“And among His signs is that
He created for you mates from among yourselves; that you may dwell with them in
serenity and tranquility. And He has put love and compassion between your
hearts. Truly in that are signs for those who reflect.” (Quran 30:21)
‘Islam’s appeal, wherever it
has triumphed, has been in its simplicity. It requires submission to some
basic, straightforward rules which are easily kept, and in return it offers
that most wonderful and rare commodity, peace of mind ... its discipline,
safety and certainties have an appeal for girls lost in the churning seas of
permissiveness, whose own families have been weakened by the crumbling of the
two-parent family, the absence of fathers and the impermanence of husbands, if
there are husbands in the first place rather than boyfriends and
“baby-fathers”. And in most societies it is the women who sustain
religions in the home and among children.’ (Peter Hitchens, Will Britain
Convert to Islam? Mail on Sunday, 2/11/03 )
“…They (your wives, O men)
are a garment for you and you (men) are a garment for them…” (Quran 2:187)
Sex itself is not taboo in
Islam. On the contrary, lawful sexual relations are regarded as deeds of
charity! Renowned scholar and former nun, Karen Armstrong, writes:
‘Mohammed certainly did not
think that women were sexually disgusting. When his wife had her period
he used to make a point of reclining in her lap, of taking his prayer mat from
her hand, saying for the benefit of his disciples, “Your menstruation is not in
your hand.” He would drink from the same cup, saying, “Your menstruation
is not on your lips” ... The harsh sexual punishments meted out to sexual
offenders in some Islamic countries is because sexuality is valued and the
ideal has been debased, not, as in the past in the West, because sexuality is
abhorrent.’ (The Gospel According to Woman, 1986:2)
The Church’s traditional
justification for man’s authority is one it inherited from Judaism: the
inherent evil of woman! According to the bible, Satan seduced Eve to
disobey God by eating from a forbidden tree and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to
eat with her. When God rebuked Adam for his disobedience, Adam blamed
Eve, and so God condemned her:
“I (God) will greatly
increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will bear children.
Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16)
It was this image of Eve as
a deceiving temptress that left a negative legacy for women throughout both
Judaism and Christendom. Paul, himself a once vehemently anti-Christian
Jew, wrote in the bible: ‘A woman should learn in quietness and full
submission. I don’t permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a
man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And
Adam wasn’t the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a
sinner, but women shall be saved through childbearing.’ (I Tim. 2:11-5)[1]
Again, the Islamic
conception of woman is radically different. The Quran clarifies that
Satan was the only deceiver in the story of the Garden, while Adam and Eve
receive equal blame for their disobedience. There is not the slightest
hint that Eve was the first to eat the forbidden fruit or that she tempted Adam
to do so. Both Adam and Eve committed a sin, asked God for His
Forgiveness, and He duly bestowed it:
“They said: ‘Our Lord!
We have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and do not bestow
upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.” (Quran 7:22-23)
Linguistically, the Quranic
terms for ‘womb’ and ‘mercy’ are synonymous. This is because, rather than
God’s punishment, childbirth in Islam is seen as one of His countless
blessings. Besides, the notion that God condemns the innocent is quite
blasphemous! And, while Christianity holds every newborn baby to be a
sinner - the fruits of its mother’s punishment, Islam teaches that all children
are born innocent and sinless upon the fitra: a natural monotheistic and
righteous disposition. Hence, one who embraces Islam is said to revert
back to their natural religion. It is only the child’s immoral upbringing
that converts it into a rebellious sinner.
“Whosoever works evil will
not be requited except with its like; and whosoever works righteousness,
whether male or female, and is a true Believer, such will enter Paradise , wherein they will have provision without limit.” (Quran 40:40)
Paul’s words, earlier, also
show how Eve’s sin was used to justify limiting women’s educational
aspirations. In Islam, however, women are equal to men in the pursuit of
knowledge. The Prophet said:
“The seeking of knowledge is
compulsory upon every (male or female) Muslim.” (Ibn Maja)
Furthermore, the most
honored position one can reach in Muslim society is that of a scholar [Islam
has no Priesthood]. The Prophet’s wife, Aa’isha, from whom leading
Companions acquired knowledge, is but one example of learned women who continue
to greatly influence Islamic society. As were several female teachers of
the celebrated sage, warrior and master of the Islamic sciences, Ibn Taymiyya
(d. 1328).
“…Are those who know equal
to those who know not? It is only those with understanding who will
remember.” (Quran 39:9)
Footnotes:
[1] The Church’s founding fathers, men who formulated
Christian belief and canonized the Bible, supported this view: ‘Don’t you know
that you are each an Eve?’ God’s sentence on this sex of yours lives in this
age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil’s gateway: you are
the unsealer of the forbidden tree: you are the first deserter of the divine
law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil wasn’t valiant enough to
attack. You destroyed so easily God’s image, man. (St. Tertullian)
“Woman is a daughter of
falsehood, a sentinel of Hell, the enemy of peace; through her Adam lost
paradise.” (St. John Damascene)
‘God created Adam Lord of
all living creatures, but Eve spoiled it all. Women should remain at home, sit
still, keep house and bear children. And if they (women) grow tired or, even,
die (from giving birth), it does not matter. Let her die from in childbirth;
that’s why they are there.’ (Martin Luther).