Women in the Qur’ān

The Qur'ān is the source of all personal status laws in Islamic countries. Therefore, the rules of religious jurisprudence concerning the position and treatment of women are also based on the Qur’ān. In order to fully understand the position of women in Islam, one must first examine the Qur’ānic rules concerning them.

The Qur’ānic Image of Women

The Qur’ān describes the nature of women and their intrinsic value in comparison to men as follows:

A. Evil Beings

The Qur’ān treats women with an attitude of suspicion. It presents them as a source of danger to men. In the story of Joseph, the Qur’ān describes women as possessing great maliciousness or kayd (كيد), which is translated (tricks):

“…verily, your tricks are mighty!” (Q 12.28)

On the other hand, the Qu’ran uses similar language to describe Satan:

“…verily, Satan’s tricks are weak.” (Q 4.76)

It is important to note that the word kayd is not always used as an insult. However, the description of women in Q 12, portraying them as possessing kayd, is clearly used in the context of an insult. This word appears three times (verses 33, 34, and 50). Based on these three verses, one may conclude that the innate, malicious kayd of women comes out of their “nature and temperament”. Thus their innocence is a façade that hides the evil or cunning that is within them. Furthermore, this kayd keeps them busy contriving plots.

B. Incomplete Beings

According to the Qur’ān, a woman is an incomplete being. This depiction is illustrated by the following laws:

First, the Qur’ān dictates that a woman’s portion of an inheritance should be only half that what a male receives:

“God instructs you concerning your children; for a male the like of the portion of two females....” (Q 4.11, 176)

Second, the testimony in a court of law by a woman does not carry as much weight as it does by a man. Instead, her testimony is valued at half a man’s testimony. In fact, her legal statements cannot even be accepted as true unless there are two women testifying. Furthermore, the Qur’ān dictates that when a business transaction takes place between two people, two men must witness it, or one man and two women. That way, if one woman forgets what transpired, “the second of the two may remind the other...” (Q 2.282).

Not only is a woman’s mental capacities considered weak, but the Qur’ān compares her to a man with weak reasoning and an inability to argue his case: “What! one brought up amongst ornaments, and who is always in contention without obvious cause?” (Q 43.18).

The commentators on the Qur’ān see these verses as proof of “the mental weakness of women and of their deficiencies, as compared to the instincts of men. It is said that when a woman spoke to present her cause, she presented the cause against herself”. They feel that women are incapable of engaging in reasonable discussion. If a woman “needed to argue and fight, she would be unable [to do so], and would not prevail. This is due to her weakness of tongue, mental deficiency, and dullness of temperament”.

Moreover, the Muslim commentators state that a woman understands she is an incomplete being. Hence, she tries to build her self-confidence “by adorning herself with trinkets and such, to compensate for what is deficient in her”.

In addition, the commentators state the men outperform women even in duties that “are exclusively carried out by women, [even though] her share of them has been greater and began much earlier than a man”. Therefore, even though women have been busy since the beginning of history learning how to prepare food properly, a woman can never hope to reach the skill of a man “who dedicates only a few years to it”. Men are even better than women in designing and embroidering fabrics. In the field of dancing, men are considered to be professional in it, whereas women’s dancing tends to be based on performance rather than originality. Women who are geniuses in any given field and those who were queens throughout history are exceptional cases that do not change this rule.

The Quran’s Ruling on the Veil

The wearing of a veil has been widely practiced by women in the Arabian Peninsula since before Islam. Women wore scarves and left the upper part of their chests, as well as their necks and ears, uncovered. Such was the appearance of a woman when she was out in public before men, including the Muslim women who initially kept their traditional clothing.

