'If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been
reading the Book from before thee....' (Surah
10, Yunus, verse 94)
The Teaching of the Holy Bible on the Position
of Women Explained to Muslims
Rev. Andrew Abraham
***************************************************
1. INTRODUCTION
2. FOUNDATIONS ARE
ALMOST FOREVER
A. Men's rebellion
against God and its tragic consequences
B. God's dramatic rescue
plan
C. The general purpose
of the law
3. OLD TESTAMENT
PASSAGES EXPLAINED
4. NEW TESTAMENT PASSAGES
EXPLAINED
5. WHAT ISLAM HAS TO SAY
ABOUT WOMEN
6. CONCLUSION
***************************************************
1. INTRODUCTION
Many people in Western
nations paint a bleak picture regarding the life of women in Islam. Probably as
a reaction to that some Muslims have read the Bible mainly to try to find fault
about the Biblical position of women. To read any book in order to look for
confirmation of one's preconceived ideas is bound to end up in failure. In the
past many false beliefs, even cults, have arisen out of such careless studies
that neglect the big picture and concentrate on details only instead. Well
meaning people have become victims of such dangerous undertakings. In this
article we shall therefore first present the frame work in which numerous
misinterpreted passages will later be explained. Realizing our own limitations
we will then briefly look at what Islam has to say about women. The reader will
realize that all the observations are made in form of questions. Any attempts
to answer them by writing to the author are certainly more than welcome.
2. FOUNDATIONS ARE
ALMOST FOREVER
In order to get a
comprehensive picture of what the Holy Bible has to say on the position of
women we need to go back to it's first chapters. After
God had created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1) he made Adam (2:7) to work
the ground and take care of it (2:15). However, being on his own Adam could not
fully realize his humanity:
The Lord God said,
'it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for
him.' (Gen 2:18)
People are not isolated
beings, complete in themselves. The Hebrew phrase 'ezer
k`negdo' translated 'a helper suitable for him' means
literally 'a help answering to him.' These words imply that on our own we are
incomplete. The word 'helper' is not to be understood in an inferior way
since God himself is described as helping all of us (Deut 33:26, Psa 33:20). According to Genesis 2:23-24
the relationship of a husband with his wife is very profound and personal.
Together they represent God on earth. Therefore, both are to treat each
other with great mutual respect and honor. Their deep
and unique fellowship on the physical and spiritual level gives clear evidence
of God's original intention that each man should only be married to one wife.
He is to leave his own family in order to become the servant leader, the
first among equals, in a new relationship:
'The man said, this
'is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman',
for she was taken out of man.' For this reason a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.'
Like all leaders he is
ultimately responsible for the affairs of those he leads. That is why God later
called Adam to account for what happened after they had disobeyed him and taken
the forbidden fruit. (3:9-13).
While the institution of
marriage between husband and wife is a good answer to our need for
relationship, it is not the only one. Jesus, the ideal man, was never married.
Through his other centered life committed to
community he showed that it is possible for a single person to be truly and
fully human.
In
Genesis. 1:26-28
we read that women are of the same value as men. They are physically and
emotionally created in different ways and therefore fulfill
their common purpose by taking on different roles. None is better than others, they are just different and therefore have
different, yet equally important roles. Both are made in God's image. Both
are to be fruitful and increase in numbers, to rule and subdue the earth:
'Then God said, 'Let
us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of
the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and
over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his
own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill
the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air
and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'
A. Men's rebellion
against God and its tragic consequences
Genesis chapter 3 describes
how the wonderful dignity of Adam and Eve's relationship with God and with each
other was tragically destroyed by sin. Satan clothed himself as a serpent (Rev
12:9) and created doubt in them about God's words:
'You will not surely
die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when
you eat of it (the forbidden tree of knowledge) your eyes will be opened and
you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' When the woman saw that
the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also
desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to
her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then they eyes of both of them
were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves
together and made coverings for themselves.' (verses
4-7)
The great deceiver
blatantly denied the specific divine pronouncement that death would follow the
taking of the forbidden fruit of knowledge of good and evil (
Both failed equally. While
Eve was deceived (1 Tim
As a result of their
rebellion against God and his absolute holiness they became aware of their
nakedness and probably of the potential for abuse that lies therein. Their
guilt showed itself in shame and the fact that they covered themselves with fig
leaves, presumably as an attempt to put right their wrong. Both received a
terrible punishment. Adam and Eve faced immediate spiritual death in the sense
that they had to leave the Garden of Eden (
'To the woman he
said, 'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will
give birth to children. Your desire will be for you husband, and he will rule
over you.' To Adam he said, 'Because you listened (in this context the word means
literally 'obeyed') to your wife and ate from the tree about which I
commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' 'Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.' (3:16-17)
The consequences of these
punishments can still be seen in society up to this very day. In addition we
too have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, far beyond the boundaries
allocated to us. To this end all means are justified, even the occult. 'But is
it fair,' some may ask, 'why do we have to suffer for their sins?' On
the contrary those critics do not mind being recipients of all the good
gifts the first human beings got from God like thought, will and emotions.
