a woman's place is in allaah

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80640575.doc

A Woman’s Place is in Allaah

by

Anis Kotia

MA Islamic Studies, ICAS Middlesex.

Semester One - 2010

Submission date: 22 nd January 2010.



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(Gurmukhi to English transliteration: Har kamyab bande de piche kisi buri da hath

honda)

‘Behind every successful man there is the hand (support) of a woman’

Nusrat Jabin Kotia (d. 19.05.99)

Dedicated to my mother, Nusrat. May Allaah rest her soul.



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of contents.................................................................... iii

Introduction .............................................................................. 4

Problems with traditions and Shari’ah................................... 7

Man and woman in ontology................................................ 10

Theophanic qualities of Eve................................................................................... 10

The greatest hidden treasure................................................................................ 12

The perfect (wo)man.............................................................................................. 13

The Crooked Rib.................................................................................................. 16

Closing remarks.................................................................... 18

Appendices............................................................................ 19

Appendix 1............................................................................................................. 20

Appendix 2............................................................................................................. 21

Bibliography............................................................................ 22



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INTRODUCTION

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Muslim scholars often talk about the justice Islam affords women because, for one, it

gave them rights of inheritance which were not otherwise available in pre-Islamic

Arabia 1 . That may be true, however, the Shari’ah is limited in this capacity: it will not

explain how much one should love a woman or to what degree women are the equals of

men. In this essay I argue that scholars need to build on the innate qualities of love and

mercy that Allaah has bestowed in each human being before they even approach the

Shari’ah. This will manifest in a natural appreciation of women and ensure a more

practical and effective approach to the Shari’ah.

There has been much written on the topic of Women in Islam and the West 2 in recent

times with the image of women in Islam often being contrasted against that of the

Western woman: Islam would appear to condone honour killings 3 and women are often

forbidden from education 4 , thus, Muslim women appear to have been turned into

second-class citizens.

The application of sad al dhar ā i ’ 5 within Saudi Arabia has lead to the prohibition on

women drivers and also of women having to dress in black from head to toe; such1 ‘Women in pre-Islamic Arabia’ by Muslim Women’s League, September 1995:http://www.mwlusa.org/topics/history/herstory.html accessed 03.01.102 A simple search on the internet for ‘Women in Islam and the West’ will reveal a significant amount of discussion on this topic.3 Honour killings are occurring in the UK. Seehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonour_1.shtml accessed 20.12.09.4 Referring to the Taliban.5 ‘Blocking the lawful means to an unlawful’: http://maqasid.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/maqasid-shari’ah-introduction-to-correct-understanding-of-blocking-the-means-sadd-al-dharai-principle/ accessed 03.01.104

http://www.mwlusa.org/topics/history/herstory.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/honourcrimes/crimesofhonour_1.shtml


http://maqasid.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/maqasid-shari'ah-introduction-to-correct-understanding-of-blocking-the-means-sadd-al-dharai-principle/








application is often deemed as being uninspirational and is gradually leading to reform

within the Arab kingdom. 6 Traditional Islam is faced with the growing challenge of

modernisation in a Western context and must be able to live up to the challenge. This is

compounded by the fact that the study of women is becoming an increasingly important

topic 7 .

Yet the Prophet Muhammad was sent as a ‘Mercy to Mankind’ 8 and not as a mercy only

to men. How then can his mission of mercy be reconciled with today’s situation? Given

that the traditional perspective does not seem to adequately offer solutions to the issues

of today, this paper turns to Sufism for the answer, in particular to the teachings of Ibn

Arabī in which we can see a great deal of practical application.

The vast topic of women in Sufism cannot possibly be fully discussed in this short

essay. I therefore focus on the ontological perspective of the sexes to argue that women

are equally important, thus Muslim men should not take for granted their rights over

women. One hadīth of the Prophet Muhammad clearly mentions that it is not just the

family or husband who have a right over a woman and it puts the family’s rights in third

position after Allaah and the person’s own soul 9 :

‘So give every right claimant their right ’10

6 See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1576182/Saudi-Arabia-to-lift-ban-on-women-drivers.html accessed 03.01.107 See ‘Ministerial Conclusions on Strengthening the Role of Women in Society’:http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/euromed/women/docs/conclusions_1106.pdf accessed 03.01.108 See Qur’aan (21 : 107):http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/021.qmt.htmlaccessed 03.01.109 Word actually used was ‘nafs’ which is translated as soul, however, it can also be translated as ‘self’.10 From al-Bukhārī, http://www.sonnaonline.com/Montaka/Hadith.aspx?HadithID=169 accessed 06.01.10Full hadith given in Appendix 1.5

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1576182/Saudi-Arabia-to-lift-ban-on-women-drivers.html


http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/euromed/women/docs/conclusions_1106.pdf

http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/quran/021.qmt.html

http://www.sonnaonline.com/Montaka/Hadith.aspx?HadithID=169









Though He may have given men rights over their wives, these need to be looked at in

conjunction with a woman’s aspirations and desires to worship Allaah.

