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Muslim Women Making a Difference 

At the outset, it is important to alert the readers to the fact that the author of this article is a Muslim man writing on the topic of Muslim women. That’s an important distinction for several reasons. First, the name ‘Altaf’ is inter-changeable and is often used for males and females and yes, the author has been mistakenly referred to as “sister” in the virtual world. Second, the author has lived experience on the topic of women by virtue of the fact that he grew up and was socialized in a household where women outnumbered men by a 2:1 ratio. And then after marriage, that ratio increased to 3:1 thanks to the in-laws. Third, although Muslim women have the clear right to establish the tone of the discourse regarding their own well-being, Muslim men cannot be by-standers or worse oppositionists but rather active and involved contributors to the discourse. And finally, I author this article not in reaction to the latest sensationalism hitting the airwaves about female Imams but rather as a reminder of the dignity and the vital role in human progress that Islam accords to Muslim women. All praise is due to Allah that our Muslim scholars have rejected thoroughly the innovation of a “female Imam” and those responses are widely available on the internet.

People afflicted with a severe case of selective memory and an even severer case of selective reception only recall and pay attention to the instances in which Muslim women are being mistreated on the one hand to being outright oppressed on the other. What these people intentionally overlook is that the sources of disrespect and oppression are men and sometimes even women who disrespect and oppress entirely due to their own personal failings. The religion itself neither sanctions such a negative outlook towards women nor does it tolerate it. On the other hand, Islam has dignified women and even men for that matter beyond any level of respect and dignity that any manmade laws or philosophical outlooks could accord. Allah the Almighty endows upon both males and females a pristine, innate state of purity or fitra. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) reminds us that, " No babe is born but upon Fitra (as a Muslim). It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist." ¹For an exploration of the Judeo-Christian characterization of women, the reader would benefit from the work of Rhoda Yen.² Suffice it to say that beginning with the story of the creation of Adam and Eve (may Allah’s peace be upon them), Muslims are taught that in the eyes of Allah, men and women are to be held accountable for their actions without any undue bias against women solely on account of their gender. Neither are women inferior to men nor, as Yasmin Mogahed points out in her recent article “A Woman's Reflection on Leading Prayer”, are women to assess their value in relationship to their fellow man but rather in their relationship to Allah. With this liberated view of her own status, a woman strives to establish and strengthen her relationship with Allah and is honored and dignified in the process of doing so.

When one studies the characteristics of the most noble women in Islam, it becomes obvious that those women transcended the earthly and often trivial qualities that have come to be associated with the Western-centric conception of “successful” or “free” women. Islamic tradition ascribes nobility, prestige, and honor to four women who are not only historic figures in and of their own right but also because of their dignified conduct. These four noble women, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them all, are: Asiya, wife of the Pharoah, Maryam, the mother of Jesus (peace be upon him), Khadija, wife of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and Fatima, daughter of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Detailed depictions of these honored women are beyond the scope of this brief article. Separated by centuries and drastically different social milieus, each of these women held their head up high because it was Islam that dignified them!

Another notion central to the conception of women in Islam is the vital role that Islam assigns to women vis a vis human progress. Not only as mothers but as vanguards of the religious and social traditions, Muslim women are viewed as central actors in the continuously developing human drama. Placed by Allah in the midst of some of the most ignorant and dehumanizing attitudes and practices towards women, the Prophet Muhammad was guided to not only lead by example but also to once and for all establish standards of excellent social and spiritual conduct for men and women. Allah Most High revealed in the Qur’an, “Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying 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 almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember-Allah has prepared, for them forgiveness and a mighty reward."³ No other religion or ideology compares with such equitable gender-based treatment.

Utterly ignorant practices such as the killing of female infants existed then and were condemned and ultimately forbidden. Similarly, the so-called contemporary “honor killings,” rapes, murders and deaths of women due to neglect and abject poverty should be condemned according to the Islamic tradition. We are reminded of the rhetorical question that will be posed to the female infant on the day of Judgment, “When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned - For what crime she was killed.”⁴ Really, after all, what is the crime of the women that we marginalize them or oppress them? Regardless of whether women are marginalized from society due to lack of education or outright rejection or due to horrific violence inflicted upon them, the loss to society and ultimately human progress is immeasurable. Although work is in progress to recognize and restore the dignity and worth of women according to the Islamic tradition, so much more needs to be done to ensure that another generation of Muslim women will not grow up taking for granted that theirs is a hopeless situation. In almost every human endeavor, the input and active involvement of women strengthens the final outcome.

Driven sometimes by our own insecurity, Muslim men have throughout history denied women their right to strengthen fully their relationship with Allah. This denial has manifested and continues to manifest itself in the spiritual domain through such practices as restricting the attendance and participation of women in masajid (mosques), as relegating women to mostly secretarial and administrative tasks, and the time immemorial habit of advocating for the women because we know what is “best” for them. By the mercy of Allah, women around the world are learning for themselves their rightful and vital role in human progress. It will be up to the men to put aside our own personal failings and to support the entry of Muslim women onto the stage where the human drama is unfolding.

Final Thoughts

Of late, Western benevolence has extended its focus to the Muslim world and so there is widespread interest in the fate of the Muslims, especially the Muslim women. Samples of academic and sensational inquiry follow. With the promise of “freedom” coming to Muslim lands, will Muslims reform Islam? What about the women? Will these women finally break off the shackles of oppression that they have worn for centuries? Will they give up practicing the religion that supposedly oppresses them and which is in need of “reform”? Unfortunately, these mistaken souls disguised as researchers and reporters are blinded by their own ignorance of the fact that in their own town squares such as in France and the United States for example, where “freedom abounds,” Muslim women not only voluntarily practice Islam but are actually outspoken advocates of ensuring that their right to practice Islam is protected. Islam is not in need of reform but rather its adherents need to reform ourselves. Given the choice to be “free,” Muslim women realize that their greatest freedom, their greatest liberation is granted them by Allah as He has dignified them and accorded them a vital role in human progress!

* Altaf Husain is a licensed social worker in the United States and a contributing writer to Islam Online since 1998.

1- Sahih Muslim, Book 33, #6426

2- Yen, Rhoda (2003). Gender In Judeo-Christian Tradition: A Critique on Christian Feminist Philosophies and a Presentation of the Loyalist View. Quodlibet Journal: Volume 5 Number 2-3, July. Available at: http://www.Quodlibet.net

3- Qur’an, Chapter 33, verse 35 (Yusuf Ali translation)

4- Qur’an, Chapter 81, verses 8-9 (Yusuf Ali translation)