Praise be to Allah (s.w.t.) with all the hymns by which He is praised by the Angels, who are nearest to Him; by His creatures, who are most honourable in His Sight; and by those adorers, who are best approved by Him. A praise that excels all praise in the same
way as the Lord excels all His creatures. And His Blessings upon His Messenger Muhammad (s.a.w.s.), the Prophet of Mercy, and upon his Pure Progeny (a.s.), who are the Lanterns in darkness and brilliant Minarets of Guidance, and High Lofty Standards of Religion. And His Special Blessings on His Last Deputy and His Remaining Emissary, the Expected Mahdi (May Allah hasten his glad advent and include us among his adherents).
Women’s status in the world has been one of the hottest issues of debate since centuries. Several Organizations for Women’s liberation have been formed around the globe that strive day & night to liberate the ‘oppressed women’ from the clutches of fanaticism & oppression. Freedom, equality, equity and fair justice for women is the slogan of these organizations thatendeavor to give women her lost status in society, to portray her independent identity, so that she may walk side by side men and execute all those tasks that they perform and even those that they dare not perform. Religion is condemned for limiting women’s involvement in all affairs of the society and barring them from reaching their goals. Islam, in particular, has been criticized continuously for its ‘bias against women’ confining them in the four walls of the house hidden under the ‘ugly black veil’ and considering them a ‘door-mat’, thus hindering their progress. Western organizations have been in the forefront in their criticism of Islam for this ‘injustice’ and have succeeded in gathering around them a multitude of ‘Liberated Arab & Muslim women’, who have most passionately responded to their call for freedom.
Before discussing women’s position in Islam, let us have a look at what status did women enjoy in the past (and the present too) in the other major Religions of the world and the ‘Progressive Nations’. Christianity, which is considered the most liberal Religion of the world, has been far more rigid in its stand against women. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his monumental work Discovery of India, writes, “Bad as the legal position of women was in ancient India, judged by the modern standards, it was far better than in ancient Greece and Rome, in early Christianity, in the Canon Laws of Medieval Europe, and indeed right up to comparatively modern times at the beginning of the 19th Century”.[15]
In the early ages of Christianity, when the Religion of the people, high & low, ignorant & educated, consisted only in the adoration of the Mother of Jesus, the Church of Christ had placed the sex under a ban. Priest after Priest had written upon the enormities of women, their evil tendencies, their inconceivable malignity and considered them to be a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic peril, a deadly fascination, a painted evil ! St. Tertullian (about 155 to 225 CE) represented the general feeling in a book in which he addressed the woman saying, “Do you not know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of the forbidden tree: You are the first deserter of the divine law: You are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert even the Son of God had to die”.[16] St Augustine (354 to 430 CE) wrote to a friend, “What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman… … I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children”![17] Martin
[15]Jawaharlal Nehru,
“Discovery of India”, Oxford University Press (1982)
[16] Karen
Armstrong, “The Gospel According to Woman : Christianity’s creation of the sex war in the west”, Elm Tree Books (1986); Nancy Van Vuren, “The Subversion of Women as practiced by Churches, Witch-Hunters, and other sexists”, Westminster Press.
[17] Karen
Armstrong, “The Gospel According to Woman : Christianity’s creation of the sex war in the west”, Elm Tree Books (1986)
Luther (1483 to 1546), the German Theologian and Church Reformer, says, “If they [women] become tired or even die, that does not matter. Let them die in childbirth, that's why they are there”.[18] The Orthodox Church excluded women from the exercise of all religious functions excepting the lowliest. They were excluded absolutely from the society, were prohibited from appearing in public, from going to feasts or banquets. They were directed to remain in seclusion, to observe silence, to obey their husbands, and to apply themselves to weaving, spinning & cooking. If they ever went out, they were to be clothed from head to foot.
In the 19th Century religious leaders of France, after long discussions, decided, “A woman is a human being, but made to serve man”. In England it was not until about 1850 AD that women were counted in the National Population Census. It was in 1882 AD that a British Law, unprecedented in the country’s history, for the first time granted women the right to decide how their own earnings should be spent, instead of handing them over directly to their husbands immediately. Until then, even the clothes on their back had been their husband’s property. Henry VIII had in his days even forbidden women to study the bible when the 1st English translations began to appear. The Reformation Statement on the Role of women declares, “In the beginning God made man, male and female. He made Adam first, andthen made Eve from Adam's rib. This order of creation subordinates wives to their husbands in marriage, and women to men in the church. As an act of submission to their Creator, women are commanded to submit to their husbands and to male leadership in the church. Women
[18] H. Ellerbe, “The dark side of Christian History”,
Chapter 8, Endnote 103, Page 136
are not allowed to teach or have authority over men in any formal capacity in the church”.[19] Female infanticide among earlier Hinduism was common. A woman was debarred from studying the Vedas, the most sacred of the Aryans texts, or participating in the oblations to the Manes, or in the sacrifices to the deities. The wife’s religion was, and still is, to serve her husband, her Lord; her eternal happiness depended on the strict performance of this duty.
