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Recently, there was a big uproar about a Muslim woman who decided to lead the Jumu`ah Prayer in New York City, then after that, about another woman who followed suit in Toronto. Many talked about how “progressive” this was, others lamented about the problems of living in the West, while others cursed and reviled them.
Of late, many of our sisters are actively questioning their rights in terms of leadership. Community involvement and issues connected to hijab have surfaced once again. At no time in history has the Islamic scholarship entertained the idea of a woman leading a mixed congregation. During the course of Islam’s greatest moments and the lives of its greatest personalities, female scholars, jurists, and leaders never felt the need to take such an action. Therefore, it is essential to examine the underlying reasons why some of our Muslim sisters are resorting to such drastic measures to regain their power and voice within our community.
Over the course of our history, Muslim women have continued to lose their voices and their ability to fulfill their divinely ordained purposes. By ignoring a tradition rich with the involvement of women, they were not only relegated to the kitchens and had their voices declared as `awrah, they were also victimized by unfair application of hudud. Inevitably, women have started to question living in the shadows of men, their oppression and the arrogant chauvinism that continues to marginalize them.
As women began and continue to question this, it was almost inevitable that they would begin to see men’s roles as superior. As was the case with the feminist movement around the world, now Muslim women have begun to seek to occupy similar “superior” positions as men, seeing it as the ultimate form of equality. In reclaiming their voices, although sincere, they may have lost sight of the fact that Allah Most High has designated our roles to be complimentary to one another, not equal to one another.
We Muslims understand that men and women have complementary roles that have been defined by Allah, with equal opportunity for men and women to gain the ultimate goal of Allah’s pleasure and eternal life in Jannah. In the Qur’an, Allah stipulates that piety, not gender, is the primary consideration in determining who is best in His sight. Furthermore, in recognizing and believing that Allah is the Most Compassionate and Most Just, we understand that Islam did not set about to make women subservient or second class to men. Instead, it acknowledged our differences and declared that men and women are equal in the sight of Allah and partners and ambassadors of Allah and His message in this world. Equity, not equality, is the prerequisite to a healthy partnership. Partners can do separate things, have different responsibilities, be equal, and still work towards attaining the same goal.
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Our sisters must seek the equity guaranteed to them by Allah, but this must be done within parameters set by Allah. They will not regain their power by aspiring to hold the same roles as men, because men are not superior beings when it comes to seeking closeness with Allah, which is the goal of every Muslim. Equity means that our sisters have the divine right and must be given equal opportunity to fulfill their roles and abilities in the path of Allah. Equity does not mean being like someone else, but is a process of becoming fulfilled in reaching one’s own potential. Only then, will both men and women find true freedom and liberation. Only then will they have their voices heard and be leaders among people. More importantly, they will be leaders of Allah’s da`wah in the sight of Allah.
Regarding leadership, the only thing that men can do that women cannot, is to be the imam of a mixed gathering. Being the imam is not a sign of superiority; it is a role for which there is both blessing and accountability. Similarly, women are not held accountable for prayers they miss when they have their monthly period, but they are rewarded as much as men, who are required to pray for the entire month.
Women were never sent as prophets, but it did not remove the reverence that we have today for Mary the mother of `Isa and for Asiya the wife of Pharaoh. Furthermore, other than Allah, the only beings Muslims are directed by Allah to revere, are the wombs that bore us—our mothers. It is for this reason that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that heaven lies at the feet of the mother and told us to love our mothers three times more than our fathers. We are further reminded of the narration of Ibn `Umar about the man who was performing Tawaf while carrying his mother on his shoulders. The man asked whether he had repaid his due towards his mother. Ibn `Umar told him that he had not even repaid her for one pang of pain she felt during labor.
With the rise of the Western feminist movement, many women sought equality by leaving their homes and seeking positions held by men. Motherhood was belittled and women had to become all things to all people—mother, wife, worker, and superwoman. No one is saying women should not work, but we can understand the wisdom of men holding the responsibility of providing for the family and women having the right to stay at home to be with their children. A survey by Parenting magazine in 2000, highlighted that 93 percent of working mothers would rather be at home with their children; however, because of financial obligations, they could not. Women have been pushed to seek equality with men, while men have continued to occupy their positions of authority in society.
