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The most common questions about: Women -woman- in Islam

1-Why does Islam and the Qur'an (Quran or Koran) allow Muslim men to have four wives? Why is a man allowed to marry more than one wife in Islam? Or why is polygamy allowed in Islam? Doesn’t Islam promote polygamy? How could Islam be a good religion for women when it degrades her statues and allows man to marry more than one wife?

2-Why is it permissible for a Muslim man to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, and in the same time, it is forbidden that a Muslim woman marry a non-Muslim man or an infidel?"

3-Why women are not allowed to divorce thier husbands in Islam? Does Islam permit women to give divorce? What are the different types of divorce in Islam?

4-Why are women not allowed in the mosque, a Masjed or the Islamic worshipping place?

5-Why did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have Eleven wives? When a Muslim is allowed to marry a maximum of four wives, how is it that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had eleven wives?

6-Whenever I read the Noble Quran, I find in many verses Allah giving glad tidings to His believing male servants of al-hooral-ain who extol in beauty. Does the woman have any partner in Paradise other than her husband? Furthermore, most of the statements concerning bounties in Paradise are directed toward the believing men. Is the reward of the believing women in Paradise less than that of the believing men?

7-Why women are not allowed to work in Islam? Why Muslim women are forbidden from working or can't work in Islam? We have heard so many times; "Women are forbidden to work under Islamic law", is that true? What does Islam teach about women and their right to work and hold a job?

8-Why women are not allowed to vote in Islam? Are women allowed to vote in Islam?

9-Why does Islam teach Muslim men to beat their wives? Isn’t Islam a violent religion because it teaches men to bet their wives? Why does Islam allow a man to beat his wife according to the Quran (koran) in 4:34 ?

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Q1-Why does Islam and the Qur'an (Quran or Koran) allow Muslim men to have four wives? Why is a man allowed to marry more than one wife in Islam? Or why is polygamy allowed in Islam? Doesn’t Islam promote polygamy? How could Islam be a good religion for women when it degrades her statues and allows man to marry more than one wife?

Even though allowed in many religious and cultural traditions, polygamy is most often identified only with Islam in the Westerner minds and to people of other major religions. Many are convinced with the assumption that Islam is a religion that has introduced polygamy and that it degrades the statues of women by allowing man to marry more than one wife. We would like to share with you some FACTS about the idea of polygamy and about polygamy in Islam and hope that you would consider them as you form your opinion about Islam in general and about women in Islam in particular.

1- DEFINITION OF POLYGAMY

Polygamy -or more precisely, polygyny- means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. The negative image presented in movies in the west about polygamy in Islam is no more than pure movie makers' fantasies and has nothing to do with reality, as we will see.

2- WHY POLYGAMY

There have been almost the same reasons that had led many cultures and religions to accept polygamy as a recognized custom or tradition. The major reason is that during wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. Other reasons for the shortage of men is the fact that more men die due to natural disasters than women, because usually men are working at the fields or trying to save somebody else. In modern times, there are even a grater host of reasons contributing to the lose of men. For example, accidents to those working with heavy machinery or in work fields that are usually equipped by men.

Statistic may surprise you, but there are more women than men almost every where in the world [1]. After the WWII, there were 7.3 million women than men in Germany (3.3 million of them were widows). Russia had nine million more females than males. Today, other countries such as England there are about 94 males per 100 females. In Guinea there are 122 females for every 100 males. In Tanzania, there are 95.1 males per 100 females. According to Census 2000, there are about 6 million women more than men in the U.S, New York alone has an estimated one million more females than males [2].

Because of all these reasons -with war being the major one, the chances for men to die is grater than women and the average life span of females is more than that of males, thus, at any given time one finds more widows in the world than widowers. This is a well-known fact to the insurance companies and this is why most life insurance companies have two policies, one for men and another for women. Here is an example you could verify for yourself with the insurance companies. According to one insurance company: A life insurance policy with the face amount of $150,000 for a male whose age is between 31-35 would cost him $22.50 a month. Yet the same amount for a 31-35 years old female would cost here only $16.50 a month. The difference between the two payments is $ 6.00 or about 27 percent more in the case of being a man.

• The undeniable fact that there is a shortage of men, is nothing new to God. Allowing polygamy is the way God had offered humanity as the most practical answer for this problem.

• As we will see next, God has sat some laws and rules to organize polygamy long time ago as His approval for this practical solution for the problem.

3- A BRIEF HISTORY OF POLYGAMY

Because of the shortage of men as explained above, mankind has practiced polygamy for thousands of years. Here is a brief look to history of polygamy in major religions:

• In the Hindu scriptures, there is no restriction on the number of wives. In fact, many Hindu religious personalities, according to the Hindu scriptures, had multiple wives. King Dashrat, the father of Rama, had more than one wife. Krishna had several wives.

• It was only in 1954, when the Hindu Marriage Act in India was passed that it became illegal for a Hindu to have more than one wife.

• Many Central and South American tribes such as the Aztecs and the Mayans have practiced this custom for thousand of years and kept it till today.

• Before Moses (peace be up on him) first law, polygamy as well as concubinage were among the mores or customs of the ancient Hebrew people (See Genesis 16:1-4 and 29:23-28).

