Women's Rights in Islam

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WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN ISLAM Author(s): JOHN L. ESPOSITO Source: Islamic Studies, Vol. 14, No. 2 (SUMMER 1975), pp. 99-114Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, IslamabadStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20846947Accessed: 17-05-2015 14:07 UTC

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WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN ISLAM

JOHN L. ESPOSITO

The twentieth century has provided a challenge to Muslim countries throughout the world. Modernization has meant the harnessing of science and technology with a growing trend towards industrialization and urbanization. The results of these new developments have been pro found social changes, among them changes in family structure and most

especially in woman's status and role in Muslim society. Recognition of women's inferior status during the long period of medieval Muslim

history and down to the modern period raises a serious question as to

whether or not this represents the Islamic ideal. Specifically, is there an

inherent conflict between the Islamic tradition and the demands of the modern age?

The subject of women and the family in Islam is a difficult one

fraught with stereotypes and misconceptions. A commonly accepted

belief, fostered by the existence of such practices as the veiling (burqa) and seclusion {purdah) of women, is that Islam is a religion that grants no

rights to women but rather prescribes their total subjugation to men. In

fact, this is far from the Qur'anic reality, and from the picture that emer

ges from early Islamic histroy. A search for the causes of women's low

position in Muslim society shows that such a situation reflects neither the;

original spirit nor content of the Qur'an which had enacted many reforms

to improve women's debased position in pre-Islamic society.

Many of the social and legal practices perpetuating women's low

status actually developed through the influence of social customs com

mon in ancient and medieval times. Once these customs infiltrated'

Islamic culture and then became accepted as norms, they were naturally identified with Islam. And once identified with Islam, they were viewed as unchanging if not sacrosanct social standards.

The recognition that these standards, applied to medieval society, are no longer suitable for present social conditions has come in the after

math of the social and economic upheaval in the twentieth century. These medieval attitudes and values regarding women and the Muslim family



100 JOHN L. ESPOSITO

have caused and continue to cause unnecessary social inequities. The

position of women in Islam can and must be viewed from within its his

torical context.

In order to better understand the changing role of Muslim women

and its relationship to the Islamic tradition, this study will examine the status of women in Muslim society from an historical and sociological

perspective.

Women's position in classical times will be viewed in contrast

with her status in pre-Islamic Arabian society in order to provide a pers

pective on the improved status which Islam created for her in the classical

period. Furthermore, this will provide a vantage point from which to

view the deterioration of her status during the medieval period. This

paper, thus concerns itself with a discussion of the factors which contri

buted to the depressed position of women in medieval Muslim society? a situation which has continued to exist down to the modern period.

Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia

A review of women's low status in pre-Islamic times provides a

perspective on the extent of the reforms which the Qur'an introduced to improve their position in classical Islam. In a primitive society threa

tened by poverty and starvation, female babies who did not have the same

potential for individual strength and mobility as males, often represented a great burden. One manifestation of this attitude was the pre-Islamic

practice of female infanticide. Its existence is attested to in the Qur'an:

When news is brought to one of them of the( birth oO a female (child), his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief! With shame does he hide himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he re tain it (on sufferance and contempt), or bury it in the dust? Ah! what an evil (choice) they decide on. (Qur'an: XVI, 58-59)1

Because they were stronger and more agile than women, most

of the tasks necessary in a society of nomads (ability to fight as warriors, to attack animals, to seize food), were better done by men. Women,

who were easily overcome by force and who spent much of their lives

weakened by pregnancies or tied down with the care of children, could

easily become liabilities to a tribe. They were often in danger of being carried off as wives or concubines of the enemy, a serious disgrace for their

kin. Thus, social conditions and the necessities of survival accounted for women's low social position.



WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN ISLAM 101

In addition, the lowering of women's status can be attributed to the

types of marriage that were contracted. In ancient Arabia, two main

categories of marriage can be distinguished, one based on female kinship

Qadlqa) and the other based on male kinship (ba'l). In sadlqa marriage, the wife stayed with her tribe while her husband sometimes came from a

foreign tribe. The wife had the right to choose her husband, to receive

him in her tent and to dismiss him when she wished. Sadlqa marriages involved no subjugation of the, wife. She, and not her family, received a

gift from her prospective husband in consideration of the marriage. No

witnesses or guardians were necessary since the marriage was based solely on the consent of the two parties. It did not involve any contract with the

wife's kin. Thus, the sadlqa marriage corresponded to the law of mother

kinship. Children belonged to the wife's tribe since her kin did not con

tract with the husband to relinquish their rights to the wife or her children.

Two types of sadlqa marriages existed, mat*a or temporary marriage and

what Robertson Smith calls "beena" a more permanent marriage through which the husband settled with his wife's tribe.2

In contrast to the sadlqa marriage, the ba 7 marriage, based on male

kinship, is governed by very different rules. This marriage originally took place by capture of the woman in battle. Later, however, such

marriages were contracted through purchase of the woman from her kin.

With this marriage, the woman's status was considerably lowered since

she lost her right to choose and to dismiss her mate, to receive a gift from

her husband and to live along with her future children among her own

tribe. Ba 7, meaning "lord" or "owner" reflected the status of the hus

band over the wife. She was obliged to follow him to his tribe and to

bear children who were considered to be of his blood. The wife's tribe

relinquished their rights to her and her future children by receiving a

price or gift called mahr. This marriage closely resembled a sale through which the woman became the property of her husband and his tribe.3

For some time, both ba'l and sadlqa marriages existed simultaneously in the same tribe, the ba'l marriages often being arranged with captive or alien women. However, eventually ba'l marriages became predomi nant for all women for two main reasons. First, men wanted sons to be

long to their kin. Second, in a ba 7 marriage, much value was placed on

the chastity and potential fidelity of the girl for sale. Consequently, the

girl's family strictly limited her behaviour in order to insure her virginal reputation and quality and therefore their family honour. As a result,




the behaviour of a girl in a fadlqa marriage who could take or leave her husband at will came to be viewed as a disgrace. As Smith explains, 'In

this state of feeling, a woman who entertained a mut'a husband would sink

in social estimation and not be regarded as a proper wife at all."4

The supercedence of the ba'l marriage over the ?adlqa forms contri buted significantly to the depressed social status of women. Since a woman would eventually leave the family, her value consisted primarily in the mahr her family received at her marriage sale. In addition, any

possibility of her right to inheritance from her family, especially inheritance of fixed property such as land, which would in effect be transferring family wealth to another tribe, was out of the question. And, the married woman's status in her new family was not improved. As a wife she be came totally subjected to her husband and to his kindred and totally dependent upon them for maintenance and support.

Thus, the ba'l marriage of dominion in ancient Arabia produced a

situation in which a woman was subjugated by males, her father, brother or close male relatives when she was a virgin and her husband when she

became a wife. As a matter of custom, she came to be regarded as little more than chattle to be bought and sold. She had no voice in the initia tion or termination of her marrige.

Another factor contributing to women's inferior status was men's

right of unlimited polygamy, contingent solely upon the males' ability to

capture or purchase women. Such rights had existed throughout Byzan tium, Persia, Syria and Arabia.5

Qur'anic Reform and the Classical Period

The prevalence of ba'l marriages which led to the general denial of

any rights for women in inheritance, marriage and divorce, provides the

social context against which the life of the Prophet and the revelation of the

Qur'an must be understood in order to see the profound social changes

wrought by Islam. Islam brought a shift in the basis of the social founda

tion?from blood kinship to fellowship of the community (umma) of be

lievers, from loyalty to the tribe to that of the extended family as its basic

unit, and a strong family meant recognition not only of male rights but of female rights as well. Some of the most important and radical reforms

of customary law were those made by the Qur'an in order to improve the status of women and strengthen the family in Muslim society. The three




main areas of Qur'anic reform involved marriage, divorce and inheritance.

