Women are One of the Finest Blessings in This World

One of the most striking examples of the lovelessness and harshness of the fanatic mindset is these people’s attitude towards women. Because of all the superstition they fabricate, fanatics, who regard women as an inferior species, exclude women from society and are unable even to bear the sight of them on the streets. In the pages that follow we shall be setting out the fanatic attitude toward women, citing various fabricated hadiths on the subject, and then seeing how their false perspective is diametrically opposed to the Qur’an and the true word of our Prophet (pbuh). The fabricated hadiths in question will give a much better idea of the utterly immoral way in which women are oppressed in many Muslim countries.

Underlying the fanatic perspective toward women is the idea that women are deficient in faith and mind. The idea that women are semi-people and need to be governed and directed therefore prevails. For people who think like that, even the very existence of women is a menace and a cause of anger; they therefore feel the need to keep them covered up, excluded from society, deprived of all rights and declared non-persons to the maximum extent possible. They foolishly turn women into second-class citizens and prevent them from making decisions and becoming involved in social matters, and seek to turn them into a community under their own dominion because they know full well that women are quite capable of thinking in great detail, making rational judgments and drawing accurate conclusions by analyzing fine detail. Excluding women by false means has also made it possible for some fanatical types to spread their own falsehoods very easily.

Yet God has revealed that there is no differentiation between men and women in terms of piety and that men and women have equal responsibilities when it comes to doing good works, striving to disseminate moral virtues and waging an intellectual struggle on His path. According to the Qur’an, men and women are equal in terms of responsibility; however, the Qur’an also regards women as superior to men in terms of solicitude and worth, taking great care of them. Some verses which various fanatics and enemies of Islam always seek to portray as evidence against women are actually verses that reveal the superiority of women and the importance and value that our Lord attaches to them. We shall be looking at these verses in detail in due course.

One comparison that our Lord makes regarding women in the Qur’an shows how much He values them; He compares woman to a delicate plant, or a flower. This description of Mary (pbuh) is an explicit corroboration of the importance and value attached to women:

Her Lord accepted her with approval and made her grow in health and beauty [like a beautiful plant] .... (Qur'an, 3:37)

Caring for a lovely flower calls for the very greatest sensitivity. A lovely plant is delicate and valuable and requires great care and attention. That beauty of a flower, its delicacy, the care it needs and its value and importance neatly describe the place of women in the Qur’an. It is a fact that God has created all the plants and flowers in the world as elements of beauty, as delightful blessings, as symbols of cleanliness and beauty and as marvels of creation. The use of such an expression of beauty to refer to women, the way that God compares women with a symbol of cleanliness and beauty, is an excellent representation of the value attached to women.

Women in the Qur’an

A magnificent value is attached to women in those verses of the Qur’an that speak of her, and women are placed under special protection under all circumstances. In terms of responsibility, however, she is regarded as equal to man. A woman is placed under protection therefore, not because she needs that protection, but because she possesses a special value.

In the Qur’an, a woman can work if she pleases, but she is not obliged to work. As we see in the example of the Queen of Sheba, women can even rule over states. As we see in the example of Mary (pbuh), a model for all other women, a woman in the Qur’an is superior in her fortitude and determination at times of difficulty. A woman in the Qur’an is a queen, an entity who must always be given pride of place. In terms of its perspective toward women, the Qur’an is therefore the finest guide for the entire world.

In the time of our Prophet (pbuh), women were involved alongside men in all areas of life. The fact that the blessed wife of our Prophet (pbuh), Khadija (ra), was a well-known and respected businesswoman in the region is an important piece of information in terms of showing the active role that women could play in social life. In the time of our Prophet (pbuh), female and male companions enjoyed equal responsibility in the instruction of people who had newly come to Islam, in the establishment of social order and even in war. The kindness, love, warmth and goodness that our Prophet (pbuh) showed his wives are the finest model for the whole world. It is clear that our lovely Prophet (pbuh), who ran races with his wives, who bent down to help them climb up onto the backs of donkeys, who praised the superiority of women at every opportunity and who rested his head on his wife’s shoulder while watching entertainment, would never permit the dreadful practices of the fanatics. There is also no doubt that by casting doubt on the Companions by fabricating false hadiths in the name of the Messenger of God (pbuh), the fanatics are slandering both him and the Companions and are assuming a heavy responsibility on themselves.

The reason why women in the religion of the fanatics are so different to women described in the Qur’an will immediately become apparent when we examine some fabricated hadiths. A clear and definitive response to each fabricated hadith is also provided from the Qur’an.

