Women’s Voices Matter
Islam has honoured women and has condemned those cultural practices that demean them or prevent them from realising their full potential within the home or the public sphere. There are detailed injunctions in the Qur’an which are there to protect women from being exploited and the very nature of the shariah (divine law) is there to safeguard their rights.
It is culture and tradition in many countries and not Islamic faith which perpetuates the myth that women, like Victorian children, should not be seen or heard. The Prophet ﷺ in his role as a husband, father and grandfather was exemplary in his behaviour towards his female relatives and towards women in general. During the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) women were not second-class citizens. Yet, in many ways and in many places the reality is that there is a tendency towards treating women in this way.
The prophetic treatment of women
The Prophet (peace be on him) listened to women just as much as he listened to the men in his mosque. He valued their opinions, appreciated their contributions and took their questions and dilemmas seriously. He gave them his full attention and until they were satisfied he did not end their conversation.
The Prophet ﷺ spoke against any form of violation against women. He warning men not to gossip about their marital affairs with others. The same warning also applied to women for their safety.
Myth about women’s voice – a woman’s voice is NOT her awrah
In some cultures, myths have become a part of religious practice though there is no evidence of this in either the Qur’an or prophetic tradition. One such example is that a woman’s voice in some cultures is considered ‘awrah’ (nakedness) if they speak in the public arena. In reality though Islam does not condone such cultural practices that demeans the value of a woman and deny her freedom. According to authentic narrations, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ listened to women, answered their questions,
I used to teach in the Shariah College in Lebanon, where we had male and female students and teachers, and they participated equally in discussions.
There is no single hadith that the Prophet (peace be on him) separated men and women with any barrier, or even a curtain. It was not due to a lack of materials, because they had no shortage of fabric or wood. Yet they did not use to partition the space.
In fact, you can read in Bukhari that the Prophet (peace be on him) asked female companions to postpone raising their heads from sujood until the men had risen, because they did not have underwear at the time, so they might have become exposed when coming up from sujood.[JA3]
Taqwa
Instead of erecting a wall, the Prophet (peace be on him) built taqwa (the fear of Allah) in their hearts. It is problematic that due to our failure in establishing taqwa, we started building artificial taqwa.
Some people might say the companions did not require walls because they were more pious than us. However they were human like us. They committed sins and made mistakes like any other people in any other society. Among them were sinners and worshippers. There were those with a high level of imaan and those whose imaan was low. There were thieves whose hands were chopped, men and women who committed zina (adultery) and were punished, companions who got drunk or were alcoholic and had to be lashed. The only difference between them and us is that they had the companionship of the Prophet (peace be on him). No one can match the honour of this. Today, there are some scholars who are more knowledgeable than some of the companions of that time, but they will never achieve the level of honour of the companions, because that companionship is very special.
The Prophet (peace be on him) never discriminated against women. There is no restriction on women taking up any position of leadership, except one. A woman may be a judge, consultant, or prime minister, but she cannot lead men in prayer. This is the only restriction.
We cannot dismiss the participation and contribution of women. The Prophet (peace be on him) made them equal in everything except in a few scenarios like jihad. They would go with the troops to support them and a very small number even participated in battles, but it was not an obligation for them.
The authentic hadith that is quoted to prevent women from leadership positions is:
‘Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler’ (Bukhari)
However this hadith referred to a particular woman. It has a context. It is not reference to women in general. In the story of Queen Bilqis (Sheba) in the Quran, the Prophet (peace be on him) never said that it was wrong for her to be in a position of power. Rather her story reveals her to be a wise leader.
Women reciting the Quran and singing in public
There are many women reciters who have recited in international competitions in front of male and female Qaris in the Arab world and South Asia. Though people may object, there is no evidence to suggest that they may not do so. If there is a need women can recite in public but reciting the Quran is not meant to be a show or entertainment.
Women are permitted to sing in public, provided the songs and their lyrics are decent, for example, singing the national anthem. As long as there is nothing that contains temptation, (which some nasheeds do), and the circumstances around the singing are decent and within the shariah, it is permissible. The Prophet (peace be on him) himself was present when women sang, and he would listen to the lyrics and correct them if they went against the Shariah, for example, when he heard them sing, ‘Rasul allah knows what is in tomorrow.’
Women and the mosque
There is a strange mentality which we need to change that bars women from entering mosques. Many mosques do not realise they are doing anything wrong by not allowing women to pray. On the contrary, they see it as an intrusion that women want to come to the mosque. Women were never barred from entering the mosque in the time of the Prophet (peace be on him).
Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said: ‘Do not stop Allah’s women-slaves from going to Allah’s Mosques.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
This behaviour stems from a principle, which is disagreed upon, known as sadd al dharai’ in which you block the means that lead to sin, though the means are not themselves sinful. If x might lead to y, x is blocked. However this means that many blockages arise, including preventing women from entering the mosque. The blockages should be removed. We should return to the original status, particularly in the treatment of women.
Men often quote this authentic hadith as their justification:
Umm Humayd the wife of Abu Humayd al-Saa’idi came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I like to pray with you.’
He said, ‘I know that you like to pray with me, but your prayer in your room is better for you than your prayer in your courtyard and your prayer in your courtyard is better for you than your praying in your house, and your prayer in your house is better for you than your prayer in the mosque of your people, and your prayer in the mosque of your people is better for you than your prayer in my mosque.’ So she issued orders that a prayer-place be prepared for her in the furthest and darkest part of her house, and she used to pray there until she met Allah (i.e., died).’ (Ahmad)
This is used to imply that women are sinful if they go out to pray. Instead, the Prophet (peace be on him) was giving women the compensation that if they find it difficult due to their commitments to go to the mosque, they should not feel sad that they will miss out, as they will still receive the reward of praying in the mosque. This is not the same as telling a woman who is twiddling her thumbs at home watching Bollywood that it is better for her to pray at home. She should go to the mosque.
We need to understand the the context and spirit of the message, not just the letter. We need to know the context of the hadith. Not just quote it out of context and use it as a weapon against women.
Similarly it was not made obligatory for women to go to the mosque for Jummah – they were given the ease of having a choice. The Prophet ﷺ said:
‘Jumu’ah is a duty that is required of every Muslim in congregation, except four: a slave, a woman, a child or one who is sick.’ (Abu Dawood)
Women and prayer
Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
People used to offer the prayer with the Prophet ﷺ with their waist-sheets tied round their necks because of the shortness of the sheets and the women were ordered not to lift their heads till the men had sat straight. (Bukhari)
Even with the possibility that men’s awrah might become visible, the Prophet (peace be on him) did not build a wall. Unfortunately, erecting barriers in today’ society reflects that this mentality is still in operation in parts of the UK .
Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim at the Youth Circle in December 2019
Disclaimer: Content in these blogs are to help readers understand the underlying principles in Islam of fairness and justice and to differentiate between cultural practices based on myths and religious knowledge taken from the Divine Qur’an and the sayings of the prophet peace be upon him.
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