Pre-Islamic practices of temporary marriage (mut'a) and unrestricted

polygamy were curtailed and the number of wives permitted was limited

to four. This restriction seems to represent a Qur'anic trend toward re

commending monogamy, a form of marriage that was not feasible at that

time. Social circumstances during this period, the widely-accepted prac tice of polygamy and the existence of many widows and orphans left by

men who had died in battle and were in need of protection through marri

age, militated against the outlawing of polygamy. Thus, the Qur'anic verse from which the control of polygamy is derived must be understood

in the context of problems resulting from the battle of Uhud, 3/625, which had caused the deaths of a substantial percentage of Muslim men:

If ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three, or four; But if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one. (Qur*an: IV, 3).

In the eyes of Muslim modernists, this Qur'anic injunction encour

aged monogamy by stressing the necessity for equal treatment of each wife.

Moreover, recognition of the difficulty, if not impossibility of this task is voiced in a subsequent verse:

Ye are never able to be fair and just between women even if that were

your ardent desire. (Qur'an: IV, 129).

In another attempt to strengthen woman's position in marriage, the Qur'an affirmed her full legal capacity to contract marriage and re

ceive the dower (mahr). Only the wife, then, and not her father or other

male relatives, as had been the custom, was to receive the dower from her husband: "And give the women (in marriage) their dower as a free gift."

(Qur'an: IV, 4). Thus, the woman became a legal partner to the marriage contract rather than an object for sale.

Contrary to popular belief in the West, the original intent of early Islamic faith was not to encourage divorce but to discourage it. Indeed, the Prophet is reported to have said that ". . .of all the permitted

things, divorce is the most abominable with God."6 However, where

divorce was the only alternative, the Qur'an sought to protect woman and

her rights. Thus men who are considering divorce from their wives are

constantly commanded to ". . . either take them back on equitable terms

or part with them on equitable terms." (Qur'an: LXV, 2). In addition, in

order to provide an opportunity for reconciliation, an important Qur'anic




reform calls for a waiting period ('idda) of three months, giving the wife full maintenance (Qur'dn: LXV, 6) during this period, before a final divorce can take place. If a wife is pregnant, the waiting period is extended until

delivery of her child, (Qur'dn: LXV, 4).

A common abuse in Ere-Islamic Arabian society occurred when a man divorced his wife in a fit of anger and then just as capriciously took her back. This practice existed for one of two possible reasons: to convince the wife to relinquish her dower in exchange for her final free dom or to prevent her from re-marrying. To eliminate this injustice, the Qur'dn commanded that a husband may divorce his wife but twice

(Qur'dn: II, 229) and that regardless of his excuses, a third pronunciation of the divorce formula constituted an irrevocable divorce.

Finally, the Qur'dn established the right of women to inherit. In Pre-Islamic Arabia, as in many civilizations, inheritance passed only to mature male relatives upon whom the women were totally dependent for their survival. However, in the Islamic community (umma) more

emphasis was placed upon the rights of family members, especially women. This Islamic reform is mirrored in the new rules of inheritance that were

superimposed upon existing customary practices. The Qur'dn gives rights of inheritance to wives, daughters, sisters and grandmothers of the de

ceased, all of whom had previously had no rights of succession at all. These new "Qur'dnic heirs" received fixed proportionate shares from the deceased's estate before the inheritance passed on to the male agnates. Only after these Qur'dnic claims were satisfied, was the residue of the estate awarded to the nearest agnate relatives. Generally speaking, female heirs were awarded a share equivalent to half the amount given to their

male counterparts, whose heavy maintenance responsibilities (for children, parents and all female members in the extended family, (all specified in the Qur'dn) justified their larger share.

In addition to specific Qur'dnic regulations which established and

protected women's rights, the Qur'dn declared woman's religious equality with men both as regards their obligation to pray and lead virtuous lives and their equality of rewards and punishments at the final judgment. The Qur'dn expressed their religious equality in this way:

If any do deeds of righteousness, ? be they male or female ? and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them. (Qur'dn: IV, 124).