Ways that the fanatics slander women

The Idea that Women are Deficient in Intelligence and Faith

John William Godward's oil painting “Rich Gifts Wax Poor When Lovers Prove Unkind,” 1916

O women! You curse frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. (Sahih Bukhari, Chapter 24, Hadith 541)

God said: … I also make her stupid, although I had created her intelligent, and must make her suffer pregnancy and birth with difficulty …. (The History of Al-Tabari: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, translated by Franz Rosenthal
[State University of New York Press, Albany], Vol. 1, pp. 280-281)

There is no mention in any verse of the Qur’an of women being weaker than men in terms of intelligence. On the contrary, by referring to “believing women and believing men,” God tells us that they have equal responsibility in His Sight; in other words, that they are similar in terms of intelligence and conscience. Moreover, as in the example of the Queen of Sheba, women can even be rulers of states taking decisions on the most important matters. In addition, it is not having a different anatomy that makes a person more intelligent, but their fear of God, love of God, depth of faith and conscience. God always inspires the truth in the conscience of every human being, man or woman. Therefore, what makes people intelligent and devout is not whether they are men or women, but whether they abide by what is revealed to their consciences and, as revealed in this verse,  You who believe! If you fear God, He will give you discrimination [between right and wrong]...” (Qur'an, 8:29) their fear of God: That is the sole measure of intelligence in the Qur’an. Therefore, in the same way that a man is not superior solely for being a man, a woman is not deficient in intelligence and faith simply because she is a woman. However, as we have said many times, the religion of the fanatics is totally different to the Qur’an and is full of slanders. 

The way that they slander God Himself with the fabricated hadiths in question shows the extremes to which the fanatics will go. Nothing along the lines of “... I make her stupid, and must make her suffer pregnancy and birth with difficulty” appears in the Qur'an, so what is the status of these words alleged to be the words of God? Where is this revelation, alleged to have come from God, if it does not appear in the Qur’an? The greatest danger of the religion of the fanatics is that they speak lies in the name of God and are therefore capable of such slander.

Pregnancy is regarded as a sacred state in the Qur’an, for which reason mothers are also regarded as sacred in it. Our Lord’s verses on the subject read:

Sassoferrato's oil painting “The Virgin in Prayer.”

Mary (pbuh) fell pregnant in a miraculous manner by the will of God. Throughout her pregnancy she bore all her difficulties with fortitude, and she was made superior to all the women of all the worlds because of that fortitude and her devotion to God.

We have instructed man concerning his parents. Bearing him caused his mother great debility and the period of his weaning was two years: “Give thanks to Me and to your parents. I am your final destination.” .” (Qur'an, 31:14)

We have instructed man to be good to his parents. His mother bore him with difficulty and with difficulty gave birth to him; and his bearing and weaning take thirty months. Then when he achieves his full strength and reaches forty, he says, “My Lord, keep me thankful for the blessing You bestowed on me and on my parents, and keep me acting rightly, pleasing You. And make my descendants righteous. I have repented to You and I am truly one of the Muslims.”  (Qur'an, 46:15)

Mary (pbuh) became pregnant by the will of God and was patient in the face of all the difficulties she encountered during that pregnancy; because of that fortitude and her devotion to God she has been made superior to all the women of the world:

And when the angels said, “Mary, God has chosen you and purified you. He has chosen you over all other women.” (Qur'an, 3:42)

The Messiah, the son of Mary, was only a messenger, before whom other messengers came and went. His mother was a woman of truth...(Qur'an, 5:75)

In exhibiting their own horrifying ways of thinking about women by talking about “stupidity,” and referring to pregnancy and childbirth as punishments from God, the fanatics are at the same time foolishly insulting Mary (pbuh), the Companions and all other devout women praised for their superior virtues.

William-Adolphe Bouguereau's oil painting “Mother and Children,” 1879

The idea that women are “deficient in mind and faith” is a slander from the religion of the fanatics. God addresses men and women equally in terms of responsibility. This is one of the reasons why many verses are addressed to men and women believers at the same time.

A difficult pregnancy and giving birth in pain is one of the tribulations of this world, and one that requires great fortitude, strength and willpower to bear. God reveals that a mother who displays fortitude in the face of this difficulty is very valuable in His Sight. For that reason, a mother who displays submission to God and love of Him despite all such difficulties is a very superior entity. This value attached to mothers is one of the moral values in the Qur’an.

