Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

“I have been sent down by God to teach moral virtues and to evolve them to highest perfection.” (Authenticated by Al-Albani, 273)

Before accepting Islam, many new Muslims had a less modest lifestyle. After accepting Islam, attention must be given to adapting oneself to a more modest way of life. This includes not only the way one dresses, but the attitudes one holds and their actions.

Seeking popularity in school, or work, etc. should not be our goal in life, and it should be seeking the pleasure of God over all others. Once we focus our attention to achieving that, we can more easily adapt ourselves to becoming a more modest, humble Muslim.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2009

The dualism in Islam allows for two ways to treat women. They can be honored and protected, or they can be beaten. Today, Western nations allow Islamic women to be treated as Islam wants to treat them. In short, they are not subject to our laws and customs of equality. Why? Our politicians and intellectuals do not want to offend Islam by discussing the second-class status of women in Islam.

This lesson is on women. If you’re going to study Islam, you have to study women as a separate category. And the reason for this is simple—Islamic doctrine denies that men and women are equal. The dualism of Islam separates women into a separate category. The Koran has whole sections devoted to how women are treated differently from men. Many hadith (traditions) put women in a special category. Islam is very proud of how it treats its women and says that, in the West, our treatment of women is terrible—that they are not protected and honored. In Islam, women are protected and honored (Muslims claim).

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Written by Islamstory

Introduction

Islam provided woman with care and attention, elevated her status, and provided her with honor and good treatment whether she is a daughter, wife, sister or mother. Islam stated that both women and men were created out of one origin. Therefore, women and men are equal in humanity. Allah (be He Exalted) says: {O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women.} [Al-Nisa’: 1]. Many other verses show that Islam eradicated the principle of distinction between men and women in the common value of humanity.

Status of woman in Islam

Recalling these principles and disapproving the habits of Jahiliyah and previous nations with regard to the status of woman, Islam came to defend woman and place her in a status which she could not reach in old or later nations. Fourteen centuries ago, Islam prescribed for woman – as a mother, sister, wife and daughter – rights which western woman is still struggling to get but in vain!

Islam stated that women and men are equal in status and prestige, and that nothing detracts women because they are women. In this regard, the Prophet (peace be upon him) established an important rule when he said: “Women are counterpart of men”[1]. He (peace be upon him) always urged Muslims to take care of women. He told his companions: “I urge you to take care of women.” [2] He repeated this advice during his farewell pilgrimage when he addressed thousands of people of his nation.

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HELP! I am 9th grade student of Catholic school here in Karachi, Pakistan. Help us please! We have been given assignment: “Why did the Prophet marry a six year old girl (Ayesha)?”

(Why is it, the best schools in Pakistan are all Catholic?)

Note:
1. This was not her age at marriage.
2. Her parents offered marriage of their daughter to Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him).

First of all, not all questions are fair. Sometime people put statements in the questions which are not true. Therefore, we have to clarify some facts before we go any further:

“Prophet Muhammad (Peace and blessings be upon him) did not marry Ayesha when she was only 6 years old. Her parents offered marriage as was customary in their culture at the time. However, the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) did not accept this and they waited a number of years before offering marriage to him again.”

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Misconception

In Islam, women are inferior to men because:

• a man can marry up to 4 wives, a woman can marry only one man 
• a man’s share of inheritance is bigger than a woman’s 
• a man can marry a non-Muslim, a woman cannot 
• women must wear the veil 

This widely held misconception does not remotely follow from the reasons given. The first and most important observation to make about the popular question “Are men and women equal?” is that it is a badly-formed, unanswerable question. The problem which many people conveniently ignore is that “equal” is not defined. This is a very critical point: the equality must be specified with respect to some measurable property. For example, women on average are superior to men if we ask who is shorter in height than the other (“Growth and Development”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1992). Women are also superior on average if we ask whom do children bond to deeper, mothers or fathers. Women are also superior on average if we ask who has a tendency to socialize more. On the other hand, men are superior on average if we ask who is taller in height than the other. And so on: every question can be turned around, and more importantly these are properties which are irrelevant.

What then, is the really important property which we are worried about in terms of gender equality? Naturally, from the point of view of the Qur’an and Sunnah, the obvious important property is who is dearer to Allah, men or women? This question is emphatically answered in the Qur’an (translation),

[4:124] If any do deeds of righteousness – be they male or female – and have faith, they will enter Paradise, and not the least injustice will be done to them.

[33:35] For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for truthful men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.