Surely God has every right also to pass on the consequences of their behaviour
to us. After all, Adam was not only constituted by God to be the natural head
of all his descendants but also their federal head and representative. When he
fell, they fell with him. Similarly when leaders of states and families misuse
their power all the followers suffer too.
B. God's dramatic
rescue plan
In the midst of the tragic
events found within the first few pages of the Holy Bible God announces his
eventual victory over Satan! He tempted Adam and Eve into sin. Now he too was
about to receive his just punishment:
'So the Lord God said
to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the
livestock....And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your
offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.'
(Gen 3:14-15)
The phrase 'between your offspring
and hers; he will crush your head' speaks about a progressive plan from many to
one single person who will crush the enemy's head. Eve gave birth to three
sons, Cain, Able and Seth (4:1-2, 5:3). Only through Seth the human family was
preserved through the flood and carried on in Noah. (5:7-32) Again, out of
Noah's sons only Shem lived an upright live and was therefore blessed by God.
Abraham descended from Shem (verse 11) and was the only one in whose seed all
nations were to be blessed, and that not through Ishmael (Gal
'When Abram was
ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, 'I am God
Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant
between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.' Then Abram fell on
his face; and God said to him, 'Behold, my covenant is with you, and you
shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be
Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a
multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make
nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish my
covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your
descendants after you. And I will give to you, and
to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, all the land of
The law concerning a widow
that has not given birth to a son described in Deuteronomy 25, verses 5-10 has
to be understood in the light of the promises and the covenant God gave to
Abraham. In order to participate in that wonderful promise the name and the
family of a deceased husband had to be preserved. For the sake of this greater
cause the widow had to marry her former husband's brother. In these exceptional
circumstances she therefore unselfishly gave up her right to have a say
regarding whom she would want to marry. Because widows in general were
considered especially vulnerable God enjoined special consideration and justice
for them, along with orphans and strangers. Severe punishment was threatened
for those who did otherwise. (See Exo 22:22-24, Deut
10:18, 24:17-21, Mal 3:5, Jam 1:27, Mar
Eventually the promise
of Genesis
'The God of peace
will soon crash Satan under your feet.'
Praise the Lord! Wrong
foundations do not need to be for ever! Christ wants to rebuild them in our
lives. In the meantime practicing Christians aim to follow the principles Jesus
demonstrated during his encounters with women:
He dared to speak with a woman who was
regarded to be an outcast (Joh
C. The general
purpose of the law
To understand the absolute
necessity of God's dealing with sin through the work of Christ we need to look
at the purpose of the law. It was given after the time of Abraham when God
worked out his divine will through Moses and the Israelites:
'Cursed is the man
who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.' (Deut 27:26)
'For no human being
will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes
knowledge of sin.' (Rom
'Why
then the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the offspring should come
to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained by angels through an
intermediary.'
(Gal 3:19)
'For since the law
has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these
realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices which are continually offered
year after year, make perfect those who draw near.' (Heb 10:1)
From the verses above the
main purpose of the law becomes clear: While the moral part of it (e.g. ten commandments) set standards forever, the ceremonial part
(e.g. laws on sacrifice and washings) was given to the Israelites during a
limited period of God's history with mankind. The law set them apart from the
idolatrous nations that surrounded them (Deut 18:9-13). The comments Jesus made
on it proves that noone can keep it totally (Mat 5)
The commands reflect God's standard of perfect holiness which only he himself
can meet. Because he is completely separated from all evil he can neither accept
sin nor all it's consequences, such as death,
widowhood, divorce, sickness, disabilities, even the very life after the fall
itself. (Lev
-God himself took away Adam
and Eve' shameful nakedness by clothing them with animal skins. (Gen 3:21)
-God initiated a covenant
with Abraham to which he responded primarily by faith (Gen 15, 17, Rom 4:13-14,
Gal 3:18)
-God gave the ceremonial
and sacrificial laws through whom the people of
-God sent Jesus through
whom the law was to be fulfilled doctrinally, by setting it forth fully and by
giving the true sense and meaning of it. He fulfilled it practically, by
yielding perfect obedience to all its commands, whereby he became 'the end',
the fulfilling end of it. By faith in Jesus God makes us acceptable in his
sight. Out of thankfulness we then do good deeds.