Child marriage of daughters 5-6 years old was common due to the custom of dowry and to avoid scandals.[20] Law books prescribed that the best partner for a man was one-third his age. Thus a man 18 years old should marry a girl 6 years old ! “A man, aged thirty years, shall marry a maiden of twelve who pleases him, or a man of twenty-four a girl of eight years of age; if (the performance of) his duties would otherwise be impeded, he must marry sooner”.[21] This system still prevails in many parts of India.
An Aryan husband could at any time accuse his wife of infidelity. In case the wife protested her innocence, the council of village elders
[19]
Reformation Fellowship of the East Valley, Mesa, AZ (circa 1995)
[20] L.C.
Nand, “Women in Delhi Sultanate”, Vohra Publishers and Distributors, Allahabad (1989); B.N.S. Yadav, “Society and Culture in Northern India in 12th century”, Allahabad (1973); A.S. Altekar, “The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization”, Delhi (1973); G.R. Banerjee, “Some Aspects of the Position of Women in Ancient India”
[21] Manu
Smriti, IX : 94
would then order an ordeal by fire. The accused wife would be required to pass through a blazing flame. Not just death, but any signs of burns would be taken as a sign of guilt and the wife would then have to undergo the penalty for infidelity.[22]Adultery carried the death sentence in Aryan law, so either way she would have to pay with her life for her husband's or elders' mere suspicions. The ideal role model for this custom was Sita, the wife of Rama. She was required by her spouse, the most adored of Hindu Gods, to pass through the fire ordeal after her return from Lanka where she had been abducted by the king Ravana.
The death penalty was prescribed for Aryan women guilty of infidelity. The Manu Smriti, the most authoritative Indo-Aryan law-book, states, “When a woman, proud of her relations [or abilities] deceives her husband (with another man), then the king should [ensure that] she be torn apart by dogs in place much frequented by people”![23]
Not only that, but adultery was defined as the simple touching of clothes and even conversing with men, “He who addresses the wife of another man at a Pilgrimage site, outside the village, in a forest, or at the confluence of rivers, suffer (the punishment for) adulterous acts”.[24]
[22]Encyclopedia Brittanica, 8
: 986 ‘ordeal’
[23] Manu
Smriti 8 : 371
[24]Manu
Smriti 8 : 356
A wife, a son, and a slave, these three were declared to have no property; the wealth that they earned was (acquired) for him to whom they belonged.
The Aryans, upon their invasion of India ca. 1500 B.C. introduced the horrific custom of Sati, i.e. the faithful wife would sacrifice herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband. The woman performing this ‘noble act’ found a niche in the hearts of all the votaries of Hinduism as one of the best & noblest of her sex, and often became herself the object of worship. It is sanctioned by their most sacred texts, and was practiced from the fall of the Semito-Dravidian Indus Valley civilization to the modern age.
The most sacred of Aryan scriptures are the Vedas, and the Rig Veda, the oldest Veda, mentions the custom of sati. The following famous ‘Sati Hymn’ of the Rig Veda was (and still is) recited during the actual immolation of the widow, “Let these women, whose husbands are worthy and are living, enter the house with ghee (applied) as collyrium (to their eyes). Let these wives first step into the pyre, tearless without any affliction and well adorned”.[25] “If women do not perform sati, then they will be reborn into the lowly body of a woman again and again until they perform Sati”.[26] “It
[25] Rig
Veda X : 18 : 7; M.P.V. Kane, “History of Dharmasashtra”',
Vol. IV, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (1953)
[26] Garuda
Purana II : 4 : 91-100; M.P.V. Kane, “History of Dharmasashtra”', Vol. IV, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (1953)
is the highest duty of the woman to immolate herself after her husband”.[27]
Thus it is evident that the Aryans introduced the custom of Sati since it is encouraged in their scriptures and many goddesses even performed the act. Several of Krishna’s (one of the most venerated Hindu Gods) wives performed Sati upon his death, including Rukmini, Rohini, Bhadra and Madura.[28] Madri, second wife of King Pandu, considered an ‘incarnation’ of goddess Dhriti, performed Sati.[29]
Sati still continues to this day. In 1990, more than 50 widows were burnt alive in sati.[30]
Another aspect of women’s suppression in Hinduism is the ‘Devadasi system’ that prevails until today. Since the Hindu divinities loved music & dancing, a large number of dancing girls are attached to the temples, who are by no means vestal, and whose services are at the disposal of the ministrants of the cult. Devadasi (lit.servant of God) originally describes a Hindu religious practice in which girls are ‘married’ to a deity or temple. In addition to taking care of the temple, they learn and practice classical arts & dances. Some scholars are of
[27] Brahma
Purana 80 : 75; S. Sheth, “Religion and Society in The Brahma
Purana”, Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd., N.Delhi (1979)
[28]
Mahabharata, Mausalaparvan, 7 : 18
[29]
Mahabharata, Adiparvan, 95 : 65
[30]Sonali
Verma, “Indian women still awaiting Independence”, Reuters, 12 Aug.