Thus, in contrast to established custom, Muhammad allowed women

to worship equally with the men.? Women preachers, scholars and saints

were also given significant recognition. As Ignaz Goldziher points out:

There can be but few books on the biographies of saints which fail to men tion a number of women saints under every letter of the alphabet whose wonderous deeds are no less marvelous than those of men dealt with in the same works.8

Among the most renowned saints is the mystic Rabi'a al-'Adawiya

(d. 185/801) of Ba?ra. She was sought as a spiritual guide by both men and women and was often cited by most ?uf i writers and hagiographers as a foremost authority on spirituality.*

There were many women scholars who taught in the mosque universities and whose learning earned them generous praise from male

colleagues and a large following of students. One who ranked among them was one of the most notable scholars of her age, Shuhda bint al-Ibari, surnamed "the glory of woman" who died in Baghdad in 574/1178'. She studied with the leading scholars of her time and in turn attracted

many students to her lectures. Among her achievements was her pro

found knowledge of religious sciences.10 During the same period the

famous woman scholar Zaynab bint al-Sha'ri (d. 615/1219) earned many

ijazdt (diplomas) from tbe top scholars of her generation including al

Zamakhshari. As a result of her reputation, many men, among them the

noted ibn Khallikan, earned a diploma as her student.11

Another area in which women distinguished themselves was badith

(tradition) literature. Despite the fact that the science of badith refers

to the transmitters of traditions as rijdl al-badith (men of the tradition) women often played a prominent role as transmitters. Thus, for example, a famous source of al-Bukhari's Sahib was Karima. bint Ahmad (d. 462/

1066). Actually it was said that no transmitter of the text of Bukharl

could compete with her isndd.12

Decline in Women's Status

The Medieval Period

The above portrayals of the freedom and equality enjoyed by women in the early centuries are a striking contrast to their more sub

jugated position in later Arab society. Many historical events such as

the Mongol and Turkish invasions and the subsequent decline of the Mus




lim civilization into feudalism were general causes for the deterioration of

women's status. As Nejla Izzeddin perceptively observes:

When Arab society was productive, creative women participated in its acti vities and shared in the general strength and well-being. When vitality ebbed away and deterioration set in, woman suffered along with her community, l *

However, one more concrete problem directly related to women's

loss of rights originally granted her by the Qur'an is the strong influence of customary laws. In the course of time, as Islam spread to many lands, the interaction and clash of Qur'anic reforms with the strong social customs

of new converts brought about new cultural adjustments that eventually lowered women's status, i4 For example, when Muslims came into the

cities of Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia and Egypt, their women adopted the

face veil as a concession to the prevailing custom so that they would not

be misunderstood for women of loose character who remained unveiled.

Likewise, the custom of seclusion (harem or purdah) which originally had

been practiced in Byzantium and Persia made its way to the Persianized

court of Baghdad and eventually gained common acceptance in Muslim

lands, i5

Unfortunately, through the ages the customs of seclusion and

veiling became justified by giving them religious authority and sanction and

thus by attributing them to Islam. For example, the Qur'an gives instruc

tions to Muhammad's wives and daughters and the other Muslim women

to cover themselves with outer garments when walking outside. These

instructions were given to protect Muhammad's followers who were at

this time in Mecca subject to insult:

O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): That is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. (Qur'an: XXXIII, 59).

The intention was not to restrict the liberty of women and yet this

passage is used to justify enforced veiling. A notable example of such a

justification comes from a famous commentary of the Qur'an written by

al-Tabari (d. 310/923) who lived most of his life in Baghdad. His writing reflects his environment where the veiling of free women as a status symbol came about to distinguish them from the great number of unveiled slave

girls. Tabari's Tafslr interprets the above verse in the following way:

God says to his Prophet, 'Tell your wives and daughters and the wives of




believers when they go out of doors not to be like female slaves in their garb, leaving their hair and face uncovered; but let them let down part of their robes that no miscreant may expose them to harmful comments when he discovers them to be free women, i*

Other significant Qur'anic passages, often misinterpreted, deal with

the rules of modesty, which are similar for both men and women. The

following passage applies to women:

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and

guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments

except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers (Qur'an: XXIV, 31).

