Does Islam Treat Women Unfair or Unequal?

[Abdul^Malik]

As-Salamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters

I was born into Islam and I'm 16 and I really started to study alot more. I've been readying and it's like women are considered half a man or something. It seems like women are just not treated fairly. I wanted to ask you brothers and sisters what you think on the situation. Maybe some of you can shine some light on it for me? But if you can't is okay bec Allah knows what we know not.

As-Salâmu Alaikum

[AbdurRaheem2]

no

[Shuayb Abdul-Khaaliq]

As-Salamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters

I was born into Islam and I'm 16 and I really started to study alot more. I've been readying and it's like women are considered half a man or something. It seems like women are just not treated fairly. I wanted to ask you brothers and sisters what you think on the situation. Maybe some of you can shine some light on it for me? But if you can't is okay bec Allah knows what we know not.

As-Salâmu Alaikum

brother,

You can read up on this all you want and have scholars show you the widsom behind why women have a different (not lesser) role in Islam, etc. You can also seemingly 'question' many other things as well which may not make sense to us humans immediately... things such as why is it haram to pluck eyebrows, why can we not eat certain things, etc. One can get caught up in this stuff for years to come if they choose to.

Here's the bottom line (in my opinion):

- Do you know (not believe, but know) that there is only one God who is Allah ?

- Do you know (not believe, but know) that Prophet Muhammad is the last Messenger of Allah sent as mercy and guidance for all of mankind?

- Do you know (not believe, but know) that Quran is The Word of Allah and wasn't just "put together" by random people?

If you know and have firm yaqeen (faith, belief) in the answers to the above questions, then everything else which follows as a result of this (i.e. something which is in the Quran and/or has been legislated by the Prophet by the will of Allah ) should result in automatic obedience to it without question.

For example, if I know for a fact that there is only one God (Allah ) and that the Quran is His word which has never been altered in any way, shape, or form since it was revealed; then it becomes a matter of my obeying everything which is in there, whether it makes sense to me personally or not. Alhamdulillah things became easier for me once I started viewing them in this light.

So the key is to ask Allah swt to strengthen our yaqeen in the answers to the above three questions and once we have that yaqeen, we won't wonder about or question anything else.

That doesn't mean that we stop trying to gain knowledge, quite the contrary actually as the Quran and Sunnah encourage humans to gain useful knowledge. However it means that if my yaqeen is strong then I won't go crazy wondering about things which don't make 100% sense in my mind because in the end I will know that it is from Allah swt and He knows what we know not.

I hope that makes sense.

[Amna4]

Walaikum Assalam,

Can you pinpoint exactly which areas you've found where they are considered half, because each area has been answered separately by the scholars, i.e. the hikmah that the scholars see in them, and then each issue can be explained separately in'sha Allah. This is actually quite an important point which bothers many Muslims so it is good that you asked.

The ones I can remember is 1) inheritance and 2) witness in court

In'sha Allah, I'm sure some people will answer, and I will try to find the resources that I used when I was also studying about these issues.

May Allah keep all of us steadfast on his deen. Ameen.

Jazak'Allah khair.

I'll address these from my understanding as a female convert. I'm not a scholar, but these are common subjects in New Muslim classes, along with public university religion class discussions.

1) Inheritance
Yes, women are given approximately half of what the men are given in inheritance. This could be interpreted as unfair, or the woman being unequal. You MUST take into consideration though, that a woman's property and wealth is hers. She is not under any obligation to spend or share it with anyone. In contrast, the man is obligated to support his family, and his wife. Therefore, the man is given more because he is required to spend it on others.

2) Witness in court
Two women are required to be called as witnesses in place of one man, not because her word is unequal, but because she has responsibility to her children. If she should be in court, but her child is sick, it is her obligation to stay with her child. The other woman would then be able to stand in court, leaving the trial with the appropriate number of witnesses.


A scholar could correct me if I'm wrong, but this is how these things were explained to me.

Allahu Alam

[ArashSajjad]

As-Salamu Alaikum Brothers and Sisters

I was born into Islam and I'm 16 and I really started to study alot more. I've been readying and it's like women are considered half a man or something. It seems like women are just not treated fairly. I wanted to ask you brothers and sisters what you think on the situation. Maybe some of you can shine some light on it for me? But if you can't is okay bec Allah knows what we know not.

As-Salâmu Alaikum

Islam is patriarchal in structure. It rejects the drivel spewed out by feminists and the rest of the gender equality mob that men and women are equal.

For more information, I suggest you read The Patriarchal Ideology of Islam by the Majlis.

[AbdurRaheem2]

Islam is patriarchal in structure. It rejects the drivel spewed out by feminists and the rest of the gender equality mob that men and women are equal.

It depends what you mean by equal.

Women deserve respect like men deserve respect.

Women are not the slaves of men.

Women have rights just as men have rights.

Women are rewarded or punished for their deeds just like men.

Women are not the appendages of men nor their property in Islam, although in some cultures this is sometimes forgotten.

We have to be careful we do not give wrong impressions with our words.

[abdulwahhab]

2) Witness in court
Two women are required to be called as witnesses in place of one man, not because her word is unequal, but because she has responsibility to her children. If she should be in court, but her child is sick, it is her obligation to stay with her child. The other woman would then be able to stand in court, leaving the trial with the appropriate number of witnesses.

I am not a scholar but this is what I've come to understand about the issue of women witnesses:

Bearing witness is a burden, not a privilege. Why is it a burden? Because the punishment of bearing false witness in Islam is extremely severe. The verse itself which tells us to bring two women instead of one man is that one woman would correct the other if she makes a mistake in recollection, making it difficult for a woman to mistakenly give false witness. In such a circumstance (1 man and 2 women), the man is actually under more severe scrutiny, that is if he makes a mistake, there wouldn't be another man to correct him.