6



PROBLEMS WITH TRADITIONS AND SHARI’AH

Islamic traditions at times appear to have a harsh outlook on women. The famous

‘nāqisāt al-aql wa al-dīn’ hadīth is often recited every Friday from the mosque pulpits 11 .

This hadīth also says that the ‘majority of Hell’s denizens are women’ 12 . Christianity’s

notion of original sin 13 seems to have a parallel in even traditional Islam. Such

misogynistic tendencies appear to be easily kindled within the minds of Muslim men.

Yet Sufi mystics have a long tradition of revering pioneering pious women and famous

Sufi writers such as Ibn Arabī (d. 1240) held women to be the equal of men.

Rabī’ah al-Adawiyyah (d. 801) of Basrah, Iraq, is famous for reaching a spiritual station

where she changed the relationship between women and Allaah: she often said that

apart from Allaah, she was no longer capable of loving another, including the Prophet

Muhammad 14 .

Nana Asma’u (d. 1864) was the daughter of Uthman dan Fodio (d. 1817), the founder of

the Sokoto caliphate in Nigeria. Her poetry reflects her respect and yearning for the

company of the past ascetic women including the Prophet Muhammad’s wife

11 Translated as ‘intellectually and religiously incomplete’, recited in the khutbah (sermons) of manymosques in Britain. Full hadith given in Appendix 2)12 al-Bukhārī Volume 1, Book 2, Number 28:http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/002.sbt.html#001.002.028 accessed 18.12.0913 This is the notion that Eve is to blame for the expulsion of her and Adam from Heaven, hence allwomen are sinful. Islam’s view is not the same, see Qur’aan 20: 120.14 Fareed al-Deen Attaar on Rabi’ah al Adawiyyah: http://rabia_al-adawiyya.totallyexplained.com/accessed 03.01.107

http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/002.sbt.html#001.002.028






Ayesha 15 . She became famous for educating women in West Africa and she still

inspires people to this day 16 .

Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad is considered to be the epitome of all

ascetic and gnostic characteristics not only because of her own dhikr and awrād but

also because of her descent from the Prophet 17 .

Those women reached a status which even men would have been proud of. In theory,

every woman is capable of reaching such a spiritual station and therefore women

deserve respect as spiritual equals in Muslim society.

Ibn Arabī, the ‘Heir to the Prophets ’18 , himself received spiritual guidance from two

women: Shams of Marchena and Fatimah bint al-Muthanna of Cordoba, Spain. He was

with the latter for two years and called her his mother, accepting spiritual descent from

her 19 .

It would appear that traditional Islam has lost its ability to understand the equalitybetween man and woman. The influences of ideologies that are saturated with

misogynistic tradition do not help the situation. One of these influences is Wahhabism

which originated in post-colonial Saudi Arabia where it emerged as a defining Islamist

movement and at the time, helped to reconcile Muslims with rational ways of thinking as

15 ‘Sufi Women’, in Works of Nana Asma’u in English, Boyd & Mack, pp. 68 – 8216 See ‘Muslim Women in Northern Nigeria, The Example of Nana Asma’u’ online athttp://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-264/i.html accessed 27.12.0917 According to the Prophet (s), he was given celestial food while on his night journey through the sevenheavens. When he returned to earth, he was commanded by Gabriel to go to Khadija, and it was fromthat union that Fatima was born. (Asqalaanee, Lisaan al-Mizaan , Vol. 5: 160.)18 His disciples often referred to him as this: http://www.oneworld-publications.com/pdfs/Ibn_Arabi.pdf accessed 03.01.10.