3. OLD TESTAMENT
PASSAGES EXPLAINED
Some people have tried to
prove from the following Biblical passages that women are allegedly inferior to
men. Having provided the Biblical world view above we
shall now study those verses in the context of the 'big picture':
Levitcus 12:1-8
'The LORD said to Moses:
'Say to the people of
The Bible clearly teaches
that to get children is a great blessing (Gen 9:1, 30:23, Psa
127:1-3, 128:1-6) The rules described above therefore are a consequence of Adam
and Eve's rebellion and the subsequent punishment that affected them and their
children (Gen 3:16-17). Those rules and all the other statements regarding
clean and unclean things are a stern reminder of the seriousness of sin and
eternal death. Throughout those passages, however, God presents a way out of
the dilemma. By means of sacrifice forgiveness can be obtained from God. The Quran too acknowledges that animal sacrifice was commanded
by God in the time of Moses (Surah 2, Al Baqarah, verse 67). Verses 6-8 of Leviticus 12 where the
same sacrifice is prescribed in both cases, the birth of a female or a male
child, make it clear that in God's view both sexes are treated as being equally
guilty. If he regarded women as more sinful than men, then surely they would
have to bring more or at least different sacrifices. The reason why the period
of the mother's ritual impurity is twice as long if a girl is born than in the
case of a boy is not explicitly stated. In the light of the above it may well
be because the women's involvement in continuing the sinful human race is more
direct than that of the man. In opposite to the man, she bears the child, gives
birth to it and looks after it physically.
Numbers 5:11-31
This passage describes what
to do if a man accuses his wife of unchastity. Since
marriage was and still is one of the pillars on which a healthy society rests,
a detailed process is here given to protect it. The law given is in harmony
with the fact that
Deuteronomy 22:13-21
Here a situation is
discussed where a husband accuses his newly wedded wife of not being a virgin.
The reason why her parents had to bring evidence of her virginity was not
because the testimony of the woman would not count but because it was opposed
to that of her husband. It was only fair for her to get help in proving her
innocence. Once that was established the husband faced a heavy, twofold
punishment:
Firstly, the word for
'punish him' in verse 18 is also used in chapter 21, verse 18. There it speaks
about bodily chastisement. Consequently, and also in the light of chapter 25,
verse 3 and the Jewish Talmud, he gets forty lashes except one.
Secondly, the culprit had
to pay a hundred Shekels of silver, twice as much as the average bride price according
to verse 29 of the same chapter. That was a heavy fine in terms of the economy
existing in ancient
Numbers 27:1-11,
36:1-12, Deuteronomy 21:15-17
The difference in
inheritance is due to social circumstances. At the time of the Old Testament
men were responsible for the maintenance of their wives their families and any
needy relatives. Daughters could get their deceased father's possessions only
if he had no sons. Females therefore had no need of inheritance. This fact is
also reflected in Surah 4:11 which says
that women only get half the inheritance of males.
Polygamy
God's original will was for
marriage to consist of one man and one wife (Gen
These sad facts should
prevent us from abandoning God's ideal of monogamy. Some Muslims try to find
support for polygamy by saying that in most human societies
females outnumber males. But this is not really true as The Encyclopedia
Britannica (15th edition) states in Volume 7, p.998, in the section 'genetics,
human':
'... Reliably, in almost
all human populations studied at birth, there is a slight excess of males;
about 106 boys are born for each 100 girls. Throughout life, however, there is
a slightly greater mortality of males; this slowly alters the sex ratio
until, beyond the age of 50 years, there is an excess of females.'