However, social changes in Medina convinced Muhammad that he should mandate the wearing of a veil. When women, Muhammad’s wives included, went out at night to relieve themselves between the palm trees and the fields, “the youth and those who were opportunistic” used to harass female slaves who were going out to answer the call of nature. Sometimes they would even approach and harass a free woman, claiming that they could not differentiate between her and a slave. So the women went to Muhammad to complain about the matter. And thus, he ordered the free women to wear a veil, which would distinguish them from slaves:

“O thou prophet! tell thy wives and thy daughters, and the women of the believers, to let down over them their outer wrappers; that is nearer for them to be known and that they should not be annoyed....” (Q 33.59)

Based on the commentary of Ibn Kathir, this effort was very successful. He states that some of “the fornicators of the people of Medina” who used to roam at night to accost women were no longer bothering the free ones. In fact, “if they saw a woman wearing a full hijab, they would say, ‘This is a free one,’ and would not harass her. But if they saw a woman not wearing one, they would say, ‘This is a female slave,’ and they would pounce on her”.

Therefore, Muhammad declared in Q 33.59 that a distinction could be made between a free woman and a female slave. This distinction would stop those who might accidentally harass free women. Because being unveiled became one of the characteristics of a female slave, ‘Umar Ibn al-Khattab forbade them from wearing a veil: “[I]f he saw a female slave veiled, he would beat her with a whip to preserve the apparel of the free ones”.

The Qur’ān’s Rules on Marriage

The Qur’ān uses the term al-nikah for marriage (Q 33.49). While the Qur’ān does not put a minimum limit on the marriageable age for women, it clearly states that it is permissible for a young girl to be given in marriage before she reaches adulthood. This ruling is evidenced by the verse discussing the prescribed waiting period, or ‘idda, of a young female divorcee who has not yet begun menstruation. Her waiting period is set at three months (Q 65.4). The following text provides further understanding of the marital relationship in Islam and the tenets upon which it is based.

A. Man’s Supreme Authority

The Qur’ān gives a man complete authority in marriage:

“Men stand superior to women....” (Q 4.34)

The Qur’ān justifies giving this authority to the man for the following reasons:

First, preference is given to him by nature: “God hath preferred some of them over others” (Q 4.34).

Second, preference is given to him by reason of his financial ability: “and in that they expend their wealth” (Q 4.34).

This higher position of man does not change even if “a woman has enough money to support herself without needing him to spend money on her, or even if she has so much money that she can spend it on him”. This preference is because a man has authority over a woman according to the Qur’ān, regardless of his economic situation. The leading authorities of Islam state that this ruling of the Qur’ān is an everlasting one: “[I]t precedes the development of civilizations and general legislations and [remains] past them”.

Furthermore, “among the instinctual and natural evidence of a man’s role as leader are a woman’s feelings of deprivation, lack, worry, and loss of happiness when she lives with a man who does not carry out his responsibilities as the leader and lacks the necessary leadership characteristics”.

B. Wife’s Relationship to Husband

In Islam, the wife is a slave to her husband. Muhammad ascribed this characterization to women during a speech made during his final pilgrimage. When he addressed the subject of women, he told men that women are ‘awan, meaning that they are equivalent to captives.

The sunna (prescribed actions and customs) of Muhammad stress that a woman should obey her husband’s commands. The story is told of a man who ordered his wife not to leave the house while he was traveling. During his absence, her father became ill, so she sent to Muhammad asking for permission to go to her father. Muhammad answered her by saying, “Obey your husband.” Her father died, so she then requested permission from Muhammad to go see her father’s body before burial. He said to her again, “Obey your husband.” When her father was buried, Muhammad sent her a message saying, “Allah has forgiven her father because of her obedience to her husband”.

In addition to absolute obedience, a woman should revere her husband because Muhammad stated, “If a woman knew the right of a husband, she would not sit at his lunch and supper time until he finishes”.

One time, a woman came to Muhammad to ask about her obligations to her husband. He said, “If he had pus from his hair part to his foot [from head to toe] and you licked him, you would not have shown him enough gratitude”. Furthermore, in another source, Muhammad said, “If he had an ulcer and she licked it, or if pus and blood started coming out of his nose and she licked it, she would not fulfill her obligation towards him”.

This hadīth (or narrative) is repeated in several sources and in several variations.

