. 24.
13. Lesley Hazlet on, Israeli Women The Realit y Behind t he Myt hs
(New York: Simon and Schust er, 1977) p. 41.
14. Gage, op. cit. p. 142.
15. Jeffrey H. Togay, "Adult ery," Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. II, col.
313. Also, see Judit h Plaskow, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism
from a Feminist Perspective (New Y ork: Harper & Row Publishers,
1990) pp. 170-177.
16. Hazlet on, op. cit ., pp. 41-42.
18. Mat ilda J. Gage, Woman, Church, and State (New York: Trut h
Seeker Company, 1893) p. 141.
19. Louis M. Epstein, The Jewish Marriage Contract (New Y ork:

Arno Press, 1973) p. 149.
21. Epst ein, op. cit ., pp. 164-165.
22. Ibid., pp. 112-113. See also Priesand, op. cit., p. 15.
23. James A. Brundage,

http://www.sultan.org/articles/women.html Law, Sex, and Christian Societ y in 48/53
23. James A. Brundage, Law, Sex, and Christian Societ y in
Medieval Europe ( Chicago: Universit y of Chicago Press, 1987) p.
88.
24. Ibid., p. 480.
25. R. Thompson, Women in St uart England and America (London:

Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974) p. 162.
26. Mary Murray, The Law of the Fat her (London: Rout ledge, 1995)
p. 67.
27. Gage, op. cit., p. 143.
28. For example, see Jeffrey Lang, St ruggling t o Surrender,

(Belt sville, MD: Amana Publications, 1994) p. 167.
29. Elsayyed Sabiq, Fiqh al Sunnah (Cairo: Darul Fatah lile'lam Al-
Arabi, 11t h edit ion, 1994), vol. 2, pp. 218-229.
30. Abdel-Haleem Abu Shuqqa, Tahreer al Mar'aa fi Asr al Risala

(Kuwait: Dar al Qalam, 1990) pp. 109-112.
31. Leila Badawi, "Islam", in Jean Holm and John Bowker, ed.,
Women in Religion (London: Pint er Publishers, 1994) p. 102.
32. Amir H. Siddiqi, St udies in Islamic Hist ory (Karachi: Jamiyat ul

Falah Publicat ions, 3rd edit ion, 1967) p. 138.
33. Epst ein, op. cit ., p. 196.
34. Swidler, op. cit ., pp. 162-163.
35. The Toront o St ar, Apr. 8, 1995.
36. Sabiq, op. cit ., pp. 318-329. See also Muhammad al Ghazali,
Qadaya al Mar'aa bin al Taqaleed al Rakida wal Wafida (Cairo:
Dar al Shorooq, 4th edit ion, 1992) pp. 178-180.
37. Ibid., pp. 313-318.
38. David W. Amram, The Jewish Law of Divorce According t o Bible

and Talmud ( Philadelphia: Edward St ern & CO., Inc., 1896) pp.
125-126.

6/4/2011 39. Epst ein, op. cit .,WOMEN
p. 219.IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN T…
40. Ibid, pp 156-157.

41. Muhammad Abu Zahra, Usbu al Fiqh al Islami (Cairo: al Majlis al
A'la li Ri'ayat al Funun, 1963) p. 66.
43. Armst rong, op. cit ., p. 8.
45. Ibid., p. 121.
46. Gage, op. cit., p. 142.
47. B. Aisha Lemu and Fat ima Heeren, Woman in Islam (London:
Islamic Foundat ion, 1978) p. 23.
48. Hazlet on, op. cit ., pp. 45-46.
49. Ibid., p. 47.
50. Ibid., p. 49.
51. Swidler, op. cit ., pp. 144-148.
52. Hazlet on, op. cit ., pp 44-45.
53. Eugene Hillman, Polygamy Reconsidered: African Plural

Marriage and t he Christ ian Churches (New Y ork: Orbis Books, 1975)
p. 140.
54. Ibid., p. 17.
55. Ibid., pp. 88-93.
56. Ibid., pp. 92-97.
57. Philip L. Kilbride, Plural Marriage For Our Times (West port, Conn.:
Bergin & Garvey, 1994) pp. 108-109.
58. The Weekly Review, Aug. 1, 1987.
59. Kilbride, op. cit., p. 126.
60. John D'Emilio and Est elle B. Freedman, Int imat e Mat t ers: A
hist ory of Sexualit y in America (New York: Harper & Row Publishers,
hist ory of Sexualit y in America (New York: Harper & Row Publishers,
1988) p. 87.
61. Ut e Frevert, Women in German Hist ory: from Bourgeois

Emancipat ion t o Sexual Liberation (New Y ork: Berg Publishers,
1988) pp. 263-264.
62. Ibid., pp. 257-258.
63. Sabiq, op. cit ., p. 191.
64. Hillman, op. cit ., p. 12.
65. Nathan Hare and Julie Hare, ed., Crisis in Black Sexual Polit ics
(San Francisco: Black Think Tank, 1989) p. 25.
66. Ibid., p. 26.
67. Kilbride, op. cit., p. 94.
68. Ibid., p. 95.
69. Ibid.
70. Ibid., pp. 95-99.
71. Ibid., p. 118.
72. Lang, op. cit ., p. 172.
73. Kilbride, op. cit., pp. 72-73.
74. Sabiq, op. cit ., pp. 187-188.
75. Abdul Rahman Doi, Woman in Shari'ah (London: Ta-Ha