These figures show clearly
that in the usual age when people consider marriage, i.e. in the range of about
18-40 years, men slightly outnumber women. Since most Muslims who practice
polygamy marry additional women below the age of fifty they are actually making
the already existing imbalance worse. By doing so younger men will find it
harder to find a suitable wife. If any male reader should still be in doubt
then he should ask himself the question, 'How would I like it if I had to share
my wife with other men? Am I willing to allow several husbands for a woman in
those societies or circumstances where the balance for some reason might be tilted
the other way? My wife told me that she would rather prefer to live alone than
to be eaten up by jealousy. The Bible agrees with her when it says:
'Set me as a seal upon
your heart, as a seal upon your arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy
is cruel as the grave: the coals of it are coals of fire, which has a most
vehement flame. (Song of Sol 8:6)
Ecclesiastes 7:26-29
'I find more bitter than
death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are
chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will
ensnare. 'Look,' says the Teacher, 'this is what I have discovered: Adding one
thing to another to discover the scheme of things - while I was still searching
but not finding - I found one [upright] man among a thousand, but not one
[upright] woman among them all. This only have I found: God made mankind
upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.'
Firstly, by using the
phrase 'the woman' not 'a woman' or 'women' it becomes clear that only a
particular type of women is addressed not the female sex in general. This view
is confirmed by the descriptive phrase that follows, 'whose heart is a trap and
whose hands are chains,....the sinner she will
ensnare.' It identifies the particular woman spoken about as a prostitute.
Secondly, the phrase 'not one (upright) woman among them all' refers in the
Hebrew language in which the Old Testament was written first, clearly to the
'among the thousand' not among all women on earth. Thirdly, the phrase 'God
made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes' confirms
that both, men and women are sinning against God. Fourthly, the fact that he
found one upright man but no upright woman among the one thousand has to be
understood in the context of the phrase 'this is what I have discovered.' It
was his personal experience only. The book of Ecclesiastes expresses numerous
personal opinions that contradict God's truth, such as:
'Meaningless!
Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.' (1:2)
'Man's fate is like
that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have
the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal.' (
4. NEW TESTAMENT
PASSAGES EXPLAINED
1
Timothy 2:8-15:
8: It is my desire,
then, that in every place men may give themselves to prayer, lifting up holy
hands, without wrath or argument. 9: And that women may be dressed in simple
clothing, with a quiet and serious air; not with twisted hair and gold or
jewels or robes of great price; 10: But clothed with good works, as is right
for women who are living in the fear of God. 11: Let a woman quietly take the
place of a learner and be under authority. 12: In my opinion it is right for a
woman not to be a teacher, or to have rule over a man, but to be quiet. 13: For
Adam was first formed, then Eve; 14: And Adam was not taken by deceit, but the
woman, being tricked, became a wrongdoer. 15: But if they go on in faith and
love and holy self-control, she will be kept safe at the time of childbirth.'
Let us look at those verses
in more detail:
Verse 8: The outward
posture is a sign of inward expectations and dependence on God. According to
1 Corinthaians 11:5 women too are allowed to pray and
prophesy in Church. Verses 9-10: This is not to be understood as a total
ban on wearing jewelry or braided hair. However, the
caution was very appropriate in a society where they were signs of extravagant
luxury and proud personal display. The specifics mentioned are permitted as
long as they are an expression of inward beauty. To have one without the other
is wrong. In other words they are not wrong in themselves but become
inappropriate when they indicate misplaced values. (See also 1 Pet 3:3-4)
Verse 11-15: Dr. Zodhiates, a recognized authority on the Greek New
Testament gives the following comment: 'The
relationship expressed in this passage is not that of women being inferior to
men, but of a wife in her proper relationship to her husband. Observe I
Timothy 2:11. It does not say women but a woman, and better still, a wife. The
word in Greek is 'gune', which indicates either a
woman generically speaking or a wife, depending on the context. In this
instance, since it stands in apposition to the word '
The word translated
'exercise authority' is the Greek word 'authentein'
or 'authenteo,' and this is the only place in the
N.T. that it occurs. Interestingly enough, in Classical Greek an 'authentes' was an autocrat, a person who ruled even to the
point of committing murder. In one instance, it referred to a murder of one of
the same family. The noun 'authentia' means absolute
sway or authority. In other words, a wife in her private or public life
should not do anything to kill the position that her husband has been given by
God. A wife should never be a usurper of the role of a husband or a father.