• The Old Testament and Rabbinic writings frequently attest to the legality of polygamy. King Solomon is said to have had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) Also, King David is said to have had many wives and concubines (2 Samuel 5:13).

• God has sat the rule as to how to distribute the property of a man among his sons from different wives, even though the man had loved one and hated the other (Deut. 21:15-17) [3].

• Another rule to organize polygamy was the ban on taking a wife's sister as a rival wife (Lev. 18:18) [4].

• The Greco-Roman culture have had their own "custom" where men were "officially" monogamous but owned many slaves who were free for them to use: in other words, " unrestricted polygamy".

• The same cases also exist in many African tribes today.

• Pagans in Arabia at the time of Muhammad (peace be up on him) did not have any limits on the number of wives, men could take as many wives as they wished.

4- POLYGAMY IN ISLAM

When the Quran -or Koran, the Holy book of Islam- was revealed, it accommodated other religions and people who were living in that era. At the same time, it recognized earlier Messengers of God and their authentic Messages, which have allowed and organized polygamy. Since the problem of shortage of men still existed then -and until today- Islam dealt with the problem instead of sweeping it under the rug or by ignoring it and looking the other way.

The Quran, too, allowed polygamy, but with more restrictions: "If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one". (The Holy Quran, chapter 4: verse 3).

The Quran, contrary to all other scriptures, limited the maximum number of wives to four under the strict condition of treating the wives equally and justly. Some may think that it is a common sense that man should treat all his wives equally and justly, yet all other religions teach that you should not kill for example. If these religions depended only on common sense then there would have been no need to teach that you should not kill, since it calls for even less common sense not to kill another person.

The Qur'ân is the only religious book, on the face of this Earth, that contains the command; ‘marry only one’. There is no other religious book that instructs men who could not fulfill the conditions of being fair and just to their wives to have only one wife

The Qur'an and the Shariaa -the Islamic law, make it even harder not easier on man to have more than one wife. They stipulate that a man is responsible for the maintenance of his wife or wives. If a man has more than one wife, he has to provide separate living accommodation for each of his wives. The woman is not obliged to spend on herself even if she is rich. Nor is she obliged to work to share in the family expenses. If a man could not support more than one wife, then he could not marry another one. No other religion, custom or tradition in the world restricts man to this condition except Islam

Islam is the first religion to allow certain conditions to be added to the marriage contract, which is something similar to today’s civilized -not religious- prenuptial agreement. With that, Islam cares for the religious side of the holy matrimony as well as the financial and the social sides. Islam organizes all aspects of life for its followers and not limited only to the religious aspect. Thus, full consent is a major corner of the marriage contract in Islam. This means that the bride has full right to refuse a polygamous marriage.

According to Shariaa -Islamic law, a co-wife will inherit a part of the dead husband’s estate, the children will too. In a monogamous culture, children who were born outside of wed lock will inherit but their mother will not.

It should be clear to you by now that the Quran does not exhort the believers to practice polygamy, or that polygamy is considered as an ideal. In other words, the Quran has "tolerated" or "allowed" polygamy, and no more, but why? Why is polygamy permissible? The answer is simple: There are places and times in which there are compelling social and moral reasons for polygamy. As the above Quranic verse indicates, the issue of polygamy in Islam cannot be understood apart from community obligations towards orphans and widows. Islam as a universal religion suitable for all places and all times could not ignore these compelling obligations.

Multiple marriages are a heavy responsibility on the male. It is not a pleasure trip as some people may assume. Some may even imagine all kinds of sexual exploits involving a man and his wives altogether. However, such activity is not permissible in Islam. A man must divide his time equally among his wives. He may, for example, spend one night with each wife on a rotating schedule.

Because of all these burdens on men to have multiple marriages, having more than one wife is not the norm of marriage in Islam, multiple marriages still exist, but not everywhere as they do in Hollywood movies.

It may be useful at this point to see what some NON-MUSLIM writers are now saying on this much misunderstood subject after having the chance to learn the truth about it.

John Esposito says: "Although it is found in many religious and cultural traditions, polygamy (or more precisely, polygyny) is most often identified with Islam in the minds of Westerners. In fact, the Qur'an and Islamic Law sought to control and regulate the number of spouses rather than give free license". (John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, Oxford University, 1988, p. 97).

Esposito then goes on to explain that in a society, which allowed men an unlimited number of wives, Islam limited the number of wives to four. Then he continued to say: "The Qur'an permits a man to marry up to four wives, provided he can support and treat them all equally. Muslims regard this Quranic command as strengthening the status of women and the family for it sought to ensure the welfare of single women and widows in a society whose male population was diminished by warfare, and to curb unrestricted polygamy" (p. 97).

Karen Armstrong explains much the same in her book entitled Muhammad: A Western Attempt to Understand Islam (Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1991, p. 191). She says: "We have to see the ruling about polygamy in context. In seventh-century Arabia, when a man could have as many wives as he chose, to prescribe only four was a limitation, not a license to new oppression".

It is unfortunate that the Western media often gives the wrong impression of what Islam is all about. Karen Armstrong writes: "Popular films like Harem give an absurd and inflated picture of the sexual life of the Muslim sheikh which reveals more about Western fantasy than it does about the reality" (p. 190).

