Women rights in Islam concerning marital relationships (Subjugation or Liberation) PART1

Mohammed Sultan - محمد سلطان

Since the beginning of the history, God has decided to put life in earth through the two main creatures; Adam and Eve. The holy story is prescribed in almost all the divine scriptures, namely, the Abrahamic messages, such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam, does expressively highlights the importance of Adam and Eve and how God created them in order to integrate each other. Regarding the status of women in the pre-Islamic era, women in general were divided into two essential levels or Classes; the high-class and the lower class. The high-class-women were treated very generously because they were representatives of their ethnic groups or tribes, whereas the lower-class-women were treated either as commoners or slaves. Even concerning the dowry it was very negotiable issue regarding the aforementioned classes. The high-class woman would receive a dowry worth of many caravans or cattle of an expensive and rare camels, like the Asayel camels (Mohammed, 2008). On the contrary, other women -from the low class- were not granted the right to choose their husbands or even comment about the entire event (Ahmed, 1992). When Islam was revealed to the last and seal Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the status of women in Islam changed totally from nothing to everything, from the least to the top priority. However, in the contemporary time, the Islamic regulations which honor and value the women are totally neglected. For example, the women now have no right to choose their spouses, and even the engagement "Khitba" is deemed as a social contract to hold the fiancé for the man without her consent. Also, women are granted the right not to participate in financial responsibility due to the fact that it is the husband's duty, but- surprisingly- women are participating and bearing the responsibility of paying the bills, funding the house and even earn money. All the aforementioned inhuman and dehumanizing actions to the women happen when the women do not know their rights. That is the reason why through this research paper, I will try to spot the light on some basic rights for women, which are neglected and not practiced upon, such as the regulations and rights in the Islamic jurisprudence pertaining marriage and engagement.

Women in the pre-Islamic history were dealt with as goods that is just made to amuses the owner. The tribe’s opinion was more valuable than the individual concerning the marital issues to the extent that if the tribe is not consent with any woman, they could divorce her (Hitti. 1961). Also, the poets were introducing their poems by complementing some women, but not for their mentality, courage or morals. They were doing that in the sense of beauty by praising their physical structures and bodies (Nicholson, 1966).  The entire society was looking at women as an inferior creature who existed just for merely pleasing them, a tool for pleasure. At the very first moment of any woman- as a child- she was also considered as a shame in the life that has to be eliminated by death or infanticide. That practice is not only known by Arabs, but rather by Chinese, ancient Greeks, Eskimos, Africans, French, Indians and Japanese farmers (Hausfater, 1984). Arab’s philosophy behind such a dreadful act was due to a couple of reasons. Firstly, the Arabs thought that committing infanticide is an act of kindness (Nicholson, 1966). Secondly, having a female infant is an abhorred\bad omen that denotes to the disgrace, shame and poverty (Smith, 1903). Islam stands firm against infanticide and forbids such action explicitly in Quran:

” ... if any of them is given the glad tiding of [the birth of] what he so readily attributes to the Most Gracious, his face darkens, and he is filled with suppressed anger: What! [Am I to have a daughter-] one who is to be reared [only] for the sake of ornament? - thereupon he finds himself torn by a vague inner conflict...” (43:15-19)

“Hence, do not kill your children for fear of poverty: it is we who shall provide sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily, killing them is a great sin”. (17:31)

Also, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women - (CEDAW) - calls for the same right in the third article. It assures that women have to exercise their basic rights and fundamental freedoms on the basis of equality with men. And for that Islam was very explicit and strict to preserve and rescue the women from the tribal injustice and subjugation.

 The definition of marriage in Islam is known as a relationship between two genders acting in accordance with the two main primary sources in Islam, Quran and Sunnah which is the traditions, actions or sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Before the advents of Islam there were many types of marriage, which were universally practiced, that inhumanely degrade the value and honor of women, and Islam banned all these types of degrading relationships. For instance, one of which is the marriage by purchase in which the husband purchase his wife by a great portion of money or wealth, and that type is very similar to the procedures of slavery( Al-Hibri, 1982). Another type of marriage that was used is marriage by inheritance; this type happens when a man’s father dies. The heir inherits his father’s wife and has the right to marry her, prevent her for remarrying or exchange her with a dowry from any man. Such marriages are totally prohibited in Islam and even when they happen, the contract of marriage is deemed as illegal and that accounts for the immediate divorce without the permission of the husband. Moreover, the CEDAW also condemned such action made against women in a way that degrades them and discredits their honor and respect. It's stated in the sixth article from the CEDAW that the state must take all the steps to protect the women from any dehumanizing action made against them. Such action based on dehumanizing the women does exist in the Islamic teachings, but has to be followed by neglecting the social and cultural traditions which are obviously inconsistent with the religion. 

References

-Qura’an

-Fatawa Ibn Othimeen, Al-sharh Al-Momti’

-Al-Ifsah, Ibn Hajr Haithami

-Sahih Al-Bukhari

-Sahih Muslim

-Al-Bayhaqi

-Al-Tabari, AL –Samt AL-Thameen.

-Ibn-Rushd, Bidayat AL-Mujtahid, P3.

-Mwahib AL-Galeel, Part3, P404.

-Sharh Sahih Muslim, part 9, p 210.

-Mohamed, E. (2008, December 28). UAE,Heritage and Culture..GulfNews. Retrieved , from http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/heritage-culture/camel-auction-charms-tourists-1.21814

-R.A, Nicholson. (1966). A Literary History of The Arabs.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

-Ahmed, L. (0). Women and Gender in Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press.

-Qur'an, translation by Muhammad Asad, Dar Al-Andalus, 1980 -Smith, W. R. (1903). Kinship & Marriage in Early Arabia. London: Adam and Charles Black. -Hitti, P. (1961). History of the Arab. London: McMillan and Co. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Women rights in Islam concerning marital relationships (Subjugation or Liberation) PART Part 2