19 Al-Mu'jam al-Sufi, pp. 124-5 as referenced in ‘Ibn Arabi’s twofold perception of Woman’ online athttp://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/women.html accessed 20.12.09. He also received spiritualguidance from Shams of Mercena (Masterton, ICAS)8

http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php/_c-478/_nr-264/i.html

http://www.oneworld-publications.com/pdfs/Ibn_Arabi.pdf


http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/women.html







promoted by Western education and Western colonial powers; however, with regards to

interpreting the original Islamic sources, certain important Islamic perspectives are lost

on modern day Wahhabism with its exoteric literalist stance. Wahhabism has always

pitted itself against Sufism but its rigid nature is increasingly becoming its greatest flaw

because it appears to be too inflexible to work with an evolving modern, Western life 20 . I

do not predict that Wahhabism will be able indefinitely to continue to survive in its

current form.

A man once marvelled at the Prophet when he saw him kissing his children at which the

Prophet Muhammad said ‘Can I put mercy in your hearts after Allaah has removed it

from them?’ 21 This hadīth alludes to the fact that there are qualities with which all

human beings are naturally endowed and love for one’s children is one of them.

Furthermore, the man would appear to have incorrectly regarded affection as being a

feminine quality or a sign of weakness. Islamic tradition or law therefore should not be

required to instil in someone a feeling of love and respect. In the same way that there is

something wrong with the one who cannot feel and express love for their children, I

would say the same for the person who cannot love and respect women without turning

to Islamic law. In order to obtain this understanding and appreciate women’s role in the

cosmos, we need to go back to original creation.

20 Wahhabism appears to have been exported to the West also21 See 90 under ‘50. Kissing Children’ on http://www.sunnipath.com/library/Hadith/H0003P0005.aspx accessed 20.12.099

http://www.sunnipath.com/library/Hadith/H0003P0005.aspx

http://www.sunnipath.com/library/Hadith/H0003P0005.aspx



MAN AND WOMAN IN ONTOLOGY

THEOPHANIC QUALITIES OF EVE

According to Islamic teachings, the first man to be created was Adam. Allaah says that

He created mankind in the best form, 22 which logically means that Adam was physically

the most perfect human. From Adam’s rib He created Eve. This well known account is

not only present in the Qur’aan and canons of hadīth 23 but also in the Bible 24 . The

notion of creating Eve from Adam has great symbolic meaning. Such notions expressly

appear in ahādīth of the Prophet Muhammad when he said that ‘Alī is from me and I am

from him’ 25 . Allaah’s act of creating Eve from Adam both joined her in existence to him

and signifies how one is dependent on the other: Adam on Eve for her companionship

during his life and Eve on Adam for her creation.

Fazlallah Astarabadī (d. 1395) believed that Eve was in a sense inferior to Adam as

Adam was created first and he acted as mould for her creation. On the other hand,

Astarabadī viewed her as being ‘equal to Adam and necessary for his fulfilment in that

the cosmos could not progress along its predestined course without her ’26 .

22 Qur’aan 95 : 523 Qur’aan 4 : 1, although Qur’aan does not explicitly mention the rib being the source, the prophetictraditions do (see 273 on http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=4079&CATE=120 accessed20.12.09 – al-Bukhārī and al-Muslim hadīth )24 Genesis 2 : 2225 Musnad Ahmad: v.5, p.356 as per http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=3224 accessed20.12.0926 Shahzad Bashir, Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis , Oneworld Publications, 2005, pp. 56 – 5710

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=4079&CATE=120

http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=3224





I argue that Eve was unique and potentially even more important from at least one

perspective: the function of reproduction signifies creativity, which is an activity,

reserved by Allaah; within humans, He gave this quality to Eve. Even though He will

have empowered Adam with the ability to father children, without Eve Adam would not

even have had an inkling of the notion of mating. It is with the arrival of Eve, that the

desires for woman arose within Adam and he will have expressed this desire by having

sexual relations with her. It is then within the womb that the child is formed and the

womb symbolises the creative power that Allaah entrusted to women.

Astarabadī believed that Adam’s face symbolised the cosmos or alternatively had been

created to symbolise the image of Allaah Himself 27 . I posit the notion that different

parts of the mother’s body are almost theophanies of Allaah: the spirit is transferred to

the womb and this becomes the place where the child is now one with the mother and

arguably symbolises wahdat al-wujud 28 ; after the child’s birth, this role is transferred to

the bosom of the mother from where the child receives nourishment and solace. Then

as the child grows older, they become more distant from their mothers and ‘return’ as it

were to unity with Allaah through the mystical journey of the soul as described in

Sufism. Adam, therefore, cannot be said simply to be the mould for Eve because she

symbolised much more than just being Adam’s companion. Each human being that

Allaah entrusted to this life was provided with a place of love, compassion and solace in

the mother: every prophet, king, nobleman, rich person and pauper; it is a reminder to

mankind of how he is in need of Allaah’s grace and how the mother’s supervision

symbolises Allaah’s ever watchful eyes.

