The Muslim Woman and Her Rabb

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She is obedient to the commands of Allah (SWT)

The true Muslim woman does not forget that she is duty bound to perform all the religious duties that Allah (SWT) has commanded her to do. In this regard her situation is the same as that of a man, and there is no difference between them except in a few regulations which apply exclusively to either men or women. Other than that, women and men are equally responsible before Allah (SWT).

Allah (SWT) says:

( For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast [and deny themselves], for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's praise - for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.) (Qur'an 33:35)

( Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a new Life, and life that is good and pure, and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.) (Qur'an 16:97)

( And their Lord has accepted of them, and answered them: `Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: you are members, one of another; those who have left their homes and were driven out therefrom, and suffered harm in My Cause, and fought and were slain - verily, I will blot out from them their iniquities, and admit them into Gardens with rivers flowing beneath - a reward from the Presence of Allah, and from His Presence is the best of rewards.) (Qur'an 3:195)

Whenever the phrase "ya ayyuha'l-nas (O people or O mankind)" appears in the Qur'an or Hadith, it includes both men and women. Evidence of this may be found in the hadith narrated by Imam Muslim from the Prophet's wife Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her), who said:

"I used to hear the people talking about al-hawd (the cistern), and I had never heard about it from the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). One day, whilst a young girl was combing my hair, I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying "O people!" I said to the young girl, "Leave me alone now." She said, "That call is for men only; he is not calling the women." I said, "I am one of the people." The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "I am the one who will be at the cistern (in the Hereafter) before you. So be careful, lest one of you should come to me and be driven away like a stray camel. I will ask the reason why, and I will be told, `You do not know what innovations they wrought after your death,' and I will say, `Away with them!'" According to another report also narrated by Muslim, he (PBUH) said: ". . . and I will say, `Away, away with the one who changed (the religion) after my death!'"76

Note: 76. Sahih Muslim, 15/56, 54, Kitab al-fada'il, bab hawd nabiyyina (SAAS) wa siffatuhu.

Men and women are equal before Allah (SWT), and both must pay heed to His commands and prohibitions. So the Muslim woman does what Allah (SWT) has commanded and keeps away from what He has forbidden, believing that she will be questionedabout what she did in this life: if they are good, it will be good for her, and if they are bad, then will be bad for her. She does not transgress the limits laid down by Allah (SWT), and does not do anything that is haram. She always seeks the ruling of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger, and accepts it no matter what happens to her in her life.

Islamic history is filled with the stories of great women who kept the rule of Allah (SWT) in mind at all times and did not deviate from it or look for alternatives. Among these stories is that of Khawlah bint Tha`labah and her husband Aws ibn al-Samit, narrated by Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud, and quoted by Ibn Kathir in his tafsir of the beginning of Surat al-Mujadilah. Khawlah said:

"By Allah (SWT), concerning me and Aws ibn al-Samit, Allah (SWT) revealed the beginning of Surat al-Mujadilah. I was married to him, and he was an old man who was bad-tempered. One day, he came in and I raised a particular issue with him again; he became angry and said, `You are to me as the back of my mother.' Then he went out and sat for a while in the meeting-place of his people. Then he came back, and wanted to resume marital relations with me. I said, `No way! By the hand of the One in Whose hand is the soul of Khuwaylah (i.e., Khawlah), you will never get what you want from me after saying what you said, until Allah (SWT) and His Messenger decide between us.' He tried to force himself on me, but I was able to resist because I was a young woman and he was a weak old man. I pushed him away, then I went to one of my (female) neighbours and borrowed a cloak from her and went to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). I sat before him, told him what (my husband) had done to me, and began to complain to him about my sufferings because of my husband's bad temper. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, `O Khuwaylah, your cousin is an old man, so fear Allah (SWT) with regard to him.' I did not leave him until Qur'an was revealed concerning me: he was overcome as he usually was when Qur'an was revealed to him, and when it was over, he said: `O Khuwaylah, Allah (SWT) has revealed Qur'an concerning you and your husband.' Then he recited to me:

( Allah has indeed heard [and accepted] the statement of the woman who pleads with you concerning her husband and carries her complaint [in prayer] to Allah: and Allah [always] hears the arguments between both sides among you: for Allah hears and sees [all things]'. If any men among you divorce their wives by zihar77 [calling them mothers], they cannot be their mothers: none can be their mothers except those who gave them birth. And in fact they use words [both] iniquitous and false: but truly Allah is One that blots out [sins], and forgives [again and again]. But those who divorce their wives by zihar, then wish to go back on the words they uttered - [it is ordained that such a one] should free a slave before they touch each other: this are you admonished to perform: and Allah is well-acquainted with [all] that you do. And if any has not [the wherewithal], he should fast for two months consecutively before they touch each other. But if any is unable to do so, he should feed sixty indigent ones. This, that you may show your faith in Allah and His Messenger, those are limits [set by] Allah. For those who reject [Him], there is a grievous Penalty.) (Qur'an 58:1-4)

