আহমদ শফি’র বক্তৃতার প্রেক্ষিতে

Praise be to Allaah (SWT),
the divine one Merciful, Sustainer, Owner of the Day of Judgement

Firstly: This word – equality – which many thinkers in both
the east and the west advocate in various fields of life is a word which is
based on deviation and a lack of understanding, especially when the speaker
attributes this idea of equality to the Qur’an and to Islam. One of the
things that people misunderstand is when they say that “Islam is the religion
of equality”. What they should say is that “Islam
is the religion of justice”.

What is the difference between male and female?’ So they made
males and females the same, and then the Communists
said, ‘What difference is there between ruler and subject? No one has any
authority over anyone else, not even fathers and sons; the father has no
authority over his son,’ and so on.

But if we say justice, which means giving each one that to which
he or she is entitled, this misunderstanding no longer applies, and the word
used is correct. Hence it does not say in the Qur’an that Allah enjoins
equality, rather it says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, Allaah enjoins Al‑‘Adl (i.e. justice)” [al-Nahl
16:90] “and that when you judge between men, you judge with justice”
[al-Nisa’ 4:58] Those
who say that Islam is the religion of equality are lying against Islam. Rather
Islam is the religion of justice which means treating equally those who are
equal and differentiating between those who are different.

Qur’an denies equality, as in the following verses:

‘Say: Are those who know equal to those who know not?” –
[al-Zumar 39:9]

‘Say: Is the blind equal to the one who sees? Or darkness equal
to light?’[al-Ra’d 13:16]

‘Not equal among you are those who spent and fought before the
conquering (of Makkah, with those among you who did so later’ [al-Hadeed
57:10]

‘Not equal are those of the believers who sit (at home), except
those who are disabled (by injury or are blind or lame), and those who strive
hard and fight in the Cause of Allaah with their wealth and their live’ [al-Nisa’
4:95]

Not one single
letter in the Qur’aan enjoins equality, rather it enjoins justice. You will
also find that the word justice is acceptable to people, for I feel that if I
am better than this man in terms of knowledge, or wealth, or piety, or in doing
good, I would not like for him to be equal to me.

Every man knows
that he find it unacceptable if we say that the male is equal to the
female.”

Based on this,
Islam does not regard men and women as equal in matters where regarding them as
equal would result in injustice to one of them, because equality that is
inappropriate is a severe form of injustice.

The Qur’an
commands women to wear clothes that are different from those worn by men,
because of the differences in the ways each sex is tempted by the other. The
temptation posed by men is less than the temptation posed by women, so the
clothes that women should wear are different than the clothes that men wear. It
makes no sense to tell women to expose the parts of the body that men are allowed
to expose, because of the differences in the temptation posed by a woman’s body
and a man’s body – as we shall explain.

Secondly: There are matters in which men and women are treated
differently in Islamic sharee’ah, such as: 1 – Qiwaamah (being in charge
of the household)

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Men are the
protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to
excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means” -[al-Nisa’
4:34]

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Allaah says ‘Men are the protectors and maintainers of women’
meaning that the man is in charge of the woman, i.e., he is the leader and head
of the household, the one who disciplines her if she goes astray. ‘because
Allah has made one of them to excel the other’ i.e., because men are superior
to women and are better than women. Hence Prophethood was given only to
men, as was the position of khaleefah, because the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said, ‘No people shall ever prosper who appoint a woman
as their ruler.’ This was narrated by al-Bukhaari from the hadeeth of ‘Abd
al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Bakrah from his father. The same applies to the position of
qaadi (judge), etc.

‘And because they spend (to support them) from their means’
refers to the mahr and the spending on women’s maintenance that Allah has
enjoined upon men in His Book and in the Sunnah of His Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him). So a man is inherently better than a woman,
and he is superior to her because he spends on her. So it is appropriate that
he should be in charge of her, as Allah
says, ‘but men have a degree (of responsibility) over them’ [al-Baqarah
2:228].

‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah said, narrating from Ibn ‘Abbas: ‘Men are the
protectors and maintainers of women’ means that men are the leaders of women
and they should obey them in areas where Allaah has enjoined obedience.
Obedience may mean treating his family kindly and protecting his wealth.”

(Tafseer Ibn Katheer,
1/490)

2 – Testimony or bearing witness. The Qur’aan states that the
testimony of one man is equivalent to the testimony of two women.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And get two
witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a
man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two
women) errs, the other can remind her”.