Some people incorrectly assume that because of this ruling most Muslim men would have four wives. However, as Huston Smith points out: "Multiple wives are seldom found in Islam today" (The World's Religions, p. 252). Ira Zepp, Jr. says: "Less than 2% of Muslim marriages are polygamous" (A Muslim Primer, p. 180).

About this being a solution for the problem of surplus women, Ira Zepp, Jr. comments on page 181 of his book: "The Roman Catholic Church is facing the same problem today in parts of Africa. Social and economic reasons are forcing the Church to reconsider polygamy as a Christian option". (See Polygamy Reconsidered by Eugene Hillman, New York: Orbis Press, 1973).

5- FACTS ABOUT MONOGAMY

Monogamy does not solve the problem of the shortage of men. Even if every man in the world today got married to a woman, there would still be about 30 million females who would not be able to get husbands. There is only one of three choices for the unmarried women in this case:

• Stay lonely in a spinster-hood: Biologically, it is not possible for an average man or a woman to remain celibate throughout life, though it might be possible in a very few exceptional cases.

• Have unlawful relations with men: Sex hormones are released in the adult body every day. That is the reason why Islam has prohibited monasticism. Women in that case are almost forced to have relationships with men -some of whom would be married, perform illicit sex or indulges in other sexual perversions at the end.

• Choose an honorable marriage: Which is better and more honorable for the woman to be a second wife in public. Polygamy grants rights to women and children that are not granted by monogamy, such as:

1. Her full equal rights as the other wife, including housing, finance, time and attention.
2. Her children will grow up in a healthy family with a father and a mother.
3. She and her children enjoy all legal rights, medical insurance for example.
4. She and her children will inherit if the father dies and not only the children.

After World War II, the international youth conference held in Munich in 1948, the problem of the highly unbalanced sex ratio in Germany was discussed. When it became clear that no solution could be agreed upon, some participants suggested polygamy. The initial reaction of the gathering was a mixture of shock and disgust. However, after a careful study of the proposal, the participants agreed that it was the only possible solution. Consequently, polygamy was included among the conference final recommendation. This is another proof that polygamy is the answer to the problem when carefully studded, even by those who are not Muslims.

Some western cultures take the position that monogamy protects the rights of women. The truth of the matter is that because there is a shortage of men, monogamy protects them and allows them to "play around" without responsibility. Easy birth control and easy legal abortion has opened the door of illicit sex to woman and she has been lured into the so-called sexual revolution. But she is still the one who suffers the trauma of abortion and the side effects of the birth control methods. Men are the ones protected by monogamy while women continue to be victims of men's desires. Polygamy forces men to face up to responsibility and fidelity. It would force them to take responsibility for their polygamous inclinations and would protect and provide for women and children.

Rejecting polygamy and not dealing with the problem, have forced such cultures to adopt systems whereby children who are born outside the wedlock would still enjoy many rights. In other words having affairs with married men is not a crime, having children born that way, is also OK. The child will get a child support, and if the man is rich the child will inherit part of his wealth anyway. However, the most important part of having children, which is having a responsible father, and having a companion to care for the mother’s needs as a husband could not -and will not- be met that way. This makes one wonder; are monogamous cultures really against that way of life?

Polygamy allows only those who are responsible, caring and willing to bear more than one family’s responsibility, to step forward and to do so. Monogamy with the shortage of men, protects those who are irresponsible when they carelessly have children who would be -at least- just like them.

The shortage of men is a real problem whether other major religions choose to recognize it or not. Refusing to deal with the problem would not make it go a way, and could only make it worse. Religious institutes and scholars who oppose polygamy owe their followers a precise justification from their scriptures to back their opposition, and to introduce an alternative by which the problem could be practically solved. Otherwise, they would not be following their own scriptures.

6- POLYGAMY IN JUDAISM

According to the Biblical scriptures, the Torah and the Talmudic law, polygamy is permitted in Judaism as long as the two rules mentioned above regarding inheritance of sons of different wives and not taking a wife's sister for a rival wife are observed. Yet, today, some Jewish scholars reject polygamy without any justification from their scriptures or by offering another solution to the problem of shortage of men.

As explained above, Islam grants women the right whether to enter a polygamous marriage contract or not. However, according to the Jewish tradition, the Bible, sometimes resorts to forcible marriages, here are two examples from the Bible:

a- A childless widow, who lived in the same house with the brother in-law, must marry her husband's brother. Even if he is already married, regardless of her or his consent according to Deut. (25:5-7): "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother".

b- A girl who was raped, must marry the man who raped her according to Deut. (22:28-29): "If a man find a damsel (a girl) that is a virgin, which is not betrothed (engaged), and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found. Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days".

7- POLYGAMY IN CHRISTIANITY

Even though most Christians are convinced that it is forbidden to take more than one wife, the idea of monogamy doesn’t provide an alternative practical solution to the problem of shortage of men as discussed above. Jesus (peace be up on him) was not known to have spoken against polygamy though the Jews of his society practiced it. If it were something evil or unclean as some claim, he would have spoken against it since he was sent to teach what is right, unless we choose to believe that he did not teach what is right and what is wrong. His disciples never spoke against it either. Both of Jesus (peace be up on him) and his decibels have honored keeping the commandments, which -unless there is a proof- are not limited only to the Ten Commandments.