From these injunctions al-BaydawI, a thirteenth century Persian

and one of the most renowned commentators on the Qur'an, reflects the

customs of his day by his interpretation. Al-BaydawI believed that the

"ornaments" referred to are the woman's face and two hands which should

only be uncovered for prayer for:

Indeed the whole of the body of a free woman is to be regarded as pudendal and no part of her may lawfully be seen by anyone but her husband or close

kin, except in case of need, as when she is under-going medical treatment or

giving evidence.17

However, despite attempts of commentators to justify their social

customs through Qur'anic passages, further evidence that veiling is a

social custom instead of a religious edict comes from the fact that Chris

tian women in Arab cities also covered their faces, and in nineteenth cen

tury Egypt both Jewish and Coptic women also kept their faces veiled.18

The negative effect of veiling and seclusion, customs which had

originally meant to give honour and distinctoin to women, came with

their hardening into what was thought to be religious precepts and their

stringent application to women in all environments. The original pra tice of the harem for women in great houses or palaces, who had consider

able mobility within the household and the opportunity to join in many activities within this environment, was quite another custom for poorer women confined in small houses and barred from the community. How

ever, once this custom was given religious authority it even led to the loss

of women's right to publically worship in the mosque. Any question of

a woman's leaving her seclusion to engage in any activity that would




attract public attention to her was condemned by the learned. Although the Qur'dn stresses the mutual religious obligations of women and men,

women's inability to worship in public came to be taken for granted and

gradually led to a lack of their worship in private. This is a problem that has extended even to modern times. As Muhammad al-Ghazzall

observed regarding Egyptian women 20 years ago, "-ninety percent of

our veiled women do not pray at all; nor do they know of the other duties

of Islam any more than their names."

Women's lack of participation in the spiritual life of the mosques, which were also the centres of education and community life, forced them

to lead a life of serious cultural deprivation as well as absolute economic

dependence. As time passed, it was taken for granted that women were

unfit for public service or employment and therefore in no need of an

education.

The narrowing of the scope of their mobility and duties relegated all women to the role of simple domestics, uneducated and dependent

psychologically, economically and socially on their menfolk. Only the

economic necessities of life weakened the strictures of seclusion. Thus, the fellahin and bedouin women who did outdoor work in fields or villages led freer lives than the middle and upper classes whose economic status

never necessitated work or activity outside the home.20 These women

set the norm and imprisoned themselves within a social ideal. The far

reaching effect of their example can be seen in the nostalgic image of the

ideal harem lady critically described by Aziza Hussein who believes that

this "ideal" is responsible for many ambivalent attitudes about women

today. According to Mrs. Hussein, the harem lady's

. . . marriage was a matter to be arranged by the family. As a wife, her

passivity and submission to her husband's desires and whims was the criterion of her success .... Her education, beyond the primary grade, was consi

dered a waste of time or even a dangerous risk to her femininity while her

employment was plain disgrace, as it indicated the incapacity of the head of the

family to fulfil his basic function as the financial provider of the family . . . .

She usually doted her son at the expense of her daughter, and thus prepared him for his role as autocrat of his own future family .... devoid of basic

functions she often resorted to magic and the supernatural to give release

to her frustrations and her main concern in so doing was usually to find the formula. . . to keep hold over her husband.21

Once women's place was traditionally understood to be away from




the mainstream of life, her limited role within the family and the low status in society that resulted was easily perpetuated for generations. The micro cosm of her world was the extended family, a family structure predomi nant for many centuries in Egypt. A closer look at the workings of the extended family provides us with an important illustration of the lives of men and women within the household and of the traditional attitudes toward males and females developed from their childhood. And, since the extended family naturally reflected the social customs of the times,

(women's seclusion, lack of education, etc.) an analysis of family customs can also help to provide reasons for the gradual loss of women's rights and

responsibilities granted by the Qur'an.

