Women in Islam, Essay Example

Introduction

The Sunni are writings that provide the acts and the words of the Prophet. The Sunni provides information regarding the obligations and duties of women in the Muslim society. There have been increasing debates among many Muslim feminists regarding the authenticity of the Sunni on the social and theological issues relating to Muslim women. The Sunni tends to degrade the conception of the women in the Islamic society by examining the woman as a derivative of the man. This article presents an examination of the orthodox elements the Sunni, showing why women will never have equal status to men in the Muslim community.

Within the orthodox elements of Islam, women do not qualify for leadership roles in scholarship. This is because it is believed that women are never ready to take such leadership roles. The Sunni attributes this to the state in which Allah created the women. Critics of the Sunni argue that this does not lessen the woman in any manner; however, the prevention of the woman from taking leadership roles in the society is to ensure that women do what fits their nature in the society. The Sunni reveals that if the women assume leadership roles in the Muslim community, things are likely to fall apart because of neglecting what she can do, and taking the duty that she cannot do properly. The Hadith provides a statement revealing that women will never have equal status to men in the Muslim society. One statement in the Hadith reveals that any nation that gives its leadership to women will not prosper (Shehabuddin 1). This statement has normally been examined as a rule towards all nations and all women in the Muslim society. This includes Aisha who is also known as the mother of believers. Therefore, women in the Muslim society will never be equal to men. This is because many scholars of Islam and many Muslim leaders believe that women should never be posted as leaders of Muslims anywhere in the world. This implies that women cannot lead even a portion of Muslims. Evidence from the orthodox of Islam has given women a minority status in the Muslim society causing them to be under the guardianship of elder brothers, or fathers before they get married. However, after getting married, they are normally under the protection of their husbands. The implications of the Sunni regarding the leadership roles of the women in the Muslim society have contributed to inequality between Muslim women and men. This is because of its allegations that women are not capable of acting independently. This contributes to unequal status between men and women in the Muslim society because; it gives the men some degree of control over the activities of women in public places (Sanusi 1).

The Hadith by Tirmidhi also provides an illustration of the Prophet’s attitude towards women, which depicts that women will never have equal status to men. The Hadith by Tirmidhi illustrates that when state affairs are entrusted to the women, the inside of the earth would be better for such nations than the surface. An examination of this Hadith shows that women can never have equal status to men because they are compared to evildoers. This Hadith reveals that if women are allowed to rule a nation, death is preferable for the nation to life. Women will never have an equal status to men because even the Prophet who held women with high esteem, and gave Aisha an exalted position still condemns the leadership of the woman. Such perceptions are not likely to change because attempts by modernists to ensure women have equal status to men have been unsuccessful. According to the fundamentalists and traditionalists, allowing women to assume leadership roles would be rejecting the Hadith. Therefore, female leadership is a condemnation that contributes to this unequal status (Shehabuddin 1).

The other aspects of the Sunna reveal that women will never have equal status to men because they cannot also be involved in making legal decisions. This has been attributed to Aisha and the Battle of Camel. Sultanes 95 illustrates that Aisha had been warned against going to war. However, her transgression of the Islamic womanhood caused her to lose the battle. It is evident that Aisha led thousands of the men to battle with the fourth caliph. Conservative scholars use this as evidence illustrating that the defeat of Aisha in the battle of Camel, and the killing of thousands of Muslims depict that women should not be involved in politics or legal decisions. Many conservatives use this to back up their perception that women are not equal to men. It is argued that the involvement of women in legal decisions in the Muslim society tends to be an ill omen. The acts of Aisha in the Sunni speak against the participation of women in exercises of power and the making of legal decisions. Conservatives argue that women should use Aisha’s acts as an example. This illustrates that women were never created to poke their noses into politics or other legal decisions. It has been argued that the inability of the woman to make proper decisions is among the factors that led to the death of many Muslims. The inability of Aisha to make legal decisions led to the loss of lives of many heroes and other eminent leaders. Hence, the unequal status between Muslim women and men, causes women not to be involved in legal decisions (Bennett 54). It is argued that Aisha’s intervention in politics, not only led to the loss of lives, but also set in motion the split of the Muslims to Shiites and Sunnis. Inequality in status is also depicted in the Shariah laws, which are also derived from the Sunnah. An examination of the laws reveals that there exists a conservative opinion about the status of women. For example, it is stated that women will not marry without their male guardians’ approval. The other aspect is that women cannot travel outside their hometown with a male chaperone. The other fact depicting inequality is that a woman’s witness is half the man’s in many aspects of law.

