Women in Islam have a significant position and are an essential part of the Muslim community. Approximately 1400 years ago, during a period of illiteracy, the Prophet PBUH emerged and elevated the status of Muslim women, granting them rights that helped maintain their dignity, identity, and presence throughout their lives.
These rights gave the women a chance to establish their separate voice in a world filled with all kinds of wrong intentions and protected them against many who thought of them as mere objects. This blog will explore in detail the rights of women in Islam and how they empower the Muslimahs of our ummah.
Rights In Different Relationships
A woman in her life has many influential roles. As a daughter, she may also be a sister, mother, and so on. Islam acknowledges all these ties and honors her.
Rights As A Daughter
From the start of a girl’s life, Islam instructs the parents to teach the child with the utmost care and love and places special responsibility on the father concerning the child’s well-being. It also places responsibility on the father to impart knowledge of the deen to her, so she grows up as a strong and well-informed individual. It also imposes an obligation upon the father to provide his daughter with food, drink, clothing, and housing until she reaches maturity and gets married.
Rights As A Sister
When a woman is in the role of a sister, she is to be treated with kindness and respect. If she is under the care of her brother, then the brother should spend money on her to ensure she is well cared for and loved.
Rights As A Mother
The rights of a mother are highly emphasized in Islam. A mother is to be respected, treated with love and kindness, and helped when she needs assistance without any question. It is stated in numerous hadiths just how much respect a mother deserves.
Abu Huraira narrated that a man asked the Prophet Muhammad, “Who among the people deserves my best treatment?” The Prophet replied, “Your mother, then your mother again, then your mother once more, followed by your father, and then your closest relatives in order of their relation to you.”
Rights As A Wife
“Ibn ‘Abbas reported that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: ‘Among you, the best are those who treat their wives the most kindly, and I am the most kind to my wives.'”
When a woman marries, many rights are given to her to help her adjust in the new relationship with ease and to make sure her marriage becomes a source of relief and happiness for her, such as the right to be treated with love and kindness, the right to have the husband spend on her, the right of fair treatment if the husband marries more than one women, the right to live in separate home, etc.
Right To Education
Islam made it an obligation upon every Muslim to gain knowledge and learn about the religion, and the obligation remains the same in the case of women. It is an obligation to teach them what they need to know about their faith. It is even mentioned in the hadith that women used to go to the Prophet PBUH for gaining knowledge.
According to Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri, some women asked the Prophet (PBUH) to designate a specific day for them, since the men were taking his time. In response, he promised to set aside one day exclusively for their religious lessons and commandments.
Right To Inheritance
Muslim women have the right to inheritance just like men. It is not allowed for anyone to take her rights without her consent. She can do whatever she wants with her inheritance, and it is permissible for her, given that she remains within the guidelines laid out by the Shariah for her own safety. It doesn’t matter whether the inheritance is a property, jewellery, or any other asset; Allah SWT has given her the right to inherit it.
“Unto the men (of a family) belongeth a share of that which parents and near kindred leave, and unto the women a share of that which parents and near kindred leave, whether it be little or much – a legal share.”
Right To Testimony
Women have the right to testify just like men. They are allowed to voice their opinion and express their views without any kind of mistreatment or abuse. One of the most common misconceptions that arises regarding this right is that a woman’s testimony is equal to half of a man’s testimony. And while this is true, it is not applicable in all cases. Because there are certain situations in which the testimony of one woman is entirely acceptable. Ibn Qudamah states in Al-Mughni,
A woman’s testimony is considered valid in five specific cases: 1. childbirth, 2. the cry of a newborn, 3. nursing, 4. concealed conditions beneath clothing, such as virginity or leprosy, and 5. the conclusion of the waiting period (Iddah).
Right To Her Own Money
A woman has the complete right to her income, and Islam gives her more financial security than men. She isn’t obligated to spend the money on her family; instead, that responsibility is placed on the male, whether that is her father, brother, husband, or son. She can do whatever she wants with it, given that she remains within the limits of Shariah. She shoulders no financial responsibility in the household; all of that goes to the men of the family. Moreover, it is a sin on the man if he doesn’t spend on his family, while a woman has no obligations like this.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, It is considered a significant sin for a man if he neglects those whom he is responsible for supporting and taking care of.
Right To Choose A Partner
Islam has given women rights equal to those of men when it comes to choosing a spouse for marriage. Islam places significant emphasis on the consent of the woman and highlights that forcing a woman to marry someone just because her family wants to is not right.
‘Aisha reported: I inquired of the Prophet, peace be upon him, “O Messenger of Allah! Is it necessary to obtain women’s consent for their marriage?” He replied, “Yes.” I then asked, “What if the woman is a virgin and feels shy, remaining silent when asked?” He responded, “Her silence indicates her consent.”
Right To Vote
Since voting comes under the category of expressing one’s opinion and self, women have the right to vote as much as men do. They have the right to form their own opinion about what they see fit.