Women’s Rights in Islam and Christianity

𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

Mohamad Mostafa Nassar

Twitter@NassarMohamadMR

Women Value in Christianity

John 2:1-5
Jesus Changes Water Into Wine & called his mother woman, why do you involve me On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine. “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.

1 Timothy 2:14
And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

1 Timothy 2:12
I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

Deuteronomy 25:11-12
New International Version
If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.

Leviticus 21:9

’If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.

Genesis 3:16
New International Version
To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

Ephesians 5:22
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Sirach 25:13 ( Catholic Biblie)
Contemporary English Version
The breaking of your heart by an evil woman is the most painful of all injuries.

Leviticus 12:5 ►
If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

1 Corinthians 11:3
New International Version
But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Exodus 21:7-8
New International Version
If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself,he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.

Deuteronomy 22:28-29
If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered,he shall pay her father fifty shekels[a] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

Sirach 22:3 ►
Good News Translation
It is a disgrace to a father to have an undisciplined child, especially if it is a daughter.

Leviticus 27:5
for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels;

Exodus 21:7-8
If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her.Exodus 21:20-21Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.

Matthew 10:34
But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven. Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.…

Women Rights in ISLAM

Quran 16:97
Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of their deeds.

Quran 4:4
Give women their dower in good cheer. Then, if they forego some of it, of their own will, you may have it as pleasant and joyful.

Quran 4:19
O you who believe, it is not lawful for you that you should forcibly take women as inheritance. Do not hold on to them so that you may take away some of what you have given them, unless they commit a clearly shameful act. Live with them in the recognized manner. If you dislike them, then it is quite likely that you dislike something and Allah has placed a lot of good in it.

Quran 9:71
The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those – Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.

Quran 2:223
Mothers suckle their children for two whole years, if they wish to complete the term, and clothing and maintenance must be borne by the father in a fair manner. No one should be burdened with more than they can bear: no mother shall be made to suffer harm on account of her child, nor any father on account of his. The same duty is incumbent on the father’s heir. If, by mutual consent and consultation, the couple wish to wean [the child], they will not be blamed, nor will there be any blame if you wish to engage a wet nurse, provided you pay as agreed in a fair manner. Be mindful of God, knowing that He sees everything you do.

Sunan Ibn Majah 1847
the Messenger of Allah said: “There is nothing like marriage, for two who love one another.

Quran 22:23
Indeed, Allah will admit those who believe and do righteous deeds to gardens beneath which rivers flow. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments therein will be silk.

Quran 55:54
[They are] reclining on beds whose linings are of silk brocade, and the fruit of the two gardens is hanging low.

Quran 53:31
And to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth – that He may recompense those who do evil with [the penalty of] what they have done and recompense those who do good with the best [reward]

Quran 33:35
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 2:60
And [recall] when Moses prayed for water for his people, so We said, “Strike with your staff the stone.” And there gushed forth from it twelve springs, and every people knew its watering place. “Eat and drink from the provision of Allah , and do not commit abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.

Sahih Muslim 1468 a
Allah’s Apostle (ﷺ) as saying:
He who believes in Allah and the Hereafter, if he witnesses any matter he should talk in good terms about it or keep quiet. Act kindly towards woman, for woman is created from a rib, and the most crooked part of the rib is its top. If you attempt to straighten it, you will break it, and if you leave it, its crookedness will remain there. So act kindly towards women.

Quoted from The last sermon of Prophet Muhamma (ﷺ)
O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under a trust from God and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.

All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; a white has no superiority over a black, nor does a black have any superiority over a white; [none have superiority over another] except by piety and good action.

Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Sunan al-Tirmidhī 1162
The Best Of You Are Those Who Are Best To Their Women.”
— Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)

Sunan Ibn Majah 1977
the Prophet said: “The best of you is the one who is best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wives.

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1162
“The most complete of the believers in faith, is the one with the best character among them. And the best of you are those who are best to your women.

Riyad as-Salihin 280
‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin Al-‘as (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “The world is but a (quick passing) enjoyment; and the best enjoyment of the world is a pious and virtuous woman”

Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 112
Ibn ‘Abbas informed Ibn az-Zubayr, “I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, ‘He is not a believer whose stomach is filled while his neighbor goes hungry.

