Is Islamic Feminism an Oxymoron?

[Andrew]

I wrote this about six months ago and Proud Syrian prompted me to put it up. In all, it's about 6000 words so I'm going to be putting it up bit-by-bit as I format it properly.

Is Islamic Feminism an Oxymoron?

The question calls for an investigation into whether Islamic attitudes towards women are consistent with those of feminism. If they are essentially at odds with one another, it must be said that Islamic feminism is, indeed, oxymoronic. Because this exercise is necessarily one of a comparative nature, it is important to establish what is meant by feminism. It is the movement for social, political, and economic equality of men and women.[1] By deduction, attitudes which suggest that women are inferior, possess less intelligence or are essentially sexual playthings are anti-feminist.

Within any belief system, one is going to find statements that support a given thesis to differing degrees. The failing of the Islamic feminists is often not the conclusions they draw from the data they use, rather failure to account for the enormous body of primary data they ignore. From the outset, it is the stated purpose of this essay to investigate more fully that data which, for obvious reasons, is actively forgotten.

A reader will note that this investigation contains little secondary data. That is not unintended. In order to liberate the primary sources from patriarchal readings of historical Muslim exegetes, it is necessary to undertake analysis from first principles, reflecting on raw data and drawing conclusions which have logical correlation to that data. Not only is this the logical methodology, it is also the one consistent with Islamic doctrine. The pinnacle source of Islam is the Qur’an. Second on the hierarchy is the Sunnah. It is only when these are exhausted that one is forced to appeal to secondary writings.[2] As we shall find, there is certainly no shortage of data in the primary source categories.

Nor will the investigation consider the plight of women in Islamic countries living in the world today, for there is often a very big distinction between what a religion (a system of beliefs as exegetically determined from sources considered religiously authoritative) teaches and what adherents do. It is far better to look to the sources than try to distill religion from culture and all the other factors that determine the way people across the globe.

Human Creation in the Qur’an

It is of little consequence whether man or woman was created first although Amina Wadud, an ‘Islamic feminist’, places great emphasis on it. Since when was chronological order authority for anything other than that which is essentially chronological? She writes:

“In the Qur’anic account of creation, Allah never planned to begin the creation of humankind with a male person; nor does it ever refer to the origins of the human race with Adam. It does not even state that Allah began the creation of humankind with the nafs of Adam, the man. This omission is noteworthy because of the Qur’anic version of the creation is not expressed in gender terms.”[3] [emphasis added]

Despite the fact that the Qur’an doesn’t furnish a reader with much data on the matter, the existing data does impugn Wadud’s position. We read:

[Qur’an 7:189] He it is Who did create you from a single soul, and therefrom did make his mate that he might take rest in her…

[Qur’an 39:6] He created you from one being, then from that (being) He made its mate…

Wadud’s position is further shattered upon the contemplation of the ahadith which clearly states that woman was made from a rib, an overt borrowing of the Biblical story. Not only do the ahadith make this clear, they go on to malign the female sex in the same breath:

Bukhari Volume 4, Book 55, Number 548:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah 's Apostle said, "Treat women nicely, for a women is created from a rib, and the most curved portion of the rib is its upper portion, so, if you should try to straighten it, it will break, but if you leave it as it is, it will remain crooked. So treat women nicely."

Women are secondary creations and they are crooked. This results in something of a dilemma. On one hand, women left to their own devices will remain crooked but, on the other, any attempts to straighten them out will result in ‘breaking’ them. It is hard to imagine a more oxymoronic combination of words: feminism and Islam.

Wadud goes on to suggest that because there is dualism in creation- “And of all things We have created pairs” (sura 51:49)- that this, in some way, gives evidence for equality.[4] Not only is the belief scientifically false,[5] if, indeed, it is what she is suggesting, is it also logically invalid. There is simply no logical correlation between a (mistaken) suggestion of dualism and equality in nature.

