The Human Status of Women in the Quran (Part 3)

The Human Status of Women in the Quran (Part 3)

The Status of Women in the World-view of Islam:

As for the first part, the holy Qur’an is not only a collection of laws. It does not contain merely a series of dry commands and laws without comment. It contains both laws and history both exhortation and the interpretation of creation and countless other subjects. Just as the Qur’an lays down rules of action in the form of law on some occasions so it also comments upon existence and being. It explains the secrets of the creation of the earth and the sky, plants , animals and mankind and the secret of life and death greatness and suffering growth and decline of wealth and poverty.

The Qur’an is not a treatise on philosophy but it has explicitly expressed its views concerning the three basic topics of philosophy: the universe, mankind and society.

Not only does the Qur’an teach its believers laws and not only does it give exhortation and advice but it also endows its followers with a special way of thinking a particular world-view by its interpretation of creation.

The foundation of all Islamic commandments concerning social matters for example ownership, government family rights and so forth is this same explanation which the Qur’an gives of creation and the things of the world.

One of the matters that have been commented on in the holy Qur’an is the subject of the creation of women and men. The Qur’an was not silent on this matter and did not provide an opportunity for those who talk nonsense to put forth their own philosophies for laws concerning men and women and then to accuse Islam of having a derogatory attitude towards women on the strength of their own theories. Islam has already laid down its views regarding women.

If we want to see what the view of the Qur’an is regarding the creation of woman and man it is necessary to have a look at the question of their creation as it is treated in the Books of other religions. The Qur’an also did not remain silent on this subject. We should see whether the Qur’an considers woman and man to be of one essence or two.

In other words, whether woman and man have one nature and essence or two.

The Qur’an most explicitly lays down in several ayat (verses) that: We created women from the nature of man and from an essence the same as the essence of man. Concerning the first Adam the Qur’an says: Who created you from one single soul and created from it its mate (Qur’an 4:1). With regard to all men the Qur’an says in several places: Allah created your mate from your own kind.

There is no trace in the Qur’an of what is found in some sacred books: that woman was created out of an inferior stock to that of man that they gave women the status of a parasite and of an inferior or that the mate of the first Adam was created from one of the left-side parts of his body. Besides that in Islam there is no derogatory view about women as regards her nature and innate constitution.