Publishers, 1994) p. 76.
76. Menachem M. Brayer, The Jewish Woman in Rabbinic

Lit erat ure: A Psychosocial Perspect ive (Hoboken, N.J: Kt av
Publishing House, 1986) p. 239.
77. Ibid., pp. 316-317. Also see Swidler, op. cit ., pp. 121-123.
78. Ibid., p. 139.
79. Susan W. Schneider, Jewish and Female (New York: Simon &
Schust er, 1984) p. 237.
80. Ibid., pp. 238-239.
81. Alexandra Wright , "Judaism", in Holm and Bowker, ed., op. cit.,
pp. 128-129
82. Clara M. Henning, "Cannon Law and the Batt le of t he Sexes" in

Rosemary R. Ruet her, ed., Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman in
t he Jewish and Christ ian Traditions (New Y ork: Simon and Schust er,
1974) p. 272.
83. Donald B. Kraybill, The riddle of the Amish Cult ure (Balt imore:
Johns Hopkins Universit y Press, 1989) p. 56.
84. Khalil Gibran, Thought s and Medit at ions (New York: Bantam
Books, 1960) p. 28.
85. The Times, Nov. 18, 1993.
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6/4/2011 WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN T…

WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN THE

BY Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem

For other languages of this book click here

Five years ago, I read in t he Toront o St ar issue of July 3, 1990 an

I was not surprised t hat t he conference participants had held

It is not easy t o search for and find answers t o t hese difficult

The ot her great difficulty is the overwhelming breadt h of the

contribut ed immeasurably t o defining and shaping Christ ianit y.

The Islamic concept ion of t he first creat ion is found in several

A careful look into t he two accounts of t he st ory of t he Creation

The image of Eve as t empt ress in t he Bible has resulted in an

In another part of t he Hebrew lit erature which is found in the

"No wickedness comes anywhere near t he wickedness of a

Jewish Rabbis listed nine curses inflict ed on women as a result of

"To t he woman He gave nine curses and deat h: t he burden of t he

To t he present day, orthodox Jewish men in their daily morning

St. August ine was fait hful t o t he legacy of his predecessors, he

"What is t he difference whet her it is in a wife or a mot her, it is st ill

Centuries lat er, St . Thomas Aquinas st ill considered women as

"As regards t he individual nat ure, woman is defect ive and

Again and again all women are denigrat ed because of t he image

"Whoever works evil will not be requit ed but by t he like t hereof,

"Whoever works right eousness, man or woman, and has fait h,

It is clear t hat t he Quranic view of women is no different t han t hat

"And Allah set s fort h, As an example t o t hose who believe, t he

nearness t o you, a mansion in t he Garden, and save me from

In fact , t he difference between t he Biblical and t he Quranic

"The birt h of a daught er is a loss" (Ecclesiast icus 22:3).

In cont rast t o t his shocking st at ement , boys receive special praise:

Jewish Rabbis made it an obligat ion on Jewish men t o produce

A daught er is considered a painful burden, a pot ential source of

"Your daught er is headst rong? Keep a sharp look-out t hat she

It was t his very same idea of t reating daughters as sources of

"When news is brought t o one of t hem of t he birt h of a female

" To Allah belongs t he dominion of t he heavens and t he eart h. He

In order t o wipe out all t he t races of female infant icide in the

"He who is involved in bringing up daught ers, and accords

The difference bet ween t he Biblical and t he Quranic concept ions

The at t itude of St . Paul in the New Test ament is not brighter:

"As in all t he congregat ions of t he saint s, women should remain

Now, to be fair, we should ask: is t he Quranic position any

"Allah has heard and accept ed t he st at ement of t he woman

A woman in t he Quranic concept ion has the right t o argue even

6. UNCLEAN IMPURE WOMAN ?

"When a woman has her regular flow of blood, t he impurit y of her

Due t o her "contaminat ing" nat ure, a menstruating woman was

Furt hermore, t he husband of a menstruous woman was forbidden

Islam does not consider a menstruat ing woman t o possess any

Another issue in which t he Quran and the Bible disagree is the

On the other hand, women were not allowed t o bear witness in

Besides, if a man takes a woman as a wife and t hen accuses her of

If t he parent s were able t o prove her innocence, t he husband

According t o t he Biblical definition, if a married man sleeps wit h an

To the present day in Israel, if a married man indulges in an

The Quran, on t he ot her hand, never considers any woman to be

This is t he Quranic concept ion of marriage: love, mercy, and

According to t he Bible, a man must fulfil any vows he might make

approved by her fat her, if she is living in his house, or by her

Why is it t hat a woman's word is not binding per se ? The answer is

It is of int erest to note t hat t his Biblical instruct ion concerning

In Islam, the vow of every Muslim, male or female, is binding on