The Qur’anic View of Women in This World

Wadud attempts to dismiss some rather intriguing facts as though they have no implication for the topic under discussion. She writes:[6]

“Except for Mary, the mother of Jesus, [women] are never called by name. Most are wives and the Qur’an refers to them by means of a possessive construction (the idufah) containing one of the Arabic words for wife… even an unmarried woman or one whose husband is not mentioned is linked with some male”

This is far from insignificant and reeks with overtones of both possession and inferiority. It is historical fact that such attitudes existed in many ancient societies.[7] These have had the opportunity to evolve but, in considering the Qur’an to be the word of Allah,- “the time-span for the Qur’an is not limited to this present word”[8]- Islam is eternally stuck with such attitudes.

She further suggests that “the Qur’an treats the individual, whether male or female, in exactly the same manner”. This comment is clearly made per incuriam as the Qur’an is adamant about gender inequality. Sura 4:34, which will be discussed at length later, states, “men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other” and sura 2:228 insists that, “…men are a step above them [women].” Women are considered both inferior in intelligence and religion. Both brain and spiritual capacity are relatively less developed than in the case of men:

Bukhari Volume 1, Book 6, Number 301:

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:

Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o 'Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion." [emphasis added]

There exists no ambiguity in the hadith whatsoever. The following are presented as brute facts:

1) The majority of hell’s inhabitants are women.

2) Women are deficient in intelligence, their evidence being merely half as valuable as a man’s.

3) Women are deficient in religion because of their hormonal cycles.

When these sentiments are juxtaposed against feminism (equality between the sexes), the two systems of thought strike out at each other for they are entirely mutually exclusive.

[Andrew]

The Concept of Marriage in Islam

Marriage is another area which shows the inferiority of women. Men are allowed to marry up to four wives whereas the converse is not true:

[Qur'an 4:3] And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only) or (the captives) that your right hands possess. Thus it is more likely that ye will not do injustice.

“Some modernists contend that the Qur'an, in fact, effectively prohibits polygamy through the requirement to be just and fair to each of them.”[9] It is apposite to evaluate these arguments to see whether they account for all the relevant data on the matter.

Sheik Mohammed Abduh has this to say:

“Polygamy, although permitted in the Holy Qur’an, is a concession to necessary social conditions which was given with the greatest reluctance, in as much as it was accompanied by the proviso that a man may marry more than one wife only when he is able to care for all and give to each her rights with impartiality and justice. The practical impossibility of doing so indicates that the Divine law, in its intent, contemplated monogamy as the original and ideal state of marriage.”[10]

The argument goes on to say that “the conditions laid down in [sura 4:3] took care of a situation arising out of the after-effects of the wars of Islam, when countless Muslim girls were left orphans and women became widows.”[11] Prima facie, the argument looks to be one that ought to be accepted. Of course it presupposes that women aren’t able to look after themselves without the financial assistance of men (a powerful anti-feminist argument) but does it mean that polygamy is no longer something to which the Qur’an gives sanction? The answer must be no. In Islamic thought, the Qur’an is the very word of Allah. It exists timelessly in the heavens,[12] and has eternal applicability. Indeed, the Qur’an even regards itself as having been in previous revelations:

[Qur’an 26:192-196] It [the Qur'an] is indeed a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds, with it came down the spirit of truth upon your heart so that you may be one of the warners in clear Arabic speech and indeed it [the Qur'an] is in the writings of the earlier (prophets). [emphasis added]

Any suggestion of temporary applicability totally grinds against the rest of the Qur’an and Islamic doctrine. Furthermore, the Qur’an simply doesn’t make the suggestion of temporary applicability.

The Qur’an, as pointed out by Sheik Mohammed Abduh, does place in a justice clause: “if ye fear that ye cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only)”[13] From the outset it needs to be noted that there is no suggestion that this requirement is any more or less stringent now than in times gone by. In order to gain the correct construction of this provision, one must account for the hadith.