There are those who hope for a perfect world where unmarried men and women would not have any unlawful affairs or where men are not killed in wars, which might be true; a perfect imaginary world wouldn’t have this problem. However, God already knows how do we think and act in our real world, and that we will always have wars for one reason or another. That’s why He gave us many rules or commandments to follow, so that we might better our world, and these rules are most practical and logical [5].

While many are convinced that an average person could not follow the Mosaic law to the "t", following any part of the law -polygamy for example- could not in any way make one; "a non-believer" nor "an anti-Christ".

Some believe that Jesus (peace be up on him) had fulfilled the law and thus they are under no obligation to follow it today. Which makes one wonder:

• Does that mean that one could kill and commit adultery as he pleases? If not, then what does it mean to be; "under no obligation to follow it"?

• If we don’t have to follow the law today, would complying with the part regarding polygamy be a sin?

The idea that the command of monogamy might have come after Jesus (peace be up on him) was ascended to God brings up these questions to mind:

• Since the problem still exists, then, what is the new practical alternative -not imaginary- humanity is offered?

• The disciples didn’t mention monogamy at all, if it was introduced after their time, then what happened to women who lived between the ascension and the time of the "new" commandment? Were they left to "suffer" polygamy even though they were witnesses and believers of Christ peace be up on him?

Knowing Jesus (peace be up on him), if monogamy was vital to the religion, the community or the culture, he would have put it on the top of his list of teachings and not ignore it completely. Many are aware that monogamy was introduced into Christianity at the time of Paul when many revisions took place in Christianity. This was done in order for the church to conform to the Greco-Roman culture where their celebration of the ‘Sun god’ took place on the 25^th of December [6] and where the ROMAN LAW allowed men to marry one but owned many slaves who were free for them to use. In other words, when the ROMAN LAW allowed unrestricted polygamy, BUT WOULD NOT LEGALIZE IT.

8- CONCLUSION

Other cultures and religions have practiced polygamy, some still do until today.

God sat rules to organize it, if it was evil, He would have forbade it long time ago.

Islam does not promote nor force polygamy, it only allows it as it recognizes the problem instead of ignoring it.

Islam did not introduce polygamy, thus all questions about polygamy should be asked to other religions as well. Comparing the idea of polygamy in other religions to that of Islam should proof fruitful too.

Polygamy in Islam restricted men and gave women more rights than what any other religion gave them. In other matters regarding women rights, what Islam gave them should be compared to what other religions gave to women.

Polygamy in Islam is the most practical answer for the welfare of the widows and the orphans. Furthermore, it is the only honorable way for the unmarried women to have families of their own.

Recognizing the real world we live in and following God’s commandments as humanly as possible will better our lives. Ignoring reality and doing the opposite of what God commanded, is distant to worsen the lives of those who do so.

Notes

1)- India along with a few other countries, in which the female population is less than the male population. The reason lies in the high rate of female infanticide, and the fact that more than one million female fetuses are aborted every year in that country, after they are identified as females. If this evil practice is stopped, then India too will have more females as compared to males.

2)- Find these statistics at the census bureau for the U.S and The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. 17, pp. 34, 270, 244.

3)- Deuteronomy (21:15-17): "If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated. Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn. But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his".

4)- Lev. (18:18): "Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time".

5)- Our reference; "most practical and logical" is to the rules and commandments of Islam

6)- The Roman’s also made their most holy day to be the SUN-day. As for the birth date of Jesus (peace be up on him) there is no reference anywhere to the exact date.

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Q2-Why is it permissible for a Muslim man to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, and in the same time, it is forbidden that a Muslim woman marry a non-Muslim man or an infidel?"

Islam, like all other religions, considers the man to be the head of the house and the one responsible for the major decisions Allowing a Muslim man to marry a Christian or a Jewish woman, is an exceptional rule applied under special circumstances. And when a Muslim man marries a Christian or a Jewish woman, there is no problem, because he believes in all prophets, and all holy books. There will be no problem between him and his wife in this matter, especially that his religion -Islam- commands him to be fair with hiis wife even if she were Christian or Jewish. And any Muslim man going through such marriage should have strong belief in his faith, and should strongly abide by his religion.

The reason for forbidding a Muslim woman from marrying a non-Muslim, is that a Christian or a Jewish man believes only in his prophet, and doesn’t believe in prophet Mohamed Salla Allah Allih Wa Salam or any of the other prophets (blessing be upon them).

For example, when this Muslim woman, tries to teach her kids to love and respect all prophets and believe in all of them, her non-Muslim husband will not agree, because he believes only in his prophet. He will interfere in the way she raises her kids, and prevents her from raising them in an Islamic way. And here comes the real problem, because she will have only two options, whether she leaves the whole thing as it is, and does nothing about it -which will be an insult to her religion- or she argues about the matter, and this will sure lead to more marital problems.

On the other hand, there will be no such problems between a Muslim husband, and a non Muslim wife, because if this wife tried to teach her kids to love and believe in her prophet, her Muslim husband will not refuse that because he already believes in her prophet and all prophets. This is why Islam allows the marriage between Muslim man and non-Muslim woman, and forbids the marriage between Muslim woman, and non-Muslim man. Because Islam respects the marital relationship and wants to guarantee its stability, not because it respects men, and disrespects women …

As for the polytheists or atheists or others of non-Abrahamic faiths, Muslims cannot take those for a spouse. Marriage in Islam is not regarded as merely a physical relation ship; it is regarded as a religious act, with its own rituals, rules and obligations, similar to those of the people of the Book. Thus, Islam -among other reasons- can't force any one who does not accept God (an atheist for example) to be obliged to these religious rules which were set by God.