As we have seen, there are ways in which women are even superior to men in the Qur’an, therefore the idea that they are “deficient in intelligence and faith” is a grotesque slander by the fanatics. God addresses men and women equally in terms of responsibility. That is one the reasons why male and female believers are addressed at the same time in numerous verses. One such verse reads:

Men and women who are Muslims, men and women who are believers, men and women who are obedient, men and women who are truthful, men and women who are steadfast, men and women who are humble, men and women who give the alms, men and women who fast, men and women who guard their private parts, men and women who remember God much: God has prepared forgiveness for them and an immense reward. (Qur'an, 33:35)

As seen in this verse, there is no distinction between men and women when it comes to such basic elements of being a Muslim as fearing God, remembering God, being loyal to God, having fortitude and giving alms; there is not the slightest suggestion in the Qur’an that women possess any less of any of the characteristics of a believer. Whether people are men or women they have a responsibility to fear God with all their might, love Him with a profound passion and earn His approval.

The Idea that Women Are Crooked

Hadiths and Claims Fabricated to Debase Women

A pious woman among other women is like unto a raven marked with a white leg. (Nahj al-Fasahah, p.20)

One out of 99 women is in paradise, the rest are in hell. (Sahih Bukhari)

O womenfolk, you should give charity and ask much forgiveness for I saw you in bulk amongst the dwellers of hell. ... (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 142)

The false hadiths in question make it clear how women are belittled and regarded as second-class citizens in societies made up of fanatics. Following the fabrication of these hadiths, some Islamic communities turned into societies of fear and fanaticism that despised and belittled women and shut them up indoors. Women being regarded as second-class citizens led to communities developing a terrible lack of civilization, cultural deformities, lack of taste and emptiness; the representatives of that fanatic mentality never grew or developed. Many countries in the Middle East today are in the middle of that cultural deformity and lack of quality produced by that terrifying perspective. Yet the religion in the Qur’an is lovely, plain, high-quality and peaceable. 

The fanatics in question have completely failed to grasp that God attaches great value to women, the jewels of paradise, in both this world and the hereafter. Most important of all, they never sought guidance from the Qur’an.

None of the terms in the false hadiths in question appear anywhere in the Qur’an. God described people with impaired morals, who do evil and commit unlawful deeds in detail in the Qur’an, and none of these descriptions say anything about them referring particularly to women.

For example, God reveals in the Qur’an that a great many people will not believe, and that a great many of those who do will ascribe equals to Him:

Alif Lam Mim Ra. Those are the signs of the Book. And what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the Truth. But most people have no faith. (Qur'an, 13:1)

Most of them do not have faith in God without associating others with Him. (Qur'an, 12:106)

In another verse, God reveals that despite His creating all possible means for people to learn from, the majority of people still do not learn, but continue with the same moral degeneration:

We have variegated it for them so they might pay heed but most people spurn anything else but disbelief.(Qur'an, 25:50)

As we have seen, neither these nor any other verses of the Qur’an say anything about people with poor morals and behavior being women, in the way that fanatics allege. People who behave immorally are not classified on the basis of their gender in any verse. There is nothing in any verse saying that women are more immoral or less women will enter paradise any less. The information in false hadiths is all fraudulent and fabricated in order to spread hostility toward women. The Qur’an absolutely and definitively refutes the false hadiths in question.

The Idea that Women are a Barrier to People Living by the Faith

John William Godward'nun "The Peacock Fan" adlı yağlı boya tablosu, 1912

Were there no women, God would be worshiped properly. (Suyuti, Sahih Bukhari, Ibn-i Adiyy, Abu Khatim, Ibn-i Jawzi, Muhammed Nasuriddin and Ibn-i Hibban all accept this hadith.) (Silsilat al-Ahadisuzzaif: 74, Tenzihusharia: 1/62, Al-Leali: 2/59)

Were it not for women, all men would go to paradise. (Ibn-i Arrak and As-Saqafi do not accept the hadith. [Jamiussaghir: 2/113])

Let us first of all recall one very important point; the misogynistic mindset described in the false hadiths appears absolutely nowhere in the Qur’an.

Moving on to the content of the fabricated hadiths above, it is not women or other blessings of this world that prevent people who are weak in, or devoid of faith, from living by religious moral values, but their own weakness of conscience, mind and will. God has created this world as a test. In the same way that people are tested throughout their lives with troubles, difficulties, diseases and weaknesses, so they are also tested by blessings and good things. Women are one of the blessings and jewels of this world. Like every blessing, however, how that blessing is evaluated depends on the moral values of the person possessing that blessing. God reveals in the Qur’an that the blessings of this world are created as a test:

To mankind the love of worldly appetites is painted in glowing colors: women and children, and heaped-up mounds of gold and silver, and horses with fine markings, and livestock and fertile farmland. All that is merely the enjoyment of the life of this world. The best homecoming is in the Presence of God. (Qur'an, 3:14)