The extended family served as a very practical, self-sufficient economic unit in an agrarian economy. The household contained the

father, his wife or wives, unmarried sons and daughters and married sons

with their wives and children, all of whom had well-defined roles within

the family structure. The role reserved for woman as childbearer and do

mestic was most appropriate to her seclusion and lack of education, but

in its very suitability it unwittingly served to limit her potential and to per

petuate her inferior status. Reflecting the disappearance of women's

rights and responsibilities, almost every characteristic of the extended

family embodies masculine supremacy and paternal power.

First of all, the family is patrilineal, i.e. it relies on male kinship. This is explained in an Arab proverb in the following way: "The people

rely in descent on the father and not on the mother; the mother is like a

vessel of oil that is emptied."22 Second, it is patriarchal since the oldest

male, as master of his immediate family and head of the extended family, controls all family land and wealth. Therefore, sons born to a family not

only preserve its name but also protect its wealth and strength. The

mothers' role in the extended family centres around motherhood. The

proper village woman has been defined as an "envelope for conception,"2 3

and her prestige is heightened by the number of male children that she

bears. Once the son is born, the mother's identity is fused with her name

since she is thereafter called "mother of the first born son" or "Umm

Nabil," for example.24 The preeminence of childbearing in a woman's

life can also be seen by the fact that when a woman reaches menopause, this period of her life has been referred to as the "age of despair."25 The

extended family is thirdly patrilocal, meaning that married sons bring home

their new wives and expand the family with their future children. The




rather servile position of the young wife under her mother-in-law's autho

rity is considerably improved when she bears children, especially males.

On the other hand, childlessness or failure to bear a male child is often

considered grounds for divorce.26

Naturally, from a family's point of view, the birth of sons was a time

of great rejoicing since they determined the family's future growth and

power. The medieval woman's prayer has been "Sons, give me sons," while friends and relatives wish a man "Seven sons and seven pilgrimages," for as an old proverb says, "The boy is the tent peg of the house."27

However, in contrast, it is not difficult to understand the family's senti ments regarding the birth of a daughter, a time when "the threshold of a

house weeps for 40 days."28 Certainly, women's childbearing role was

most important in a growing society in need of constant manpower, but

this role would be fulfilled only upon her marriage. Therefore, another

family (i.e., the husband's kin) was destined to receive the benefits of children the daughter would bear. And, until marriage, separated from

the social and intellectual benefits of the outside world, she was suited

psychologically and intellectually for little more than the role of house hold servant. On the other hand, her brothers, who would function as

financial providers, were naturally exposed to greater social, educational and economic opportunities in order to develop their independence and

responsibility.

Given the great difference between the opportunities and life

experiences available to men and women, it is not surprising that women

who had lost many of their rights and responsibilities never even attempted to claim them. During the period of women's low status, social customs

reflecting her passive, limited role were often at great variance with certain

principles of Islamic law. In the arrangement of her marriage, for example, Islamic law specifies that the daughter and not her father receive the dower.

However, the sum commonly functioned as a "bride price" given to her

family. This situation, resembling practices in the pre-Islamic ba7 marriage, is one illustration of the infiltration of pre-Islamic custom into common

practice. To the extent that this arrangement gained general acceptance, the daughter, contrary to Qur'dnic intent, became the object rather than the

subject of the marriage agreement.

The marriage contract is considered in Islam to be a contract con

taining an offer and acceptance between two independent parties who had




attained puberty. However, the economic and social structure of the

extended family had lent itself to the contracting of marriages by the fathers or grand-fathers of the spouses who were often very young children.

Furthermore, the contracts could not be repudiated by the children when

they attained puberty (Hanafi law).