27 Ibid : 4928 This notion cannot be explored fully here due to the limited scope of this essay. The womb is of greatsignificance within ahadith: “ The word 'Ar-Rahm' (womb) derives its name from 'Ar-Rahman” ( al-Bukhārī , Volume 8, Book 73, Number 18:http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/073.sbt.html accessed 03.01.10)11

http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/073.sbt.html






THE GREATEST HIDDEN TREASURE

The qualities of Allaah can be categorised into two types 29 : innate, such as ‘the

Everliving’ and applied such as ‘the Just’. Allaah did not need the entities to exist for

Him to be the Everliving, yet, there was no application of justice before the creation

existed and Allaah showed His justice.

Allaah’s greatest innate quality is His mercy. Not only is His mercy mentioned at the

beginning of every surah of the Qur’aan but Allaah also says that His mercy dominates

His anger 30 :

Allaah’s mercy falls into both categories of innate and applied: al-Rahīm (the merciful) is

an applied attribute, but al-Rahmān (the compassionate) is innate 31 .

When we contemplate Allaah’s mercy, we understand it to cover His ‘goodness, bounty,

kindness, love and solicitude towards all creation ’32 . He created Eve and made her the

mother of Adam’s children and the rest of mankind, He therefore used her to portray to

mankind the greatest of His qualities:

29 There are other categorisations that can be made, such as soft and hard qualities.30 Famous hadīth qudsī in al-Bukharī [Kitab al Tawhid, number 6969]. Discussed by Ibn Arabī, p. 126 of ‘Ibn Arabi, heir to the Prophets’, by William Chittick, Oneworld publications, 2005.31 Compassion is integral to one’s character and manifests in a general showing of mercy whereas beingmerciful is on a ‘case by case’ basis. This notion is explored both by Mamdouh Mohammed in his lectureentitled ‘Oh My Willing Servant’: www.aswatalislam.net . It is also mentioned within Al Mufradat fi Ghareebal Qur’aan by al Raghib al Isfahani, published by Dar al Ma’rifah, Beirut, Date unknown.32 Astarabadi (Op. Cit)12

http://www.aswatalislam.net/




‘He has more mercy for His slaves than a mother for her child’ 33

Therefore, His love, mercy and kindness are shown through women and He needed to

create woman in order to show mankind this quality and fulfil the revelation of the

greatest of hidden treasures. The hadīth also alludes to the fact that Allaah generally

bestowed His qualities to men and women in differing proportions.

Even the notion attributed to the Prophet that he was a mercy to mankind 34 was one

such application of Allaah’s mercy and it does not contradict the fact that Allaah has

endowed women with a greater degree of mercy than men:

Because the basmalah 35 is recited at the beginning of every surah in the Qur’aan it can

be said to be the greatest quality and as women have a greater degree of mercy than

men it can be argued that women are the greatest of the hidden treasures of Allaah.

THE PERFECT (WO)MAN

Although men cannot give as much love as women they can experience that love as

receivers of it. On the other hand, women being potential mothers can experience the

greatest degree of love and mercy as both givers and receivers.

33 See ‘Hadith Qudsi’ on Islamic Zeal website http://islamiczeal.blogspot.com/2009/08/hadith-qudsi.html last accessed 18.12.0934 Qur’aan 21:10.35 The reading of ‘Bismillah al Rahman al Raheem’ (In the name of Allaah the Compassionate , theMerciful ) which contains the two aforementioned mercy-related qualities of Allaah.13

http://islamiczeal.blogspot.com/2009/08/hadith-qudsi.html




Ibn Arabī reduces the difference between male and female to being simply contingent,

saying that the two can aspire to the same roles and functions. Even though I agree

with this to a great degree, empirical study shows that they are different physically,

psychologically, emotionally and intellectually 36 . Although there are no hard and fast

characteristics that can be used to differentiate between the sexes on account of the

above criteria, empirical evidence shows that there are strong tendencies in both which

make them unique.