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Q3-Does Islam permit women to give divorce? What are the different types of divorce in Islam?

‘Talaq’ is an Arabic word used for ‘divorce’ when given by a husband to his wife. A woman can very well divorce the husband in Islam, but this is not called ‘talaq’, it is called (Khala’a). The name has to do with the legal aspect of Islam, but the out come is the same, voiding or ending- the marriage contract.

According to Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith No. 2172 and 2173 which is also mentioned in Sunan Ibn-i-Majah, Hadeeth No. 2018, the Prophet (pbuh) said:

The following conditions are need to be fulfilled, for the divorce to occur:

a. The person should not be in a state of intoxication while giving divorce.

b. The person should be in a sound state of mind and not mentally unstable.

c. Before deciding on giving a divorce there should be a mutual talk regarding the situation between the husband and the wife.

d. According to Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 35, if the talks fail, two arbiters should be appointed, one from the husband’s family and the other from the wife’s family. In short, have a family meeting to avoid divorce.

e. Only if all these measures fails, can a person go ahead to give divorce.

f. According to Surah Al-Talaq, chapter 65 verse 2, while pronouncing Talaq, two persons endued with justice should be taken as witnesses.

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Q4-Why are women not allowed in the mosque?

Unfortunately, this is another misconception about Islam, here are a few points to show you that women are not forbidden from going to mosques:

1. The most exemplary mosque for Muslims is the Grand Mosque in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Visiting the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia is a part of the pilgrimage trip, which every Muslim should do once in his or her lifetime as long as he/she is able physically and financially. If women were not allowed to go to the mosque then they would not be allowed to perform pilgrimage, which is not true.

2. There is not a single verse in the Quran, which prohibits women from entering the mosque, and there is no single authentic Hadeeth (teachings of the Messenger, PBUH) that states that the Prophet (pbuh) prevented or forbade women from going to the mosque.

There are several hadeeth which prove that both men and women went to the mosque during the life of the prophet:

3. There is only one Hadeeth that could be misunderstood to mean that women should not go to the mosque. That Hadeeth is as follows:

The Prophet (pbuh) said that if a person prays in the mosque he gets 27 times more blessings (thawab). Some women argued that they had infants at home and other household works and therefore could not go to the mosque. Thus the men have a greater advantage than women for receiving such blessings. It is then that the Prophet said that ‘The prayer of women is better in their house than in the mosque and the prayer of women is better in their rooms than in their house’.

Hence, the conclusion is that in situations where women have infants and household work, which too is an important duty that cannot be neglected, women would not be deprived of the thawab (blessings) if they pray in their own house.

4. In many cases, mosques are not very big or fancy mosques, actually in the west, because Muslims are small in numbers in most cities, mosques are no more than small houses or even apartments. Since men who reach puberty must attend the Friday prayers, and since some of these places are not even big enough for the number of brothers on Friday's, it will be reasonable that these small places would not be able to accommodate sisters for the Friday prayers. This would be just as if you had a family of 6, and a small car that could carry only 4, you would have to decide which 4 of the family must ride at a certain trip. But that does not mean that you are forbidding the other 2 from riding in the car at all times.

5. If there is a place where women are not allowed in the mosques, it is either because of a misunderstanding, which we hope they will be able to recognize it soon, or that there is a realistic reason for doing so, as in the example above.

6. There are many rules for Mosques, for example, ladies should have separate and equal facilities. Islam does not permit the intermingling of sexes. Otherwise there will be a similar scene in mosques like other places of worship where some people even come for ‘bird watching’ and eve teasing. If women were forbidden from going to the Mosques then what would be the reason for this rule?

7. In some cases we had visitors come to our local mosque and because they did not see any sisters at that time in our mosque, they quickly assumed that women are not allowed into our mosque, which is nothing more than their own assumption.

8. There are many misconception about Islam. One of these misconceptions is that women are not allowed in the mosques, this is only a misconception that doesn't have any basis in Islam. To the contrary, women must go to the mosque as explained in the case of performing the pilgrimage trip.

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Q5-Why did Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) have Eleven wives? When a Muslim is allowed to marry a maximum of four wives, how is it that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had eleven wives?

Some have falsely accuse the Prophet (pbuh) of being hyper sexual, because he had eleven wives. If you read the life history of the Prophet (pbuh), only two of his marriages one with Khadija (ra), and the other, with Ayesha (ra) were marriages in the normal course. All his other marriages were contracted as a necessity and were based on various considerations.

The first marriage of the Prophet (pbuh) took place when he was 25 years of age and he married Khadija (ra) who was twice widowed, and was 40 years old. If the Prophet (pbuh) was hyper-sexual, why would he marry a woman who was 15 years older than him and already twice widowed?

Until his first wife, Khadija (ra) was alive, he never took a second wife. Khadija (ra) died when the Prophet (pbuh) was 50 years age and only after this, did he marry the others. If he married eleven wives for sexual reasons, he should have had multiple wives during his youth. Contrary to this, history tells us that all his marriages with his remaining ten wives took place when he was between the age of 53 AND 59 YEARS.