1997, New Delhi
the opinion that probably the custom of dedicating girls to temples became quite common in the 6th century CE, as most of the Puranas containing reference to it have been written during this period. Several Puranas recommended that arrangements should be made to enlist the services of singing girls for worship at temples.
The dedication ceremony of the Devasadi is far more interesting. It initiates a young girl into the devadasi profession and is performed in the temple by the priest. In the Brahminical tradition, marriage is viewed as the only religious initiation (diksha) permissible to women. Thus the dedication is a symbolic ‘marriage’ of the pubescent girl to the temple's deity.
In the ceremonies, the devdasi-initiate consummates her marriage with an emblem of the god borrowed from the temple as a stand-in 'bridegroom'. In practice this often means that the priest will have sexual union with her in addition to the other nuptial rites that are performed at a typical Hindu wedding. From then onward, the devadasi is considered a ‘nitya sumangali’ a woman eternally free from the adversity of widowhood. She would then perform her ritual and artistic duties in the temple. The puberty ceremonies are an occasion not only for temple honor, but also for community feasting and celebration in which the local elites also participate. The music and dance and public display of the girl also helps to attract patrons.
Patronship in a majority of cases is achieved at the time of the dedication ceremony itself. The patron who secures this right of spending the first night with the girl can pay a fixed sum of money to maintain a permanent liaison with the devadasi, pay to maintain a relationship for a fixed amount of time, or terminate the liaison after the deflowering ceremony. A permanent liaison with a patron does not bar the girl from entertaining other clients, unless he specifies otherwise. In case the girl entertains, other men have to leave the girl’s house when her patron comes.
In modern India the tradition has become associated with commercial sexual exploitation, as described in a recent report by the National Human Rights Commission of the Government of India.[31] According to this report, “after initiation as devadasis, women migrate either to nearby towns or other far-off cities to practise prostitution” (pg 200). A study from 1990 recorded that 45.9 % of devdasis were prostitutes. [32]
Buddhism and Jainism were both protest movements against the Vedic system. However, they did not lead to any major changes in the status of women. This was due to the emphasis placed by these religions on asceticism. Thus, although these reformers opposed certain cruelties against women, yet they were considered as hurdles on the path to salvation. The Buddha was very strict in his insistence on asceticism. He left his home and wife to attain nirvana (spiritual enlightenment) and considered women a hindrance to that goal. Buddha is said to have induced his disciples not to look at a woman or even talk to her.[33]
[31] P.M.
Nair, IPS, “A Report on Trafficking in Women and Children in India
2002-2003”, National Human Rights Commission, Government of India
(July 18, 2004)
[32]Jogan
Shankar, “Devadasi Cult - A Sociological Analysis (Second Revised Edition)”, Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi (2004)
[33] N.N.