Another hadīth records Muhammad’s following statement: “It is a husband’s right that his wife, if his nose was to be running with blood and pus and his wife licked it with her tongue, she would not fulfill her obligation to him. If it was required for a human to bow down to another human, I would have decreed that a wife should prostrate herself before her husband when he comes to her. That is because of how gracious Allah has been to her”.

Obedience and reverence towards her husband are two of the wife’s duties. These duties form an element of worship for her. As Muhammad said, “If a woman prays her five prayers, fasts the month of fasting, keeps her chastity, and obeys her husband, she will enter the paradise of her Lord”. In addition, Allah will not accept the prayer of a woman if her husband is angry with her.

C. Husband’s Right to Punish His Wife

The Qur’ān gives the husband the right to punish his wife if she goes outside the parameters that he draws for her. It provides men with instructions:

“But those whose perverseness ye fear, admonish them and remove them into bed-chambers and beat them; but if they submit to you, then do not seek a way against them.” (Q 4.34)

If a wife expresses her dislike about a matter, refuses to have sexual relations with her husband, or leaves the house without her husband’s permission, she is considered disloyal. The man should deal with sexual and behavioral “disobedience” with the “surgical tools” given to him by the Qur’ān’s rulings: instructing, sexual punishing, and beating.

Instructing

At the beginning of marriage, a husband reminds his wife about the rights that are given to him by shari‘a (Islamic laws). He can say to her, “Fear Allah! I have rights due to me from you. Repent from what you are doing. Know that obedience to me is one of your obligations”. If the wife refuses to fulfill the sexual desires of her husband, then he should remind her of his rights over her body.

Sexual Punishing (al-Hajr)

This word has two interpretations:

Desertion

If a wife remains “disobedient,” her husband should ignore her. This means he should cease talking to her, as well as sharing a bed with her. Some sources have included abstaining from having sexual relations with her as part of this phase of punishment. However, the common view among Muslim scholars is that ignoring or deserting means he should not talk to her, but he can still have sexual relations. So what is meant in the sharia is that a husband should verbally mistreat his wife without letting go of his “legally given right” to her body. “He [verbally] deserts her with his tongue and mistreats her but does not refrain from intercourse with her”.

Forced Sexual Intercourse (“tightening the bindings”)

Another form of discipline is given in Q 4.34. This verse prescribes hajr as an appropriate way to deal with an insubordinate wife. While hajr is interpreted to mean “to refuse to share their beds,” the word hajr has several meanings. One of these meanings indicates the hajr of the camel when the owner binds the animal with a hijar, or rope. A hijar is tied to the front and back legs on one side of the animal to impede its movement. This means that the term wa’hjuruhunna in Q 4.34 (“refuse to share their beds'') actually means to tighten the bindings of the wife and force her to have sexual intercourse. This meaning is the adopted view of al-Tabari, as he bases the meaning of hijar as being the binding of a camel with a hijar. Other scholars, who also support this interpretation, state “it means to tie them up and force them to have intercourse”.

The Qur’ānic principle of a man’s right to a woman’s body is not open for discussion. Regardless of her psychological or physical state, she has to obey the man’s command to lie in bed and have sexual intercourse with him. Time and again, Muhammad made statements advocating this view:

“One of the rights of a husband upon his wife is that if she was riding on a camel’s back and he approached her with sexual desires, she should not deny him”.

“If a man calls his woman to his bed, and she does not come, and then he goes to bed angry at her, the angels will curse her until the morning”.

These same statements are repeated in the hadīth, such as Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, but with variations in the wording.

The Beating

If the previous methods, including instruction and verbal abuse, fail to correct a wife’s behavior, then a husband is given the right to beat his wife. Verse Q 4.34 does not specify the mode or limit of the beating. However, it is believed that Muhammad put a condition on the beating, classifying it as “not excessive”. When interpreting the phrase “not excessive beating,” scholars offer the following guidelines:

Avoid hitting the wife’s face.

Do not break any of the wife’s bones.

Use nonfatal implements or physical force.

Al-siwak (a small stick used to clean the teeth), or shoe laces, etc.

Hand, etc. [hitting, slapping, punching the neck and chest, etc.]