All his wives (ra) were between the age of 36 to 50 years, except for two wives (ra). His reputation had spread far and wide, not only in Arabia, but also in the neighboring countries. Could he not have easily got younger and lovelier girls to marry? Most of his marriages were for political gain and for the spread of Islam.

In Arabia, no one could carry on the work of reform and uplifting unless he belonged to, or was related to some specific and respectable tribe. Thus, in the interest of his mission, the Prophet (pbuh) needed inter-tribal relationships. He wanted to weld the quarreling tribal and clannish factions into one Muslim body, as brethren in faith (Ikhwan fi’d-din).

For instance, his wife Juwayreeyah (ra) belonged to the Banu Mustaliq clan, which was very powerful. The entire clan was a bitter enemy of Islam from the start, and they were finally suppressed by military action. When the Prophet (pbuh) married Juwayreeyah (ra), the Muslims released all their prisoners, saying that they could not keep the prophet’s relatives in bondage. It was due to this marriage that the whole clan of Banu Mustaliq accepted Islam and became peaceful and obedient to the laws of the new Islaamic state.

Maymunah (ra) also came from a very powerful and recalcitrant clan from Najd and was the sister of the wife of the chief of the clan in those days. It was this clan which had brutally murdered seventy members of an Islaamic missionary deputation. The Prophet’s (pbuh) marriage with Maymunah (ra) changed the whole atmosphere and Najd accepted Madinah’s authority under the leadership of the Prophet (pbuh).

Umm Habibah (ra) was the daughter of the Quraysh chief, Abu Sufyan. It was after the Prophet’s (pbuh) marriage to Umm Habibah, that Abu Sufyan never fought against the Prophet (pbuh). This marriage was largely responsible for the conquest of Makkah. Furthermore, Umm Habibah was first married to a certain Ubaydullah and emigrated with him to Abyssinia, where Ubaydullah became a Christian and a drunkard. Excessive consumption of wine killed him since it was a double shock to her that her husband had become a Christian and later died, she was badly in need of solace.

Safiyyah (ra) was the daughter of a very prominent Jewish chief, Huyyah ibn Aktab. In consideration of her family status, she could not be merged into an ordinary household. So the Prophet (pbuh) himself married her. After this marriage, the Jews did not dare to revive their opposition to the Prophet (pbuh) and his mission.

In the case of Hafsah (ra), it was the Prophet’s (pbuh) desire to bind in relationship with those of his great companions (sahabah) who were his advisers and who were trained for future leadership. He had married Abu Bakr’s (ra) daughter, married two of his own daughters to Uthman (ra) and one to ‘Ali (ra). ‘Umar (ra) could not be kept outside this wide circle of relationship. By marrying Umar’s daughter Hafsah (ra), the Prophet (pbuh) forged a strong bond of relationship within the Islamic movement thus strengthening the pillars of the ummah.

The Prophet (pbuh) had married his first cousin, Zaynab (ra), to his freed slave, Zayd ibn Haritha (ra), whom he had adopted as his son. This marriage of Zaynab (ra) with Zayd (ra) was intended to break the family and social barriers, but the marriage did not prove to be successful and ended in divorce. When the Prophet (pbuh) saw that Zaynab (ra) was left alone, he felt his responsibility in the matter. He also had to break another convention, according to which an adopted son became a real son. This difficult problem was solved by the Prophet’s (pbuh) marriage to Zaynab (ra) (as mentioned in the Qur’an, in Surah Ahzab, chapter no 33 verse 37) to annul that pre-Islamic conception and promulgate an Islamic law instead.

Another lady Zaynab (ra), Umm al Masakin (mother of the poor and helpless), daughter of Khuzayma ibn Al-Haith, belonged to the Hawazin clan. Her husband was killed in the battle of Uhud. To rescue her from widowhood, the Prophet (pbuh) took her as his wife.

As for Muslims, The Qur’an, in Surah Nisa, chapter 4 verse 3, states that a Muslim is allowed to marry a maximum of only four wives. Another verse in the Qur’an makes Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) an exception to this rule.

In Surah Ahzab chapter 33 verse 52:

"It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (as hand maidens) and Allah doth watch over all things ". [Al-Qur’an 33:52]

This verse clearly gives Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) the permission to keep all his previous wives but prohibits him to marry any more women except those which his right hand possessed i.e. slave girls.

The Prophet (pbuh) was allowed to keep all his previous wives because no one was allowed to marry the Prophet’s wives (ra) after they were divorced or widowed as they were UMMUL-MOMINEEN (MOTHER OF THE BELIEVERS). As they were considered by everyone to be their mothers, it has become impossible for any Muslim man to marry his mother (the wife of the prophet).

After the revelation of the verse in Surah Ahzab, chapter 33 verse 52, the Prophet (pbuh) only married Mary the Coptic who was a slave girl sent as a present by the Christian Muqauqas of Egypt. Since the Christian Chieftain of Egypt sent Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) a slave girl as a present, he could not refuse this gift as a refusal would have disturbed the political alliance. He could not keep her as a slave girl, since Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) preached that slaves should be freed. The only option left with him was to marry her, since the Qur’an gave him the permission to do so. Later on she became the mother of Ibrahim (ra) who died in his infancy.

