Women’s Rights in Islam

‘Women’s Rights in Islam – Protec ted or Subjugated’, Dr. Zakir Naik. Dr. Zakir: Alhumdulillah was salaatu was salaam ala rasoolillah wa ala aalihi wa ashaabihi wa ajma’een, amma baad. A’uzu billahi minash shaytan nir-rajeem, Bismillah hirrahman nirraheem “Inna al Muslimeena wal Muslimati wal Mu’mineena wal Mu’minati ati was Sadiqeena was Sadiqaati was Sabireena was Sabirati wal shi’ati wal Mutasaddiqeena wal Mutasaddiqati was Sa-imeena was ena furoojahum wal Hafizati waz Zakireena Allaha katheeran waz ahu lahum maghfiratan waajran azeema” wal Qaniteena wal Qanit Khashi’eena wal Kha Sa-imati wal Hafize Zakirati a’adda All

The honorable guests of honor, my respected elders and my dear brothers and sist ers, I welcome all of you with the Islamic greetings ‘As-Salaamu Alaikum, Wa Rahma tullahi Wa Barkatahu’… ‘May Peace, Mercy and Blessing of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), of Almighty God be on all of you. The topic of this evening’s talk is ‘Women’s Rights in Islam – Protected or Subjugated?’ Women’s Rights according to the Oxford dictionary are those rights that promote a position of social and legal equality of women with men. Women’s rights according to the oxford dictionary means “Rights that promote a posit ion of social and legal equality of women with men.” I am not too much concerned about the conclusions, about the modern ideas and th e categorical statements made by scientists and un-experienced armchair experts, as how a life should be led by the woman. I am going to base my conclusions on experience which has been proven by facts because experience and holistic truth is the sure test between the gold of truth and the glitter of theory. We have to check our intellect because many a times our mind can go astray. Inde ed there was a time when the great minds of that day, they thought that the worl d was flat. If we agree with how the western media portrays the women’s rights in Islam, we ha ve no option but to agree that the women’s rights in Islam, they are subjugated an d they are not protected. The western talk of women’s liberalization is nothing but a disguised form of expl oitation of her body, of deprivation of honor and degradation of her soul.

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Rabbish rahli Şadri Wa Yassir Li

Amri Wa Ahlul Uqdatan Min Lisani Yafqahu Qawli

The Western society claiming to uplift the women have actually degraded her to a status of concubines, mistresses and society butterflies which are employed as mere tools in the hands of sex marketers and pleasure seekers which are hidden b ehind the colorful screen of art and culture. Islam gave women their due rights 1400 years ago. In the ‘Yawm-al-Jahiliyaa’, it was known as the days of ignorance. Islam gave women their due rights. If we go back into history and analyze when we read the history of the Babylonia n Civilization, at that time if a man committed murder instead of him being puni shed, his wife was put to death. When we read the history of the Greek Civilization, they had a mythological pers on by the name of ‘Pandora’ who was a woman who was the cause of evil and misfortune in the society. In the Greek Civilization the women were used for sex and pleasure. When we read the history of Roman Civilization, when the Roman Civilization reac hed its peak a man was permitted to even kill his wife. Women were used for sex and pleasure. Nudity and promiscuity was common. When we read the history of Egyptian civilization, they considered the women as a sign of the devil. When we read the Arab Civilization, before the Qur’an was revealed very often when a female child was born, she was buried alive. Alhamdulillah, praise be to Alla h after the revelation of the Qur’an and after the teachings of Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him), the last and final messenger of the Creator, Allah (Subhanah u wa Ta’ala), the women got their due rights. It uplifted the status of the women. Imagine in the days of ignorance, it was known as ‘Yawm-al-Jahiliyaa’, the Arabs we re the most ignorant people of that time. And after the revelation of the Quran, the women, they got their due rights. Before we discuss the women’s rights in Islam, I would like to point out a few thi ngs. Muslims today approximately, they constitute 20 to 25% of the world populat ion. 1/5th to 1/4th of the world population today are Muslims. Some Muslim socie ties, they are close to Islam while the others, they are far away from Islam. If anyone wants to judge the women’s rights in Islam, he should not judge according to what Muslims do or what the Muslim society does. The women’s rights in Islam sh ould be based on the authentic sources of Islam. The authentic sources of Islam are the Glorious Qur’an, the last and final revelation of All Mighty God and the a uthentic Hadith of the last and final messenger Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). So women’s rights in Islam should only be judged and based on the authentic sources of Islam, the glorious Qur’an and the authentic sayings of the beloved Pro phet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihe wa sallam). The Qur’anic verses will never contradict among themselves neither would the Sahih Hadith, the Qur’an and the Sahih Hadith, they are in conformity, they will never contradict themself. Yet they find that there are Muslims scholars, they have di fference of opinion in many aspects of the women. The main reason is that these scholars, they quote one particular verse of the Quran and neglect all the other verses of the Quran. The Qur’an should be read as a whole and if we read the Qura n as a whole, most of these differences will be solved. It’s the duty of every true Muslim whether man or woman to seek the pleasure of Al lah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), All Mighty God. The main aim should not be to get famou s or to satisfy one’s own ego, the main aim of every Muslim whether man or woman i s to seek the pleasure of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)