The Woman as Feminine Being
Islam has always appreciated the femininity of the woman and regarded her
as playing a role integral to that of the man, and similarly regarded the
man as playing a role integral to that of the woman. Neither is a foe,
adversary or a competitor to the other. Rather, each is a help to the other
in attaining the relative perfection of his or her person and each's whole
sex.
Allah's ordering of the universe makes binary existence one of its characteristics.
This principle is manifested in the presence of male and female in the
animate world of man, beast and plant, and the presence of negative and
positive in the inanimate world with its phenomena of magnetism, electricity
and others. Even in the atom, there are positive and negative charges,
that is, the proton and the electron. The Qur'an, revealed fourteen hundred
years ago, makes an explicit reference to the fact: "And
of everything We have created pairs, that you may remember". [Surah
51:49]
Men and women are, so to speak, like a can and its lid, a unity that comprises
the thing and its counterpart; one does not exist without the other. When
Allah created the first human soul, Adam, He also created from it its counterpart,
Eve, so that he would settle and find peace with her. The Almighty did
not leave Adam alone, not even (self sufficient enough) in Heaven. Allah's
discourse, whether in the form of prohibition or command, was addressed
to both of them: "Dwell you and your wife in the
Paradise and both of you freely with pleasure and delight of things therein
as wherever you will, but come not near this tree or you both will be of
the Zalimun (wrongdoers)".
[Surah 2:35]
What all this comes to is that the woman is different from the man, for
she complements him and he her. A thing does not complement itself. The
Qur'an emphasises that difference: " And the male
is not like the female". [Surah 3:36]
They are as unlike as positive and negative. Yet the difference does not
mean that they are adversaries in any sense. They arise from each other
and are for each other: "you are from one another" [Surah
4:25] , and "And Allah has given you wives of your own
kind". [Surah 4:25]
Allah's wisdom has also ordained that the physical and psychological construction
of the woman should carry elements that enable her to attract and be attracted
by the man. Fundamental to this purpose was Allah's equipment of the female
with an instinctive desire and a strong natural passion that leads to their
mutual attraction and communion so that life would continue and generations
would spring forth.
Therefore, Islam disapproves of systems that clash with this instinctive
nature or render it ineffective, such as the system of monasticism. By
no means, however, does this reflect acceptance of the channelling of this
energy in the wrong direction, that is, outside divinely-sanctioned marriage
which forms the basis of the family. Thus Islam, as do all other revealed
religions, prohibits adultery as well as all forms of licentiousness whether
they be visible or invisible. Islam has filled in all the gaps that could
lead to these acts, thus providing protection for men and women from all
factors of seduction and lust.
On the basis of the instinctive nature of the woman and the need for a
healthy and proper atmosphere for her relationship with the man, Islam
has set its codes for the woman as well as all the other relevant codes,
instructions and rules. To guard her femininity and acknowledge its needs
so as not to repress it, is what Islam is after. It tries to create a barrier
between the woman and degradation, to protect her from the human wolves
and predators who chase her into their lairs, devour her and discard the
despoiled remains.
We can give a rough
summation of Islam's attitude to femininity as follows:
1- Islam protects femininity to keep the stream of tenderness and beauty
running. For this reason some of the things that men are forbidden to do
are permissible for women. So the woman can wear gold and pure silk; hence
the Hadith, "These two (substances)
are prohibited for the men of my nation and allowed for its women". [Transmitted
by Ibn Majah on the authority of Ali (3595), Hadith Sahih.]
The
permission to use things that suit women is supported by forbidding them
from handling things that go against their femininity, such as men's wear,
movement and behaviour in general. A woman is not to wear a man's garment;
a man is not to wear a woman's garment. The Prophet
(blessings and peace be upon him) says: "Allah condemns the man who dresses
like a woman and the woman who dresses like a man". [
Transmitted by Abu Huraira, Abu Dawud (4098); and Ahmad 2/325; and Ibn
Hibban (1904); and others.] For men to behave like women and women to behave like men is equally condemned
by Alkib. Again the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him) says,
"Three (kinds of people)
do not enter Paradise and do not enjoy Allah's gaze upon them on Judgement
Day: a son who is disobedient to his parents, a mannish woman and an adulterer. [
Transmitted by Ahmad lbn Umar and approved by Sheikh Shaker as Sahih (1680);
and Al-Nisa'i 5/80; and Al-Hakim 1/72 and others.]
2- Islam supports femininity in view of its relative weakness, placing
it in the hands of a supporting man, securing the costs of living and the
provision for her needs. Whether under the guardian care of her father,
her husband, her son or her brother, she will be provided for by them as
an obligation under the shar'a. No basic need should compel her then to
wade in the unexplored stretches of life with its conflicts, within the
hustle of competitive men to win her bread-something that has befallen
the Western woman under severe necessity in which neither father, brother,
son or uncle look after her. The result is that she has to accept any kind of work for whatever payment
in order to survive.
3- Allah's Religion protects her morals and decency, guards her reputation
and dignity, and defends her chastity against evil thoughts and tongues,
and tries to foil tempting hands that seek to harm her. In order to achieve
these noble objectives, Islam makes it incumbent on the woman to lower
the eyes and preserve chastity and purity.
"And
tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from
looking at forbidden things), and protect
their private parts (from illegal sexual acts
etc)". [Surah 24:31]
Preserve a decent, unrevealing manner of dress and ornamentation, all without
being oppressive towards her. "and not to show off
their adornment except that which is apparent and to draw their veils all
over Juyubihinna (we. their bodies, faces, necks, and bosoms, etc.)
" [
Surah 24:31] The
visible or apparent ornament that the verse refers to has been interpreted
to be inclusive of kohl, the finger ring, the face, the two hands and,
some exegetes and jurisprudents establish, the two feet. [
At the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace be upon him). it was customary
for some women to cover their face. The flexibility of Islam allows the
woman the option of covering her face or not. (editor's note)]
Cover the other attractions that do not show, such as the hair, neck and
throat, arms and legs, from all people except her husband, and her consanguineous,
non-marriageable relations or mahrim [
Those persons whom the woman is forbidden to marry because of the proximity
of the relation. (editor's note)] (brothers, uncles etc.) whom she finds it hard to hide these afrom. "and
not to reveal heir adornment except to their husbands, fathers, their husband`s
fathers, their sons, their husband's sons, their brothers or their brother's
sons, or their sister's sons or their (Muslim)
women (i.e. their sisters in Islam),
or the (female) slaves
whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or
small children who have no sense of the shame of sex". [Surah 24:31]
