The Honor of Women in Islam

A woman is the significant other, a soulmate for a man. She was created by God in a very distinct nature of feminine, gentle and physically weak compared to a man. The most dominant one is that she possess strong feelings, patience, and a soft and gentle heart. It is one of the wisdom on why it is women who should bear nurturing the children, as a very significant role in the household, tending to her husband and so on and so on.

Concomitant with the flow of time, voices began to appear; voices that heralding their thoughts about how women should be wholly equalized with men, in the way of socializing, freedom, rights, position etc. They think that women nowadays, or, to be specific, women in Islam, are discriminated, intimidated, suppressed, shackled, tyrannized, etc. They think those things are degrading women; they think of women as boneless creatures without willpower, humiliated, etcetera, etcetera, until they consider it necessary to herald off a campaign on the freedom of women and equality with men.

The loud campaigners are not aware that the position of women is Islam is very noble, packed with honor, gentleness and all attributes of dignities. So please, dear readers, don’t fall into the trap of their exaggerate warblers.

In history, before the age of Islam women were a very miserable species; considered as vile creatures of lesser origin, fit only as lust quenchers, with no rights and will of their own, etc.

First, that before Islam, if a man died and left a widow, and he had an heir or other beneficiaries, then the son or the beneficiaries had the rights on the deceased’s widow. When the heir is deign to do so, he could lay down with the woman, or marry her to anyone on his behalf without having to ask for a dowry, or to marry her off to men of his choice and take the dowry for himself. Thus the position of women in pre-Islam era. Moreover, before Islam, the majority of husbands did not treat their wives with respect; they scolded, yelled, reviled, berated and abused the wife, threw filthy words toward them, even beat or tortured them whenever they pleased.

Also within this horrible culture that degraded women, the law determined that women were not entitled to inherit anything. Islam came with verses that gives women their right of inheritance.

These all were the situation of women in Hejaz, or Mecca-Madina and the surroundings as the place where Qurân would be revealed, later. While the condition of women in countries other than Hejaz were far more despicable and miserable. They had to seek for a husband by letting various men sleeping with them. As if this wasn’t humiliating enough, they were obliged to display a flag on their roof indicating that they were ready to be laid down.

In Islam, the position of a mother is more glorified, even preceding that of a father. This is testified in one of the Prophet’s hadith that goes as follows: An apostle asked the Prophet Peace be upon him: “O Messenger of God, among all mankind who is it that I am much obliged to glorify?” The Prophet answered, “Your mother.” “And then who else?” again the man ask. “Your mother,” again the Prophet answered. “And then who else?” the man ask for the third time. “Your mother, still answered the Prophet. “And then who else?” asked the man for the fourth time. “Your father,” at last the Prophet said.

Glory be to God. In Islam women are positioned on such high and noble place, until they were mentioned three times in a row by the Prophet himself. So what else is lacking in the nobility desired by women nowadays? What lacks from the nobility and freedom of women (in Islamic teachings), that those people are heralding of?

Therefore people who voiced women in Islam as oppressed, dumbfounded, tyrannized, etc, must know that they were mistaken; either they are totally blind to the Islamic history, or they are purposely campaigning that, in order to cover up history. Please, do not fall into their trap.