Note: 77. A jahili form of divorce where the husband told his wife "You are to me like the back of my mother." According to pre-Islamic Arabian custom, this freed the husband from marital duties, but effectively imprisoned the woman as she was not free to leave her husband's home or enter into another marriage; the husband was also not obliged to provide for the children of the marriage.The Qur'an clearly abolished this cruel and oppressive practice. See Yusuf Ali's Note Number 5330. [Translator]

He told me, `Let him release a slave.' I said, `O Messenger of Allah (PBUH), he does not have the means to do that.' He said, `Then let him fast for two consecutive months.' I said, `By Allah (SWT), he is an old man, he is not able to do that.' He said, `Then let him feed sixty poor people with a wasq78 of dates.' I said, `O Messenger of Allah (SWT), he does not have that much.' He said, `Then we will help him with a faraq79 of dates.' I said, `And I will help him with another faraq, O Messenger of Allah (SWT).' He said, `You have done right and done well. Go and give it in charity on his behalf, then take care of your cousin properly.' And I did so."80

Note: 78. Wasq: the amount of fruit a date-palm would bear in one season. [Author]

Note: 79. Faraq: a measurement of weight approximately equivalent to 60 kilograms. [Author]

Note: 80. See Mukhtasar Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 3/459, Surat al-Mujadilah 58:1-4 (published by Dar al-Qur'an al-Karim, Beirut.)

Khawlah bint Tha`labah could not bear to stay for one moment with her husband after he had spoken the words of zihar to her, which was a form of divorce at the time of jahiliyyah, until she had referred the matter to the Prophet (PBUH), so that she might know how Allah (SWT) would judge between her and her husband. She did not even have a suitable garment with which to go out and appear before the Prophet (PBUH), so she borrowed a robe from one of her neighbours, and rushed to where the Prophet (PBUH) was sitting, so that she could hear Allah's (SWT) ruling concerning her, and follow it.

It comes as no surprise that this great woman enjoyed such high standing among the Sahabah who were her contemporaries and knew her virtues, above all `Umar ibn al-Khattab (RAA). She met him one day outside the mosque, when al-Jarud al-`Abdi was with him. `Umar, who was the khalifah at that time, greeted her, and she said to him, "O `Umar, I remember you when you were called `Umayr in the marketplace of `Ukaz, taking care of the sheep with your stick. So fear Allah (SWT) in your role as khalifah taking care of the people, and know that the one who fears the threat of punishment in the Hereafter realises that it is not far away, and the one who fears death fears missing some opportunity in this life." Al-Jarud said, "You have spoken too harshly to Amir al-Mu'minin, woman!" `Umar said, "Let her be. Do you not know that this is Khawlah, to whose words Allah (SWT) listened from above the seven heavens? By Allah (SWT), `Umar should by rights listen to her."

Ibn Kathir mentions in his Tafsir that a man said to `Umar, when he saw him welcoming her warmly and listening to her, "You left a man of Quraysh to come to this old woman?" `Umar said, "Woe to you! Do you not know who this is?" The man said, "No." `Umar said, "This is a woman whose complaint Allah (SWT) listened to from above the seven heavens: this is Khawlah bint Tha`labah. By Allah (SWT), if she did not leave me until night fell, I would not tell her to leave until she had got what she came for, unless the time for prayer came, in which case I would pray, and then come back to her until she had got what she came for."

The true Muslim woman always bears in mind the words of Allah (SWT):

( It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision: if anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.) (Qur'an 33:36)

Obedience to Allah (SWT) and His Messenger is much more important than one's own whims and desires; it comes before pleasure and individual choice. Zaynab bint Jahsh (May Allah be pleased with her) set the best example of obedience to the command of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger when he asked her to agree to marry his freed slave and adopted son Zayd ibn Harithah. This marriage achieved two legislative (tashri`i) aims:

(1) To achieve total equality among people: the beautiful woman of Quraysh, the noblewoman of the sons of `Abdu Shams, and the cousin of the Prophet, married a freed slave. Freed slaves were of a lower class than the nobility; indeed, the differences between the classes was so great and so deep that nothing could abolish it except a decisive, public act on the part of the Prophet (PBUH), that the Muslim community would have to take as an example, so that these barriers might be torn down and people would not be viewed as superior except in terms of their level of taqwa.

