LET'S PREVENT HARM IN ISLAM!: SUBJUGATION AND DENIGRATION OF WOMEN

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Based on analyses by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other international human rights organizations, most countries with laws or implementations that most violate women’s rights are Muslim-majority:

1. Afghanistan

2. Saudi Arabia

3. Iran

4. Sudan

5. Pakistan

6. India

7. Somalia

8. Democratic Republic of the Congo

9. Nigeria

10. Yemen

These legal and social norms, so unjust to women, have caused them much harm over the centuries. The main reason is that a series of verses from the Quran and the Hadiths state that women are worth half as much as men, are mentally deficient, and lack virtue. They also claim that women are inferior and must therefore be submissive to their husbands, constitute the majority in hell, and other degradations.

Some of those texts are presented below, though not all:

WOMEN ARE WORTH HALF AS MUCH AS MEN

Quran 2:282:

“And call to witness two witnesses from among your men. If there are not two men, then a man and two women from those you accept as witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her.”

This verse refers to testimony in financial matters, where the testimony of two women is required to equal that of one man.

Quran 4:11:

“Allah commands you concerning your children: for the male, a portion equal to that of two females. If there are only women, more than two, their share shall be two-thirds of what the deceased left; and if there is only one, she shall receive half.”

This passage addresses the distribution of inheritance, establishing that a man receives twice as much as a woman.

WOMEN ARE INFERIOR AND THEREFORE MEN HAVE AUTHORITY OVER THEM

Quran 4:34

“Men have authority over women because God has made one superior to the other.“

Quran 2:228:

“Men are one degree above women.”

WOMEN ARE SEXUAL OBJECTS FOR THEIR HUSBANDS

This is what the Hadiths say, which are biographies recounting what Muhammad did and said, being considered the second pillar of traditional Islam:

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2:10:1160: “the woman must come immediately when her husband calls her for sexual relations.”

Ihya’ ‘Uloum ed-Din by al-Ghazali: “The good wife is the one who sexually satisfies her husband.”

Al-Musanaf Vol. 1 Part 2, p. 263: Omar (one of the first caliphs) was interrupted by his wife while he was speaking. To which he said: “You are a toy. If we need you, we will call you.”

WOMEN ARE MENTALLY DEFICIENT

Sahih Bukhari 3:48:826:

The Prophet said, “Is not the testimony of a woman equal to half of that of a man?” The women replied, “Yes.” He said, “This is because of the deficiency in a woman’s mind.”

Sahih Bukhari 1:6:301:

“I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you (women). A sensible and cautious man could be led astray by some of you.” The women asked, “O Apostle of Allah! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?” He said, “Is not the evidence of two women equal to the testimony of a single man?” They replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in your intelligence.” “Is it not true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her period?” The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “This is the deficiency in your religion.”

Sahih Bukhari 2:24:541 is also similar.

WOMEN LACK VIRTUE

al-Ghazali, Ihy’a ‘Uloum ed-Din, Dar al-Kotob al-‘Elmeyah, Beirut, Vol II, Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p. 51 states that women are deceitful and wicked. He compares a virtuous woman to a red crow among a hundred, implying her rarity.

THE MAJORITY OF THE INHABITANTS OF HELL ARE WOMEN

Sahih Bukhari 1:6:301: the Prophet observed that the majority of the inhabitants of hell were women, due to their ingratitude and deficiencies in intelligence and religion.

Likewise in Sahih Bukhari 1:2:28, Sahih Muslim 36:6600, Sahih Muslim 36:6601, Sahih Muslim 36:6596, Sahih Muslim 36:6597, Sahih Muslim 36:6598, Sahih Muslim 36:6599.

WOMEN COME IN THE FORM OF A DEMON

Sahih Muslim 8:3240 relates that Muhammad compared women to demons and suggested that men should go to their wives to resist the temptation that women represent.

WOMEN ARE A BAD OMEN

Sahih Bukhari 4:52:110 and Sahih Bukhari 4:52:111 recount that the Prophet said that bad luck is in three things, including women.

LET’S REFORM SEXISM IN ISLAM NOW!

Fortunately, there are more and more progressive Islamic scholars and modernist Muslims, such as the Islamic feminist movement, who oppose all of the above, defending the dignity, autonomy, and emancipation of women from men.

They are based on Islamic principles of justice and dignity. They contextualize and reinterpret the Quran in a way that aligns with modern principles of gender equality and human rights. They highlight the verses of that book that promote justice, compassion, respect, and equality.

Read LET’S LIVE WITHOUT HARM! Let’s defend women’s rights

LET US PREVENT HARM IN ISLAM!: Femicide and gender-based violence

LET US PREVENT HARM IN ISLAM!: Deprivation of freedom and inequality for women

LET’S PREVENT HARM IN ISLAM!: Child marriage, rape of girls, and female genital mutilation

They also question the validity of the Hadiths, as they were written several centuries after Muhammad’s death based on oral traditions.

Ultimately, they believe that Islam grants women rights and equal status. And they seek to build inclusive societies where women can participate fully and develop in all areas of life, free from all types of discrimination.

Let’s help them spread their civilized version of Islam. How?

1. By signing to ask all Muslim religious leaders to interpret the Quran in a benign way. Sign…

2. By signing to ask all governments to guarantee the protection and full equality of rights for women. Sign…

3. By signing these other campaigns on harm in Islam…

4. By sharing these signature campaigns and this article with as many people as possible. Read more…

5. By convincing the Muslims you know of the desirability of a peaceful, benign, and liberal Islam.

Thank you for doing something for a less abusive and happier world,