Among the issues recently surfacing, some of our sisters and brothers, especially those in the fields of academia, are approaching the issue of hijab using the critical discourse of Orientalists. Arguments such as “it is not explicitly stated in the Qur’an” betray the fact that the order of wudu’ and the form of salah were explained by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and were not explicitly stated in the Qur’an either. While we may rationalize the issue, we must never ignore that hijab was commanded by Allah Most High for all time and was not meant simply for the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), nor was it abrogated by the passage of time. It is a command of Allah that was not abandoned over the hundreds of years of Islamic scholarship. If it was not applicable, we would have heard this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or `A’ishah, Umm Salamah, Hafsah, or Fatimah, among many others (may Allah be pleased with them all) because they were the teachers of the men and women who lived after the death of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
As a community, we have been warned by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never to leave the majority, because of the protection it offers to us. And while hijab in the past was used by men to silence women, we cannot counter injustice by going against the commands of Allah. When we do this, we are placing ourselves on par with Allah and claiming that we know better than His divine wisdom.
One of the principles passed on to us by the scholar Ibn Taymiyah is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) made all acts of `ibadah (worship) clear to us in his words and deeds. To try to add to this now would be heresy. The narration of Umm Waraqah is an exception and provides guidance on what to do in exceptional cases, just as polygamy is the exception and not the rule. (There are specific stipulations, situations, and rules in place for polygamy.)
My dear brothers and sisters, we must be careful as we try to reclaim our heritage and the justice of the golden era of Islam when women were vital, active members of society who were not restrained or oppressed. We do not want to become “progressive” if that means losing the principles upon which this religion of 1,400 years is founded. At the same time we need to be critical and to break down the barriers within the mosques, communities, and societies that isolate and marginalize our sisters. If the lap of the mother is the first school of the Ummah, we are paralyzing ourselves by allowing our male, chauvinistic attitudes to oppress those from whom we can learn and who are to be our partners in this da`wah. As Hassan At-Turabi reminds us, women, because they were shut out for so long, did not accumulate the same baggage that men have accumulated over time, so we can learn and benefit from them. For our Ummah to flourish, we need both wings of the dove to flap. Without this, the bird will never fly.
Finally, I conclude by reminding us that there is a precedent for women to be involved at every level of society and as men. We need to break up our “old boys’ clubs” and allow our sisters to fulfill their roles for Allah Most High. Allah will hold men accountable for the injustices meted out to Muslim women. As we seek to move forward, we should not put our desires over the compassion and justice of Allah. Within His wisdom lies ultimate freedom and the ability to fulfill our roles as complementary, not competitive, partners. Let us move forward and reclaim our heritage without going against Allah.
The list below speaks volumes. Instead of trying to make a community of men and women who all want to be like men, we should be striving to make a community of believers who understand that men and women have roles that should never lead to exclusion, but should lead to a holistic approach to fulfilling a covenant—one that we pray will eventually make us equal partners in the da`wah of Allah and earn us His eternal pleasure.
Who’s Who
`A’ishah. We have learned about half of our faith through her teachings. She was a poet, scholar par excellence of Hadith, commentator of the Qur’an, jurist-cum-judge, leader, mediator, and teacher, among many other roles.
Asma’ bint Abi Bakr.She played a vital role in helping the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr escape at the time of the Hijrah, and she later played a vital role in the career of `Abdullah ibn Az-Zubayr, who challenged the oppression of the Umayyads.
Fatimah. She earned and worked for her family and was mentioned as one of the leaders of the women.
Khadijah. She was the first to embrace this faith and give support to this da`wah.
Khawlah bint Tha`labah. Her complaints were heard and the answer preserved in Surat Al-Mujadilah.
Hafsah. She kept and protected the Qur’an after it was compiled, and even the leaders of the time would ask her permission to see it. She was one of the wives who memorized the Qur’an in its entirety.
Nusaybah. She protected the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the battle of Uhud, taking approximately 12 wounds in the process. One of these wounds was a deep sword cut on the side of her neck that took about one year to heal.
Rufaidah. Documented as the first nurse, she ran a clinic to look after the wounded.
Saffiyah. She protected the women and children of Madinah by killing an attacker.
Summayah. She was the first to die for the sake of this religion.
Umm Haram bint Milhaan. She asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to pray that she would be among those who would travel on ships to spread this da`wah after he related a dream to her. She is buried in Cyprus.
Umm Waraqah. She was assigned a muezzin and given the title of Ash-Shaheedah and told by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that she would die a martyr.
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