Bhattacharya, “History of Indian Erotic Literature - Sacred Books of the East”, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
(1975)
Never was the condition of women so bad, never was she held under greater subjugation, a slave to the caprice of man, than under the Mago-Zoroastrians. The Persians in the relations of the sexes recognized no law but that of his own will. He could marry his nearest kindred and divorce his wives at his pleasure. The system of female seclusion was not confined to the Persians alone, among the Ionic Greeks women were confined within the Gynaikonitis, often kept under lock & key and never allowed to participate in public. In Persia, the custom of employing eunuchs to guard the women prevailed from the remotest antiquity.[34] Let us now turn to Arabia, the cradle-place of Islam, the position of women in the pre-Islamic days was no better here either. Arabia was a male dominated society in which women had no status of any kind other than as sex objects. The number of women a man could marry was not fixed. When a man died, his son ‘inherited’ all his wives, except his own mother. A savage custom of the Arabs was to bury their female infants alive. Even if an Arab did not wish to bury his daughter alive, he still had to uphold this ‘honorable tradition’, being unable to resist social pressures. The Qur’an speaks out against this atrocity in clear words, “And when is announced unto (any) one of them a daughter, black becomes his face and he is filled with wrath. He hides himself from the people, of the evil for the tidings given to him, (he ponders whether) he shall keep her with disgrace or bury her (alive) in the dust, behold, (how) evil it is what they decide.[35] At another place it is quoted, “And
[34] Juctice
Ameer Ali, “The Spirit of Islam”
[35] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Nahl : 58-59
kill not your children for fear of want, We sustain them and yourselves (too), Verily killing them is a great sin”.[36] Also Allah (s.w.t.) says, "And when the female-baby buried (alive) shall be asked (about), for what sin (of hers) was she put to death”. [37]
Imam Bukhari, on the institution of marriage in Arabia before Islam, quotes from Az Zuhri, who says that Urwah bin Zubayr informed him that A’eshah told him that marriage in the Pre-Islamic period was of four types : (1) One was the marriage of people as it is today, where a man betroths his ward or his daughter to another man, and the latter assigns a dower to her and then marries her.
(2) Another type was when a man said to his wife when she was purified from her menses, “Go to X and have intercourse with him”, her husband then stays away from her and does not touch her at all until it is clear that she is pregnant from that man with whom shesought intercourse. When it is clear that she is pregnant, her husband has intercourse with her if he wants. He acts thus simply from the desire for a noble child. This type was marriage was known as ‘Nikah al Istibda’, the marriage of seeking intercourse. (3) Another type was when a group (raht) of less than ten men used to visit a woman and all of them had to have intercourse with her. If she became pregnant and bore a child, when some nights had passed after the birth she sent for them, and not a man of them might refuse. When they had come together in her presence, she would say to them, “You (pl.) know the result of acts, I
[36] Holy
Qur’an, Surah Bani Israeel : 31
[37] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Takwir : 8-9
have borne a child and he is your (sing.) child X” – naming whoever she will by his name. Her child is attached to him and the man may not refuse. (4) The fourth type is when many men frequent a woman and she does not keep herself from anyone who comes to her. These women were the Baghaya (prostitutes). They used to set up at their doors banners forming a sign and were called “ladies of the flags”. Whoever wanted them went in to them. If one of them conceived and bore a child, they gathered together to her and summoned the physiognomists. Then they attached her child to the man whom they thought (the father), and the child remained attached to him and was called his son, no objection to this course became possible. When Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) came preaching the truth, he abolished all the types of marriages of the Pre-Islamic era except that which people practice today.
Unfortunately, the West has not given Islam a fair chance. Every opportunity is utilized to derogate and blaspheme the true Islamic point of view. Due to blindly and gullibly swallowing this filth that is fed to them day and night by the Western media, even Muslims have become adversely affected by this falsehood and have begun to doubt the true Islamic standpoint.
How remarkably has Ayatullah Sayyed Ruhullah al Khomeni (t.b.) described a woman in Islam, he says, “From Islamic viewpoint, women have sensitive roles in the erection of the Islamic Community. Islam promotes a woman to the extent that she be able to recover her human status in the community and cast off her status as an object, and commensurate with such growth, she can assume responsibilities in developing the Islamic government”.[38]
The Holy Qur’an at several places discusses the equal position that a woman enjoys alongside man. “Verily the Muslim men and Muslim women, and the believing men and the believing women, and obedient men and the obedient women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the alms-giving men and the alms-givings women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard (their private parts), and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember Allah (much), for them has been prepared forgiveness and a great recompense”. [39]
At another juncture, Allah (s.w.t.) says, “Whosoever did good, whether male or female, and he be a believer, then We shall certainly make him live a life good and pure, and certainly We will give them their return with the best of what they were doing”.
[40]
[38]
Ayatullah Khomeini, “Pithy Aphorisms : Wise sayings &
counsels”
[39] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Ahzab : 35
[40] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Nahl : 97
And yet another Verse says, “And whosoever does deeds of righteousness, whether male or female, and be believer, then these shall enter Paradise and they shall not be wronged (even) to the husk of a date-stone”. [41]
Each of the five pillars of Islam is as important for women as for men, and there is no differentiation in their reward. “And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves, mates that you may dwell (inclined) unto them, and caused between you love and compassion, verily in this are signs for a people who reflect”.[42] This is a very apt definition of the relationship between man and woman. They are not bound together only by a physical relationship but by love and mercy. This definition and description comprises mutual care, consideration, respect and affection.