The wife may receive a beating for every behavior that incites the anger of her husband, or for every act that her husband does not like. Current Islamic literature supports the legitimacy of beating and its benefit for “upbringing.” For example, the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Metwaly al-Sha‘rawi (1911-1998), who was considered among the top Muslim thinkers in the twentieth century, records his position:

“Beating is not a sign of hatred. It could be a sign of love. As long as it is not excessive, it would only cause a small amount of pain. A person might resort to lightly beating the loved one due to desiring what is in the person’s [best] interests and due to caring about the person. A woman, by her very nature, understands that, coming from her husband. She knows that his anger at her and his punishing her …will soon pass away and with its passing, its causes will pass. Therefore, they remain in their relationship as if nothing happened”.

D. Husband’s Rights over Wife’s Body

The Qur’ān regards sexual intercourse as an act of the man that a woman receives. She is merely an object used for his enjoyment:

“Your women are your tilth, so come into your tillage how you choose....” (Q 2.223)

Because a husband has the right to control his wife’s body, like a farmer with his plow, Muslim scholars started a discussion over the meaning of the term an-na, translated in the verse above as “how.” This word can also mean “where,” “when,” and “however.” Therefore, they have determined that this verse indicates the following sexual rights of a husband over his wife:

He has the right to choose any sexual position he desires.

He has the right to have sexual relations whenever he feels like it, except during menstruation.

He has the right to have sexual relations wherever he wishes. (Therefore, some claim that this verse permits anal intercourse. This view had supporters among the companions of Muhammad, as well as among the Medinan religious scholars.) (See comment on Q 2.223).

According to the Qur’ān, a wife has no right over her own body. She is merely like a farm land that her husband plows, according to the description of her in Q 2.223.

E. Polygamy

The Qur’ān permits polygamy. Q 4.3 states “then marry what seems good to you of women, by twos, or threes, or fours,” as long as they are dealt with justly. The commentators explain that “justly” means that the husband should have equal desire towards all his wives. Also, with all of his wives, he is to be just in “intercourse, fellowship, and distribution”. In other words, he is not to spend an undue amount of time with one wife, thereby neglecting the others.

Polygamy was known in the period before Islam, at which time the number of wives was unlimited. However, Islam put limits to the number of wives to four. Some interpreted the verse “by twos, or threes, or fours,” to permit up to nine wives by using Muhammad as an example (since he, at certain times, had nine wives at the same time). However, this interpretation is rejected by the majority of commentators who considered Muhammad to be a special case. (Compare with comment on Q 4.2, 3).

Even though Muhammad allowed polygamy, he was against it when it came to his son-in-law marrying another woman. When ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib (husband of Muhammad’s daughter Fatima) wanted to take a second wife, both Fatima and her father were angry with him. Muhammad was “hurt that his most beloved daughter would be intimidated by a rival wife. He had pity on her and did not want her to go through such a harsh experience”. Thus, Muhammad warned ‘Ali publicly that if he wanted to marry again, he would have to divorce his wife, Muhammad’s daughter.

Overall, polygamy strengthened the ability of the Muslims to invade. It became a production machine of sorts, to reinforce Muslim armies with hoards of men able to go forth into battle. Even today, Muslim writers look at polygamy from the angle of invasion. One modern writer proposes the following about polygamy and its importance to the spread of Islam by the power of increased might:

Polygamy is the best way to increase the birth rate in the environments that need a lot of hands for war or for work, such as in agricultural lands. The Muslims are charged with jihad for the sake of spreading the good news about Islam and inviting others to accept Islam. Hence, polygamy is able to replace what was lost in the jihad and recompenses many women for the loss of their husbands in the war.

F. Divorce and Remarriage

The Qur’ān endorses a method of divorce whereby a husband has the right to divorce his wife twice. However, it states that after the third time, a divorced woman is not allowed to return to her first husband “until she…[marries] another husband” (Q 2.230).

