While it needs to be acknowledged that atrocities have been committed against women overseas in the name of Islam, it also needs to be acknowledged that such practices have no basis in the religion itself. More than 1400 years ago Islam afforded women rights comparable to those in our contemporary international human rights documents. It is not Islam but other factors, notably cultural practices alien to the religion itself, which are the cause of the mistreatment of women. (Sydney Morning Herald, "Grim picture of sharia hides its useful aspects", Ghena Krayem and Haisam Farache, February 18, 2008)

Statements such as these are now common in our media. They assure us that the harsh treatment of women in Islamic countries is the result of the culture and not of the religion of Islam.

There are also Islamic authors, like Dr. Jamal Badawi, who write articles and booklets that promote Islam's teaching on women. They claim that Islam brings light into the world and leads humanity out of ignorance, especially in the area of the treatment of women. They also seek to attack and discredit what the Bible teaches and show that Islam is superior to Christianity.

BEATING

Muhammad beat his wives.

... He (Muhammad) struck me (Aisha) on the chest which caused me pain ... (Muslim: book 4, number 2127)

Muhammad's companions also beat his wives and other women.

... (Umar) found the Prophet sitting sad and silent with his wives around him. ... (Umar) decided to say something which would make the Prophet laugh, so he said, "Messenger of God, I wish you had seen the daughter of Kharija when she asked me for extra money and I got up and slapped her on the neck." God's messenger laughed and said, "They are around me as you see asking for extra money." Abu Bakr then got up, went to A'isha and slapped her on the neck, and Umar did the same to Hafsa. (Mishkat Al-Masabih: volume 2, p. 690; Muslim: book 9, number 3506, Siddiqui)

Muhammad's companions beat their own wives.

Iyas b. Abdullah reported God's messenger as saying, "Do not beat God's handmaidens;" but when `Umar came to God's messenger and said, "The women have become emboldened towards their husbands," he gave licence to beat them. Then many women went round God's messenger's family complaining of their husbands, and he said, "Many women have gone around complaining of their husbands. Those are not the best among you." Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, and Darimi transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih: volume 2, p. 692)

In the Qur'an Muhammad commanded that beating was part of the process for controlling a rebellious wife.

And those (wives) you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. (Qur'an 4:34, Arberry)

`Umar reported the Prophet as saying, "A man will not be asked about why he beat his wife." Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih: volume 2, p. 693)

A woman has the right not to be hit in the face.

Hakim b. Mu`awiya al-Qushairi quoted his father as telling that he asked, "Messenger of God, what right can any wife demand of her husband?" He replied, "That you should give her food to eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, not strike her on the face, and do not revile her or seperate from her except in the house." Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih: volume 2, p. 691)

The husband's right to beat his wife is Shariah law in every school of Islam.

SATISFYING THE MAN'S SEXUAL DESIRES

Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence you please. (Qur'an 2:223, Dawood)

Muhammad gave strong warnings to women who would not accommodate their husband's or master's desire.

Talq b. `Ali reported God's messenger as saying, "When a man calls his wife to satisfy his desire she must go to him even if she is occupied at the oven." Tirmidhi transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih: volume 2, p. 691)

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (p.) said, "if a man invites his wive to sleep with him an she refuses to come to him, then angels send their curses on her till morning." (Bukhari: volume 7, book 62, number 121, Khan)

POLYGAMY

Muhammad's sunnah (practice) was polygamy, the Qur'an instructs about polygamy, and there are Muslim leaders in the West who want polygamy. Islam is a polygamist religion.

In Islam a man is allowed multiple wives and an unlimited number of slave girls.

And those (men) who preserve their chastity Save with their wives and those whom their right hands possess, for thus they are not blameworthy. (Qur'an 70:29-30, Pickthall)

However, while Muhammad had many wives and slaves girls, and taught this in the Qur'an, he would only allow his son-in-law, Ali, to have one wife. Why? Because Ali was married to Muhammad's daughter, Fatima.

Narrated Al-Miswar bin Makhrama: I heard Allah's Apostle who was on the pulpit, saying, "Banu Hisham bin Al-Mughira have requested me to allow them to marry their daughter to Ali bin Abu Talib, but I don't give permission, and will not give permission unless 'Ali bin Abi Talib divorces my daughter in order to marry their daughter, because Fatima is a part of my body, and I hate what she hates to see, and what hurts her, hurts me." (Bukhari: volume 7, book 62, number 157, Khan)

What hypocrisy!

Polygamy is fundamentally different to monogamy. In a monogamous marriage the man and women both promise to be sexually faithful to each other and to bind themselves to each other alone. However, in a polygamous marriage only the woman is bound to the man and must be sexually faithful to him. The man is free to keep looking for other women. Polygamy completely changes the way a man thinks about women and what it means to be faithful to them.

MUHAMMAD'S ADVICE FOR MARRIAGE

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: When I got married, Allah's Apostle said to me, "What type of lady have you married?" I replied, "I have married a matron' He said, "Why, don't you have a liking for the virgins and for fondling them?" Jabir also said: Allah's Apostle said, "Why didn't you marry a young girl so that you might play with her and she with you?' (Bukhari: volume 7, book 62, number 17, Khan)

This is a very disturbing statement by Muhammad. Don't just ignore it or make excuses for him; it is Muhammad himself who says that he has a preference for young girls. And this is what he did when he was 52 years old.