The Qur'an states, “They are an apparel for you and you are apparel for them”.[43] As an apparel gives protection, warmth, comfort and decency, so too a husband and wife offer each other intimacy, comfort and protection from adultery.
[41] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Nisa : 124
[42] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Room : 21
[43] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Baqarah : 187
"I will not suffer the work of any of you that works to be lost, be he male or female, the one of you being from the other".[44]
Every man or woman should pursue his/her education as far as it is possible. One of the main aims of acquiring knowledge in Islam is to become Allah-conscious. In the history of Islam we will find that there were women who were narrators of Hadith, Mystics, Scholars, Authors, Poets and Teachers, in their own right. They utilized their knowledge within the precepts of Islam. Islam was founded with the rights of women inbuilt within the Tenets of the Shari’ah, therefore a Muslim Woman is totally liberated & independent, and within the limits of the Shari’ah can stand side by side man. In many Muslim countries we find women in various professional fields gaining excellence and reaching their goals with modesty & virtue.
Islam is criticized mainly for two reasons that are considered to be ‘injustice against women’, Hijab (Islamic covering for women) and Polygamy. In reality, Hijab does not hamper the socio-psycho-economic growth of women, in fact a woman wearing the Hijab commands more respect and is treated as an individual and not as an object of lust.
Rana Kabbani, a modern day author, writes in her book, “The wearing of Islamic dress gives these women greater rather than less freedom & mobility, for in such austere garb and with the mentality that accompanies it, they are much less likely to be closely monitored by their families. Wearing the Hijab can be a liberation, freeing women
[44]Holy
Qur’an, Surah Ale Imran : 195
from being sexual objects, releasing them from the trap of western dress and dictates of western fashion. Just as feminists in the west have reflected on the connection between ‘feminist clothes’ and female oppression, so Muslim feminists reject the outward symbols of sexual allure. In favour of the Hijab it can be said that by distancing its wearer from the world, it enriches spiritual life, grants freedom from material preoccupations, and erases class differences by expressing solidarity with others in the same uniform. Since all women look the same in it, it is a most effective equalizer, and since it camouflages rich clothing, it is in keeping with the Islamic injunction against ostentation”.[45]
Frankly, what freedom & equal status has the western civilization give to women ? Prostitution, Massage Parlors, Lesbianism, Illegal Mistresses, one-night stands, Nudity and Shamelessness ! These are only some of the 'rights' that the Western World has given to women. It has made women the cheapest commodity on earth - from a car to a packet of sweets, everything sells with the picture of a nude or semi-nude woman. The body of this cheap woman is the property of one and all. Every lusty and lecherous man is at full liberty to cast his filthy gazes upon her anatomy and commit everything evil and profanity in his mind and heart. How cheap and despised is this woman on show. How cheap is this woman the West has created. On the contrary, the woman in Islam is a precious jewel not tobe viewed by all. She is far too precious than to be viewed and exhibited to any lecherous man. Her beauty and charms are reserved for the only person that truly appreciates and loves her - her husband. Thus,
[45] Rana
Kabbani, “Letter to Christendom”, Virago Press, London
(1989)
she is highly protected and covered at all times, unlike the cheap, shameless woman of the West, who is the playmate of thousands but loved by none for what she really is.
In countries that have given women the so-called rights of freedom and equality and left them free to do as they wish are nowshedding tears of remorse over the pathetic plight of their degeneration and disintegrating societies. Their women being economically and socially independent are no longer faithful and dedicated daughters, wives, sisters and mothers. Marriage has become outdated and old-fashioned. Instead they prefer companionship, which is not binding upon the man or woman. Children of such parents become delinquents and drug addicts. The whole society is decaying and disintegrating so fast that they have reached a point of no return.
Will Durant, the Sociologist, says, “City life prevents men from observing the seasons, while sexual passions increase and conditions make indulgence easier. A civilization that makes marriage economically impossible before the age of thirty drives a man to sexual deviation, weakens continence, and reduces purity from its original esteem as a virtue to distant lip-service as an impractical dream. Art enhances human beauties, man cease to count their sins. Women, claiming equality with men, fall prey to passions. Love affairs unlimited & premarital cohabition becomes the rule rather than the exception. The streets may be free of prostitutes – but not through fear of the police ! It is because women have bankrupted prostitutes by taking over their business for free”.[46]
[46] Will
Durant, “Pleasures of Philosophy”
Before the advent of Islam, there was no limit for the males in respect of the number of their wives. Islam really imposed a limit and allowed plurality of marriage with the idea of abolishing adultery. And although it allowed polygamy it laid down strict rules so that it should be safeguarded from being misused. “Then marry those who seem good to you, two, or three or four, and if your fear that you shall not deal justly (with so many) then (marry) one only”.[47] “And even if, due to some circumstances divorce should take place among them, the woman should under no circumstances be wronged. And for the divorced women (too) (shall) be a provision in fairness, (this is) a duty on those who guard themselves (against evil)”.[48] “O Prophet !