The Islamic sources mention that the Qur’ān instituted this ruling to overturn a societal practice that gave the husband the right to return to the wife he divorced, as long as she was in the prescribed waiting period or ‘idda. Thus, some men were using this practice to torture their wives by returning to them before the prescribed waiting period was over, then immediately divorcing them again.

Therefore, the Qur’ān’s legislation put an end to this activity by requiring that a divorced woman remarry and have sexual intercourse with her new husband before she can return to her first husband. In the event a wife is divorced for the third time by her husband, she must then marry another man before she can return to her first husband. The following stages must be completed before she can even return to her first husband, provided she is divorced by her new husband:

Waiting during the prescribed period (‘idda) before next marriage;

Marrying a second husband (contract marriage);

Having intercourse with her new husband;

Receiving a divorce from her from second husband;

and Returning to her first husband.

(See the comment on Q 2.229-231)

G. Prescribed Waiting Period

In the event that her husband dies, a woman is instructed to remain as a prisoner in her own home for four months and ten days. She is not allowed to adorn herself. After this period has ended, she then has the right to leave her house and get married (Q 2.234).

In the case of divorce, a woman has to abide by the prescribed waiting period, or ‘idda. For an older woman who is postmenopausal and for a young woman who has not yet started her menstrual period, the duration of this period is three months. The waiting period for a pregnant woman is the remainder of her pregnancy (Q 65.4).

Islam took these provisions from the pre-Islamic Arabs and modified them. The prescribed waiting period for a widow had previously been one full year However, under Islam, it became four months and ten days. As to the divorced woman, she had no prescribed waiting period before Islam and had the right to marry whenever she chose. The Qur’ān, however, imposed a prescribed waiting period on her.

The Qur’ān’s Rules on Temporary Marriage (al-Mut‘a)

The enjoyment marriage (al-mut‘a) is a temporary marriage similar to a normal marriage in that it is based on a contract, but it differs in that divorce occurs automatically at the end of the period agreed upon in the contract.

This type of marriage was practiced before Islam. Quite often the children of al-mut‘a are attributed genealogically to their mother because the father was often just a passerby in the mother’s town. Contact between the father and the mother would often cease at the end of the contract, and the children would take the name of the mother and her tribe. Muhammad incorporated this practice into Islam, as shown in this verse:

“but such of them as ye have enjoyed, give them their hire as a lawful due....” (Q 4.24)

There is no mention of an abrogation of this verse that refers to al-mut‘a. However, Sunni Muslims believe that Muhammad abrogated al-mut‘a.

Even though history points to Omar Ibn al-Khattab as being the first one to ban this type of marriage, Ibn Habib mentions the names of other companions of Muhammad who supported the continued practice of al-mut‘a:

Khalid Ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Anssari

Zaid Ibn Thabit al-Anssari

Salma Ibn al-Akwa‘ al-Aslami

‘Omran Ibn al-Hussn al-Khuza‘i

‘Abd Allah Ibn al- ‘Abbas Ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib Today, Shiite Muslims continue to hold to the legality of al-mut‘a.

The number of wives in al-mut‘a is not limited to four, as in a permanent marriage. When Ja‘far al-Saadiq was asked about the number of wives allowed in al-mut‘a, and if it was limited to four, he answered, “No, not even seventy.” In fact, he said that it was limitless. He advised another, “Marry a thousand of them.” And when al-Hadi was asked if there was a specific limit to the number of wives a man could have in al-mut‘a, he too answered that there was “no limit”.

Female Slaves “that your right hand possesses”

The Qur’ān deals with another category of women: female slaves. The Qur’ān gives a man the right to sexually enjoy his female slaves without regard for their familial status before being taken captive—that is, whether they were married or not (Q 4.3, 24). Because the Qur’ān views a female slave as property, she has to obey all of her owner’s commands.

Since the Qur’ān views a male slave as property as well, the Muslim owner has the right to deal with his male slave’s marital tie. One of the Shiite sources of law states that if an owner marries his male slave to his female slave, but then the owner desires her, he can command the male slave to renounce her. If she has completed her menstrual period, then the owner can sleep with her.