In v.13 Paul explains why,
'For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.'
It is not because the husband is better or more intelligent or more worthy. It
is simply the order originally ordained by God, and as such it must be
respected. Two personalities constituting one body, one flesh, can only have
one head. This is intrinsic in God's creation....
The word 'sophrosune,' again translated 'self-restraint,' is used at
the end of v.15 which indicates, as previously explained, personal limitation
of one's freedom, Paul argues in vv. 14,15 that it was the woman who was
deceived by Satan, but that in childbearing she has regained her position
before God in equality with man. However, she must beware lest she misuse that
freedom granted to her by God.' ('The Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible,' AMG
Publishers, 1990, pages 1599-1600)
Furthermore, the phrase
'And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and
became a sinner,' means that Adam sinned not by being deceived but by willingly
disobeying God. The phrase, 'But women will be saved through childbearing - if
they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety,' means they will
be saved in doing this not by doing it.
1 Corinthians
14:34-35
'34 Let women keep quiet
in the churches: for it is not right for them to be talking; but let them be
under control, as it says in the law. 35 And if they have a desire for
knowledge about anything, let them put questions to their husbands privately:
for talking in the church puts shame on a woman.'
In the light of 1
Corinthians 11:5 where women are allowed to pray and to prophesy in the church
it is obvious that the passage above cannot be taken to be generally speaking. Instead it speaks specifically into
the situation in
What was revealed in 1
Corinthians therefore, must have been influenced by
this custom and the involvement of women in it. Women who speak incoherently
and lead men astray as in
1 Corinthians 11:
3-16
'3: But I want you to
understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is her
husband, and the head of Christ is God. 4: Any man who prays or prophesies with
his head covered dishonors his head, 5: but any woman
who prays or prophesies with her head unveiled dishonors
her head--it is the same as if her head were shaven. 6: For if a woman will not
veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but if it is disgraceful for a
woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil. 7: For a man ought not to
cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory
of man. 8 (For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. 9: Neither was
man created for woman, but woman for man.) 10: That is why a woman ought to
have a veil on her head, because of the angels. 11: (Nevertheless, in the Lord
woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; 12:
for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are
from God.) 13: Judge for yourselves; is it proper for a woman to pray to God
with her head uncovered? 14: Does not nature itself teach you that for a man to
wear long hair is degrading to him, 15: but if a woman
has long hair, it is her pride? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
16: If any one is disposed to be contentious, we recognize no other practice,
nor do the churches of God.'
The veil was common in the
days of the Old Testament. Women wore it out of modesty and as a sign that they
accepted the leadership of men within the family. (Gen 24:65) As the passage
above shows, the eternal principle of male headship can express itself in
different cultural forms. It is addressed to Christians from
Greeks believed in New
Testament days that by not covering their heads, men declared independence in
contrast to slaves who had to cover themselves. Women covered themselves to
symbolize the protectiveness they enjoyed from their husbands. Verses 8-12
refer to God's order in creation and show that there is nothing wrong with the
Greek tradition under question as long as men remember that Christ is their
head (see verse 3), even though they do pray without a covering. Verse 11
confirms the teaching of Galatians 3:28 and 1 Peter 3:7 where women are
declared to be equal in worth yet different as to how they fulfill
their purpose.
The phrase at the end of
verse 10, 'because of the angels', signifies that whatever one does on earth
one must make sure it also has the approval of heaven represented here by
angels.
The passage under
consideration teaches that existing customs, as long as they are not contrary
to morals and Scripture, are to be followed for the sake of unity. In applying the teaching above to
today's culture found in Western nations, Christian women are being asked to
dress modestly so as not to tempt men sexually. (See also 1 Tim 2:9) In order
to achieve that goal one does not have to ask both, young and old, to go to the
extreme and cover their whole bodies. This causes very considerable discomfort
in hot countries especially since women are usually asked by traditional Muslim
Islamists to wear black cloths. In opposite to the Quran
there are several biblical passages that place equal responsibility on men to
guard themselves from falling into temptation. (Prov
6:25, Rom 7:7, Job 31:1, 1 Cor
'But I say to you
that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart.'
Furthermore, female
acceptance of male leadership within the family will be shown in culturally
appropriate ways such as the British marriage vows and by adhering to the husbands advice provided it is expressing biblical truth.
