Khutbah Series:
Gender IssuesDr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
[This series of Khutbah was delivered during 1993 at the Islamic Center of Iowa City, Iowa. For brevity, the customary invocations toward the beginning and the end of the Khutbahs have been omitted.]
Intro Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII
V. Women's confinement: A deeply distorted perspective
We sent not a Messenger, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the Will of Allah ... [An-Nisaa: 64]
I. A Fundamental Aspect of Being MuslimsOnce through our due diligence we choose Islam voluntarily, consciously and conscientiously, our commitment to Islam must be unwavering. That does not mean that after becoming a Muslim, we become closed-minded and blind followers. Always having an open mind until the last breath is an essential dimension of truth-seeking. Demanding proof and use of one of the primary human faculty - reasoning - are essential Islamic, prophetic, and Qur'anic dimensions. The faculty of reasoning, having an open mind and conscientious due diligence never become redundant: not while searching for truth, and not after we believe that we have found the truth.
II. Qur'anic verses and narrations presumably indicating seclusion of womenAyats in Qur'an preferring a homebound role:
"And stay quietly in your houses..." [Surah al-Ahzab: 33] is a part specifically for the Wives of the Prophet (s). Even then, if these verses are understood in the way it is commonly done make them clearly inconsistent with the Seerah (the life of the Prophet). Indeed, the verses are not inconsistent with the reality of Seerah, only their interpretations are.
Hadith about Screeing (Hijab): [Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 3, #4100]: Umm Salamah and Maimuna were asked by the Prophet to go behind screen when the blind Sahaba Umm Maktum came. Imam Abu Dawud explains: "This was peculiar to the wives of the Prophet." He referred to the contrary example of Fatima bint Qais in a similar situation.
Hadith indicating women's prayer offered at home as better: Generalization runs into obvious contradiction with the reality of Seerah and the lives of companions of the Prophet. These hadith may have been specific to a person's situation, and may not be generalized.
Then, there are Companions' viewpoints:
Ayesha (r) said: If the Prophet had seen what women have invented, he would have prevented them from visiting the mosque (for praying), as the women of the children of Israel were prevented. [Sunan Abu Dawood, Vol. I, # 569] This is NOT a hadith, meaning not a statement from the Prophet. And no historical corroboration available as to what women did as suggested by this statement.
When A'tikah, wife of Hadhrat Umar (r) used to ask Umar for permission to go to the mosque (for congregational prayer), he used to keep silence. A'tikah would say: By Allah, I will go unless you prohibit me. And he would not prohibit. [Muat-ta of Imam Malik, #460] Again, Not a hadith, not a statement from the Prophet.
III. FactsISLAM DID NOT PROHIBIT WOMEN FROM A MASJID-BOUND LIFE.
-- Women of that time DID live a Masjid-bound life similar to their contemporary men.
ISLAM DID NOT MAKE WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION OR CONGREGATIONAL ACTIVITIES IN MASJID OBLIGATORY. ISLAM HAS GIVEN A CHOICE TO WOMEN, A CHOICE THAT MUST NOT BE AFFECTED BY HUSBANDS OR GUARDIANS.
-- Women of that time fully understood this and chose and upheld their right to a Masjid-bound life.
IV. Contrary viewpoint about women's participationHow do we then reconcile the viewpoint, particularly of Hadhrat Umar (r)?
Hadith: This Ummah owes an invaluable debt to the collectors of hadith, such as Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Tirmidhi, Imam Nasa'i, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Dawud, Imam Ahmad, etc. Without having a deep appreciation of the contribution of these collectors and those who have devoted their lives to the study of hadith, it is simply impossible to be a practicing Muslim. However, two aspects of hadith must be kept in mind.
(a) Hadith must be authenticated. In any of the collection of hadith, there could be some hadith of questionable authenticity. Alhamdulillah, our scholars of hadith have made it easier for us by identifying such hadith.
(b) Unlike Qur'an, it is very difficult to determine the context of many hadith. When, where, and why was something said
In evaluating Hadrat Umar's viewpoint, one must keep in mind the public role of his own wife, Umm Kulthum. Umm Hakim participated in a battle during the Khilafat of Hadhrat Umar (r) and Umm Ammarah in the first sea battle during the Khilafat of Hadhrat Uthman (r). Furthermore, the women in a gathering in a Masjid contradicted and corrected Hadhrat Umar about his idea of limiting Mahr (dowry). There is no information about Hadrhat Umar's opposition to or disapproval of these incidents. There is no question, absolutely not, that women were not secluded or screened during the time of the Prophet. It came much later. Therefore, there is no clear explanation about Hadhrat Umar's reservation about women's going to the Masjid.
However, historical conditions of the time of the Prophet may shed some light on his concerns. Please try to learn more about such history and synthesize your knowledge.
-- The society of Madinah:
-- Banu Qaynuqa harassed a Muslim women leading to the death of a Muslim who came in her defense. This happened between the Battle of Badr and Uhud.
-- Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the leader of Munafiqeen (hypocrites), used to force women to prostitution in Madinah. Muslims were not ready yet to deal with such situations until after the battle in Tabuk in 9 Hijri year. After the return from the battle, Masjid al-Dhirar, the center of Munafiqeen was set aflame and destroyed. Abdullah ibn Ubayy died two months later.
-- Some person expressed the intention in presence of the Prophet that he would like to marry one of his wives after the Prophet's death. [at-Tabari: Vol. 22, p. 40] The last part of verse 33 (about hizab) in Surah al-Ahzab, commanding the wives of the Prophet to stay at home, was revealed to repudiate this intention.
Uyayna Ibn Hisn, chief of an Arab tribe known for its bad manners, according some reports at one point proposed to have a wife of the Prophet in exchange of one of his more beautiful wife. [Al-Nishaburi: Tafsir Ghara'ib al-Qur'an accompanying At-Tabari: Vol. 22, p. 27]
-- "The Prophet's wives went out at night to attend their personal affairs, and some of the Hypocrites placed themselves along their route and harassed them." [Tabaqat Ibn Sad: V. 8, p. 174]
-- In Hijri year 6, some of the Munafiqeen tried to spread slanders againt Umm al-Mu'mineen Hadhrat Aisha (r), a deliberate effort to put the Prophet and the Muslims on the defensive.
V. ConclusionWhat can we gather from the above information? Definitely, there was a problem of insecurity, especially for women. There have been even battles resulted from such problems as in the case of Banu Qaynuqa. Hadhrat Umar may have thought that such problems can be better handled by (a) veiling that would distinguish noble women from others, [see Umar's insistence to the Prophet on this matter, al-Bukhari: Vol. I, #148] and (b) restraining women from going out of home too much, of which leading a masjid-bound life is an integral part.
-- The Prophet (s) was committed to the non-restriction of women from having a Masjid-bound, publicly active life. Guided by al-Qur'an, the final divine revelation for humanity, he had an explicitly different vision, which will be dealt with in the next Khutbah.
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