Shiite jurisprudence further allows a practice called “lending the pudendum.” This practice allows the owner to lend his female slave to a relative or friend for sexual enjoyment. When he is finished with her, the relative or friend returns her to her owner. Again, because a female slave is considered property, her owner had the legal right to lend her to whomever he chooses.

Moreover, the Shiite rulings allow the practice of al-fahr, which permits a man to have sexual intercourse with two female slaves simultaneously. He could also have sexual intercourse with one while the other watches. In addition to other variations of threesome-intercourse, it appears that al-fahr was practiced among the Arabs. In Arabic it is said that “the man, afhar, if he steps aside with his female slave to do what he needs, while having another one of his female slaves with him at home, and after he is finished with the first, that is he entered her but did not ejaculate, he enters the other one and ejaculates within her”.

Modern Muslim scholars refuse to criticize this treatment of female slaves; not only that, but they even accept it in theory. Although modern political and international conditions do not allow Muslim armies to freely invade or allow the taking of female captives as concubines, we find one of the leading Egyptian scholars defending this practice, considering it a form of marriage.

Al-Sha‘rawi also holds that even though it is no longer possible to purchase slaves, this “does not indicate a weakening of the text. The legal text is still valid. If a case occurs that it can be applied to, then it would be valid. If there is not a case, then the concept is still permissible, and can be applied once a case is found”. As for today’s society, modern Muslim scholars consider the international treaties concerning the treatment of captives as being the results of earthly legislations to which Muslims should not have to abide.

Conclusion

This article has examined the Qur’ān’s rules pertaining to the status of women, along with the sayings of Muhammad used by scholars to interpret the Qur’ānic texts. Two factors dictate the position of women in Islam. The first is the written record found in the Qur’ān and the sayings of Muhammad as recorded in the hadīth. These sources are fixed and remain unchanged by time and place. The second is the social environment. This latter factor can change according to historical context and culture.

Islamic literature claims that Islam improved the position of women in the Arabian Peninsula and is the only religious doctrine that honors women. History shows that Islam did accomplish some advancement in the position of women during the seventh century in certain aspects. For example, limiting the number of wives to four was a positive change in comparison to the practices during that era.

Another positive legislation concerned the rules governing inheritance. During the jahiliyya, the pre-Islamic era, the laws of inheritance were very unfavorable to women. Inheritance belonged only to older males but not to females, as long as the male heir was able to fight. Therefore, women and young males were not eligible to claim their rightful inheritance. Although this practice was not prevalent throughout the Arabian Peninsula and women were allowed to inherit in some areas of the Peninsula, Islam gave the right of inheritance to all children, without the condition of being able to fight. Islam also gave women half the inheritance of men. Therefore, compared to the practice of the time, this was positive legislation. However, the expanded rights of inheritance did not originate with Islam. There are known pre-Islam instances where some Arab tribes decreed that a male would inherit “the same as two females”.

Conversely, many of the changes implemented by Islam were not positive. The Qur’ān permits men to beat their wives, making domestic abuse a divinely permissible act rather than just an individual behavior. Furthermore, Islam permits a man to have sexual intercourse, even if it is nonconsensual, with his female slaves, thereby condoning and even making sacred the act of rape.

In various ancient societies and throughout human history, women have lived under the oppression of social injustice. But the difference between the position of women in Islam as compared to other societies and cultures is that Islam is seen as the final religion and source of law by its followers. Hence, the position of women is fixed, and rulings, such as the lot of women in inheritance, must remain in place as specified by the Qur’ān. Though in modern society a woman may work and share in the financial burdens of life, she will still be deprived of equality in inheritance because the Qur’ān commands it so. While many modern Muslim men do not practice polygamy, the fact remains that a man still has the legal right to marry a second, third, or even fourth wife.

Overall, the Qur’ānic rules regarding the treatment of women can still be used today as tools of oppression in the hand of the Muslim man. In all likelihood Muslim women will never achieve the full and equal rights with men because Muslim thinkers still claim, even today, that “the sole occupation of a woman is to marry and have a family. Any effort she exerts other than that is of no value”.