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Chapter 2
Manipulation of Womanhood
The Islamic laws seek to reduce
woman to the status of a sexual toy. Thus, they have been forged to minimise
female liberties for enforcing the doctrinal policy: "Dominance-urge versus
Feminine Charm." However, through the force of indoctrination, the Muslims
are made to feel that Islam is the first religion that has given women the
following rights:
1. The right to inherit property, and
2. The right to divorce man.
But in effect, these rights are spurious
because they cannot be exercised by women for the following reasons:
Law is not law unless it is equally
applicable to all and sundry. Thus, the law of inheritance must also apply to
the descendants of the Prophet i.e. Fatima (his daughter) with the same force as
to other women, but this is not the rose. The hadith 3: 4351-Muslim, is highly
illuminating on the subject:
1. "We (Prophets) do not have any
heirs; what we leave behind is (to be given in) Charity."
It is difficult to abide by the logic of
this hadith for two reasons:
Firstly, the Prophet claimed to be the
Model of Behaviour for all the people Therefore, depriving Fatima of her
paternal inheritance is an act of gross injustice and discrimination against
her. A law cannot be discriminatory against a person just because he or she is
related to the legislator.
1a. Allah has subjected women to the
law of purdah, that is, they must not participate in social life:
"And so to the believing women,
that they cast down their eyes and guard their private parts,
and reveal not their adornment save such as is outward;
and let them cast their veils over their bosoms and not reveal….".....
(Light XXIV: 30 )
Secondly, Fatima expected her patrimony
urgently and her husband Ali, was equally desirous of it.
The matter was referred to Abu Bakr, the
Caliph, who "refused to hand over anything from it (the Prophet's property)
to Fatima. She got angry with Abu Bakr for this reason, and forsook him and did
not talk to him until the end of her life ... when she died, her husband, Ali b.
Abu Talib, buried her at night. He did not inform Abu Bakr about her death and
offered the funeral prayer over her himself."
It is evident that if the Prophet can
deprive his own daughter of her parental legacy, other women cannot expect much
from the Islamic law of inheritance, which looks good on paper only .
1. The truth is that the Islamic law is
completely outdated. A woman's right to divorce her husband is a modern
phenomenon, brought about by Women's lib. movement. Further study of the
subject revealed to me that Khula has no validity in Islam, and has been made
fashionable by the Muslim divines to appease women for avoiding an open
rebellion. The Koran does not support Khula, but there are several hadiths that
oppose it. Just look at one of them:
" ..... The women who break the
matrimonial ties by using Khula are hypocrites and not Muslim." (Mishkat,
2: 3148)
Again, the Koran says:
"O Prophet, say to the wives and
daughters and the believing women, that they draw their veils close to them
…" (The Confederates XXXIII: 55)
In addition to veiling, Allah confines
women's activities within the four-walls of their homes:
"Remain in your houses; and display
not your finery, as did the pagans of old." (The Confederates XXXIII: 25 )
With a view to depriving women of their
rights, the Koran lays it down:
"Men are the managers of the affairs
of women for that God has preferred in bounty
One of them over another .....
Righteous women are therefore obedient ..... And those you fear may be
rebellious
admonish; banish them to their couches and beat them." (Women IV: 35)
Since a woman is obliged to wear a veil
and restricted within her home, and man is appointed her manager with the
authority to beat her if she does not obey him, her property rights are just an
attractive gimmick: they are a body without a soul, a locomotive engine without
steam and a bow without arrows.
2a. As stated in the footnote, a woman has
no legal right to divorce her man. However, Khula has come to mean that she can
do so. Even then, a man can undo his matrimonial ties quite independently and at
will, but the wife has to achieve this goal through the process of law, which is
very cumbersome to say the least. Also, she is subject to the wrath of God and
curses of angels if she takes this step without complete justification. Again,
in a male chauvinistic society, it is likely that her pleas will have no effect
on the ears of a male judge, who is used to deriding, depressing and dominating
women.
According to Ibn-e-Majah, vol. 1, page
571:
A wife must not seek divorce from her
husband without a serious cause. If she does, she will not enter paradise. If
she can prove her case, she will be awarded decree only if she returns all that
her husband had bestowed on her as an entitlement or outright gift. A woman who
seeks Khula, cannot expect settlement!
The laws of inheritance treat one male
equal to two females (Women IV: 10). The law of evidence is even harsher: not
only two women equal one man but she may not be allowed to tender evidence where
male witnesses are available.
In view of the following limitations that
Islam has imposed on woman, one can honestly conclude that it has been done
deliberately to deprive her of human rights for converting her into a sexual toy
so that men should flock to Islam:
1.