A careful examination for the history of Islam and Muhammad (pbuh) reveals that he did not marry for the sexual reasons, he did not marry the most beautiful or the youngest even though he could have done so as he became the ruler of all Muslims and had good neighboring countries as you see in the case of the ruler of Egypt and his gift to Muhammad (pbuh).

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Q6-Whenever I read the Noble Quran, I find in many verses Allah giving glad tidings to His believing male servants of al-hooral-ain who extol in beauty. Does the woman have any partner in Paradise other than her husband? Furthermore, most of the statements concerning bounties in Paradise are directed toward the believing men. Is the reward of the believing women in Paradise less than that of the believing men?

It is possible that you have not had the chance to read all of the Quran, for there is no doubt that reward in the Hereafter encompasses both men and women. This is based on the following statements of Allah:

Both men and women will have a great reward:

"Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, male or female" (al-lmran 195).

"Whosoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he(or she) is a true believer, We will give a good life" (al-Nahl 97).

"And whoever does righteous good deeds, being a male or a female, and is a true believer, such will enter Paradise" (al-Nisa 124).

"Verily, the Muslims, men and women, the believers, men and women... [up to the end of the verse where Allah says:] Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward" (al-Ahzab 35).

Believing husbands and wives will enter into Paradise together:

"They and their wives will be in pleasant shade" (Ya Sin 56).

Also, "Enter Paradise, you and your wives, in happiness" (al-Zukhruf 70).

Allah also mentions that He will-recreate the women in the verse,

"Verily, We created them of special creation and made them virgins" (al-Waqia 35-36).

That is, Allah will recreate the elderly women and make them virgins (young). Similarly, Allah will recreate the elderly men and make them youths. It is also mentioned in the hadith that the women of this worldly life have superiority over al-hoor al-ain due to the acts of worship and obedience that they performed [in this world]. Therefore, the believing women will enter Paradise just like the believing men. If a woman had a number of husbands during different marriages, and she enters Paradise with them, she will choose among them and will choose the one with the best character and behavior.

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Q7-Why women are not allowed to work? Why Muslim women are forbidden from working? We have heard so many times; "Women are forbidden to work under Islamic law", is that true? What does Islam teach about women and their right to work and hold a job?

The answer is offered in our article: Islam and women; "To work or not to work"

We have heard so many times; "Women are forbidden to work under Islamic law", but is it true? How could Islam be a religion that cares both about the individual and the community, yet forbids half of it from working? Are there any justified reasons to forbid women from working?

The purpose of this article is to share with the reader an objective insight to what Islam teaches about women and their right to work and hold a job.

1- WHAT TEACHINGS FORBID WOMEN FROM WORKING?

Although many have propagated that Islam forbids women from working, we have not seen or heard any who would tell us ACCORDING TO WHAT VERSE OR WHICH TEACHINGS Islam declares this.

THE CLAIM that Islam forbids women from holding a job has no basis whatsoever in Islam nor in any of its teachings.

The Holy Quran and the Books of Hadith (Hadeth or Hadeeth) -the teachings of Muhammad (peace be up on him)- are available today in almost all written languages. We have yet to see a reference from the Quran or the Hadith that forbids women from working.

THE CLAIM that Islam forbids women from work is nothing more than a pure assumption that is usually based on what "somebody" said or did.

2- WHAT DO GOVERNMENTS DO?

One of more popular reasons why many think that Islam forbids women from working is that there are some governments in predominantly Muslim countries that forbid women from working. However, any reasonable person who would hold Islam responsible for what a government do -if the major religion of that country is Islam, will have to be honest enough to hold other religions responsible for what other governments do, too.

Many other countries where the major religion is based on the Bible, for example, allow and sustain laws that give pregnant women THE RIGHT TO KILL THEIR OWN UNBORN CHILDREN. Would it be reasonable to conclude that since the major religion of such country is based on the Bible, that the Bible teaches…it is OK to kill…!…?

• Since almost all countries do not involve religion in the decision making of the government. Therefore it would be illogical to hold any religion responsible for what any government does, especially when what is being done is against that religion.

3- WHAT DO PEOPLE DO?

Suppose you have a neighbor who tells you he is a good Christian and that he goes to church every Sunday, then later you find out that he belonged to one of the racial supremacy churches. Further, you learn that he believes that non white people are the children of the devil and they deserve to be killed. Should you blame Christianity, the Bible or Jesus Christ (peace be up on him) for what your neighbor believes in?

The honest answer of course is no, and so is the case with those few Muslims who believe that women cannot work. They are as mistaken, just as the example's neighbor whose belief in racial supremacy is not based on what the Bible teaches.

• Islam and its teachings never proclaimed that women can not work, in fact Islam taught that women -in many cases- are REQUIRED to work.

4- REQUIRING WOMEN TO WORK?

It is a surprise of course for most people to find out that Islam -in many cases- REQUIRES women to work and hold jobs. One of the reasons it is a surprise is that there is no other religion that requires women to go to work.

To understand this vital point, we need a broader look to another issue that is vital as well:

A) Covering women's body.