The notion of Allaah bestowing His qualities on men and women in unequal proportions

does not contradict the notion of the Perfect Man being non-gender specific: contrary to

the belief that the Perfect Man (PM) 37 (al-insān al-kāmil) is the man 38 who comprises

all of the qualities of Allaah in full, I would say that the term al-insān al-kāmil must apply

to both women as well as men. Males can reach the status of (al-rajul al-

kāmil: ’the complete male’) and likewise women can attain a status of (al-

mar’atu al-kāmilah: ’the complete female). If the two above notions could be weighted in

terms of spiritual perfection, they would be equal:

Maximum Spiritual State Male = Maximum Spiritual State Female

However, the qualities that each embodies are not endowed in the same proportions:

36 Note: I am not saying that women are intellectually inferior; see ‘Understanding the Difference betweenmen and women’ by Michael Conner available online athttp://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/Documents/DifferencesMenWomen.htm accessed20.12.0937 The discussion over Perfect Man is very lengthy and is touched up on here. Definition:‘flawless figure of the insân kâmil, the theomorphic Man’ (Chodkiewicz, in Ibn al-‘Arabi,2004:33)38 Titus Burckhardt on Ibn Arabi, 1980, 3714

http://www.oregoncounseling.org/ArticlesPapers/Documents/DifferencesMenWomen.htm




39 Mix of Qualities MalePM <> Mix of Qualities FemalePM

The term of al-insān al-kāmil then denotes a title that Allaah bestows on someone who

reaches this station. Thus, I agree with the notion of al-insān al-kāmil being equally

applicable to both men and women awliyā’ 40 who have reached their full spiritual

potential as per Ibn Arabī:

‘He (ibn Arabi) commonly calls those who achieve the goal “Perfect Man” (al insan al

kamil), one of his best known technical terms. The word ‘insan’ has no gender

connotation…” 41

Maximum Spiritual State Male = Maximum Spiritual State Female = Perfect Man

Likewise, al-haqīqah al-muhammadiyyah also bears no connotation of gender,

otherwise women would be precluded from attaining those inner states. I would go one

step further to argue that as al Haqīqah al Muhammadiyyah was a truth embodied by

the Prophet only after a number of other prophets (‘male and female’) had already

reached this station, the true haqīqah was by default transferred to him as he was thelast Prophet and the one to pass this light onto his followers:

“Among men, many have reached perfection, and among women, Mary and Asiyah” 42

The awliyā’ of the Ummah (nation) of Muhammad inherited perfection via Sufism,

according to the Sufis.

On the Prophet Muhammad (s) Ibn ‘Arabī said:‘[He] is the total theophany of the divine names, the whole of the universe in its oneness

39 PM means Perfect Man40 Singular form is ‘walī’: friend of Allaah41 Chittick, 2005 : 1242 Chittick, 2005 : 12 – 13. Asiyah was the wife of Pharaoh.15



as seen by the divine essence. Muhammad is the prototype of the universe as well as

of man.’ 43

Allaah may have planned the Prophet before Adam was created, however, the Prophet

appeared much later and although predestined to be perfect before his birth, cannot be

said to have reached the status of perfection before his Prophethood in at least his 40 th

year. As the Prophet himself stated, among his predecessors were women who reached

that (one) station of ‘perfection ’44 , as above, putting the perfect state of a woman on par

with that of a man.

THE CROOKED RIB

Now when we reconsider the ‘crooked rib’ tradition of the Prophet Muhammad 45 we

have a level of a priori assumptions regarding women. The context of this hadīth is that

the Prophet was stating how the best of men were those who treated their wives in the

kindest way 46 :

Therefore it must not be taken out of context.

The Prophet himself said that he loved women and forbade Arab men from beating ‘the

bondswomen of Allaah ’47 firmly reminding men of the spiritual relationship they have

with the Creator. One thing must be agreed: men cannot use such traditions to treat

women condescendingly; the Prophet’s own wives described him as a gentle breeze 48 .

