Women’s rights in Islam

Islam considered women’s rights in depth in these six major points: spiritual rights, Economical
rights, social rights, educational rights, legal rights, and political rights.

In this paper I will discuss these rights individually starting with:

Women’s spiritual rights:

Many non-Muslims think heaven in Islam is only for men, and that misconception is debunked in
many these verses in Qur’an, these are few of them:

ً ‫ُظ َل ُمونَ َنق‬

1- 124 :‫ِيرا} النساء‬ ْ ‫ت مِ ن ذَك ٍَر أ َ ْو أُنثَ ٰى َوه َُو ُمؤْ مِ ٌن فَأُو ٰلَئِكَ َيدْ ُخلُونَ ْال َج َّن َة َو ََل ي‬ َّ ‫{و َمن َي ْع َملْ مِ نَ ال‬
ِ ‫صا ِل َحا‬ َ “If any
do deeds of righteousness be they male or female and have faith, they will enter heaven, and
not the least injustice will be done to them” Surah Al-Nisa (4:124)
2- 97 :‫س ِن َما كَانُوا َي ْع َملُونَ } النحل‬ َ ً ‫صا ِل ًحا ِمن ذَك ٍَر أ َ ْو أُنثَ ٰى َوه َُو ُمؤْ مِ ٌن فَلَنُحْ ِي َي َّنهُ َح َياة‬
َ ْ‫ط ِي َبةً ۖ َولَنَجْ ِز َي َّن ُه ْم أَجْ َرهُم ِبأَح‬ َ ‫{ َم ْن‬
َ ‫عمِ َل‬
“Whosoever performs good deeds whether male or female and is a believer, we shall surely
make him live a good life and we will certainly reward them for the best of what they did.”
Surah Al-Nahl (16:97)

Another point displayed in Surah Al-Aaraf (Chapter 7) verses 19-27 (7:19-27) where Allah addressed
Adam and Eve multiple times together in the story where they disobeyed Allah, and they repented and
they were forgiven by him. There was not a single mention of only Eve, which is who Christianity
puts all the blame on her because according to the bible in Genesis chapter 3, Eve was the one who
“tempted” Adam to eat the forbidden fruit, making her make what they call “the original sin” and
holding Eve accountable for the sins of humanity, which is against our Islamic belief and Allah
justice.

Women’s economical rights:

Women in Islam have the right to work (a lawful job) and get equal pay to men, there is nothing in
Sunnah or Qur’an that says otherwise, most jobs that are forbidden for women are also forbidden for
men such as working in gambling or dealing with corrupt businesses. Also, the money for the working
woman is her own since she has no financial obligation in Islam, which also means if she isn’t
working her father and brother are financially responsible to her if she isn’t married, and her husband
and son are financially responsible to her is she is married.

Women’s social rights:

Women’s social rights are specified in four different statues:

• As a daughter: Islam prohibits killing female infants which was a famous practise in
Aljahiliya days, and prophet Mohammed -peace be upon him- always spoke of kindness and
justice towards daughters, sons, and kids in general.
• As a wife: Islam requires woman’s consent to marriage and she should not marry someone
forced, Islam believes that the marriage should be built in love, dignity, and respect between
the man and woman. The husband in Islam is responsible for his wife’s safety, living, and
providing her financially.
• As a mother: Islam put mothers at a very high statue, according to the hadith of prophet
Mohammed PBUH “paradise lies at the feet of your mothers” which is not the literal
 meaning but it is to show how much Islam emphasise respecting mothers as a part of being a
good Muslim who longs to paradise.
Prophet Mohammed PBUH said “I recommend you to be kind to your women” which
includes sisters, He also said “Women are Shaka’ek Men” and shaka’ek means sisters or
halves, meaning the society is made of men and women equally and they both are equals to
each other.

Women’s educational rights:

The first Verse in Qur’an is “Iqra” which was the first guidance given to Muslims from Allah, it
means read. This guidance was given to both men and women because education is an important deal
in Islam. There several women who were scholars during the prophet’s life time which were: Aisha
Bent Abu Bakr, Saffiyah, Umm Salamah, and Umm Salim. And after his death: Aisha Bint Sa’d Ibn
Abi Waqqas, Sayyida Nafisa, and Faitmah Bint Qays.

Women’s legal rights:

Islamic law protects both the lives of men and women equally, and if they committed a crime they are
punished equally, women are not subjected to harsher punishments like the westerners might think,
each crime is punished by a reasonable punishment according to the level of crime. In Western
countries the woman adopts her husbands’ surname while in Islam the woman is her own identity and
she gets to keep her own surname if she wants.

Women’s political rights:

In Surah Al-Taubah (9:71) Allah said: “The believers, both men and women, are guardians of one
another. They encourage good and forbid evil, establish prayer and pay alms-tax, and obey Allah and
His Messenger. It is they who will be shown Allah’s mercy. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.”
َ‫َّللا‬ َّ َ‫ص ََلة َ َويُؤْ تُون‬
َّ َ‫الزكَاة َ َويُطِ يعُون‬ َّ ‫ع ِن ْال ُمنك َِر َويُقِي ُمونَ ال‬ َ َ‫ض ۚ َيأ ْ ُم ُرونَ ِب ْال َم ْع ُروفِ َو َي ْن َه ْون‬ ُ ‫{و ْال ُمؤْ مِ نُونَ َو ْال ُمؤْ مِ نَاتُ َب ْع‬
ٍ ‫ض ُه ْم أ َ ْو ِل َيا ُء َب ْع‬ َ
71 :‫يز َحكِي ٌم} التوبة‬ ٌ ‫ع ِز‬ َ َّ ‫َّللاُ ۗ إِ َّن‬
َ ‫َّللا‬ َّ ‫س َي ْر َح ُم ُه ُم‬ َ ٰ ُ َ
َ َ‫سولهُ ۚ أولئِك‬ُ ‫َو َر‬

Which means both men and women are protectors of each other in public and religious affairs. Many
Muslim women took part in battle fields with prophet mohammed PBUH by providing water and first
aid for soldiers. In the battle of Uhod, on of the people who protected the prophet was a lady named
Nasiba, which he then appreciated and praised her for her brave work.

In conclusion, Islam gave a great deal to women because it cared about them as people within the
society, it discussed every aspect in their lives and showed their rights in detail to make sure that the
Muslim woman could not be subjected to unfairness under the name of religion. Every right is saved,
and if someone decided to take it away from her Allah will punish those who misbehave and oppress
others, and if non-muslims have analysed and understood Qur’an and sunnah they would realise that
women’s rights in Islam are protected and not subjected.

Done by: Rawan Alsamairi