Islam has given women the most progressive rights. Islam emphasizes the equality of men’s and women’s rights. There is no distinction between men and women in their relationship to Allah (SWT), as both are promised the same rewards for good behavior and the same punishment for sinful behavior.
Allah says;
“And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women.” (2: 228)
Because women were denied their rights in all aspects of life before the advent of Islam, Islam is a religion that has given women a high rank and status. There was a significant disparity between men and women.
Islam eradicates all inhumanity, inequality, and discrimination while also providing a comprehensive code of conduct for both men and women.
Before Islam, Arab pagan would bury their daughters alive as soon as the child was born. Women were treated as slaves, and they were forced to dance naked at their annual fairs. They used women solely for sexual fulfillment, believing that they possessed no rights, dignity, honor, or viewpoint.
Unlike other religions, which regard women as having inherent sin while men have inherent virtue and nobility.
Following Islam, women were treated in the same manner as men, with women being regarded as equal essences created from the same soul.
Allah declares,
“O mankind, be mindful of your duty to your Lord, who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from the two created and spread many men and women”. (4: 2)
To understand women’s rights, dignity, status, and rank in Islam. It is sufficient to judge the status of women before the arrival of Islam. They had no rights to anything at the time.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) envisioned an end to all forms of inhumanity, brutality, and torture against women. He was kind to women and advised Muslims to “fear Allah in regard to women.”
In his farewell to his pilgrimage ( Ḥijjatu Al-Wadā), the Prophet (PBUH) advised Muslims to be gentle and kind to women. “Fear Allah in regards to women,” he said.
“The best of you are them who behave best to their wife.”
He prolonged,
“Verily you have married them with the trust of Allah and made their body lawful with the words of Allah. You have got rights over them and they have got rights over you in respect of their food, cloth, and basic rights according to your means.”
In Islam, spiritual equality has been guaranteed for both men and women.
However, in this day and age, many Muslim communities practice their own culture and tradition, as a result of which women are not deemed to have the rights granted by Islam, and as a result, women are subject to many issues, like male supremacy functionalities of society, and social injustice.
Although the Quran and the religious practice of the Prophet (PBUH) highlight the equality, dignity, and status of women, a large class of people use it for exploiting and creating discrimination against women after tempering some verses of the message to dehumanize them.
Due to a lack of knowledge of Islam and mischaracterization of the Quran, many misconceptions about women’s rights exist. People have been led astray by misconceptions.
The prevalent misconception is that women are less qualified in religious knowledge, do not have the right to work, do not have the right to choose their life partner, and do not have a say in inheritance. Women are being deprived of their rights, dignity, status, and honor as a result of such misconceptions, and they are more often than not subject to oppression.
To prevent man dominance, and woman subordination, and to ensure women’s rights, we must abolish and root out all of the misconceptions that have persisted for decades.
Furthermore, Islam forbids men from dominating women and instead protects women’s rights, dignity, honor, and status by ensuring gender equality. In Islam, she has been given the freedom to pursue any career or business they desire. She is entitled to inhabitance in varied capacities like as a mother, a wife, a sister, and a daughter. She is free to pick her life partner and is also entitled to ancestral property and alimony.
It is a command in Islam for men to treat their wives with compassion and respect, as they are respected and honored in Islam. In Islam, a woman as a mother is held in more regard than any other individual. The Holy Quran commands Muslims to show respect to their mothers in numerous places.
The Prophet (PBUH) repeatedly asserts that women’s rights are supreme. Women are highly respected and honored in Islam.
“If she is a wife, she is a life partner. If she is as a mother, paradise is under her feet, if she is as a sister, she is a strength and if she is a daughter, she is a blessing of Allah Almighty.”
Sana Ullah Dashti