Woman has a religious duty to produce the maximum number of children;
Ibn-e-Majah reports in Vol. 1, page 518 and 523 in his "SUNUN:" The
Prophet said "Getting married is my basic doctrine. Who so does not
follow my example, is not my follower. Marry, so that I can claim preference
over other communities (Jews and Christians) owing to commanding a greater
number of followers."
"MISHKAT" reports in Vol. 3 page
119, a similar hadith:
"On the Day of Judgement, I shall
have the greater number of followers than any other prophet …."
Having the largest following was
obviously, the greatest passion of the Prophet Muhammad, and could be realised
only by subjecting woman to the exclusive burden of motherhood. A woman who is
the mother of a dozen children, obviously does not have time to think about her
human rights. Her mind is likely to be tortured by the fear of what happens if
she is deserted by her husband. This deterrent is powerful enough to keep her
under his thumb.
2. The second condition that governs
woman's status in Islam is stated by the Koran in "Iron: 25:"
"And monasticism they invented - We
did not prescribe it for them - only seeking the good pleasure of God; but they
observed it not as it should be observed."
Simply stated, these verses mean that the
Christians flouted God's will by practicing monasticism because enjoyment of
women by man is "the good pleasure of God. "
Thus, woman is nothing but the source of
pleasure to man. However, it implies that, in return for being the provider of
delight, she is entitled to love and reverence as her fundamental rights. In
fact, every woman is conscious of it and wants to be treated respectfully, but
Islam in line with the Semitic philosophy, which states that man must have
sexual pleasure by command, opposes this attitude. This is
why there is no Islamic concept of consent in sexual intercourse: Woman in Islam
is man's tillage and he is empowered to use her as he wishes. This is the reason
that Islamic law aims at man's ascendancy, inflicting corresponding humiliation
on woman. The reader can judge this truth from the following:
"Women have such honourable rights as
obligations but their men have a degree above them. " ( The Cow: 2 2 5 )
This is a highly debated verse, and
Islamic zealots are always stretching it to prove equality of sexes. Therefore,
I may quote from the hadith to demonstrate its truth:
"If women comply with your commands,
do not molest them listen carefully, they have a right over you that you take
care of their food and wear." (Ibn-e-Majh, Vol. 1, p 519)
Woman's rights are limited to her
maintenance provided she obeys her man. Instead of indulging in further
discussion of this point, I may state the usually held Islamic belief that man
is superior to woman. In fact, the Koranic law supports this idea to the hilt.
Here is the explanation:
1. " marry such women as
seem good to you, two, three, four." (Women: 1 )
Here man is given legal prerogative to
have four wives of his own choice at the same time. The Muslim scholars have
been putting various interpretations on this verse to avoid the shame of
polygamy. For example, they say, woman is not allowed polyandry (having more
than one husband at the same time) because it becomes impossible to know the
father of the child. This argument does not hold good when we are talking about
the basic rights of man and woman, which constitute the principle of equality.
Again, this point of view is nullified by
the scientific advances: firstly, invention of the Pill has given woman control
over her body, and she does not have to bear children unless she wants them.
Secondly, clinical tests today, can establish the fatherhood of a child with
certainty. Therefore, this type of argument proves nothing but futility,
frivolity and fictitiousness of the Islamic law, which seeks to impose male
dominance on woman in the name of fairness, felicity and fruitfulness.
Add to the above, the Islamic law of
concubinage, which allows a man to have as many women in his harem as he can
afford. For example, Akbar the Great of India had 5,000 concubines and his son,
Jehangir, had no fewer than 6,000! There is only one description for them -
private brothels. Yet the Muslim scholars talk of morality and women's rights.
We are told, as men have rights over women
so women have rights over men. This is quoted as the proof of equality. In fact,
this is highly misleading because relationship of their mutual rights makes man
the master and woman the slave.
The only mentionable right that woman has
over man is the right to be fed and clothed. I have already quoted a hadith to
this effect. Now look at the other side of the coin:
"If I were to order someone to
prostrate before other than God, I would have commanded woman to prostrate
before her husband.
If a husband tells his wife to keep
carrying a load of stones from that red mountain to that black mountain, she
must obey him whole heartedly. "
(Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, ch. 592, p 520)
"By God, who controls the life of
Muhammad, a woman cannot discharge her duty towards God until she has discharged
her duty towards her husband: if she is riding a camel and her husband expresses
his desire, she must not refuse. " (Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, Ch. 592 p 520)
"Again, if a man is in a mood to have
sexual intercourse, the wife must come immediately even if she is baking bread
at a communal oven (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 428)
5 One should also bear in mind that
Islam does everything to stop a woman from divorcing her man, and this is
especially true if she happens to be a mother because it is father, who takes
custody of children. This cruelty is legitimized by Islam to establish man's
grip over woman.