5. WHAT ISLAM HAS TO SAY
ABOUT WOMEN
Compared with the appalling
status women in
According to Surah 4 (An-Nisa), verse 34, are
women treated like children!
According to Surah 4 (An-Nisa),verse 15, the punishment in case of lewdness is confinement
to the house until death! Some commentators believe that the punishment later
was altered to 100 lashes. But if women are created physically weaker than men
why do they have to endure the same punishment as they?
According to Surah 4 (An-Nisa), verse 176, why
do men inherit twice as much as women?
According to Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah), verse 282,
why do two female-witnesses count as much as one male?
According to Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah), verse 221,
and Surah 5 (Al-Ma'idah), vers 5, why can women not marry non-Muslims, while men are
allowed to?
According to Surah 2 (Al-Baqarah),verse 223, wives are as a field unto the husbands; why can they
approach them when and how they will?
According to Surah 4 (An-Nisa) verse 24,
Muslims are allowed to have sex with female slaves! Does this horrifying verse
not amount to legalising rape among prisoners of war? (See also 23:5-6, 33:50,
70:22-30)
The Quran
does not say anything about women who for some reason can not or choose not to
get married. Does this status virtually not exist?
According to Surah 56, (Waqi'a), verses 35-38,
are newly created virgins waiting for men only in paradise? (See also Surah 55, (Rahman), verses 56-57)
According to Surah 2 (Al
Baqarah), verses 226-242, Muslim men only are allowed to divorce and get
reconciled to their wives twice without having to give reasons. Muslim women
can seek a divorce mainly in the following seven extreme cases, but they generally
require to be ratified by a decree from the Qazi or "judge": (1)
Jubb. That is, when the husband before marriage has been by any cause
deprived of his sexual organ. This condition is called majbub. (2) Cases of evident madness (3) leprosy. (4) Refusal
of Islam. If one of the parties embraces Islam, the judge must offer it to
the other three distinct times, and if he or she refuses to embrace the faith,
divorce takes place. If they keep living together both are technically committing
adultery for which the punishment is death by stoning. While a Muslim man is allowed to marry a woman from among the ‘People
of the book’, the Jews or Christians, this privilege is denied to a Muslim
woman. (5) La'n, or "imprecation." That is, when a
husband charges his wife with adultery, the charge is investigated, but if
there is no proof, and the man swears his wife is guilty, and the wife swears
she is innocent, a divorce must be decreed. (6) Difference of country
For example, if a husband flees from a daru 'l-harb, or "land of
enmity," ie "a non-Moslem country," to a daru 'l-Islam,
or "country of Islam", and his wife refuse to perform hijrah
(flight) and to accompany him, she is divorced. (7) Apostasy from Islam
The author of the Raddu 'l-Mukhtar ( vol ii p 643) says: "When a
man or woman apostatizes from Islam, then an immediate dissolution (faskh)
of the marriage takes place, whether the apostasy be of the man or of the woman
without a decree from the Qazi." And again, (p. 645), "If both
husband and wife apostatize at the same time, their marriage bond remains; and
if at any future time the parties again return to Islam, no re-marriage is
necessary to constitute them man and wife; but if one of the parties should
apostatize before the other, a dissolution of the marriage takes place ." For
more details and the following quote see ‘Dictionary of Islam by T.P. Hughes,
1988, ‘divorce’: “Burckhardt tells us of an Arab, forty-five years old, who
had had fifty wives, so that he must have divorced two wives and married two
fresh ones on the average every year. We have cases of Muhammad's own ‘Companions’
not much better. This is the natural and legitimate effect of the law“” Compared with the Biblical
teaching explained hereafter it becomes even clearer how much Muslim women are disadvantaged
“If
a man takes a wife, and after they are married she is unpleasing to him because
of some bad quality in her, let him give her a statement in writing and send
her away from his house. And when she has gone away from him, she may become
another man's wife. And if the second husband has no love for her and, giving
her a statement in writing, sends her away; or if death comes to the second
husband to whom she was married; Her first husband, who had sent her away, may
not take her back after she has been wife to another; for that is disgusting to
the Lord: and you are not to be a cause of sin in the land which the Lord your
God is giving you for your heritage.” (Deuteronomy 24:1-4)
This
is the permission which the Pharisees erroneously referred to as a law in the
New Testament (Matthew Mt 19:7). They
thought that Moses commanded to give a writing of divorcement. It was not so; because
it was a practice contrary to the original institution of marriage. God always abhorred it. Jesus told them that
he only permitted it because of the hardness of their hearts, for fear that, if
they had not had liberty to divorce their wives, they should have ruled them
with such cruelty that could have led to the death of them. During the time when the Israelites were
slaves in
Firstly,
a man might not divorce his wife unless he found some bad quality in her.