Hadith 26, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Every joint of a person must perform a charity each day that the sun rises: to judge justly between two people is a charity. To help a man with his mount, lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings onto it, is a charity. And the good word is a charity. And every step that you take towards the prayer is a charity, and removing a harmful object from the road is a charity.” [Al-Bukhari] [Muslim]

Sunan Ibn Mājah 3669
Whoever has three daughters and he is patient with them, he gives them food and drink, and he clothes them, then they will be his shield from the Hellfire on the Day of Resurrection.

Quran 4:7
For men there is a share in what the parents and the nearest of kin have left. And for women there is a share in what the parents and the nearest of kin have left, be it small or large-a determined share.

Sahih al-Bukhari 3432
Narrated `Ali:
I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, “Mary, the daughter of `Imran, was the best among the women (of the world of her time) and Khadija is the best amongst the women. (of this nation).

Quran 21:107
And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.

Quran 5:3
Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah , and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows.

That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin – then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

In pre-Islamic times, the Arabs used to be disheartened and annoyed with the birth of girls, so that a father, when informed his wife had given birth to a girl, said, “By Allah she is not as blissful as a son; her defense is crying and her care is but stealing!”

He meant she could not defend her father and her family except by screaming and crying, not by fighting and carrying arms. She also cannot be good to them and care for them except by taking from her husband’s money to give to her family. Their traditions allowed the father to bury his daughter alive for actual poverty, or for expected poverty, or out of fear of a disgrace she might bring upon them when she grew up. In that context, the Qur’an says, denouncing and derogating them:

And when the girl-child who was buried alive is asked. Upon what sin was she killed for.” [Quran Verses 81:8-9]

The Qur’an also describes the condition of fathers when daughters were born:

And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide. ( Quran 16:58-59)

The Qur’an led an uncompromising campaign against those cruel people who kill children-whether male or female. Allah says in the Qur’an:

“Losers are those who kill their children foolishly, without knowledge, and hold as prohibited what Allah has provided them, falsely ascribing it to Allah. They have gone astray, and they are not on the right path.” [Surah al-Anaam, Verse 140]

Do not kill your children for fear of poverty. We provide sustenance to them and to you, too. Killing them is a great sin indeed. ( Quran 17:31)

Some ancient laws gave the father the right to sell his daughter if he wished; while others allowed him to hand her to another man who would either kill her or own her if the father killed the other man’s daughter.

When Islam was revealed, it decreed a daughter – like a son – was a gift from Allah, to be granted to whomever Allah wishes of His worshipers:

♥️To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He creates what He wills. He gives to whom He wills female [children], and He gives to whom He wills males,Or He makes them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren. Indeed, He is Knowing and Competent. ( Quran Surah Ash-Shuraa – 49:50)

The best of the women of the world are four: Maryam Bint Imran, Asia Bint Muzahim, Khadija Bint Khowailid, and Fatima Bint Muhammad.”
— Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ)

Do you know the Four Best women?

1. Khadija Bint khuwaylid ( RadiAllahu Anha)

Khadija was the wife of Prophet Muhammad ( SalAllahu Alayhi WaSalam) and was the first person to ever embrace Islam. Although she was a rich Business woman, she sacrificed her wealth for the sake of her faith.

2. Fatimah Bint Muhammad (RadiAllahu Anha)
Fatimah was the daughter of Prophet Muhammad ( SalAllahu Alayhi WaSalam ) and will be the Leader of all Women in Paradise.
She was well known for her Modesty and Piety. She was nicknamed “Al – Zahra” as in “The Shining One”.

3. Asiyah Bint Mazaahim ( RadiAllahu Anha )
Asiyah was the wife of the evil Pharaoh. She reached a High level of Faith due to her Perseverance. She was given a Palace in Paradise near ALLAH ( Subhana Wa Ta’la ) and was referred to as ” An example for Believers”.

4. Maryam Bint Imraan ( RadiAllahu Anha )
Maryam was the Mother of Prophet Isa [ Jesus Christ ( PBUH )].

She is mentioned in the Qur’aan as being “Chosen above all the women”. She was known for her Shyness and Modesty. She also successfully Persevered against false accusations.
[ Musnad Ahmad 2663 Sahih]