(say) When divorce you (your) women, divorce you at their prescribed period, and reckon you the Iddah (prescribed waiting period), and fear you (the wrath of) Allah your Lord, and turn them not of their houses, nor shall they (themselves) go out, unless they commit any indecency, and these are the limits of Allah, and whosoever transgresses the limits of Allah, then indeed he does injustice to his own self. And when they reached their Iddah (the term prescribed), then either retain them with fairness or part with them with kindness”.[49]
[47] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Nisa : 3
[48] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Baqarah : 241
[49] Holy
Qur’an, Surah al Talaq : 1-2
History is full of examples that prove that polygamy existed, rather ruthlessly, among the major religions of the world long before the advent of Islam.
Sasanian king Khusroe Pervez had 3000 wives & 12000 slave girls who were musical performers.[50]In China the Li Ki law gave every man the right to have upto 130 wives. In Israel one man could have several hundreds. Charlemagne had 400 and Ardeshir Babekan had about the same. Nor did the Gospel, following the Torah, abrogate or condemn this practice or utter a decree to ban it, so that up until the second half of the 8th century AD and the time of Charlemagne, polygamy was customary in Europe and not condemned by the Church.
Among all Eastern nations of antiquity, polygamy was a recognized institution. Its practice by royalty, which everywhere bore the insignia of divinity, sanctified its observance to the people. Among the Hindus, polygamy, in both its aspects, prevailed from ancient times. Krishna, the most revered of Hindu deities, is believed to have 16108 wives ! Dashratha, the King of Ayodhya and father of Rama - another of revered Hindu deities, married three wives. There was, apparently, as among the ancient Medes, Babylonians, Assyrians & Persians, no restriction as to the number of wives a man might have. Polygamy existed among the Israelites, before the time of Prophet Moosa (a.s.), and it continued after him without imposing any limit on the number of marriages a Hebrew husband might contract. In later times, the Talmud of Jerusalem restricted the number by the ability of the husband to maintain the wives properly, and though the Rabbis
[50]Hamza
Isfahani, “Sanii Mulukul Arz”
counseled that a man should not take more than four wives, the Karaites differed from them and did not recognize the validity of any limitation.
To the Persians, religion offered a premium on the plurality of wives.[51]Among the Syro-Phoenician races, whom the Israelites displaced, conquered or destroyed, polygamy was degraded into bestiality. Among the Thracians, Lyndians, and the Pelasgian races settled in different parts of Europe & Western Asia, the customs of plurality of marriages prevailed to an inordinate extent, and dwarfs all comparison with the practice prevailing elsewhere.[52] Among the Athenians, the most civilized and the most cultured of all the nations of antiquity, the wife was a mere chattel, marketable & transferable to others and a subject of testamentary disposition. She was regarded in the light of an evil, indispensable for the ordering of a household & procreation of children. An Athenian was allowed to have any number of wives, and the Demosthenes glorified in the possession by his people of three classes of women, two of which furnished the legal & semi-legal wives.[53]Among the
Spartans, though the men were not allowed, unless under special circumstances, to have more than one wife, the women could have, and almost had, more than one husband.[54]
[51]
Dollinger, “The Gentile and the Jew”
[52]
Encyclopedia Universelle, art, “Marriage”; Dollinger, “The Gentile
and the Jew” Vol II
[53]Dollinger, “The Gentile and
the Jew” Vol II
[54]Grote,
“History of Greece” Vol VI
History proves conclusively that, until very recent times, polygamy was not considered so reprehensive as it is now. St. Augustine himself seems to have observed in it no intrinsic immorality or sinfulness, and declared that polygamy was not a crime where it was the legal institution of a country.
Considering the exploitation of woman in the name of liberation, numerous non-Muslim scholars too voice their support in favour of the institution of polygamy.