(Verse 1) It was not sufficient to say that he did not like her, or that he
liked another better, but he must show cause for his dislike; something that
made her disagreeable and unpleasant to him, though it might not make her so to
another. This bad quality must mean something less than adultery because for
that a marriage partner had to die according to the law. People disagree as to what it is exactly.
Whatever is meant by it, doubtless it was something considerable; People, who think
divorce is allowed for every reason, as was the case in
Secondly, it must be done, not by word of
mouth, for that might be spoken hastily, but by writing, and that put in due
form, and solemnly declared, before witnesses, to be his own act and deed. This
needed time, and left room for consideration, that it might not be done in a
moment of anger.
Thirdly, the husband must give it into the
hand of his wife, and send her away, which some think forced him to make
provision for her, that might help to marry her again.
Fourthly,
that being divorced it was lawful for her to marry another husband (Verse 2).
The divorce had dissolved the bond of marriage as effectually as death could dissolve
it; so that she was as free to marry again as if her first husband had been
naturally dead.
Verse
four mentions that the one who is divorced and remarried is dishonoured. God permitted them to divorce their wives,
because of the hardness of their hearts. Yet he considered all after-marriages
to be dishonouring. It is on this ground that Jesus argues, that whoever
marries a divorced partner is an adulterer: This could not have been the case
if God had allowed the divorce to be a legal and proper separation of the man
from his wife; but in the sight of God nothing can be a legal cause of
separation but adultery on either side.
In such a case, according to the law of God, a man may put away his
wife, and a wife may put away her husband (Mark
Jesus
confirms the above interpretation:
“And
certain Pharisees came to Jesus, testing him, and saying, Is it right for a man
to put away his wife for every cause? And
he said in answer, Have you not seen in the Scriptures,
that he who made them at the first made them male and female, and said, For
this cause will a man go away from his father and mother, and be joined to his
wife; and the two will become one flesh? So that they are no
longer two, but one flesh. Then let not that which has been joined by
God be parted by man. They say to him, Why then did
Moses give orders that a husband might give her a statement in writing and be
free from her? He says to them, Moses, because of your hard hearts, let you put
away your wives: but it has not been so from the first. And I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries commits
adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."
(Matthew 19: 3-9)
So
is there hope for any of us? Yes, there
is! Jesus came to die for our sins. If
we believe in him we can start again a new life. His unconditional love indeed
means that he does not remember our past. Neither must we! However, out of thankfulness we now do what
pleases him. If we don’t and just carry on with our old lives (see Romans,
chapter 6) it means we have not truly understood his love. Then our faith
becomes meaningless and we deceive ourselves.
God’s word can not be changed. If it goes against the feelings of our
hearts then they need to be changed.
How does one have to
understand the following respectable Muslim traditions regarding women?
Sahih Bukhari,
Volume 1, Book 9, Number 490: 'Narrated 'Aisha: 'The
things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me. They said, 'Prayer is
annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying
people).' I said, 'You have made us (i.e. women) dogs. I saw the Prophet
praying while I used to lie in my bed between him and the Qibla.
Whenever I was in need of something, I would slip away. for
I disliked to face him.'
Abu Dawud,
Book 11, Number 2155: 'Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If one of you marries a woman or
buys a slave, he should say: 'O Allah, I ask Thee for the good in her, and in
the disposition Thou hast given her; I take refuge in Thee from the evil in
her, and in the disposition Thou hast given her.' When he buys a camel, he
should take hold of the top of its hump and say the same kind of thing.'
6. CONCLUSION
This study raised numerous
questions regarding the status of women in Islam which have yet to be answered
satisfactorily. On the other hand, the contextualised approach has made it
clear that womanhood according to the Bible is highly respected and valued.
Numerous commandments have been shown to make a lot of sense within the
framework of the Biblical world view. However, a word of caution has to be
added regarding rules and regulations. No doubt laws are needed to keep a
society in order. Compared with thousands found in the federal and state codes
of the
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