CHAPTER 5: WOMEN – PART 1
How the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, dealt with women
Introduction:
The dealings of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with the women of his family and the Muslim community were based on trust, respect, consideration and affection. We see glimpses of women praying in the mosque in congregations led by him; women being accorded time when they complained that they did not have access to Islamic teachings; women who assisted in battlefields and women whose domestic problems were heard and addressed, all illustrated by his own equitable behaviour towards women during his lifetime.
Let us look at Prophet Muhammad’s life and his example and let us do what he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did and then perhaps we shall no longer hear of women being abused or deprived of respect, no more women suffering from negligence, abuse and denial of their rights. Let us begin with our own families and communities and then perhaps we could become, as Allah intends us to be, examples for the rest of humanity.
Treating women:
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, treated women with kindness and mercy due to the innate nature Allah had created him upon. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had the best of manners and was the most merciful of people towards others. Additionally, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, knew how vulnerable and sensitive women were and thus he was extra merciful towards them.
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, instructed men to treat women kindly:
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said on his Farewell
Pilgrimage while admonishing people: “Treat women kindly.”(Reported by At-Tirmidhi (1163) and Ibn Maajah (1851).) meaning, be compassionate and gentle with them and live with them in kindness. (Fat-h Al-Baari (368/6).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, considered women as the twin halves of men:
It was reported that ‘Aa’ishah (the wife of the Prophet) narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Women are the twin halves of men.”(Reported by Abu Dawood (236) and At-Tirmidhi (113).) Meaning, they are equal to them with regard to manners and human nature (in most cases), as if they were the other half of men. (An-Nihayah (492/2).)
Women are equal to men with regard to what Allah ordained, except for matters where exceptions were made by revelation, such as not obliging them to attend the Friday sermon. There are cases where women are commanded to do certain things more than men, like in the case of the obligation of Hijab (Islamic attire women should adhere to according to the teachings of Islam).
Umm ‘Umaarah Al-Ansaariyyah (a female Companion) went to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and said: “Why is it that the revelations of the Quran only address men and exclude women? I do not see it addressing women in anything.” Thereafter, the following verse was revealed, (which means): «Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so, for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.» [Quran: 33:35]” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi (3211).)
Thus, Allah mentioned ten matters in which they were equal to men and they were praised with men.
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, took the pledge from women just as he did from men without touching their hands:
Allah commanded the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to take their pledge of allegiance. Allah Says (what means): «O Prophet, when the believing women come to you pledging to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor will they steal, nor will they commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will they kill their children, nor will they bring forth a slander they have invented between their arms and legs (This is an allusion to pregnancy and childbirth, i.e. to falsely attribute a child (whether adopted or born of adultery) to a woman’s husband.), nor will they disobey you in what is right, then accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.» [Quran: 60:12]
Commenting on this verse, As-Si’di (a scholar) said:
“The conditions mentioned in the verse were part of the pledge given by women. They used to pledge to fulfil the obligations that were common with men that both had to do all the time. However, men have different obligations depending on their situations and ranks. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to adhere to the command of Allah, and whenever women would come to give him the pledge of allegiance, and would pledge to adhere to the set conditions, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would accept their pledge. He would supplicate for their forgiveness for whatever shortcomings they had and would include them in the general term of ’Believers‘.
Amongst the conditions is not to associate partners with Allah, not to commit unlawful sexual intercourse like women used to do in the pre-Islamic era where some women would do so as a form of prostitution or by having illicit relationships with men. They also had to pledge not to kill their children as ignorant women used to do before the advent of Islam. As for bringing forth slander, they were forbidden from doing so, whether it was related to their husbands by attributing a false child to him, or slandering others in general.
Additionally, they had to pledge to obey the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in what is right, because all he commanded was right, like obeying him in not slapping their faces and tearing their clothes when afflicted by adversity. If they pledged and adhered to all these conditions, then he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was commanded to accept their pledge and supplicate Allah for their forgiveness for any shortcomings that they might have. The verse ends highlighting two great qualities of Allah, His Mercy and Forgiveness, and that He, The Almighty, is Oft Forgiving for those who disobey and Kind to those who repent, and His mercy encompasses everything and everyone, and His kindness envelopes all creatures.”(Tafseer As-Si’di (857/1).)
Umaymah bint Ruqayqah (a female Companion) narrated:
“I went to the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with a group of women from the Ansaar to give him the pledge of allegiance. We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! We pledge not to associate anyone with Allah, nor will we steal, nor will we commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will we kill our children, nor will we bring forth a slander we have invented between our arms and legs, nor will we disobey you in what is right.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “As much as you can bear and your capability allows.” We replied: ‘Allah and His Messenger are the most merciful to us. O Messenger of Allah, We pledge to adhere’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “I do not shake hands with women. What I say to one woman is good for a hundred women(Meaning, when I command one is like commanding a hundred; the pledge is accepted and they are all obliged to adhere, and it is not needed for every woman to pledge separately.).”(Reported by At-Tirmidhi (1597) Ibn Maajah (2874) An-Nasa’i (4181).)
A pledge is very beneficial in that it obliges the person to fulfil what they pledged to do (or refrain from). One would always remember it and thus is encouraged to fulfil it.
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, tested women who emigrated to him:
‘Aa’ishah narrated:
“The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to take the pledge of allegiance from the women by words only after reciting this verse (which means): «O you who have believed, when the believing women come to you as emigrants, examine [i.e. test] them. Allah is most knowing as to their faith. And if you know them to be believers, then do not return them to the disbelievers; they are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them. But give them [i.e. the disbelievers] what they have spent [for marriage, i.e. compensate their toss]. And there is no blame upon you if you marry them when you have given them their due compensation [i.e. dowry]. And hold not to marriage bonds with disbelieving women, but ask for what you have spent and let them [i.e. the disbelievers] ask for what they have spent(When a disbelieving wife chose to join the disbelievers, a Muslim husband could demand in return the equivalent of her Mahr (dowry). Likewise, the disbelievers had a similar right when a believing woman joined the Muslims. This and the following verses were revealed subsequent to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.). That is the judgement of Allah; He judges between you. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.» [Quran: 60:10]
When they had agreed to the pledge, he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would say to them: “Go, for I have accepted your pledge.” I swear by Allah! The hand of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, never touched any woman’s hand except the hand of the women his right hand possessed. (i.e. his captives or his female slaves). He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would only take their pledge verbally.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (2713) and Muslim (1866).)
Once the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was on a journey and he had a black slave called Anjashah, who was driving the camels very fast and there were women riding on those camels. The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “O Anjashah! Drive [the camels] slowly with the glass vessels [women riding on them]!”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (6149) and Muslim (2323).)
In another narration he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “O Anjashah! Be kind to the glass vessels [women]!”(Reported by Ahmad (12350).)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was keen on teaching and advising them and would allocate a day for them:
Abu Sa’eed (a Companion) narrated: “The women requested the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, saying: ‘Men get the better share of you. Please fix a day for us, so that we come to you and learn from you what Allah taught you.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: “Gather on such and such day, in such and such place.”(Another narration reads: “Your meeting will be in the house of so and so [female Companion]” Ahmad (7610).) They gathered on the set day in the set place, and he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, went to them, preached to them and said: “A woman whose three children die before the age of puberty would be screened from the Hellfire by them.” Hearing this, a woman asked: ‘If two died?’ and she repeated the question twice. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: “Even two, even two, even two [would screen her from the Hell] Fire.””(Reported by Al-Bukhari (102) and Muslim (2634).)
This narration shows how keen the female Companions were on learning the issues related to their religion.
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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