FACTS - Islam Facts
- Human Rights in Islam
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Equal Rights of Men & Women
According to the Holy Qur’an,
men and women are quite equal to each other in their origin, their abode as
well as in their place of return and were as such entitled to similar and equal
rights. The Holy Qur’an order people to be careful
of their duty to your Lord, Who created them from a single being and created
its mate of the same kind and spread from these too many men and women.
Another Qur’anic verse calls who
believe: “Let not some men among you laugh at
others: it may be that the latter are better than the former: nor let some
women laugh at others..”
The reward for both sexes for their good deeds is also
similar: “And their Lord has heard them and He says
that he will deny no man or woman among you the reward of their labors. Men and
women are also equal in their rights to realize their material needs, including
similar rights to hold property and dispose of it in any way.
Islam granted women these rights, which the woman in
No woman could be given in marriage without her consent. The
Noble Prophet (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) says: “No widow should be married without consulting her, and
no virgin be married without her consent and her consent is her silence.” (Bukhari & Muslim).
The Muslim woman has the right to propose her marriage to any man she liked to
marry. The European woman obtained this right only in the eighteenth century.
Scientific research proved that a difference exists in the
mechanism of the brain of each sex and, therefore, each sex has to discharge
the duty for which he is biologically well equipped. The emotional character of
a woman is suitable for motherhood, whereas the physical and intellectual
disposition of a man helps him in planning his tough practical life.
Thus, Islam effects equality between the two sexes, where
there is a natural ground for it, and differentiate between these where such
differentiation is but natural. Islam gives to the man the equivalent of the
portion of two females in inheritance, because the man alone is charged with
shouldering all the financial obligations of the whole family. The woman gets
one third of the inherited property to spend it on her own person. If a woman
possesses a property of her own, her husband cannot take it away from her, and
even then he has to bear her financial burden as if she had nothing in her
possession to support herself with.
The man is under a legal obligation for the maintenance of
his family. The Qur’an says that Men are
maintainers of women with the bounties, which God has bestowed more abundantly
on some of them than on others, and with what they may spend out of their
possessions.
Therefore, as the man is equipped with rational qualities
and has strong physical body he is fit to shoulder the responsibility of headship of the family.
Kind treatment of wives is a part of the religion of Islam. Prophet
Muhammad (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has said, “The best among you are those who are kindest to their wives.” Islam requires the same high standard of moral
conduct from both sexes and has imposed the same legal penalties on them for
the violation of the moral laws. If the wife hates her husband and can no
longer live with him, she has the right to get separated provided that the
court is convinced of the grounds for separation. Non-Muslims women do not
enjoy this right, as their marriage is a perpetual bond.
Polygamy is permissible in Islam as a solution to many
social problems and it is subject to strict restrictions: “Marry
of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if you fear that
you cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only).”
If a large number of men are killed in wars, then polygamy becomes a social
necessity to save the society from the sexual anarchy. On the other hand, some
men may have greater sexual urge or sexually overactive and cannot be content
with one wife. They should be permitted to have a second wife.
Polygamy also offers the solution to the problem of having a
sterile wife or a wife suffering from a chronic disease and she does not want
to deprive her husband of children of his own. Islam does not deprive the woman
of the right to work outside her home when there is a genuine need for her to
work, but not at the cost of her primary functions at home.
The woman has the right to travel when escorted by her
husband or close relatives (Mahram). The woman in
Islam keeps her independent identity and her family name cannot be changed in
the identity card even after she gets married. The non-Muslim women do not
enjoy this right and have to change their names.
The women enjoy the freedom of speech and many women argued with Prophet Muhammad (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and Omar bin al-Khattab and other caliphs over different issues and their viewpoints were upheld. Aisha, the wife of Prophet Muhammad (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), was a teacher to both men and women, which proves women are not deprived of the right to be educated in Islam.
Source: http://www.a2zegypt.com/facts/Men_Women.cfm
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