(2) to abolish the custom of adoption which was widely spread at the time of jahiliyyah. Hence the Prophet (PBUH) married Zaynab, after she had been divorced by his adopted son Zayd, to demonstrate in practical terms that if Zayd had been his real son, Allah (SWT) would not have commanded him in the Qur'an to marry Zaynab.

The choice fell to Zaynab, the cousin of the Prophet (PBUH), to achieve these two legislative aims within the environment of the Prophet's household, so that the people could accept them in obedience to the command of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger (PBUH). When he chose her tbe the wife of Zayd ibn Harithah, she disliked the idea, and said, "O Messenger of Allah (PBUH), I will never marry him, for I am the noblewoman of the tribe of `Abdu Shams." The Prophet (PBUH) replied, calmly but firmly, "You have to marry him." Whilst they were discussing the matter, Allah (SWT) revealed to His Messenger (PBUH):

( It is not fitting for a Believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Messenger, to have any option about their decision: if anyone disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong Path.) (Qur'an 33:36)

Then Zaynab accepted the command of Allah (SWT) and His Messenger, and said: "I will not disobey Allah (SWT) and His Messenger, and I will give myself in marriage to him."

Subsequently, the differences between Zaynab and Zayd led to their divorce. When Zaynab had completed her `iddah, Allah (SWT) revealed the following ayah:

( Behold! You did say to one who had received the grace of Allah and your favour: `Retain [in wedlock] your wife, and fear Allah.' But you did hide in your heart that which Allah was about to make manifest: you did fear the people, but it is more fitting that you should fear Allah. Then when Zayd had dissolved [his marriage] with her, with the necessary [formality], We joined her in marriage to you: in order that [in future] there may be no difficulty to the Believers in [the matter of] marriage with the wives of their adopted sons, when the latter have dissolved with the necessary [formality] [their marriage] with them. And Allah's command must be fulfilled.) (Qur'an 33:37)

The Prophet (PBUH) recited this ayah, smiling, then he said, "Who will go to Zaynab and tell her the good news that Allah (SWT) has arranged my marriage to her from heaven?"

It was as if Allah (SWT) was rewarding Zaynab for her absolute obedience to Allah (SWT) and His Messenger. She had accepted their decision that she should marry Zayd, then she became the wife of the Prophet (PBUH) by the command of Allah (SWT), in ayat which the Muslims will recite when they worship Allah (SWT) by reciting the Qur'an, until the end of time. This honour was bestowed only on Zaynab, who was unique among the wives of the Prophet (PBUH). She was proud of the favour of Allah (SWT) to her, and used to boast to the other wives of the Prophet: "Your families arranged your marriages, but Allah (SWT) arranged my marriage from above the seven heavens."81

Note: 81. See Fath al-Bari, 13/402, Kitab al-Tawhid, bab wa kana 'arshuhu 'ala'l-ma'.

She does not sit alone with a "stranger"

Obedience to Allah (SWT) and His Messenger can only be achieved by following their commands and keeping away from that which they have prohibited. One way in which the Muslim woman obeys Allah (SWT) and His Messenger is by not sitting alone with a "stranger" (ajnabi) i.e., a man to whom she is not related, because doing so is haram according to the consensus of the scholars, on the basis of the hadith:

"A man should not sit alone with a woman unless a mahram is with her, and a woman should not travel without a mahram." A man stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah (PBUH), my wife has set out for Hajj, and I have enlisted for such-and-such a military expedition." He said, "Go and perform Hajj with your wife."82

Note: 82. (Bukhari and Muslim), See Sharh al-Sunnah, 7/18, Kitab al-Hajj, bab al-mar'ah la takhruj illa ma'a mahram.

The mahram is a man to whom marriage is forever forbidden for a woman, such as the father, brother, paternal uncle, maternal uncle, etc.

The ajnabi or "stranger" is a man to whom marriage is allowed in principle, even if he is a relative, especially the husband's brother and other similarly close relatives. It is forbidden for a woman to sit alone with all of these, because the Prophet (PBUH) said :

"Beware of entering upon women." A man of the Ansar asked, "O Messenger of Allah (PBUH), what about the brother-in-law?" He said, "The brother-in-law is death."83

Note: 83. (Bukhari and Muslim), See Sharh al-Sunnah, 9/26, Kitab al-nikah, bab al-nahy 'an an yakhlu al-rajul bi'l-mar'ah al-ajnabiyyah.