Dr. Annie Besant says, “When we see thousands of miserable women who crowd the streets of western towns during the night, we must surely feel that it does not lie in western mouths to reproach Islam for its polygamy. It is better for a woman, happier for a woman, more respectable for a woman, to live in Islamic polygamy, united to one man only, with the legitimate child in her arms surrounded with respect, than to be seduced, cast out into the streets, perhaps with an illegitimate child outside the pale of law – unsheltered & uncared for, to become a victim of any passerby, night after night rendered incapable of motherhood, despised by all”.
“In nations in which multiple marriages is legal, it is made possible for practically all women to have a husband, children and a true family life which meets their spiritual needs and satisfies their feminine instincts. Unfortunately Church laws in Europe have not allowed multiple marriages and left many women to a life of spinsterhood. Some died unsatisfied; some were driven by their desires, or by the need to earn their livelihood, into immorality; some perished with qualms of conscience & broken hearts. Nor can I understand, after giving much thought to the matter, why a man, whose wife falls ill of a chronic or incurable disease or proves barren or unable to bear a living child, should not take a second wife along side
the first. This is a question the Church should answer, unfortunately it cannot. Good laws are those which ensure a happy life when obeyed, not those which deprive people of happiness or bind them hand & foot in trammels of unnecessary bondage or which incite people to despise them and so to rush to the other extreme of corruption, prostitution or other kinds of vice”.[55]
“Nothing has been more criticized in Europe than eastern customs of multiple marriages. No view held in Europe has shown the same amount of ignorance & error as this criticism. Surely the legal multiple marriage of the East is better than the hypocritical secretive multiple marriages of the west. The Clandestine nature of the illicit relationship is degrading to both parties. The legalization of multiple marriage is far more seemly in every respect”.[56]
It is true that today far too many women in the east lead an unsatisfactory way of life and face humiliation, neglect & deprivation. But this is not due to Islam’s regulations, rather it is due to the neglect of religious precepts in political, social& economical institution by Muslims themselves. Nonetheless it is far more better than the degradation & exploitation of women in the west under the pretext of liberation. In the autobiography of Bertrand Russell, who was one of the most headstrong opponents of polygamy, we read that in his early life, apart from his mother, two women created a great impression upon him. One of them was Alys, his first wife, and the other, his friend lady Ottoline Morell, one of the well-known women of that
[55] Authur
Schopenhauer, “Some words about women”
[56] Dr.
Gustave Le Bon
period and a friend of many of the early 20th century writers. It seems that it was his love affairs that brought an end to his relations with his wife. Russell himself has written that one afternoon he resolved to ride to the country houses near the city on a bicycle, and that “all of a sudden I felt that I no longer loved Alys”!
The bible too allows polygamy, to cite a few examples, “He (Solomon) had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines”.[57] At another place it is quoted, “If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall not diminish her”.[58]
The best and the most perfect example of a woman’s excellence & significance in Islam can be found in the glorious & peerless personality of Sayyedah Fatemah (s.a.), the only daughter of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) and his most beloved one, the wife of Imam Ali (a.s.) and mother of Eleven Aimmah (a.s.). She combined in herself all the noble qualities, merits & ideals that even the most virtuous of men fail to achieve. Her unparalleled wisdom, excellent traits, unfaltering character, lofty morals and firm belief in Allah (s.w.t.) reigns such superior, that she stands unequalled in the annals of history from the beginning until the end. What more excellence could Islam bestow upon a woman when wefind a woman in an immaculate personality of Fatemah (s.a.) ! And who else except the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) could praise his daughter suitably. Several times he (s.a.w.s.) declared, “Fatemah is a part of my body; whoever pleases her, pleases me; and
[57] 1
Kings, 11 :3
[58]Exodus
21 : 10
whoever enrages her, enrages me”. Islam has produced numerous virtuous ladies, who were peerless in their age, but none could attain the lofty position that Fatemah (s.a.) did. Prophet Adam (a.s.)’s wife Hawwa (s.a.), Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.)’s wives Hajra (s.a.) & Sara (s.a.), Fira’un’s believing wife Asiyah (s.a.),Prophet Isa (a.s.)’s mother Sayyedah Maryam (s.a.), Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) several wives, at the head of which was Sayyedah Khadijah (s.a.), his mother Amenah binte Wahab (s.a.), the mother of Imam Ali (a.s.) Fatemah bint Asad (s.a.) etc. were ladies of lofty characters, but it was Fatemah (s.a.) alone who was declared as the “Mistress of the women of the worlds”, from the beginning until the end.
Her eminence is evident at several occasions when the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) himself arose to greet her whenever she came to his presence, and this was not due to a father’s love for his daughter, but due to her own identity and exclusiveness of her distinction. Tongues fall short of words to describe her eminence and pens lack the ability to note down her merits.