Muhammad, himself, was a polygamist, so much so that he gave himself special concessions:

[Qur’an 33:50] O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers, and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Mecca) with thee; and any believing woman, who dedicates her soul to the Prophet, and if the Prophet wishes to wed her-this only for thee, and not for the believers (at large)...

In one fell swoop, Muhammad is allowed as many wives as he wants. Rather than setting a monogamous example, Muhammad goes to the other extreme. More than that, though, Muhammad was allowed to abandon or to sleep with any of his women, according to his wish,[14] indicating that the justice provision doesn’t suggest ‘equality in affection’, rather something along the lines of ‘fair maintenance’. This is borne out further when one discovers that Muhammad preferentially loved Aisha (favourite wife next to Khadeja), Hafsa, Um Salama and Zainab while had less affection for Ummu Habiba, Maymuna, Sawda, Juwayrid, and Safiyya.

There is also another sexist limitation on women, viz. who they cannot marry. Men can marry outside of Islam, to the People of the Book, but the converse doesn’t hold:

[Qur’an 5:5] This day are (all) good things made lawful for you. The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you, and your food is lawful for them. And so are the virtuous women of the believers and the virtuous women of those who received the Scripture before you (lawful for you) when ye give them their marriage portions and live with them in honour, not in fornication, nor taking them as secret concubines. Whoso denieth the faith, his work is vain and he will be among the losers in the Hereafter.

The limitations on marriage are no trivial issue. Whereas Muslim men have access to the women of the largest religion in the world, women are denied this right, once again demonstrating Islam’s inequality between the sexes.

Anti-feminist and Chauvinistic Sexual Demands on Women

Islam perceives women as sexual playthings, both in the temporal and eternal realms.[15] Speaking metaphorically of sex, the Qur’an states, “Your women are as your field- go unto them as you will.”[16] The satisfaction of a husband’s lust is considered so urgent that it is better that a wife abandons her cooking and allow food to get burnt than keep her husband waiting:[17]

The prophet of Allah said: “When a man calls his wife to satisfy his desire, let her come to him though she is occupied at the oven.”

Conspicuously absent is any consideration of the woman’s will. What if a woman doesn’t want to have sex? So severe is a refusal to grant sex at a husband’s whim that heaven responds disapprovingly:

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 122:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "If a woman spends the night deserting her husband's bed (does not sleep with him), then the angels send their curses on her till she comes back (to her husband)." [emphasis added]

Islam, within marriage, makes women objects of sexual outlet. They are at the beck and call of their husbands whose sexual desires are paramount.

The Evil of Women

An adventure through the Islamic sources reveals the suggestion that women are inherently evil and provides for injunctions that have no counter-part for men. ‘Lewd’ women are to be banished to their houses:

[Qur’an 4:15] As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of you against them. And if they testify (to the truth of the allegation) then confine them to the houses until death take them or (until) Allah appoint for them a way (through new legislation). [emphasis added]

Nowhere in the Qur’an do we see a similar command imprisoning men.

The coming of the end of the world is going to be marked, heaven forbid, by an increase in the number of women and a decrease in the number of men![18] Women are also seen as a terrible affliction to men:

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 33:

Narrated Usama bin Zaid:

The Prophet said, "After me I have not left any affliction more harmful to men than women." [emphasis added]

And;

Muslim Book 036, Number 6603:

Usama b. Zaid reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: I have not left after me any (chance) of turmoil more injurious to men than the harm done to the men because of women. [emphasis added]

Of all the calamities that can befall men, women, according to Islam, are the worst! To suggest that Islamic feminism is other than an oxymoron would require reasoning of the most torturous and fallacious kind. As the embodiment of affliction to man, women are also considered bad omens:

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 31:

Narrated Ibn 'Umar:

Evil omen was mentioned before the Prophet: The Prophet said, "If there is evil omen in anything, it is in the house, the woman and the horse." [emphasis added]

Of all the things that could possibly be a bad omen, women form one of the three. So evil are women, that they are even able to annul prayers![19] Aisha was only too mindful of this and would silently slip away until she overcame her guilt.[20]

If women are an evil affliction, then woe betide any man who happens to follow what a woman suggested. That would lead to certain destruction:[21]

“Men are already destroyed when they obey women.”