Like women, children, gold, silver, splendid animals, farmland and wealth are all blessings of this world and provided for people to enjoy. However, a person who has faith will also be aware that all these blessings really belong to God, that all the blessings found in this world are transitory, and that the most and finest forms of all blessings are to be found in paradise. None of these blessings therefore turn such people away from God or prevent them striving on His path. If a person falls into heedlessness on account of any of these blessings and no longer seeks God’s approval in all things, then this is something stemming from his own weakness of faith; it is not the fault of the blessings, but of the person himself. It is therefore the person himself who will have to face the consequences, so long as he does not correct himself. It will do no good to a person trying to blame someone else in the hereafter.

Therefore, a man who seeks to hold women responsible, on the basis of these false hadiths, for all his own errors, sins and evil deeds, is merely deceiving himself. According to the Qur’an, faith means that a person must serve God properly, no matter what the conditions or circumstances. Nobody will be able to use the idea that, “I was unable to worship properly because of women” as an excuse in the hereafter. As we are told in a verse, “... man will be clear proof against himself in spite of any excuses he might offer” (Qur'an, 75:14-15)  In other words, no matter what excuses a person may come up with, he is still perfectly aware of the truth. Some people who blame women for their own lapses on the basis of these false hadiths are of course perfectly well aware that they are being hypocritical and making up the whole idea up. Ignoring the fact in this world will change nothing in the Presence of God, where “...Every self will be paid in full for what it earned. They will not be wronged.” (Qur'an, 3:25)

The Idea that One Should Never Be Guided by Women

Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler. (Sahih Bukhari, Book 88, Hadith 219)

Obedience to women is regrettable. (Nahj al-Fasahah, p. 35)

Seek women’s advice, and then do the exact opposite of what they say." (Al-Maqasid al-Hasana: 248, Tazkirat al-Mawzuat: 128, Tenzihus Sharia: 2-204, Silsilat al-Ahadith: 432)

Do not seek women’s advice, but oppose them. Oppose them, because prosperity lies in opposition to women. (Religious Information for Women 44,45 Suyuti, al-Laali II, 147; Ibn Arrak, Tenzihus Sharia II, 210)

Whoever obeys his wife, God will cast him face down into hell. (Ibn Arrak II, 215) 

People who entrust the administration of their affairs to a woman will never be saved (prosperous). (Nahj al-Fasahah, p. 188)

Ruin is the end of men who obey women. (Nahj al-Fasahah, p. 203)

Those who are under the reign of women will not reach salvation. (Nahj al-Fasahah, p. 271)

John William Godward's oil painting “The Bouquet,” 1899

And to recite the Qur’an.’ Whoever is guided is only guided to his own good; if someone is misguided just say, ‘I am only a warner.’ (Quran 27:92)

Woman in the Qur'an can be a head of state, a ruler, and can make decisions and issue commands regarding business. Woman in the religion of the fanatics is the exact opposite of the nature of woman in the Qur'an.

As we have seen, one of the most important reflections of the way in which fanatics despise women is their fervent wish never to see them in positions of authority. They are therefore opposed to women rulers; they are even against the notion of women being consulted at all. They have this idea that everything women think and everything they do is wrong. This is part of their unpleasant stratagem of excluding women from society. The fabricated hadiths above have also served that end and in many countries fanatical communities in which such perverse ideas prevail and which are hostile to women have formed. Yet that mentality is diametrically opposed to the practices of our Prophet (pbuh) in the Qur’an, and is in manifest conflict with Islam.  

For example, as the peddlers of superstition spread the foolish idea that “Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler,” God cites the Queen of Sheba, a female ruler, in the Qur’an. Despite all the superstition about “not consulting women,” the Queen of Sheba was the sole ruler who made all the final decisions on matters of state. Verses report the leadership qualities of the Queen of Sheba as follows:

However, it was not long delayed, and then it said, “I have comprehended something you have not and bring you accurate intelligence from Sheba. I found a woman ruling over them who has been given everything. She possesses a mighty throne.” (Qur'an, 27:22-23)

That is how the Queen of Sheba, a female ruler who governed her people, was described to the Prophet Solomon (pbuh). After the Prophet Solomon (pbuh) had sent the Queen of Sheba a letter of invitation, she consulted the leading members of her people who sent the following reply:

They said, “We possess strength and we possess great force. But the matter is in your hands so consider what you command.” (Qur'an, 27:33)

As we have seen, in the Qur’an women can rule states and be rulers and have their decisions and commands enforced. The conceptions of women in the religion of the fanatics and the Qur’an are totally at odds with one another.