Numerous books have been written by Shi’ah/Non-Shi’ah Scholars upon the life of this eminent personality, to name a few, AyatullahShaikh Muhammad Husain Naini, “Fatemah al Zahra Ummul Imamah wa Sayyedatun Nisa”; Ayatullah Sayyed Muhammad Kazim al Qazwini, “Fatemah al Zahra minal Mahd ilal Lahad”; Ayatullah Sayyed Muhammad Baqir al Sadr, “Fadak fil Tareekh”; Ayatullah Sayyed Fazil al Milani, “Fatemah al Zahra : Umm Abiha”; Sayyed Abdul Razaq al Muqarram, “Wafat al Siddiqataz Zahra”; Ayatullah Sayyed Muhammad Taqi al Mudarresi, “Fatemah al Zahra : Qudwah wa Uswah”; Ayatullah Shaikh Ibrahim Amini, “Fatemah al Zahra al Mar’ah al Namuzajiyyah fil Islam”; Ayatullah Sayyed Dastaghaib Shirazi, “Fatemah al Zahra”; Sayyed Jasim al Shabbar, “Balagatul Fatemiyyah minal dawha al Muhammadiyah”; Shaikh Abdul
Hamid al Muhajir, “I’ilamu Anni Fatemah”; Muhammad Husain Shamsuddin, “Al Batool al Azra”; Dr. Abdul Fattah Muhammad al Haloo, “Al Batool Fatemah al Zahra”; Ahmad Abdul Mun’em Abdul Salam al Halawani, “Ummul Hasnain bint Akram Rasool as Sayyedah Fatemah al Zahra al Batool”; Jalaluddin Suyuti, “Al Sugoor al Basemah fi Fazael Fatemah”; Abdal Rasool Ali Khan, “Al Islam yuqif ila janibil Mar’ah wa yukarrimoha fi Shakhsiyyatiz Zahra”; etc.
The book “Baitul Ahzaan Fee Masaeb Sayyedatun Niswan” (The House of aggrieving, relating to the Sorrows of the Mistress of womenfolk) is authored by the celebrated Scholar Shaikh Abbas al Qummi. The book is written upon the glorious life of Sayyedah Fatemah (s.a.) and also discusses in detail the episode of Saqifah and Fadak. Wherever I have found it necessary, I have annexed notes to it for further understanding & clarification. Readers are requested to refer to these notes.
The present book happens to be the third in the translation series of Shaikh al Qummi’s books, the first being Manazelul Akherah followed by Nafasul Mahmoom. Arabic being an eloquent & lucid language, it is usually impossible to translate certain words or phrases into any other language, thus it becomes necessary at some places to quote the original Arabic words. Notwithstanding whatever knowledge & effort put in such work, it remains far from being perfect, for perfection is the Essence of Allah (s.w.t.). I therefore request the readers to write in, should they feel it necessary, to raise any point or make any remarks in so far as the translation is concerned and not the actual text of the book.
For the translation of the Sermon of Sayyedah Fatemah (s.a.), I have referred to the book of Ayatullah al Uzma Shaikh Husain Ali al Muntazari that explains her sermon in detail, rather than translating it myself, for it is impossible for an ordinary person like me, to comprehend the eloquence of the words of Ma’sumeen (a.s.). More precisely they are a set of ‘Dars al Kharej’ lectures delivered by the Ayatullah to the Seminary students that have been compiled into a book. And for the Qur’anic Verses, I have referred to the English Translation & Commentary by Ayatullah Shaikh Mahdi Pooya Yazdi and S.V. Meer Ahmed Ali, published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an Inc., Elmhurst, NY.
May Sayyedah Fatemah (s.a.) accept this humble service of mine seeking her pleasure and the pleasure of Allah (s.w.t.). And may Allah (s.w.t.) exalt the position of the author of this informative book, Shaikh Abbas bin Muhammad Reza al Qummi, and offer him refuge under His Empyrean in Qiyamah amongst the slaves of the Ahlulbait (a.s.). May Allah (s.w.t.) hasten the auspicious reappearence of Imam al Mahdi (a.t.f.s.), the one who will fill the earth with justice & equity as it is filled with injustice & oppression; and may Allah (s.w.t.) include us among his slaves and adherents.
AejazAli TurabHusain (al Husainee)
[aejazali@hotmail.com]
Baqirul Uloom Islamic Library & Research Centre
Mumbai, India.
Friday 17th August 2007 / 03rd Sha’ban 1428 A.H.