However one wants to slice the cake, women, in Islam, are seen as evil and destructive creatures, the bane of men.


TBC...

[Andrew]

Women as Property (Slavery and its Sexual Implications)

Women captured as slaves during warfare were considered part of the booty. Aside from providing their masters with labour, they served a far more sinister purpose. In Islam, men are allowed to use their female slaves for sexual purposes:

[Qur’an 70:22-30] Not so the worshippers, who are steadfast in prayer, who set aside a due portion of their wealth for the beggar and for the deprived, who truly believe in the Day of Reckoning and dread the punishment of their Lord (for none is secure from the punishment of their Lord); who restrain their carnal desire (save with their wives and their slave girls, for these are lawful to them: he that lusts after other than these is a transgressor... [emphasis added]

The same mandate is found elsewhere in the Qur’an, including suras 4:24, 23:5-6 and 33:50, which reads, “Prophet, We have made lawful to you the wives whom you have granted dowries and the slave girls whom God has given you as booty;…” [emphasis added] It is clear that Muhammad acquiesced in the mass rape of captives:

Muslim Book 008, Number 3371:

Abu Sirma said to Abu Sa'id al Khadri (Allah he pleased with him): 0 Abu Sa'id, did you hear Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) mentioning al-'azl? He said: Yes, and added: We went out with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) on the expedition to the Bi'l-Mustaliq and took captive some excellent Arab women; and we desired them, for we were suffering from the absence of our wives, (but at the same time) we also desired ransom for them. So we decided to have sexual intercourse with them but by observing 'azl (Withdrawing the male sexual organ before emission of semen to avoid-conception). But we said: We are doing an act whereas Allah's Messenger is amongst us; why not ask him? So we asked Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), and he said: It does not matter if you do not do it, for every soul that is to be born up to the Day of Resurrection will be born. [emphasis added]

Rape is a degrading and humiliating experience. Rather than a sign of respect, it reduces women to a mere orifice. After probably having their husbands slain, these women were taken by Muhammad's men. Muhammad's men both wanted to use them for sexual purposes and ransom them. The well-being of the women was not considered. They would have been tremendously distressed. Implied from the text is that pregnant women cannot be ransomed. So, to avoid losing out on their money, while still using them for sex, these men considered coitus interruptus. The ‘divine permissibility’ of coitus interruptus was not known to the men so Muhammad was approached for advice. Rather than giving a sharp rebuke, Muhammad authorised the rapes, telling them not to worry about coitus interruptus because predestination makes it futile. The scenario is horribly macabre and serves, yet again, to demonstrate the inherent inferiority of women in Islam. It is important to note that the hadith, contained in a Sahih collection, doesn’t stand in isolation. Other reports are given within the same collection, as well as in others.[22]

Muhammad, himself, engaged in this practice. As a gift, he was given Mariyah and her sister, Sirin. According to the sirat literature, Muhammad slept with at least Mariyah.[23]

Not only does the Qur’an support the use of female slaves for sexual purposes but Muhammad does, too. And, afterall, “Surely in the Messenger of God you have a good example.”[24]

Islam and Domestic Violence

When it comes to sura 4:34, Muslim apologists forsake their intellectual integrity and perform a mental triple back flip with double twist and pike. The sura reads:

[Qur'an 4:34] Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.