When fanatics shamelessly insult women through these false hadiths, they are unaware that they are also insulting Mary (pbuh), the devout female believers in the Qur’an, the blessed wives of our Prophet (pbuh) and his female Companions. It must not be forgotten that a mentality that so despises women turns that contempt toward all women.

We can clearly see how different the lives of the fanatics is from the Qur’an when we look at the position of women in the time of our Prophet (pbuh):

For example, the wife of the Prophet (pbuh), Khadija (ra) was one of the wealthiest merchants of Mecca. She sent trading caravans to Damascus and employed people for that purpose. In the Medina period, women worked as leather workers, manufacturers of thread, weavers, pharmacists, tailors and perfume sellers and took an active part in all spheres of life. Women took part in wars alongside men, and even served in the front line when necessary.

John William Godward's oil painting “Autumn,” 1900

Women in the time of the Prophet (pbuh) provided for their households and had a voice in the family life; our Prophet (pbuh) praised these activities.

Raita bint Abdillah says to the Prophet (pbuh): "O Messenger of God, I am a craftswoman. My husband (Abdullah ibn Masud) and my child have nothing; I sell the products I make with my own artistry" and asks whether her expenditure on her family will earn merit. The Prophet (pbuh) replies, “Of course there is merit in your expenditure on them.” (Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat, VIII, 290; Abu Nu’aym, Hilya, II, 69; Ibn al-Asir, Usd al-Gaba, VII, 121.) 

As we have seen, the women of the time of our Prophet (pbuh) provided for their households and had authority in the life of the family; our Prophet (pbuh) praises their efforts.

Quayba bint Sa'd, of the people of Aslam tribe, is reported to have treated the sick and injured in the time of our Prophet (pbuh); in other words, women in the time of the Prophet (pbuh) worked as doctors. Indeed, Asma bint Umais, a highly intelligent, educated and experienced women who migrated to Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia), is known to have been a very good doctor. Ummu Salama says that Asma bint Umais made medicine for the Prophet (pbuh) from "plants and olive oil brought from India and Yemen.” That account also says that Asma learned to make that drug in Abyssinia.(Ibn Sa'd, Kitab al-Tabaqat, II, 236.)

The names of some of the women who sold attar of flowers in Medina in the time of our Prophet (pbuh) are known. One of these, Mulayka Ummu as-Saib al-Saqafiyya, entered into the presence of the Prophet (pbuh) in order to sell scents; this clearly shows us that women in the time of our Prophet (pbuh) worked as sales people.

The position of the female companions who took part in battles alongside all other Muslims is described as follows in one of the accounts that set the matter out quite perfectly:

“Polytheists who took advantage of the negligence of the believers entered in such a way that a group of 10-12 people charged with protecting the Messenger of God had to also enter the fighting. At one moment our Prophet (pbuh) was left alone, with only Nasiba with him. That isolation lasted 40-50 seconds. One of the polytheists seized the moment and attacked, but Nasiba slew him with her sword. A second polytheist attacked the Messenger of God. That polytheist was double-armored. No matter how much she struck, she could not kill him. She received a sword blow from her shoulder to her lower back. Other believers then arrived and neutralized that unbeliever. Those few seconds were so important! Nasiba received 11 wounds at Uhud. Yet she never left until the end of the battle.

As we have seen, in stark contrast to the false hadiths, women in the time of the Prophet (pbuh) were present in even the most crucial places such as the battlefield. Female companions occupied such eminent positions as protecting the Prophet (pbuh) in battle. The way that our Prophet (pbuh) regarded it as appropriate for women to assume the role of protecting him in such a dangerous and life-threatening situation is an important indication of how much he trusted the intelligence and conscience of the female companions in question.

Not only male believers, but also female believers are addressed in the verse “You who believe! Do not say, ‘Ra’ina’ [be our shepherd], say, ‘Undhurna’ [watch over us] ...” (Qur'an, 2:104). In this verse, women, as well as men, are advised not to say “be our shepherd.” This means that in the Qur’an, women are not regarded as entities needing to be looked after and governed by men because of their weakness of mind, but on the contrary as strong, intelligent people, capable of standing on their own two feet and whose conscience is to be trusted. However, many people in some Islamic countries that have been shaped by these false hadiths that have been brought in over the course of centuries are devoid of that conception: Therefore, when we say, “Men and women enjoy the same rights in the Qur’an,” those who vehemently deny that knowingly or unknowingly rebel against God’s verses.