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by Mohamad K. Yusuff

A few weeks ago, ABC News magazine, Nightline, televised a documentary, originally produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), titled, A Matter of Honor, on two consecutive nights — February 15 and 16, 1999. The drama that enfolded on television during these two one-half hour programs was stunning, incredible, and heinous. It dealt with a barbaric custom of murdering Muslim women for immoral activities in rural Pakistan, at the hands of male family members, including fathers, brothers, and even husbands, to maintain the purity of tribal honor.

In my view, this program should have been renamed: “A Matter of Dishonor.” Similar documentaries, with different titles, from other geographic regions including Jordan and Lebanon, have been produced and shown before — all with the same results — the victims invariably were Muslim women, killed by male relatives to “restore family honor.” It seems that blood — women’s blood — is the price of men’s honor in some parts of the Muslim world.

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God instructs men to be nice to their wives and to treat them well to the best of their ability:

“…And live with them in kindness…” (Quran 4:19)

The Messenger of God said, The most perfect of believers in belief is the best of them in character.  The best of you are those who are the best to their women.’[1]  The Prophet of Mercy tells us that a husband’s treatment of his wife reflects a Muslim’s good character, which in turn is a reflection of the man’s faith.  How can a Muslim husband be good to his wife?  He should smile, not hurt her emotionally, remove anything that will harm her, treat her gently, and be patient with her.

Being nice includes good communication.  A husband should be willing to open up, and be willing to listen to his wife.  Many times a husband wants to air his frustrations (like work).  He should not forget to ask her about what annoys her (like when children would not do their homework).  A husband should not talk about important things with her when he or his wife is angry, tired, or hungry.  Communication, compromise, and consideration are the cornerstone of marriage.

Being nice includes encouraging one’s wife.  The most meaningful admiration comes from a sincere heart that notices what really matters — what the wife really values.  So a husband should ask himself what she feels most insecure about and discover what she values.  That is the wife’s sweet spot of praise.  The more the husband compliments it, the more the wife will admire it, the more on target this healthy habit will be.  Kind words are like, “I like the way you think,” “You look beautiful in those clothes,” and “I love hearing your voice on the phone.”

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Marriage is recommended for partners who share a common way of life. The matrimonial partners should be able to fulfill their purpose of creation as defined by Allah. They should be able to effectively carry out their responsibility as care-takers (Khalifah) of earth. They should share the common goal of building a well-integrated Muslim community and be able to work harmoniously towards it.

Criteria for Selecting a Marriage Partner

Normally the criteria for selecting matrimonial mates are many: wealth, beauty, rank, character, congeniality, compatibility, religion, etc. The Quran enjoins Muslims to select partners who are good and pure (Tayyib).

“Women of purity are for men of purity, and men of purity are for women of purity.”(Quran 24:26)

Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) recommended Muslims to select those partners who are best in religion (Deen) and character.
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Adapted from the book by Shamshad.M.Khan with modifications and additions

A question that repeatedly arises is that concerning the ‘Position of Women in Islam’. Muslim scholars have been able with great success – despite the onslaught of distortion and mis-representation – to demonstrate the true position of Muslim women; especially of women’s liberation in the advent of Islam. The Islamic ruling on issues such as inheritance, the right to earn, the right to own property etc. have reinforced this position and have been prescribed by Allah – the One True God – long before Western nations even thought of such concepts!

The issue of two women witnesses in place of one man is the concern of the present treatise. As will become clear to the sincere and objective reader, the intellectual status of a Muslim woman is neither marred nor degraded by the commandment that if two Muslim male witnesses are not available then one Muslim male and two Muslim females should be invited to witness. Rather, this injunction is in perfect harmony with the nature and psychology of the woman as will become evident through quotations from psychologists, psychiatrists and medical research.
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Respected scholars! Does Islam allow wife beating? Some husbands are violent and they say that the Quran allows them to beat their wives. Is there any logical explanation given regarding men being allowed to beat their wives, as stated in Surat An-Nisaa, verse 34?

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear questioner, we would like to thank you for the great confidence you placed in us, and we implore Allah Almighty to help us serve His cause and render our work for His Sake.

The verse you mentioned has been greatly misconceived by many people who focus merely on its surface meaning, taking it to allow wife beating. When the setting is not taken into account, it isolates the words in a way that distorts or falsifies the original meaning. Before dealing with the issue of wife-battering in the perspective of Islam, we should keep in mind that the original Arabic wording of the Holy Quran is the only authentic source of meaning. If one relies on the translation alone, one is likely to misunderstand it.
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