The Qur’an self-defines how it is to be read. To demonstrate the inadequacies of many exegeses, it is necessary to outline the relationship between the Qur’an and the hadith. In Islam, Muhammad is both a second source of law and the final authority on Qur'anic exegesis. This principle is emphasised throughout the Qur'an where it goes so far as to say the following: "Nor does he say (anything) of his own desire, it is but revelation sent down to him." (sura 53:3-4). Indeed, "it is not fitting for a believer (man or woman) (that) when a matter has been decided by Allah and His Apostle, to have any option about their decision." (sura 33:35). The verse goes on to sternyl warn: "Whosoever disobeys Allah and His Apostle, then he has indeed clearly gone astray." Upon this basis, let us proceed.

The injunction to beat one’s wife for disobedience is not only prima facie abhorrent; it is part of a larger problem, viz. the inferior and secondary status of women in Islam.

What, then, is intended by the Arabic word, translated “scourge”? Is it too harsh a rendering, or one consistent with both other usages of the word within the Qur’an and the examples given by the hadith? The same word, adrib, is used in sura 8:12 for “smite”:

[Qur'an 8:12] When thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying): I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite off them each finger.

The Arabic is as follows:

z yu_hi rabbuka ilal mala_'ikati anni ma'akum fa sabbitul lazina a_manu_, sa ulqi fi qulu_bil lazina kafarur ru'ba fadribu_ fauqal a'na_qi wadribu_ mihum kulla bana_n(in).

The word is clearly one which carries connotations of force. It’s not the playful smack, rather a scourge in the plenary meaning of the word. And certainly there is no warrant for the interpolation of the word “lightly”, as is done by some translators.[25] Now what of the hadith? How was the beating of women seen by Muhammad and his companions?

Muslim Book 004, Number 2127:

Muhammad b. Qais said (to the people): Should I not narrate to you (a hadith of the Holy Prophet) on my authority and on the authority of my mother? We thought that he meant the mother who had given him birth. He (Muhammad b. Qais) then reported that it was 'A'isha who had narrated this: Should I not narrate to you about myself and about the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him)? We said: Yes. She said: When it was my turn for Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) to spend the night with me, he turned his side, put on his mantle and took off his shoes and placed them near his feet, and spread the corner of his shawl on his bed and then lay down till he thought that I had gone to sleep. He took hold of his mantle slowly and put on the shoes slowly, and opened the door and went out and then closed it lightly. I covered my head, put on my veil and tightened my waist wrapper, and then went out following his steps till he reached Baqi'. He stood there and he stood for a long time. He then lifted his hands three times, and then returned and I also returned. He hastened his steps and I also hastened my steps. He ran and I too ran. He came (to the house) and I also came (to the house). I, however, preceded him and I entered (the house), and as I lay down in the bed, he (the Holy Prophet) entered the (house), and said: Why is it, O 'A'isha, that you are out of breath? I said: There is nothing. He said: Tell me or the Subtle and the Aware would inform me. I said: Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransom for you, and then I told him (the whole story). He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain, and then said: Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?... [emphasis added]

One will note that Muhammad took off in the middle of the night. A naturally concerned wife follows him to investigate what on earth is going on. On his return, he notices that Aisha is out of breath. Obviously fearful, she dismisses her breathlessness when asked. Then Muhammad beats her across the chest causing her pain. This thoroughly militates against contrary suggestions, such as those offered by Jamal Badawi who claims “such a measure is more accurately described as a gentle tap on the body.”[26] The source materials are replete with similar examples:

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 72, Number 715:

Narrated 'Ikrima:

Rifa'a divorced his wife whereupon 'AbdurRahman bin Az-Zubair Al-Qurazi married her. 'Aisha said that the lady (came), wearing a green veil (and complained to her (Aisha) of her husband and showed her a green spot on her skin caused by beating). It was the habit of ladies to support each other, so when Allah's Apostle came, 'Aisha said, "I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!" When 'AbdurRahman heard that his wife had gone to the Prophet, he came with his two sons from another wife. She said, "By Allah! I have done no wrong to him but he is impotent and is as useless to me as this," holding and showing the fringe of her garment, 'Abdur-Rahman said, "By Allah, O Allah's Apostle! She has told a lie! I am very strong and can satisfy her but she is disobedient and wants to go back to Rifa'a." Allah's Apostle said, to her, "If that is your intention, then know that it is unlawful for you to remarry Rifa'a unless Abdur-Rahman has had sexual intercourse with you." Then the Prophet saw two boys with 'Abdur-Rahman and asked (him), "Are these your sons?" On that 'AbdurRahman said, "Yes." The Prophet said, "You claim what you claim (i.e.. that he is impotent)? But by Allah, these boys resemble him as a crow resembles a crow," [emphasis added]

Here one will note that a woman was beaten by her husband. In fact, so brutal was the beating that she was badly bruised (or suffered some skin marking as a result of the beating). Aisha comments that the plight of Muslim women was bad, at least by the standards of non-Muslim women (see emphasis). Rather than evidence of Muhammad chastising the husband in any sense, the beaten wife is reproached for voicing that her husband lacks sexual prowess!

Example after example follows. Muhammad laughed at the story of ‘Umar hitting his wife.[27] Abu Bakr and ‘Umar hit their daughters, Muhammad’s wives, for asking Muhammad for money.[28] It is even the case that a man isn’t accountable for physical violence against his wives.[29] Women are so degraded that Aisha’s father, Abu Bakr, struck her for losing a necklace. Although it was a “very painful” blow, she held in her screams lest she wake Muhammad.[30]

If feminism be, inter alia, belief in the social equality of the sexes[31], then Islam is profoundly anti-feminist. It cannot be said that women are respected as equals in a religion that permits violence against them, often for exceedingly trivial things.

Inheritance

The Qur’an is self-contradictory on the issue of inheritance. Despite it claiming the matter is clear, it is far from it and fraught with logical inconsistency.[32] The Qur’an reads:

[Qur’an 4:11] Allah chargeth you concerning (the provision for) your children: to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females, and if there be women more than two, then theirs is two-thirds of the inheritance, and if there be one (only) then the half… [emphasis added]

Apologists have seized upon the fact that a woman:

1) receives a dowry upon marriage

2) has the right to maintenance from a husband

Notwithstanding the fact that the dowry in Islam isn’t a fixed amount or proportion of the husband’s estate and, therefore, such a comparison is ridiculous, the apologist’s arguments have profound implications in themselves. The right to maintenance, of course, simply emphasises her total dependence on her husband, with all the accompanying insecurity and lack of autonomy. The right to maintenance also carries the inference that, in Islam, the man is to be the one with the job and the money.

Women in the ‘Afterlife’

Women are at a disadvantage in the eternal realm as well as the temporal in Islamic thought. As noted before, the majority of hell’s inhabitants are women:

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 124:

Narrated Usama:

The Prophet said, "I stood at the gate of Paradise and saw that the majority of the people who entered it were the poor, while the wealthy were stopped at the gate (for the accounts). But the companions of the Fire were ordered to be taken to the Fire. Then I stood at the gate of the Fire and saw that the majority of those who entered it were women." [emphasis added][33]

The implications of this are astounding, both for discussion of the position of women in Islam as well as analysis of the character of the Islamic deity, Allah. There is a dilemma. Either:

1) women are, by nature, less able to cope with life and are prone to evil; or

2) women have been made subject to more temptation during life and are subject to conditions less conducive to living according to the edicts of Allah

In either case, the theological implication is the same: Allah is unjust. Of the above, it is lemma 1) that is most consistent with the bulk of the primary data.