In the Qur'an, a woman is regarded as a person who can stand on her own feet, who is strong, sensible and intelligent and whose conscience can be trusted.

The Defamatory Idea that Women Are Second-Class Citizens and that God Has Left Women Backward

John William Godward's oil painting “The Belvedere,” 1913

Since God has left women backward, you must leave them backward, too. (al-Tabarani)

If I were to command anyone to prostrate anyone else, I would command women to prostrate their husbands, for God has invested the latter with rights in respect to the former. (Nahj al-Fasahah, p. 119)

The hatred of women that has persisted for hundreds of years in the fanatic mentality has brought a great mass of people to slander God and our Prophet (pbuh). Notice that there is no reference in these false hadiths to women enjoying equal rights with men according to the Qur’an, superiority lying not in gender, but in mind and conscience and in fear of God; neither is there any mention of the existence of Qur’anic verses in which the rights enjoyed by women are protected.

These commandments and accounts are deliberately avoided, and there is never any mention of women being entities who are glorified in the Qur’an. Therefore, these words that have deceived Muslims for hundreds of years, and alleged to be the words of our Prophet (pbuh) himself, have led to a perverse mentality becoming ascribed to Islam. In this way they have defamed Islam and our Prophet (pbuh) for hundreds of years.

Yet the idea of women being left backward by God, may He forbid, appears in not one single verse of the Qur’an. On the contrary, God reveals in the Qur’an, through words such as “believers, those who believe, anyone who acts rightly, male or female, being a believer...” that all believers, male and female, have the same responsibilities, with no allowances made for gender. In verse 95 of Surat an-Nisa’, God says;

Those believers who stay behind – other than those forced to by necessity – are not the same as those who struggle in the Way of God, sacrificing their wealth and themselves. God has given those who struggle with their wealth and themselves a higher rank than those who stay behind. God has promised the Best to both, but God has preferred those who struggle over those who stay behind by an immense reward. (Qur'an, 4:95)

As we have seen, the verse speaks of believers having a responsibility to wage an intellectual struggle on God’s path throughout the course of their lives. However, that responsibility is imposed equally on men and women. By addressing all “believers,” God holds all Muslims, men and women, responsible for discharging that religious obligation. If a Muslim woman performs that obligation better than men, then that woman will be superior to all men in the Sight of God. If a Muslim man does it, then he will be superior in the Sight of God because of his piety; there is no differentiation between the genders here. On the contrary, superiority lies in conscience, intelligence and sincerity.

Therefore, just like all the others, these false hadiths too are at total variance with the pronouncements found in the Qur’an and the value attached to women in the Qur’an. First of all, Muslims prostrate themselves to none but God. The only powers to which a Muslim will bow his head and obey are God and His Prophet.

For a Muslim woman, her husband is a helpless servant whom she loves for God’s sake and for whom she feels respect and compassion to the extent compatible with being a Muslim. Her love and respect are directionally proportional to her husband’s sincere devotion to God, the strength of his faith and his zeal and determination on His path. There is no question of her feeling respect for her husband simply because he is a man, as there is in the rotten mentality of the fanatics. For a Muslim man and woman, marriage is also a vow that applies to the hereafter. A Muslim woman can, therefore, only feel love, respect and affection for a husband who is virtuous, a student of the Qur’an and someone she hopes that God will be pleased with in the hereafter. She would never feel that love and affection if the opposite applied. Even thinking of such a love or using it in a sentence for comparative purposes is absurd for a Muslim. In contrast to what the fanatics think and the model they seek to impose, a Muslim woman is exceedingly aware, lucid, intelligent and worthy of respect, she has adopted the spirit of the Qur’an and lives her whole life by that spirit.

Allegations Prohibiting Women from Adorning Themselves

"God curses those ladies who practice tattooing and those who get themselves tattooed, and those ladies who remove the hair from their faces and those who make artificial spaces between their teeth in order to look more beautiful…" (Sahih Bukhari, Book 60, Hadith 408)

Ibn Umar reported God's Messenger (pbuh) cursing the woman who added false hair and the woman who asked for tattoos. (Sahih Muslim, Book 24, Hadith 5300)

The Apostle of God (pbuh) forbade ten things: Sharpening the ends of the teeth, tattooing, plucking hair, ... (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 32, Hadith 4038)

The main ideas behind the fanatic mindset that seeks to portray women as repulsive, ugly, ill-groomed and second-class citizens stem from these false hadiths. This appearance that fanatics have imposed on women under the name of religion has led to them being regarded as ill-groomed and even no longer human and devoid of beauty, cleanliness and fine speech.