The statement within the orthodox elements of Islam reveals that women will never have equal status to men in terms of worship. An examination of the Hadith reveals that women are never allowed to lead men in Salah in the masjid. Women of the home are the ones who can lead the Salah. Scholars of the Hadith also argue that this is evidence not permitting the women to be Imams in mosques and leading other women and men in prayer. It is argued that if this had been the case during the time of Prophet Muhammad, the women would have been leading the Salah in the mosques. Leading the Salah has been left for male Imams when the congregation comprises women and men, and when it is inside or outside the mosque (Lampur 1). Inequality is depicted because women are never allowed to lead the prayers. It is evident that this was the practice even during the time of the Prophet. Despite arguments that the ruling is not because of a notion of spiritual deficiency in women, scholars argue that women should only be allowed to lead prayers when the congregation comprises women, or in their family homes only if they are knowledgeable of the Islamic rules.

Some of the reasons why women have been barred from leading the prayers of women and the men are because of the difference in the duaa and the Salah. Inequality between men and women is manifested during the Salah. It is evident that during this prayer, the sujud and the ruku are made and that people should pray with devotion and sincerity by concentrating the mind and the heart to the prayer. This is the reason women and men should be separate during worship. An examination of the standing lines during worship also depicts some inequality between men and women. It is evident that, during the Salah, the lines of the men are normally in front, then the children, and lastly the women. The imam then stands in front of the congregation making the sajdah and the ruku. An interpretation of this ideal structure of the prayer service reveals that, there exists inequality between men and women. The intention of the prayer structure is to separate the women from the men, and not to allow women to be ahead of the men. This has been attributed to haya, which is also known as modesty among the Muslims. It is argued that women and men should observe modesty during worship, which is why the women take the last line. Aisha stated that when a woman leads other women in prayer, she is not supposed to stand in front of them like the male Imam, but should stand in their midst (Lampur 1).

The difference in prayers has led to inequality between Muslim men and women. This can be illustrated from the differences in the duaa and the Salah. The Salah is normally considered a formalized and fixed prayer. The positions, timings, styles such as the recitations and wordings, are believed to have been fixed by the Prophet. It is argued that allowing women to lead the congregation during the Salah would be introducing new liturgy or style to the Salah, which is not permissible. The duaa, on the other hand, is considered informal, and there is no restriction as to who performs it. However, the Salah follows the Sunnah and allowing women to lead congregations in the Salah would be adding or removing something from the Salah. Worship contributes to the inequality seen between men and women because it is believed that allowing women to lead congregations in the Salah makes it invalid and unacceptable by Allah (Bennett 71).

Women will never have equal status to men according to the orthodox elements of Islam. This has been illustrated during liturgy. An example can be seen when women are menstruating. They are not allowed to fast, pray or have sexual intercourse. An example can be illustrated from the Sunna when Muazhah asked Aisha why the women had to miss fasts during menstruation. Aisha responded telling her that is what the messenger of Allah commanded of the women. Inequality is manifested during liturgy because during menstruation the women are considered impure. It is evident that women were not supposed to pray during their periods. However, after finishing their cycle, they were supposed to perform the ghusl and pray (Lampur 1).

The issues concerning equality between Muslim women and men have led to increased debates between reformers in contemporary Islam and traditionalists. The increased strengthening of tradition and social conservative views based on the orthodox elements of Islam are among the factors that contribute to this inequality in status. Despite attempts to challenge some of the views and promote gender reform, women will never have equal status to men according to the orthodox elements of Islam.

Works Cited

Bennett, Clinton. Muslim Women of Power: Gender, Politics, and Culture in Islam. London: Continuum, 2010. Print.

Lampur, Kuala. Religious education and Leadership. Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE), 28 November 2013. Web. Retrieved from http://www.wisemuslimwomen.org/currentissues/ReligiousEducationandLeadership/

Sanusi, L. S. Women and political leadership in Muslim thought. Islam Awareness, 28 November 2013. Web. Retrieved from http://www.islamawareness.net/Women/leaders.html

Shehabuddin, Sarah. Female Leadership in Islam. Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc, 28 November 2013. Web. Retrieved from http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_401_450/female_leadership_in_islam.htm