Women in Islam
True Love: Jesus Honors Women
The conversation around women's treatment in religions has been going on for centuries. Each side says, "We treat women best!", but it's all coming from a place of self-promotion instead of the truth. We're going to break down the treatment of women in Islam and compare it to Christianity, and we will find out the truth!
Equality of Women
What does the Quran say about the equality of women?- Men are in charge of women because they are superior: Quran 4:34- "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other."
- It is taught that women are ungrateful by nature, and therefore cannot understand religion as well as men.
- A woman is under a male guardian her entire life: father, brother, husband, or son. This is called a wali.
- A woman is considered less reliable as a witness because of her defective nature: Quran 2:282- "Get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women ... so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her."
- Men and women are both created in God's image: Genesis 1:27- "In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them."
- Women can serve God like men, having equal mental abilities.
- God shows no favoritism: Galatians 3:28- "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
- A woman's personal relationship with God is not related to her gender.
Salvation of women
How do muslim women achieve salvation?
- The majority of Muslim women are destined for Hell: Hadith Bukhari v. 1 # 28- "Muhammad said: 'I was shown the hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful.'"
- Women can get a better chance at salvation through obeying her husband and raising children.
- If a woman goes to paradise, she will have to share her husband with other women and huris, and she will be "enjoyed" by her man: Hadith Sahih Al-Bukhari Number 4879- "In Paradise there is a pavilion...in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers (men) will visit and enjoy them."
- The same way Christian men do: John 3:16- "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
- Profession of faith: Romans 10:9-10- "...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
How did Jesus treat women?
When she had said this, she turned around and *saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she *said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus *said to her, “Mary!” She turned and *said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). 17 Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene *came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
How did Muhammad treat women?
Islam boasts about giving women honor and praises itself for ending the infanticide practice of girls on the Arabian peninsula.
However, Muhammad's treatment of women does not reflect the honor that Islam claims it did. Muhammad had approximately 16 wives, not counting the number of female slaves that he treated as concubines. But his story started a different way.
Muhammad's Wives
He was married to his employer, a wealthy woman, when he was 25. He was faithful to her, and she supported his prophethood until her death. But after her death, his relationship with women was nothing short of predatory. He married Aisha when she was six, and consummated with her when she was 9 years old. He married his daughter-in-law Zainab after claiming Allah had given him an order to marry her so that it would not appear of poor taste. The rest of Muhammad's wives were captives and the result of Muhammad's wars on other religions and tribes.
The few good things:
Islam did promote a few ways to honor women including respecting mothers, protecting daughters and sisters, and financial provision for women, who in this culture had no ways to provide for themselves.
The many bad things quoted in the Hadith from Muhammad:
Muhammad explains that a woman is righteous through her obedience to her husband, and a husband may beat them for disobedience (Sura 4:34).
He taught that a woman's body is inherently sinful, so much that if she walked in front of a man during prayer she would negate his prayer (Hadith No. 585, Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith - 1.490). This is why women are instructed to cover themselves, so that they may not distract men (Quran 24:31).
Muhammad was directly quoted saying, "'Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?' The women said: 'Yes.' He said: 'This is because of the deficiency of her mind.'" (Hadith Sahih Al-Bukhari Number 2658).
Pray for Muslim women, so they may know the Abba Father who loves them and wants to set them free from the oppressoin ideology of their father.
A majority of this post was drawn from our publications: The Simple Truth by Samya Johnson, The Guide to Loving Your Muslim Neighbor by Samya Johnson, and Lesson 8 of the bible study Dare to Explore by Samya Johnson.