The picture of a Muslim woman drawn by the false hadiths above is one that makes it impossible for a woman to have any place in social life. Under that model, if a woman is a Muslim it is unacceptable for her to be attractive, clean and well-groomed. The fanatic mindset that portrays that notion as a sign of piety thus turns woman into an entity that cannot enter into society because of her appearance and also deprives her of the opportunity of talking about the faith for the same reason.

Just think; what woman would wish to live by a model under which Muslim women are represented by a woman who pays no attention to grooming, who attaches no importance to cleanliness, who never even thinks of dealing with the hairs on her face yet is not even embarrassed to go where other people are? Or who would want such a person to talk about religion? So how can a woman who believes that religion forbids looking attractive, clean and well-groomed, and that she will be cursed by God for doing so, want to have anything to do with such a faith? 

This is one of the main reasons why Islam is all too often literally thought of as a sinister faith best kept well away from, particularly in Western societies. The fanatics have imprisoned Muslim women in an entirely fabricated model that has absolutely no place in the Qur’an, and thus seeks to prevent them living by and preaching Islam. Whereas in the same way that a Muslim woman has a duty to speak of the moral virtues and love of the Qur’an, she also has a responsibility to show these virtues through her behavior and attitudes, to live by them plainly speaking. In talking about being a Muslim she must look good, and in explaining that being a Muslim means love, she must genuinely embody that love; in that way, someone who really needs to know the beauties of the faith must know that this faith will bring all these delights with it and must be able to see them with his own eyes. That is also the way it is described in the Qur’an. The Qur’an speaks of Muslims wearing fine and spotlessly clean clothes and using the finest clothing and accessories when they meet together.

Children of Adam! We have sent down clothing to you to conceal your private parts, and fine apparel... (Qur'an, 7:26)

Children of Adam, put on your adornment in every mosque… (Qur'an, 7:31)

In addition, the Qur’an describes in glorious detail the cleanliness, fine grooming, beauty and elegant clothing of the people of paradise, and particularly the women.

Just like closely guarded pearls. (Qur'an, 22:23)

... They will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold and wear green garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade... (Surat al-Kahf, 31)

... they will be adorned with gold bracelets and pearls, and where their clothing will be of silk… (Surat al-Hajj, 23)

They will wear green garments of fine silk and rich brocade. They will be adorned with silver bracelets. (Qur'an, 76:21)

As will clearly be seen from the few verses quoted here, God employs the beauty of women, the smoothness of their skin from which all hairs have been removed, in the words “Just like closely guarded pearls,” as a measure of beauty, and reveals that this is how the women of paradise will be. This means that God regards smooth and clean skin as beautiful. God loves beauty, cleanliness, elegance, adornment and pleasant clothing, and wishes to see His servants in that form. There is no question that our Prophet (pbuh) would regard as beautiful the things that God regards as attractive and would encourage and advise Muslim women along those same lines.

It must not be forgotten that there may be women who have to resort to such grooming methods for reasons other than esthetic ones. For example, women may have to wear wigs after such difficult forms of medical treatment as chemotherapy. This is perfectly normal, and even necessary, and this is an excellent way of looking after themselves for the women in question. Fanatics, however, try to do away with this beauty and making life easier by means of these false hadiths.

In the same way, there is no prohibition in the Qur’an regarding tattoos in various patterns, the correction of asymmetrical eyebrows for instance through tattooing, or the removal of hairs on the face; that would in any case violate the spirit of the Qur’an. Fanatics who would force a pretty young girl to go out with excess facial hair, who would embarrass her in front of other people and who would strive to make her ugly rather than attractive are therefore unable to represent beauty in any way. Yet God encourages believers to be well-groomed, attractive, elegant and clean in verses.

Muslims always being wellgroomed, clean, elegant and attractive are features specially emphasized in verses.

The Fanatics’ Idea of How Muslim Women Should Treat Their Husbands

When a man calls his wife to his bed, and she does not respond and he (the husband) spends the night angry with her, the angels curse her until morning. (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)

If a woman spends the night deserting her husband's bed (does not sleep with him), then the angels send their curses on her till she comes back (to her husband). (Sahih Bukhari, Book 62, Hadith 122)

O womenfolk, if you knew the rights that your husbands have over you, every one of you would wipe the dust from her husband’s feet with her face. (Reported as sahih by Ibn Hibban, and with a jayyid isnad by al-Bazzar. See Ibn al-Jawzi, Ahkam al-nisa', p. 311.)

