On March 11, 2002, fire struck a girls’ school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Firemen and concerned citizens were quickly on the scene. However, the Wahhabi police locked the schoolgirls inside the inferno rather than let them escape into the streets without their veil and head-to-toe cloak. The religious police, also, prevented the firemen from entering the schoolhouse to rescue the girls, for fear that the girls would be seen without their covering. Fourteen young girls were burned to death and dozens more were injured.
Is this treatment of women Islamic? To answer, a comparison between the treatment of women under what emerged as Shari’a laws and the Prophet’s kind treatment of His first wife Khadija is fitting.
The Prophet’s Kind Treatment of Khadija
We are told that the Prophet’s first wife was the best born in Quraish, a successful businesswoman and the richest. We are told that Khadija employed young Muhammad in her business, that she proposed marriage to him when he was in His mid-twenties, and that she was about 15 years his senior and twice a widow. We are also told that for the 25 years of their marriage, the Prophet was monogamous, treated Khadija with devotion until her death in 620, turned to her for advice, and she was the first convert to Islam. As such, Khadija was the most celebrated emancipated Muslim woman of high standing in Meccan society par excellence.
Shari’a Laws and Women
The difference between the Prophet’s respectful treatment of Khadija and the treatment of women that emerged under Shari’a Laws is stark. The Qur’an subordinate women to men, for example:
2:228: “Men have an edge over women.”
4:34: “Men are the masters [protectors, maintainers] over women… As to those women on whose part you fear disloyalty and ill-conduct admonish them and refuse to share their beds and hit [beat] them.”
18:46: “Money and sons are the finest adornment of earthly life.”
On the legal standing of men relative to women, one man is equal to two women when bearing witness in a legal setting:
2:282: “Have two of your men to act as witnesses; but if two men are not available, then a man and two women you approve, so that in case one of them is confused the other may remind her.”
On inheritance, a male’s share is equal to that of two females:
4:11: “The share of the male is equivalent to that of two females.”
On marriage, Muslim men can have up to four wives simultaneously, on condition of equitable treatment.
4:3: “Marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if you fear that you cannot treat so many with equity, then only one.”
Regarding divorce, a husband can divorce his wife without giving reason, though the Prophet is reported to have described divorce as the most hateful privilege granted by God. A wife can divorce her husband only after establishing good cause such as impotence, madness, or denial of her rights.
Allowing the Muslim male to marry four wives simultaneously and divorce any one of them at will without giving cause is synonymous with polygamy.
Mut’a and Misyar Marriage Contracts
Shi’ite ulama interpret Verses 4:4 and 4:24 as if men are allowed a temporary marriage contract (when traveling, for example), called mut’a for which a payment to the woman is made by the man in return for her companionship for a specific period of time with no consequent obligations.
4:4: “Give to women their compensation willingly, but if they forgo a part of it themselves then use it to your advantage.”
4:24: “Give those of the women you have enjoyed the agreed remuneration.”
The Shiite ulama believe that the Prophet allowed the mut’a contracts, but Omar, the second Caliph (634-644) prohibited it. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, “it is certain from tradition that Muhammad really permitted mut’a to his followers especially on the longer campaigns. But the caliph Omar strictly prohibited mut’a and regarded it as fornication (a group of traditions already ascribes this prohibition to the Prophet).”
Then, there is the misyar marriage, sanctioned by the Sunni ulama. Under misyar certain marriage rights are waived, such as cohabitation and financial support to the woman. The man is not responsible financially for the woman and the couple live apart; the man visits the woman at her home whenever he wishes. Unlike mut’a, misyar has no date certain for divorce. Misyar has been sanctioned by the Mecca-based Islamic Jurisprudence Assembly, which declared on April 12, 2006, that a marriage contract in which the woman relinquishes her right to housing and support money and accepts that the man visits her in her family house whenever he likes, day or night is valid. The Grand mufti of Saudi Arabia and the Grand mufti of the Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo, Islam’s venerable thousand-year-old university, have both sanctioned misyar.
Misyar and/or mut’a permit couples desirous of an illicit affair to evade being charged with adultery, a serious charge punishable under Shari’a Law by stoning to death, according to the Hadith; but not the Qur’an, which specifies 100 lashes:
24:2: “The adulteress and adulterer should be flogged a hundred lashes each.”
Veiling of Women
Is veiling and covering women from head to toe Islamic? Orthodox overzealous ulama think so. Other ulama disagree. The Quran demands modesty only.
In 24:31: “Tell the believing women to lower their eyes [gaze] and guard their sexual parts, and not to display their charms except what is apparent outwardly.”
Segregation of the Sexes
The Quran has no specific demand to segregate the sexes. Indeed, when circumambulating the Kaaba, men and women do mix. However, orthodox ulama made segregation as if it were a religious requirement. In February 2010, Saudi Wahhabi Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Barrak opined that those who promote heresies like the mixing of men and women in the workplace or in educational institutions should be put to death.[i]
Unflattering Hadith’s Attributions
The Prophetic Sunna contains traditions unflattering to women. Al-Bukhari attributed to the Prophet saying that most of those who are in hell are women, that women’s “lack of intelligence” is the reason why a woman’s testimony in an Islamic court of law is equal to half that of the testimony of the Muslim male, and that the reason why women are prohibited from praying and fasting during menstruation is due to them being “deficient in religious belief.” Al-Nasai attributed to the Prophet saying: “People who entrust the management of their affairs to a woman will fail.”
Arab Rulers’ Exploitation of Islam
In Arab dictatorships, restrictive Shari’a laws on women’s rights are tools that supplement brutal security forces. Shari’a Laws are used to eliminate the potential political dissension of one half of the population.
Non-Arab Muslim Women Leaders
Non-Arab Muslim countries, like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Turkey, representing more than one half of world’s Muslims, interpret Shari’a laws as to allow women to be chosen in democratic elections presidents and prime ministers.
Footnotes
[i] “Saudi cleric backs gender segregation with fatwa”, AlArabiya News, (February 24, 2010), https://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2010%2F02%2F24%2F101355