Control of the marriage arrangement exerted by the husband's

family came from the economic dependence of the boy on his father for the dower and his need for his family's approval of the girl he intended

to bring home to live with them. The bride's family also naturally had full control over her marriage choice since girls, secluded within the family and married very young, lacked the discrimination as well as the oppor

tunity to meet eligible men by themselves. And, although the daughter could by law reject the arranged marriage in certain situations, this "dis

obedience" would have caused great difficulties with her relatives.29

The family's handling of a daughter's inheritance rights also re

flects social custom. As we have seen, the Qur'dn included wife, mother

and daughters among the primary heirs of the deceased who were entitled

to fixed shares. However, given the social structure of the extended

family , awarding married daughters their rightful share of money or land

was often viewed as transferring family wealth to an alien family. Thus

this law, viewed as contrary to the existing social structure, was often

ignored or circumvented through waqf or religious endowment. Although the waqf has a noble raison d'etre, it was also un-fortunately used in the

past to avoid awarding a woman her inheritance rights. Through waqf a family could specify exactly who should receive income from certain

family possessions. As a result, some founders of waqf had denied their

daughters any share in income and others had specified that after marriage the daughter relinquishes her share.

After marriage, the low position of women in the family and society was well-illustrated by the accepted practices of divorce. The stringent control of the daughter's life by her father was transferred to the husband

when daughter became wife. Many factors seem to have contributed to

the very unequal status of husband and wife. First of all, the high status

given the male from the time of his birth as well as the broader oppor tunities for social and intellectual development place him above the female

from childhood. A great difference in maturity and experience between

husband and wife was also due to the fact that daughters were married very

young to husbands who were somewhat older, probably more educated




and certainly more worldly-wise. Naturally, considering the circumstances

husbands would play a dominant role in the relationship from the very be

ginning. Reflecting the above circumstances, as well as a strongly patriar chal society, divorce was left almost solely to the husband's discretion.

In fact, the privileges of divorce granted to the male (most notably exem

plified in the sinful but legal falaq al-bid'dp* serve as one of the most strik

ing examples of the influence of social custom on Islamic law. In con

trast, the influence of custom has also shown its strength in the more limited

rights of divorce available to the wife, despite the Qur'dnic prescription which says "And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them,

according to what is equitable." (Qur'an: II, 228). In addition, because

of the social situation, wives who were very socially and economically

dependent seldom initiated divorces even on the basis of these rights.

Another noteworthy example of the husband's control over his wife

which made its way into accepted legal practices is known as the Bayt-al td'a (house of obedience) which is still operative in Egypt today.31 With

the Bayt al-ta'a if a wife leaves her husband's house without his permission, he may call upon the police to forcibly bring her back and may even im

prison her until she becomes more obedient.

The husband's authority in law also extends to such matters as cus

tody of the children. Although the mother's exclusive role in the tradi

tional extended family centres around the bearing and rearing of children,

their father, after divorce, always received custody of boys at seven and

girls at nine because he is cnosidered to be their legal guardian. The

extended family structure also facilitated such an arrangement since

many women (grandmothers, aunts, etc.) would be available in the hus

band's house to care for the children. Of course, the father is also the chil

dren's legal maintainer and this role helps to justify his rights in law.

The financial responsibilities of the males in traditional society and

their central role as family supporters serve as an important factor for

understanding the legal powers granted to them. As has been mentioned, men are subject to very extensive financial responsibilities both for their

nuclear family and for many extended family members, especially females.

Women could always expect maintenance from their closest male relatives.

Of course, along with such heavy responsibilities came considerable

prestige and such prestige in traditional societies, east and west, was

strictly reserved for the males. This attitude is reflected in Muslim family law in the HanafI requirement that a man maintain his wife regardless of




her own personal wealth. This unqualified obligation also resulted in

strong social sanctions against a wage-earning woman who would dis

grace her menfolk by implying their inability to fulfill their traditional role.

Conclusion

The picture that emerges from an analysis of women's status in

Islam is a multifaceted one. The implementation of Qur'anic reforms

markedly improved her position in the family and society in the classical

period. However, subsequent historical events as well as assimilated cul

tural influences at times seriously compromised her rights.