The brother-in-law is the husband's brother or other similarly close relatives by marriage. The Prophet's words, "The brother-in-law is death" mean that evil is more likely to occur from these quarters than from elsewhere, because of the ease with which he enters his brother's house. The word "death" is used for emphasis and as a sharp warning, as if sitting alone with the brother-in-law may lead to immorality and calamitous consequences that would be akin to the calamity of death.

The true Muslim woman does not fall into such errors as are committed by so many careless people nowadays.

She wears correct hijab

The Muslim woman wears correct hijab when she goes out of her house. Hijab is the distinctive Islamic dress whose features have been clearly defined by the Qur'an and Sunnah. She does not go out of the house, or appear before non-mahram men, wearing perfume, make-up or other fineries, because she knows that this is haram according to the Qur'an:

( And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what [must ordinarily] appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms84 and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers! Turn all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss.) (Qur'an 24:31)

Note: 84. Juyubihinna includes the face and neck as well as the bosom. [Translator]

The Muslim woman, therefore, is not one of those dressed-but-naked women who abound in societies which have deviated from the guidance of Allah (SWT). She would tremble with fear at the terrifying picture which the Prophet (PBUH) draw of those painted and adorned temptresses who have gone astray:

"There are two types of the people of Hell that I have not seen: people with whips like the tails of oxen, with which they beat the people, and women who are dressed yet still appear naked, who are inclined to evil and make their husbands incline towards it also. Their heads are like the humps of camels, leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise, or even smell its scent, although its scent can be discerned from such-and-such a distance."85

Note: 85. Sahih Muslim, 14/109, Kitab al-libas wa'l-zinah, bab al-nisa' al-kasiyat al-'ariyat.

The Muslim woman who has been truly guided by her faith and has received a sound Islamic education does not wear hijab just because it is a custom or tradition inherited from her mother or grandmother, as some foolish men and women try to describe it with no evidence or logic whatsoever. The Muslim woman wears hijab on the basis of her belief that it is a command from Allah (SWT), revealed to protect the Muslim woman, to make her character distinct, and to keep her away from the slippery slope of immorality and error. So she accepts it willingly and with strong conviction, as the women of the Muhajirin and Ansar accepted it on the day when Allah (SWT) revealed His clear and wise command. According to a report narrated by Bukhari, `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said:

"May Allah have mercy on the Muhajir women. When Allah (SWT) revealed ( . . . that they should draw their veils over their bosoms . . .) (Qur'an 24:31), they tore their wrappers and covered their heads and faces with them."

According to another report given by Bukhari, `A'ishah said:

"They took their wrappers and tore them at the edges, then covered their heads and faces with them."86

Note: 86. Fath al-Bari, 8/489, Kitab al-tafsir, bab walyadribna bi khumurihinna 'ala juyubihinna.

Safiyyah bint Shaybah said:

"When we were with `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her), we mentioned the women of Quraysh and their virtues. `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said, `The women of Quraysh are good, but by Allah (SWT) I have never seen any better or more strict in their adherence to the Book of Allah (SWT) than the women of the Ansar. When Surat al-Nur was revealed - ( . . . that they should draw their veils over their bosoms . . .) - their menfolk went to them and recited to them the words that Allah (SWT) had revealed. Each man recited it to his wife, his daughter, his sister and other female relatives. Every woman among them got up, took her wrapper, and wrapped herself up in it out of faith and belief in what Allah (SWT) had revealed. They appeared behind the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), wrapped up, as if there were crows on their heads."87

Note: 87. See Fath al-Bari Sharh Sahih Bukhari, 8/489, 490, Kitab al-tafsir, bab walyadribna bi khumurihinna 'ala juyubihinna.

May Allah (SWT) have mercy on the women of the Muhajirin and the Ansar: how strong their faith was, and how sincere their Islam! How beautiful was their obedience to the truth when it was revealed! Every woman who truly believes in Allah (SWT) and His Messenger cannot but follow the example of these virtuous women, so she herself must wear the distinctive Islamic dress with no regard to the nakedness and wanton display that surrounds her. I remember a young university student who wore hijab, whose attitude was no less admirable than that of the women of the Muhajirin and Ansar, may Allah (SWT) be pleased with them: when a journalist who was visiting the University of Damascus asked her about her hijab and whether it was not too hot for her in the extreme heat of summer, she responded by quoting: ( Say: `The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat.) (Qur'an 9:81).