Narrated Hisham's father: Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he married 'Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consumed that marriage when she was nine years old. (Bukhari: volume 5, book 58, number 236, Khan)

You may say that Muhammad's sexual relationship with a 9 year old girl when he was 52 was just part of the culture of that time. It may have been part of the culture, but this is not the reason that Muhammad gives. He said it was Allah who revealed and justified this relationship:

Narrated 'Aisha: That the Prophet said to her, "You have been shown to me twice in my dream. I saw you pictured on a piece of silk and some-one said (to me). 'This is your wife.' When I uncovered the picture, I saw that it was yours. I said, 'If this is from Allah, it will be done." (Bukhari: volume 5, book 58, number 235, Khan)

Muhammad actions are more than just cultural; they are believed to be the revelation of the model Muslim life; they are the basis of Islamic law and attitude to marriage. This is why Imam Bukhari included them in his collection. This was the character of Muhammad and part of the way that orthodox Islam treats women.

VIRGIN WOMEN ARE A REWARD IN HEAVEN

Lo! those who kept their duty will be in a place secure amid gardens and water-springs, attired in silk and silk embroidery, facing one another. Even so (it will be). And we shall wed them unto fair ones with wide, lovely eyes. (Qur'an 44:51-54, Pickthall)

Surely for the godfearing awaits a place of security, gardens and vineyards and maidens with swelling breasts, like of age, and a cup overflowing. (Qur'an 78:31-33, Arberry)

Perfectly We formed them, perfect, and We made them spotless virgins, chastely amorous, like of age for the Companions of the Right. (Qur'an 56:34-35, Arberry)

Anas reported the Prophet as saying, "In paradise the believer will be given such and such power to conduct sexual intercourse." He was asked whether we would be capable of that and replied that he would be given the capacity of a hundred men. Tirmidhi transmitted it. (Mishkat Al-Masabih: volume 3, p. 1200)

It has recently been fashionable in some circles to say that the Qur'an does not promise Muslim men virgin women in paradise. Instead it is argued that the word for "spotless virgin/maiden" should be translated as "white raisins". However, just reading these verses in context shows that this is a false translation, for white raisins do not have swelling breasts or are chastely amorous, and you certainly cannot marry raisins. The inescapable truth is that Muhammad claimed that Allah will reward Muslim men with virgin women in paradise. This is part of the way that Islam thinks about women.

CIRCUMCISION

The practice of male or female circumcision comes from the Hadith, Shariah and the consensus of Islamic communities.

The Hadith

Narrated Umm Atiyyah al-Ansariyyah: A woman used to perform circumcision in Medina. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to her: Do not cut severely as that is better for a woman and more desirable for a husband. (Sunan Abu-Dawud: book 41, number 5251, Hasan)

The Shariah

The following reference to Shariah comes from Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law. This book comes with the approval al-Azhar University.

Arabic Text	As translated in the book	What the Arabic actually says
	e4.3 Circumcision is obligatory (O: for both men and women. For men is consists of removing the prepuce from the penis, and for women, removing the prepuce (Ar. bazr) of the clitoris (n: not the clitoris itself, as some mistakenly assert). (A: Hanbalis hold that circumcision of women is not obligatory but sunna, while Hanafis consider it a mere courtesy to the husband.) (p. 59)	Circumcision is obligatory (for every male and female) by cutting off the piece of skin on the glans of the penis of the male, but circumcision of the female is by cutting out the clitoris (this is called khufaad).

It is interesting to notice how this translator has softened the Arabic to make it more acceptable to a Western reader. However, the fact remains that female circumcision is Shariah law for several of the main Sunni schools.

Female circumcision is practiced in many Islamic countries, for example, Egpyt, Sudan, Iraq and Somalia.

MENTAL CAPACITY

Call in two male witnesses from among you, but if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women whom you judge fit to act as witnesses. (Qur'an 2:282, Dawood)

Why is it that the testimony of a woman is only worth half that of a man? Muhammad explains in the following hadith.

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a women equal to half that of a man?" The women said "yes". He said "This is because of the deficiency of the women's mind." (Bukhari: volume 3, book 48, number 826, Khan)

THERE ARE MORE WOMEN IN HELL AND LESS IN HEAVEN

Ibn Abbas reported that Allah's Messenger said: I had a chance to look into paradise and I found that majority of the people was poor and I looked into the Fire and there I found the majority constituted by women. (Muslim: volume 4, book 36, numbers 6596-6601, Siddiqui)

(Muhammad) passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?" They replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion." (Bukhari: volume 1, book 6, number 301, Khan)

WOMEN HAVE A CROOKED NATURE

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "The woman is like a rib; if you try to straighten her, she will break. So if you want to get benefit from her, do so while she still has some crookedness." (Bukhari: volume 7, book 62, number 113, Khan)

CONCLUSION

Has Islam brought light into the world and lead humanity out of ignorance regarding women? Is the harsh treatment of women in Islamic countries just a matter of culture and not religion? In order to answer these questions you must consider all of what the Qur'an and Hadith teach and not just a select few verses. Dr. Badawi, and Islamic writers like him, only tell half the truth. They select references which make Islam appear attractive. The references I have presented are the other half of what Islam teaches. This teaching becomes important to Muslim leaders not when they are promoting Islam but when they are in power.

FURTHER READING

REFERENCES

Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveller - A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law (Translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller) Maryland, U.S.A.: Amana Publications, 1994.

Mishkat Al-Masabih, Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1981, (translated by James Robson).

Muhammad ibn Ismail al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari (translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan).

Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Sahih Muslim (translated by Abdul Hamid Siddique).

Responses to Dr. Jamal Badawi
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