By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, if from his foot to the crown of his head there was a wound pouring forth pus, and she (the wife) came and licked that, then she would (still) not have fulfilled his right. (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami 2/121 Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, V, 239)

Any woman who asks her husband for a divorce with no good reason will be deprived of even smelling the scent of paradise. (Reported by Tirmidhi, 2/329, abwab al-talaq, 11; Ibn Hibban, 9/490, Kitab al-nikah, bab ma'ashirah al-zawjayn)

There are three people whose prayers will not be accepted, neither their good works: … a woman whose husband is angry with her, until he is pleased with her again … (Reported by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, 12/178, Kitab al-ashribah, 2, fasl fi'l-ashribah)

She who does not observe the rights of her husband will have failed to observe the rights of God. (Shir’a)

A woman who hurts her husband will be under the curse of God until she makes him contented. [R. Nâsihîn]

John William Godward's oil painting “A Souvenir,” 1920

In the mentality of the fanatics, women have an obligation to abide by the ignorant idea of “performing wifely duties” for their husbands, even if they are not happy with their treatment and moral values.

If we consider these hadiths one by one;

O womenfolk, if you knew the rights that your husbands have over you, every one of you would wipe the dust from her husband’s feet with her face. (Reported as sahih by Ibn Hibban, and with a jayyid isnad by al-Bazzar. See Ibn al-Jawzi, Ahkam al-nisa', p. 311.)

By Him in Whose Hand is my soul, if from his foot to the crown of his head there was a wound pouring forth pus, and she (the wife) came and licked that, then she would (still) not have fulfilled his right. (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami 2/121 Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, V, 239)

John William Godward's oil painting “A Tryst,” 1912

When we look at these two false hadiths, we see that Islam is portrayed as depicting women as supposedly second-class entities condemned to submit to their husbands’ every whim (surely our Lord, the Qur’an and Islam are beyond that); according to that devilish way of thinking, the husband has such dominion over a woman that she will never be able to repay him, not even if she wipes the dust from his feet with her face or licks his body clean of pus. Despite this weird mentality, for hundreds of years, nobody felt the need to even question why a husband should enjoy such rights over a woman, and that led to this blind, superstitious belief putting down deep roots; so much so that most Muslims have regarded that kind of twisted logic as legitimate.

Under this foul way of thinking, women have been forced to fulfill the ignorant concept known as “a woman’s duties” toward their husbands even if they are deeply unhappy with those husbands’ appalling behavior and lack of moral values. They have been despised and mistreated, and the precious few rights they enjoyed have been restricted to the point of irrelevance. The idea that they are second-class and feeble entities condemned to oppression has been imposed on them by force, and that perspective has become institutionalized in Islamic societies. For centuries, nobody stood up and said, “There is no such way of thinking or belief in the Qur’an. Men and women are equal. God bestows wide rights and freedoms on women in the Qur’an.” On the contrary, for centuries, the mentality of superstition has imposed non-Qur’anic practices on some ignorant Muslims through a variety of falsehoods spoken supposedly in the name of God and the faith, such as, “This is what the faith commands. God and the angels will curse those who do not do it. Such people will be sinners. They cannot earn God’s approval or enter paradise.” The characters of most Muslim women have been annihilated by husbands brought up with the teachings of the fanatical mindset because in the religion of the fanatics, women have no choice but to obey their husbands and do whatever they want. The great majority are not allowed to read, work, enter into social life or even so much as look out of a window. Therefore, since they are made physically and psychologically dependent on their husbands, and since the customs and traditions that prevail in that segment of society also nourish the fanatic mindset, it is next to impossible for women to free themselves from that repression.

We need to ask here, what it is about men in these fanatic societies governed by superstitions that cause men to view themselves as wholly superior and adopt the perspective that women are little more than chattel? In the view of the Qur’an, superiority lies solely in piety, and the reward for that is to be hoped from God. How can a man have such dominion over a woman that she can never repay him even if she licks the pus off of his body? Who created those rights that can never be repaid, and why? What can bestow any rights on him apart from this superiority of piety? God certainly bestows no such privilege on him, and thus that privilege appears nowhere in the Qur’an: So where did this claimed superiority come from? How did “every husband” without exception come to enjoy this lofty position, irrespective of whether he is devout or irreligious, a believer or a polytheist, a sinner or a tyrant?

It is the false hadiths in question that have bestowed this false elevation onto men and that have been made part of Islam by the fanatic mindset. They have spread and imposed that mindset, which is not in the Qur’an and which is cursed by God, in the name of the faith. Most Islamic communities, and even most women who have been indoctrinated in these Islamic communities, simply cannot comprehend any other way of thinking. That is one of the worst scourges that the religion of the fanatics has inflicted upon the world.