In the Name of Allāh.
As Islām empowers Muslim women by freeing them from sexual exploitation and human degradation, especially through the use of the Ḥijāb to shield their beauty from non-Maḥram men, those lacking moral integrity often oppose it with stereotypical arguments, claiming it confines and denies them their rights. What a narrow-minded perspective!
Oh! As if we don’t know history. Before the advent of Islām, the status of women was indubitably besmirched. Societies of ancient Greeks, Persians, Romans, Jews, Christians, and even pre-Islāmic Arabs frequently mistreated women, viewing them as sources of evil and reducing them to tools for slavery and sexual pleasure.
St. Paul, a key figure in Christianity, asserted that women are a source of sin, the root of every evil, and the origin of all abominations. To comprehend the contempt toward women in Western society for centuries, one must examine the extreme views held by canonized saints. For example, St. John Damascene stated, “Woman is a daughter of falsehood, a sentinel of Hell, the enemy of peace; through her Adam lost Paradise” (pg. 79). Furthermore, St. Cyprian warned that “Woman is the instrument which the Devil uses to gain possession of our soul.” (pg. 79). [Women’s Rights: A Historical Perspective]
It is disheartening! During those times, women’s rights were severely limited; women were treated as slaves, faced constant humiliation, and were denied inheritance rights, viewed instead as possessions to be bequeathed.
We owe perfect gratitude to Allāh for the gift of Islām through Prophet Muḥammad (toﷺ), which liberates women. It enshrines the love and respect for mothers, wives, and daughters, as well as the rights to education, inheritance, marriage, divorce, attestation, etc. Above all, there is an equal right to worship and reward. Allāh says: “So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and answered them): ‘Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be male or female.’” [Sūrah Aal-‘Imrān (3): 195]
Nevertheless, it saddens one to witness some Muslim women undermining the honor that Islām bestows upon them by succumbing to 21st-century Western ideologies. They remove their Ḥijāb to compete with men in businesses, venture into the entertainment industry, and engage in various vices.
Dear sisters! Let us not be misled by the enticing allure of modernity, nor tempted by the promise of acceptance from those who seek to diminish us to mere shadows of our true selves. Let us recognize that Islām, in its profound wisdom and compassion, has always cherished and protected women’s rights.
I beseech Allāh to grant us the strength and wisdom to uphold the truth of Islām and the dignity bestowed upon us. Aameen.
Picture Credit: Freepik