Heavenly women are considered a reward for men in Paradise. The picture is one of sheer carnality. We read:

[Qur’an 44:51-54] Lo! those who kept their duty will be in a place secured. Amid gardens and water springs, attired in silk and silk embroidery, facing one another. Even so (it will be). And We shall wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes. [emphasis added]

[Qur’an 55:56-58] Therein are those of modest gaze, whom neither man nor jinn will have touched before them. Which is it, of the favours of your Lord, that ye deny? (In beauty) like the jacynth and the coral-stone.

[Qur’an 56:35-38] Of a rare creation have We created the Houris, and We have made them ever virgins, dear to their spouses, of equal age with them for the people of the right hand. [emphasis added]

[Qur’an 78:31-34] But for those who fear Allah is a blissful abode, enclosed gardens and vineyards, and damsels with swelling breasts (Arabic - Kawa'eb), their peers in age, and a full cup. [emphasis added]

Even in Paradise, women are made the objects of mere sexual gratification. To constantly deflower virgins, only to find them virginal again, is seen by the Qur’an as the fruits of a faithful life on earth… for a male, that is.

It has been suggested that such descriptions are “metaphorical indications of pleasure”.[34] If such a suggestion were tenable, this would do little to raise the perception of women in Islam for, whether literal or metaphorical, the same attitudes are present in the text. The issue can be resolved by a consideration of what Muhammad thought on the matter. After all, “nor does [Muhammad] say (anything) of his own desire, it is but revelation sent down to him”.[35] According to Muhammad, “the marrow of their [heavenly wives’] shanks would glimmer beneath the flesh and there would be none without a wife in Paradise.”[36] Any doubts as to Muhammad’s understanding of Paradise are removed upon contemplating the following:[37]

The Holy Prophet said: 'The believer will be given such and such strength in Paradise for sexual intercourse. It was questioned: O prophet of Allah! Can he do that? He said: "He will be given the strength of one hundred persons.'"

Further Data Apparently Maligning the Female Sex

Prior to the rise of Islam, Allah was one of the pagan pantheon of deities. This pagan heritage still vibrates throughout the Qur’an. We read statements such as the following:

[Qur’an 23:14] Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!

[Qur’an 37:125] Will ye cry unto Baal and forsake the Best of creators,

Islam chose for itself one of the pantheon, Allah, who, in pagan theology, had three daughters, Al-Lat, Al-Uzza and Manat. These three deities reappear in the Satanic Verses where Muhammad was said to have been inspired by Satan in making a compromise with the Quraish.[38] To paraphrase, the Qur’an makes statements to the effect of, “shock, horror! To think that you would worship a FEMALE deity!!!”:

[Qur’an 4:117] They invoke in His stead only females; they pray to none else than Satan, a rebel [emphasis added]

[Qur’an 37:149-150] Now ask them (O Muhammad): Hath thy Lord daughters whereas they have sons? Or created We the angels females while they were present? [emphasis added]

[Qur’an 43:15-19] And they allot to Him a portion of His bondmen! Lo! man is verily a mere ingrate. Or chooseth He daughters of all that He hath created, and honoureth He you with sons? And if one of them hath tidings of that which he likeneth to the Beneficent One, his countenance becometh black and he is full of inward rage. (Liken they then to Allah) that which is bred up in outward show, and in dispute cannot make itself plain? And they make the angels, who are the slaves of the Beneficent, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded and they will be questioned.

[Qur’an 52:39] Or hath He daughters whereas ye have sons? [emphasis added]

[Qur’an 53:21-22] Are yours the males and His the females? That indeed were an unfair division! [emphasis added]

[Qur’an 53:27] Lo! it is those who disbelieve in the Hereafter who name the angels with the names of females. [emphasis added]