It is Muslim girls such as this who will build Muslim homes and families, and raise a virtuous generation which will fill society with constructive and noble elements. Today there are many such young women, al-hamdu lillah.

Proper dress for women was not something novel introduced by Islam; it existed in all the laws of Allah (SWT) revealed before Islam. This can be seen in what remains of those laws in the altered books (i.e. the Bible). We also see it in the modest dress of the Christian nuns who live in the Islamic world and also in the West, and in the fact that the women of the people of the Book cover their heads when they enter their churches. The modern rejection of the idea that women should be covered and modest goes against all divine laws, from the time of Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa (PBUH), until the hanifi way brought by Islam. This attitude is an attempt to escape the decree of Allah (SWT), which Allah (SWT) has sent to mankind throughout the ages, brought time after time by His Messengers to guide mankind to truth and righteousness, so that they would become one nation, worshipping and obeying one Lord:

( Mankind was but one nation, but differed [later]. Had it not been for a Word that went forth before from your Lord, their differences would have been settled between them.) (Qur'an 10:19)

( O messengers! Enjoy [all] things good and pure, and work righteousness; for I am well-acquainted with [all] that you do. And verily this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood. And I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore fear Me [and no other].) (Qur'an 23:51-52)

( And [remember her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a Sign for all peoples. Verily, this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve Me [and no other].) (Qur'an 21:91-92)

The determination of many modern societies that women should be uncovered, living naked and immoral lives, is an indication of how far they have deviated from the guidance of Allah (SWT), not only in the Muslim lands, but in all countries of the world. The Westerners may not care about this, and may go ahead and invent more means of immorality without finding any deterrent in their corrupted books, but the Muslims who worship Allah (SWT) by reciting His perfectly preserved Book night and day will never accept such deviance, no matter how negligent and weak they are in their practice of Islam, because they constantly hear the definitive words of the Qur'an and Sunnah warning those who disobey Allah (SWT) and His Messenger of the test in this life and the severe punishment to come in the Hereafter:

( . . . Let those beware who withstand the Messenger's order, lest some trial befall them, or a grievous Penalty be inflicted on them.) (Qur'an 24:63)

So those men and women who have sold out to the West and called for women to uncover themselves and take off hijab, have failed miserably in the face of the determination of the men and women of the Islamic revival which is taking place throughout the world. Rightly-guided, educated Muslim women have gone back to their distinctive Islamic dress and correct, decent hijab, in many Muslim countries which had previously witnessed the call for Westernization and the abolishing of hijab and decency. For example, the followers of Ataturk in Turkey, Reza Pahlevi in Iran, Muhammad Aman in Afghanistan, Ahmed Zogo and Enver Hoxha in Albania, Marcus Fahmi, Qasim Amin and Hoda Shaarawi in Egypt. Some of those who supported women's "liberation" from hijab and modesty have now renounced their former opinions about women's showing off and mixing freely with men.

Dr Nawal al-Saadawi, who for a long time attacked hijab and those who wear it, vehemently calling for women to take off hijab, now condemns the vulgarity and scandalous nakedness of women in the West. She says:

"In the streets of London . . . I see women who are nearly naked, showing off their bodies like merchandise. Clothing has a function, which is to protect the body from the natural environment, not to transmit messages of temptation. If a woman saw herself as a human being, and not as merchandise, she would not need to show her nakedness."88

Note: 88. Al-Mujtama' magazine, Kuwait, issue no. 932.

It became clear to Nawal al-Saadawi after a while, that the veil should be removed from the mind, not the body, especially in the case of those men and women who are educated. Those women of lesser education, but with intelligence and openness of mind, who wear hijab, are worth tens of those foolish educated women who make a wanton display of themselves, uncovering their faces, heads and bodies whilst veiling their minds and instincts! This is why she describes her future plans as "lifting the veil from the minds of educated men and women."89 She adds: "I know many female professors, doctors and engineers who are politically, socially and culturally illiterate."90

Note: 89. Al-Mujtama' magazine, Kuwait, issue no. 931.

Note: 90. Ibid.

The famous novelist Ihsan `Abd al-Quddus, who flooded the literary marketplace with his stories that called for women to go out of the house and mingle with men, dancing with them at parties and night-clubs, said in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anba' (18 January 1989):

"I think that the basic responsibility of any woman is her house and children. This applies to me above all. If it were not for my wife, I would not have been able to enjoy success, stability and family life, because she is devoted to the house and children . . ."

In the same interview, he said: "I never in all my life envisaged marrying a woman who works, and I am well-known for this, because I knew from the beginning that the house is a heavy burden or responsibility for women."

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