As one can get a better perspective on Islam when looking at it holistically, I argue

against the exoteric, traditionalist, Wahhabist approach to the above ahādīth and argue

43

Annemarie Schimmel,. Mystical Dimensions of Islam, Chapel Hill: The University of North CarolinaPress, 1975, p. 27244 Chittick, 2005: 12 – 1345 Narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim: http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=4079&CATE=120 accessed 04.01.1046 Tirmidhi’s hadith regarded as hasan sahih: http://www.ibnothaimeen.com/all/books/article_18218.shtml accessed 03.01.10 47 Words used in the hadith are ‘amaa’ allaah’ (amaa’ being the plural of ‘amah’): Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadithnumber 1985: http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/wife-beating.htm accessed 04.01.1048 See lecture of Mamdouh Mohamed entitled Love for the Final Prophet www.aswatalislam.net16




http://www.ibnothaimeen.com/all/books/article_18218.shtml

http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/wife-beating.htm











for their meanings to be revisited.

Criticising the nature of women as being merely crooked ribs is in essence criticising

Allaah’s handiwork. The Qur’aan in general says of mankind that he was created from

‘haste’ 49 and that mankind is a ‘transgressor’ and ‘ignorant’ 50 but this had not

discouraged Sufi mystics from wanting to love Allaah and draw closer to Him.

Furthermore, it is generally believed that the Qur’aan is better preserved than the

traditions 51 and some verses appear to belie the above hadīth:

‘They (men) and their wives will be in shade on divans, gazing’ 52

Qur’aan 52 : 21 says:

‘And those who believe and whose families (children) follow them in faith, to them shall

we join their families (children): nor shall we deprive them of any of their works…’

The intention of the Prophet was not that men use the crooked rib hadīth as a stick with

which to beat women; rather, he was addressing men to ask them to be lenient towards

women. In a society in which using such words is deemed to be emotive, it may be

necessary to caveat the hadith explaining that such language may have been normal in

the days of the Prophet.

With regard to the ‘majority of denizens of Hell are women’53

, a majority can even be byone; further, this was a specific address to women and the Prophet also gave a remedy

for the situation 54 . Perhaps men are partly to blame for depriving women of their God-

given freedom in Islam and thus preventing them from aspiring to the levels of Ayesha,

Fatimah, Nana Asma’u and Rabiah Basriyyah.

49 i.e. a creature of haste (Qur’aan 21 : 37)50 Qur’aan 33 : 7251 Qur’aan 15:952 Qur’aan 36 : 5653 This is a part of the nāqisāt al-dīn hadīth .54 The remedy was to spend more in charity. The other remedies inferred were not to curse and to respecthusbands. These three things are arguably also applicable to men from other ahādīth.17



CLOSING REMARKS

Muslim women enable men to reach their full spiritual potential. Without women, men’s

deeds are incomplete. In the days of the Prophet, how would men have gone to jihād

without their wives to help manage the affairs of the house? As such, the Prophet

himself promised women equal reward for such commitment 55 . I would therefore argue

that spiritually men need to access Allaah via women and as such they are religiously

incomplete without a female counterpart. If women are called



(nāqisāt al aql wa al din) in the hadīth, then other ahādīth

are alluding to the fact that men are (nāqisu al-‘amal ‘ala

al-dīn: incomplete in their actions in Islam) and thus spiritually incomplete by default.

From a spiritual perspective, I agree completely with the view of Ibn Arabī’s that

mankind is male or female by contingency. Even the apparent gap scientifically proven

to exist between both sexes is further reduced through training and career progression

afforded to both men and women. Given that women in the modern world are as

educated, ambitious and driven as their male counterparts, there is very little to prevent

them from holding the same roles as men in society and in Islam56

. This also reconcileswith the praise that Allaah has put on the Queen of Sheba for the political methods she

used to engage with her advisors 57 .

If politically women can lead a country, spiritually women can train and mentor mystics,

ontologically they complete men, gnostically they can reach Allaah, mystically they

contain the (greatest) qualities of Allaah and can reach the state of Perfect Man,

intellectually they can outsmart men 58 , then I struggle to see how women are inferior to

men in anyway.

55 ‘Women in Islam’ http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/bin/site/wrappers/legal-women.html accessed05.01.1056 Visit http://www.experiencefestival.com/women_as_imams_-_women_imams_in_women-only_congregations accessed 21.12.0957 Qur’aan 27 : 31 – 4458 The hadith of ‘nāqisāt al deen‘ goes on to say that women can outwit men.18

http://www.islamicsupremecouncil.org/bin/site/wrappers/legal-women.html


http://www.experiencefestival.com/women_as_imams_-_women_imams_in_women-only_congregations







Muslim men need to realise that the fanā’ (annihilation) of women, if at all, is in Allaah.