6 So great is the Islamic
discrimination against woman to favour man that it starts right from the lowest
rung of the social ladder:
"Aisha said that she had a
slave and a slave- girl who were married. She told the Prophet that she wanted
to set them free. He said that she ought to free the slave (man) first."
(Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 2, ch. 130, p. 100)
7.
The same attitude asserts itself in the field of inheritance and legal evidence.
Though I have already stated Islamic views on these subjects, I may add a word
or two about the law of evidence regarding women:
" And call in to witness,
two witnesses, men; or if the two be not men, then one man and two women, such
witnesses as you approve of ……"
(The Cow:
280)
8.
Thus, legally, one man is equal to two women! Nothing is more erroneous than the
assumption that the Islamic concept of polygamy is confined to four wives; its
hidden meaning is much deeper than what appears to be because it carries a sense
of built-in mirage:
"And if you desire to exchange a wife
in place of another……..take of her nothing ….. " (Women: 20 )
It implies that a Muslim husband is
entitled to keep substituting one wife with another provided the number does not
exceed the prescribed limit of four at the same time. He can do so easily
because he has the power to divorce at will, without giving a reason for his
action. This is how Hassan, a grandson of the Prophet multiplied the number of
his wives, ranging over seventy. It was his practice to marry during the day,
and after a night or two, he would divorce her to marry again.
9.
Having intercourse with a concubine, who is a helpless woman, is a first degree
crime against humanity. The Roman Law made it punishable by death but Islam
encouraged this indecency to attract followers. There is no law against the
concubine--rapists but there is swift retribution for an indecent woman, and her
man can inflict this punishment on her without fear of legal consequences:
"Such of you women as commit
indecency call four of you to witness against them; and they witness; then
detain them in their houses until death takes them or God appoints for them a
way." ( Women: 20 )
Since nobody has explained satisfactorily
the meaning of: "Or God appoints for them a way, " the punishment for
an indecent woman cannot be anything but death by incarceration. And this is in
addition to other forms of punishment e.g., flogging and stoning.
10. The true Islamic value of woman
becomes evident when we realise that her marriage is not substantive but
precarious. If a man does not like his daughter--in-law, and tells his son to
divorce her without giving a reason for it, he must do so. (Tirmzi, Vol.
1, p 440)
a. There is also a famous
tradition of the Prophet ascribed to Katib al Waqidi and proudly recited by the
mullahs to declare brotherhood of the fellow--Muslims:
" Behold my two wives and select the
one you
like the best."
This brotherly gesture was made by a
Medinite Muslim (an Ansar) to an immigrant Muslim, when the prophet fled Mecca
along with his followers to seek refuge in Medina. The offer was accepted
readily and the offerer divorced the wife chosen by the offeree!
It shows that woman is just a souvenir in
Islam. Look at the following hadith as well:
b. In the battle fought
against FAZARA under the command of Abu Bakr, a very pretty Arab girl was given
as share of booty to Salama Bin Al-Akwa. He had not seduced her when the Prophet
met him in the street, and said, "O Salama, give me that girl, may God
bless your father." Salama said, "She is for you, Messenger of Allah!
By Allah I have not yet disrobed her."
The Messenger of Allah sent her to the
people of Mecca, and surrendered her as a ransom for a number of Muslims, who
had been kept there as prisoners. (Muslim: 4345)
The Prophet himself accepted women as a
gift. The Coptic Mary, who bore him a son, is an example in point.
11. The Prophet declared from the
pulpit at Hajj, a wife must not spend anything belonging to her husband without
his permission, and this prohibition equally applied to buying foodstuff.
(Tirmzi,
Vol. 1, p 265)
1 2.
Even in religious matters of great importance, a wife is subjected to her
husband's command. There are several hadiths which say that a wife may not
observe fasting without her husband's permission in case he wants to have sexual
intercourse with her.
(Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 300)
13. Islam treats woman as a devil
owing to her erotic effect on man:
"The Prophet unintentionally looked
at a woman and was aroused. He went home and had intercourse with Zainab (one of
his pretty wives). He said, 'Woman faces you as Devil. If you are affected by
her charm, have intercourse with your wife because she has the same thing as the
woman who affected you."' (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 428)
14. Woman is twisted by birth.
The Prophet said:
Woman has been created from a rib which is
twisted. If you try to straighten it, you will break it. It is desirable to make
the best use of it as it is.
(Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 440)
15. Here is a surprising hadith:
The woman whose husband remains happy at
night, and every night, she will be admitted into paradise.