As you have seen in our articles about women's dress code, instead of using her body as a sex object, a Muslim woman observes HIJAB (covering the head and the body) because Allah -God in Arabic- has told them to do so.. We find in the Holy Qur'an; chapter 33 verse 59: "O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around them (when they go out or are among men). That is better in order that they may be known (to be Muslims) and not annoyed". With this important command, women have to cover their beauty, except from their husbands and family.

• For more details regarding the dress code, see links for suggested articles at the end of this article.

B) Looking at somebody's uncovered body

Islam teaches that a man should not look at any woman's uncovered body, unless she is his wife, and the same applies for women too, as we read; " Successful indeed are the believers. Who are humble in their prayer … And who guard their private parts. Except before their mates…" (23:1-6).

The verse -and other teachings as well, commands that; unless one is forced by necessity -see (2:173)- he or she should not be looking to the other sex's uncovered body, unless of course, the other is the lawful mate.

C) Reorganizing the community.

As a comprehensive system for both the individual and the community, Islam REORGANIZED with these simple rules the individual's role in the community. For example, unless forced by necessity, men could no longer be the physicians who would uncover women's bodies to treat them regularly.

D) The practical need and application.

This example of forbidding male physicians to treat women, unless forced by necessity, HAS CREATED THE NEED for other women to become physicians. Muslim women had to study medicine and to become physicians to treat female patients.

E) Teaching and leading prayers.

Reorganizing the community was not limited to physicians treating the same sex. In another example, after the death of the Prophet (peace be up on him), besides his companions who taught others what he said and did, the Messenger’s surviving wives and his daughter Fatima became teachers to all Muslims too. they have become teachers of the religion especially for other women on women's matters and the very specific rules that are applied only to women. Almost half of the Hadiths -the teachings of the prophet peace be upon him- were narrated and taught by his wives and his daughter Fatima.

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• From it's beginning, more than 1400 years ago, Islam was the first religion to allow women to teach religion and to become prayer leaders for other women.

5- MUSLIM WOMEN IN HISTORY

When the British forces arrived to Egypt and took the country as a part of the British Empire in the 19^th century. They found that there were female students in medical schools. The new occupying leadership banned women from going to medical schools and from becoming physicians. It seems as though their (good...?) reasons might have been:

6- MUSLIM WOMEN IN MODERN DAYS.

Today, there is even a greater need for women to hold jobs in the Islamic community. A few examples of these needs in an Islamic community are: Gynecologists, family practice physicians, dentists, teachers and even security officers to search other women at airports or police stations and so on.

As you have seen, there is not a single verse or teaching in Islam that forbids women form working or holding a job. On the contrary, an Islamic community must have women holding certain jobs to be able to comply with the rules of not looking at the other sex's body. It was because of this simple rule that led women to work and hold jobs, to teach and to lead prayers, more than 1400 years ago...only in Islam.

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Q8-Why women are not allowed to vote in Islam? Are women allowed to vote in Islam?

Unfortunately, the western media -in many cases, mislead the public by giving them false information. In Islam women are expected to have an opinion in the community. The proof is in the holy Quran, as it describes the believers in chapter 42, verse 38:

"Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance"

Incidentally, the chapter's name is ash-shura, which is Arabic for; council or consultation.

Not only it is the women's right to vote, but the Quran also recorded a Muslim women -Khaulah bint Tha`labah- as she disputed with the prophet the Leader of Muslims at the time:

" Allah hath heard the saying of her that disputeth with thee (Muhammad) concerning her husband, and complaineth unto Allah" (58: 1)

• Women were given rights to Vote less than a 100 years ago in the western world, only after they fought for their basic rights as an individual in the western community, without the help of any religion, while the Quran (42:38) gave Women voting rights almost 1,500 years ago.

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Q9-Why does Islam teach Muslim men to beat their wives? Isn’t Islam a violent religion because it teaches men to bet their wives? Why does Islam allow a man to beat his wife according to the Quran (koran) in 4:34 ?

It is often misunderstood that Islam teaches a man to beat his wife, this is thanks to the western media and to those who misquote Islam and its teachings. By misquoting the verse and the Islamic teachings, the meaning could change, any 7 years old child could misquote any teachings no matter which religion is it.

There is ONE FACT that is necessary to understand this often-misunderstood verse of the Qur'an:

In all other religions, there are no teachings that forbids, allows or regulate anything about wife-beating. While many think that it is a common sense that man is not supposed to beat his wife, all other religions teach that you should not kill for example. If these religions depended only on common sense then there would be no need to teach that you should not kill, since it calls for even less common sense not to kill another person.

It is obvious that all religions teach in their commandments or laws what one should and should not do, but not leave it to ones common sense. Not saying anything about wife beating could mean to some that if the husband beats the wife, he is not breaking any rules or commandments, if he was, then which commandment did he break...!?

knowing now that if beating the wife was not regulated with rules would leave it to the husband’s common sense let us take a look at all the teachings of Islam regarding beating the wife as explained by Dr. Jamal Badawi, in his article Gender Equity in Islam:

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Islam does not teach that when one adopts it, he or she becomes perfect and live perfect life with the spouse, nor that it looks the other way and deny the everyday life difficulties. In teaches that one must strive in his or her normal everyday life to better it and to face the practical difficulties of this world it teaches that one must face his normal life and set guide lines to help him achieve that.

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