This means thanking one’s wife if she foregoes supererogatory prayers, dhikr and

awrād for the sake of her husband. If this has not been possible in the traditional Muslim

world, it is easier in the modern Western world and for this reason the twenty-first

century will allow Muslims to revisit their traditions to gain a better understanding of

them in the absence of cultural influences.

APPENDICES

19



APPENDIX 1


are needed to see this picture.Translation:

Narrated by Abu Juhaifah Wahb b. Abd Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him): he

said that the Prophet (Allaah send peace and blessings on him) made brothers between

Salman and Abu Darda’. Salman went to visit Abu Darda and he saw that Umm Darda

was in a poor state and he said (asked) ‘What is the matter?’ She said, “Your brother

Abu Darda does not have a need for the word (worldly life). Then Abu Darda’ came and

prepared some food for him and he said, ‘Eat, (don’t worry about me) I am fasting.’ He

(Salman) said (asked), ‘I will not eat until you eat.’ Then when it was nighttime Abu

Darda’ went to pray at which Salman said, ‘Sleep’, so he slept. He then went to pray

(again) and he said to him, ‘Sleep’ (and he went back to sleep). Then when it was the

last portion of the night Salman said, ‘Get up and pray’. Then they both prayed. Then

Salman said to him, ‘Verily for your Lord on you there is a right, and verily for your self

(or soul…actual word used is ‘nafs’) on you there is a right and (verily) for your family on

you there is a right, so give every claimant of a right their right. Then he went to theProphet and mentioned that to him and the Prophet (Allaah send peace and blessings

on him) said, ‘Salman has spoken the truth’ (narrated by al-Bukhārī:

http://www.sonnaonline.com/Montaka/Hadith.aspx?HadithID=169 accessed 06.01.10)

20





APPENDIX 2

Nāqisāt al aql wa al din hadith



‘Narrated by Abu Sa’id al Khudri, he said : The Messenger of Allaah (s) once went out in

the Adha (Eid) or Fitr (Eid) to the place of prayer, and he passed by the women and

said ‘O group of women! Give to charity (sadaqah) because I have been shown you as

being the largest proportion of the people of Hell’. They said, ‘And for what reason of

Messenger of Allaah?’. He said, ‘You curse in abundance and are ungrateful to your

husbands. I have not seen such women incomplete in sense and religion more cunning

than a sensible man than one of you.’ They said, ‘And what is the incompleteness (lack)of sense?” He said is not the woman’s testimony half of the man’s testimony?” They

said, “Of course.” He said, “Then that is the incompleteness (lack) of her sense. Is it not

the case that when she (the woman) menstruates, she does not pray and she she does

not fast?” They said, “Of course.” He said, “Then that is the incompleteness (lack) of her

religion.” (Muttafaq alah…narrated Bukhari and Muslim).

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-Arabic-

Ask_Scholar/FatwaA/FatwaA&cid=1122528603690 accessed 06.01.10

21

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-Arabic-Ask_Scholar/FatwaA/FatwaA&cid=1122528603690






BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schimmel, Annemarie. Mystical Dimensions of Islam (Chapel Hill: The

University of North Carolina Press, 1975)Chodkiewicz, Michel. The Meccan Revelations . (New York: Pir Press, 2004),

Vol. 2Ibn al-Arabi

Fakhry, Majid. A History of Islamic Philosophy . (New York: Columbia

University Press, second ed., 1983)

Chittick, William. Ibn Arabi, Heir to the Prophets. ( Oneworld Publications,

2005)

Al Asqalaanee, Allama Ibn Hajar. Lisaan al-Mizaan. (Bayrūt : Dār Kutub al-ʻIlmīyah, 1996)

Buckhart, Titus. An Introduction to Sufi Doctrine . (Lahore: Suhail Academy,

1999).

al-Bukhārī, Sahih al-Bukhārī. (Bayrūt : Dār Ibn Kathīr, 2001).

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www.AlJazeer a.net


www.aswatalislam.net


http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/euromed/women/docs/conclusions_110

6.pdf

http://www.experiencefestival.com/women_as_imams_-

_women_imams_in_women-only_congregations

http://www.haridy.com/ib/showthread.php?t=40554http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/women.html



http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-Arabic-

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http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/

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http://www.haridy.com/ib/showthread.php?t=40554











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http://maqasid.wordpress.com/2009/03/30/maqasid-shari’ah-introduction-to-

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