( Ti rmzi, Vol . 1, p 4 28 )
It obviously means that for a woman,
gratification of man's lust is an act of worshipping God!
a. This is the reason that another hadith
says: The woman who decorates herself for anyone other than her own husband is
like darkness of the Day of Judgement. (Tirmzi, Vol. 1, p 430)
16. A woman is a calamity for man by
her very nature:
The Prophet said that he had not left for
man any calamity which could hurt him except woman. (Tirmzi, Vol. 2,
p 286)
Add to the above, the following to realise
woman's status in Islam:
17. A woman is not a believer if she
undertakes a journey which may last three days or longer, unless she is
accompanied by her husband, son, father or brother. ( Ti rmzi, p 431)
18. If a woman refuses to come to
bed when invited by her husband, she becomes a target of the curses of angels.
Exactly the same happens if she deserts her husband's bed. (Bokhari, Vol. 7, p
93)
19. The women, who are ungrateful to their
men, are the denizens of hell; it is an act of ingratitude for a woman to say:
20. "I have never seen any good from you." ( Bokahri, Vol.
7, p 96)
20. A woman in many ways is deprived
of the possession of her own body. Even her milk belongs to her husband. (Bokhari,
Vol. 7, p 27)
She is not allowed to practice
birth-control either.
21. The Prophet said: "When
wife vexes her husband, then houris of paradise utter curses on her saying, 'may
God destroy you because he is with you only for a short time; he will shortly
leave you to come to us.' (Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, p 560)
22. The Prophet said, "A
woman's evidence carries half the weight of that of a man…. it is owing to
lack of wisdom on their part. However, they are also injurious to the dignity of
faith and cannot be allowed to say prayer during the period of menstruation or
observe fasting." (Mishkat, Vol. 1, p 19)
23. The Prophet said: "Beware
of women because the calamity that the Israelite suffered was caused by
women." (Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 70)
24. The Prophet said:
"Misfortune is a part of womanhood, residence and horse."
( Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 70)
25. The Prophet said: "No woman
should perform a marriage ceremony of another woman or her own because such a
woman is the true seducer." (Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 78)
26. The Prophet said: "If Eve
was not created, no woman would have been dishonest towards her husband." (Mishkat,
Vol. 2, p 98)
27. The Prophet said: "When a
man calls his wife to bed and she refuses and he is angered, then angels keep
cursing her all night…. even the Master of Sky (God) is annoyed with her
until husband is reconciled with her." (Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 100)
28. The Prophet said: "When a
woman dies, if her husband was pleased with her, she goes to paradise. (Mishkat,
Vol. 2, p 102)
29. The Prophet said: "On the
Day of Judgement, a husband shall not be questioned for beating his wife."
(Mishkat, Vol. 2, p 105 )
a. Beating is a speciality of
Islam for taming the "feminine brutes." The Koran says:
"And those you fear may be rebellious admonish banish them to their
couches, and beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way
against them." (Women: 35 )
It has been said that, due to
shortage of women, the Arabs practiced a culture which was nearly matriarchal,
that is, women had high social positions in their clans, and were, therefore,
inclined to dominate men. The Prophet Muhammad was himself an employee of
Khadija whom he married, despite the fact that she was fifteen years older
than he was.
The Prophet was endowed with a
masculine social approach and wanted men to be dominant for creating a hardy,
warrior Arab nation, capable of conquering world. This is the reason that Koran
gave men an absolute authority to subdue women to beating, if necessary. It was
an essential part of subjugating woman to man's suzerainty. Men, certainly made
best use of this prerogative. A hadith says
" ..... women had become bold with
their men, and so the Prophet authorised beating them. As a result seventy
women, during one evening, gathered at the residence of the Prophet to
complain ruefully against their husbands, who they thought, were not good
people." (Ibn-e-Majah, Vol. 1, p 553)
30. I ought to repeat that with
wife-beating goes the Koranic behest of purdah, which has been a major cause of
destroying female liberties. For reader's convenience, I may requote the
relevant Koranic verses:
"And say to the believing women, that
they cast down their eyes and guard their private parts, and reveal not their
adornment save such as is outward; and let them cast their veils over their
bosoms, and not reveal their adornment save to their husbands "
( Light X XIV: 30 )
Again:
"O Prophet, say to the wives and
daughters and the believing women, that they draw their veils close to
them." ( The Confederates: 33: 55 )
31. Then came the further Koranic
command for women:
"And stay in your houses
" (The Confederates 33: 25)
Thus, the Muslim woman was totally
secluded from society to make her a sexual toy and a source of political
convenience for man. This truth can be easily verified from the personal
attitude of the Prophet towards women. I shall devote the next chapter to
explain this point.
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