NOTES 1. Unless otherwise specified, all Qur'antc references arc from The Holy Qur'an (Text,

Translation and Commentary), Ed. Abdullah Yusuf Ali, (Beirut: Dar al-*Arabia, 1968).

2. W. Robertson Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, (Boston: Beacon Press,

1903), p. 87. (The term "beend" is used in Ceylon to describe marriages in which the husband goes to settle in his wife's village. Smith, following J.F. McLennan, has extended the use of the term to similar marriages in other lands.)

3. W.R. Smith, Op. cit.9 pp. 76-100.

4. Ibid., p. 128.

5. Lamia al-Faruqi, "Women's Rights and the Muslim Woman," Islam and the Modern

Age, Vol. Ill, No. 2, (May, 1972), 79.

6. AbO Dawud, Sunan (Kanpur: Matba* Majidi, 1346 A.H.) I: 296.

T Gustave E. von Grunebaum, Medieval Islam (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,

1946), p. 174.

8. Ignaz Goldziher, Muslim Studies, II (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1971), p. 274.

9. Margaret Smith, "Rabi'a al-'Adawiya* "Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam. Edited by H.A.R. Gibb, et. al (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1965), pp. 462

463. Cf. also by the same author, Rdbt'a the Mystic and Her Fellow-Saints in Islam

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1928), pp. 19, 47.

10. Nejla Izzeddin, The Arab World, (Chicago: Henry Regnery Co., 1953), p. 300.

[An annotated Urdu translation of this book by late Dr. Maljmud IJusayn, Vice Chancsller Karachi University, was published under the title 'Arab Dunyd (Lahore: Maktaba-e-Jadid: 1960). Editor]

11. Ibid., p. 367.

12. Ibn al-Athir, Al-Kamil, (Cairo, 1290 A.H.), X, p. 26.

13. Izzeddin, p. 302.

14. Muhammad M. Pickthall, Cultural Side of Islam (Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1966), pp. 146-147.




15. Pickthall, p. 147. Cf. also R. Levy, The Social Structure of Islam, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1955), p. 127.

16. Al-Tabari, Tafsir Jam? al-Bayan (Cairo: Bulaq, 1328 A.H.), part 22, p. 33.

17. Tafsir al-Qa&l al-Baydawi, Vol. II (Istambul: Uthmaniya, 1314 A.H.), p. 138. 18. Gabriel Baer, Population and Society in the Arab East (London: Routledge and

KeganPaul, 1963), p. 42.

19. Mubammad al-Ghazzali, Our Beginning in Wisdom, trans, by Isma'il R. al-Faruqi (Washington: American Council of Learned Societies, 1953), p. 111.

20. Raphael Patai, Society .Culture and Change in the Middle East (Philadelphia: Uni

versity of Pennsylvania Press, 1969), p. 120.

21. Aziza Hussein, "The Family as a Social Unit ? Responsibilities of Husband and Wife" (Unpublished article, Cairo: Social Research Center, American University in Cairo, 1967)' pp. 7-8.

22. Patai, p. 86.

23. Hamad Ammar, Growing Up in an Egyptian Village. (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1966),p. 94.

24. Laila Shukry El-Hamamsy, "Belief Systems and Family Planning in Peasant Socie

ties," (paper delivered at the Conference on Technological Change and Population Growth, California Institute of Technology, May 6-8, 1970), p. 24.

25. J.N.D. Anderson, "Recent Development in Shariah Law," Muslim World, Vol.

41, (1951) 194.

26. El-Hamamsy, p. 24.

27. Dorothy F. Beck, "The Changing Moslem Family of the Middle East," Marriage and Family Living, XIX, No. 4. (November 1957), pp. 343-344.

28. Ibid.

29. Lamia al-Faruqi, p. 87.

30. Talaq al-btd'a refers to those forms of divorce which ignore the prescribed waiting period (U'dda) and are immediately irrevocable. Thus, through the husband's

simple pronouncement of "I divorce you three times," a wife may be legally di vorced. Though "disapproved", such forms arc nevertheless valid in law.

31. AUAhram, June 7, 1971.



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