3 – A woman inherits half of what
a man inherits.

Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Allah commands you as regards your children’s (inheritance): to
the male, a portion equal to that of two females”

[al-Nisa’ 4:11]

Al-Qurtubi said:

Because Allah knows better than they do what is in their best
interests, He made the division of inheritance based on differentiation,
because He knows what is in their best interests.

Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 5/164

For example, a man is obliged to spend more than a woman, so it is
appropriate that he should have a larger share of inheritance than a
woman.

4 – Clothing:

A woman’s ‘awrah includes her entire body. The least that can be
said is that she should not uncover anything except her face and hands, and it
was said that she should not even uncover that.

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O Prophet!
Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their
cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except
the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be
known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever
Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”

[al-Ahzaab
33:59]

The ‘awrah of a
man is the area from the navel to the knees.

It was said to ‘Abd-Allah ibn Ja’far ibn Abi Taalib, “Tell us what
you heard from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) and what you saw of him, and do not tell us about anyone else, even if he
was trustworthy.” He said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) say, ‘The area between the navel and the knee is
‘awrah.’”

Narrated by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (6418); classed as hasan by
al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5583.

Other examples
include the following, which is not a comprehensive list.

There are other differences between the
sexes, including the following:

·
A man can marry four women, but a woman can only have one husband.

·
A man has the right to issue a divorce and it is valid if he does so, but a
woman does not have the right to issue a divorce.

·
A man may marry a woman from among the People of the Book (Jews and
Christians), but a Muslim woman may not marry anyone but a Muslim.

·
A man may travel without his wife or any of his mahrams, but a woman may not
travel unless she is accompanied by a mahram.

·
Prayer in the mosque is obligatory for men, but not for women; a woman’s prayer
in her house is more beloved to Allah.

·
A woman may wear silk and gold, but a man must not wear them.

Everything that we have mentioned is based on the difference
between men and women, because the male is not like the female. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And the male is
not like the female” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:36]

The male is different from the female in many ways, in his
strength, in his body, in his toughness and roughness, whereas women are soft
and gentle.

And men are different in intellectual terms, for men are known for
their strength of understanding and their memory as compared to women. Women
are weaker than men in memory and forget more than men do. This is well known,
for most of the reputable scholars in the world are men. There are some women
who are more intelligent and have better memories than some men, but this does
not cancel out the general rule. Most cases are as we have described
above.

With regard to emotions, men speak of them when they get angry or
when they are happy, but women are affected by the slightest emotional effects,
so their tears flow at the slightest emotional provocation.

Jihad is obligatory for men, but jihad in the sense of fighting is
not obligatory for women. This is the mercy of Allah towards them, and
consideration for their nature. In conclusion we may say that the rulings
for men are not like the rulings for women.

Thirdly: Islam
regards men and women as equally obliged with regard to many acts of worship
and interactions with others. For example, women do wudoo’ just as men do, they
do ghusl as men do, they pray as men do, and they fast as men do, except when
they are menstruating or bleeding following childbirth. Women pay zakaah as men
pay zakaah, and they do Hajj as men do, except for a few differences in the
rulings. It is permissible and acceptable to buy from a woman, and if a woman
gives charity, that is permissible. It is permissible for a woman to set free
the slaves that she owns, and there are many other similar cases because women
are the twin halves of men, as it says in the hadeeth:

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about a man who finds some
wetness (on his clothes) but did not have an erotic dream, and he said, “He
should do ghusl.” He was asked about a man who had an erotic dream but did not
find any wetness, and he said, “He does not have to do ghusl.” Umm Salamah
said, “O Messenger of Allaah, if a woman sees that, does she have to do ghusl?”
He said, “Yes, for women are the twin halves of men.”

Conclusion:

Women are like men in some aspects and they differ from them in
others. Most of the rulings of Islam apply to men and women equally. In cases
where a distinction is made between the sexes, the Muslim regards that as a mercy from Allaah and a sign of His
knowledge of His creation, but the arrogant kaafir sees it as oppression and unequality,
so he stubbornly insists on claiming that men and women are the same. So let him
tell us how a man can carry a foetus and breastfeed it? He stubbornly
ignores the weakness of women and how they bleed during their monthly period,
and he stubbornly beat his head against the rock of reality. But the Muslim
is still at peace with his faith, surrendering to the commandment of
Allaah.

“Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and
Courteous (to His slaves), All‑Aware (of everything)” [al-Mulk 67:14 –
interpretation of the meaning]

And Allaah knows best.