Conclusion

Islam goes out of its way to malign women. They are a “bent” creation, liable to break upon measures to straighten them. They are vastly over-represented in Hell and are sex objects in Paradise. Islam considers women to lack intelligence and to be deficient in religion. While men are given the right to have multiple wives, this same right isn’t afforded to women. Compared to men, their choice of spouse is also severely restricted. Within marriage, a lot centres on the sexual gratification of the husband. Indeed, far better to allow dinner to burn than to have an unsatisfied hubby! As if that weren’t enough to show feminism and Islam aren’t infinitely removed philosophical positions, women are given the honour of being the greatest affliction to man the world has seen and an evil omen to boot. But the data doesn’t stop there: Islam gives women the rare privilege being sex slaves upon capture during periods of warfare and, as we have seen, Muhammad authorized the rape then ransom of many. Let us not forget the injunction to beat a wife for disobedience and Muhammad’s practical examples of this nor the inheritance laws which also show women as inferior. All this begs the question of whether Islam is consistent with an ideology that asserts the social, political and economic equality of women. Clearly the answer is no.

Footnotes:

[1] http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/genwom/whatisfem.htm

[2] http://www.insurance.com.my/zone_consumers/interactive_guide/takaful/sources.htm

[3] Wadud, A. Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, Oxford University Press 1999 at 19

[4] Ibid. at 21

[5] There are quite a few examples of organisms which are parthenogenetic.

[6] Wadud, A. Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, Oxford University Press 1999 at 32

[7] Such as the pater familias idea prevalent in Graeco-Roman culture.

[8] Wadud, A. Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, Oxford University Press 1999 at 30

[9] Hussain, J. Islamic Law and Society: an introduction. Federation Press 1999 at 39

[10] As cited in Mehrun Siraj, The Control of Polygamy, Journal of Malaysian & Comparative Law, Vol 6 No 2 at 238

[11] Ibid.

[12] Qur’an 85:21-22

[13] Qur’an 4:3

[14] Qur’an 33:51

[15] See heading “Women in the Afterlife”

[16] Qur’an 2:223

[17] Mishkat al-Masabih, English translation, Book I, Section 'Duties of husband and wife', Hadith No. 61

[18] Bukhari Volume 1, Book 3, Number 81

[19] Bukhari Volume 1, Book 9, Number 490

[20] Bukhari Volume 1, Book 9, Number 486

[21] http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/NHMK_RT/book_p.htm#p28.0

[22] Bukhari Volume 3, Book 34, Number 432

Bukhari Volume 3, Book 46, Number 718

Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59, Number 459

Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59, Number 637

Bukhari Volume 9, Book 93, Number 506

Abu Dawud Book 11, Number 2166

[23] Ibn Sa’d, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir (Book of the Major Classes), translated by Moinul Haq, Pakistan Historical Society at 151

[24] Qur’an 33:21

[25] For example Yusuf Ali

[26] http://www.jannah.org/sisters/end.html

[27] Muslim Book 009, Number 3506

[28] Ibid.

[29] Abu Dawud Book 11, Number 2142

[30] Bukhari Volume 8, Book 82, Number 828

[31] http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=feminism

[32] Qur’an 4:176

[33] The hadith is far from standing in isolation. It can be found at numerous places throughout the hadith literature with different narrators. Other cites include:

Bukhari Volume 4, Book 54, Number 464

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 125

Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 126

Bukhari Volume 8, Book 76, Number 456

Bukhari Volume 8, Book 76, Number 554

Bukhari Volume 8, Book 76, Number 555

Muslim Book 036, Number 6596

Muslim Book 036, Number 6597

[34] Wadud, A. Qur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, Oxford University Press 1999 at 53

[35] Qur’an 53:3-4

[36] Muslim Book 040, Number 6793

[37] Mishkat al-Masabih, English-Arabic translation, Book 4, Chapter 42, Paradise and Hell, Hadith #24

[38] Originally, the words, “These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries) whose intercession is to be hoped for” followed after sura 53:19-20. This event is documented by the four early biographical writers of Muhammad's life: Ibn Ishaq, Wakidi, Ibn Sa'd, and Tabari. The Hadith and Qur’an also contain direct references. Additionally, several other Islamic scholars on Hadith (traditions) support the event's occurrence.