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Questions about WOMEN
Polygamy.. Polyandry.. Hijab.. Witnesses.. Inheritance

In this page you will find the answers of the questions concerning women:

POLYGAMY

POLYANDRY

HIJAB FOR WOMEN

EQUALITY OF WITNESSES

INHERITENCE

 

POLYGAMY

Question:

Why is a man allowed to have more than one wife in Islam? i.e. why is polygamy allowed in Islam?

Answer:

1. Definition of Polygamy. Polygamy means a system of marriage whereby one person has more than one spouse. Polygamy can be of two types. One is polygyny where a man marries more than one woman, and the other is polyandry, where a woman marries more than one man. In Islam, limited polygyny is permitted; whereas polyandry is completely prohibited.

Now coming to the original question, why is a man allowed to have more than one wife?

2. The Qur'an is the only religious scripture in the world that says, "marry only one". The Qur'an is the only religious book, on the face of this earth, that contains the phrase 'marry only one'. There is no other religious book that instructs men to have only one wife. In none of the other religious scriptures, whether it be the Vedas, the Ramayanan, the Mahabharat, the Geetha, the Talmud or the Bible does one find a restriction on the number of wives. According to these scriptures, one can marry as many as one wishes. It was only later, that the Hindu priests and the Christian Church restricted the number of wives to one.

Many Hindu religious personalities, according to their scriptures, had multiple wives. King Dashrat, the father of Rama, had more than one wife. Krishna had several wives.

In earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a' few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one.

Polygyny is permitted in Judaism. According to Talmudic law, Abraham had three wives, and Solomon had hundreds of wives. The practice of polygyny continued till Rabbi Gersom ben Yehudah (960 A.D to 1030A.D) issued an edict against it. The Jewish

Sephardic communities living in Muslim countries continued the practice till as late as 1950, until an act of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel extended the ban on marrying more than one wife.

Hindus are more polygamous than Muslims.

The report of the 'Committee of the Status of Woman in Islam; published in 1975 mentions on page numbers 66 and 67 that the percentage of polygamous marriages between the years 1951 and 1961 was 5.06% among the Hindus and only 4.31% among the Muslims.

According to Indian law only Muslim men are permitted to have more than one wife. Despite it being illegal, Hindus have more multiple wives as compared to Muslims. Earlier, there was no restriction even on Hindu men with respect to the number of wives allowed.

It was only in 1954, when the Hindu Marriage Act was passed that it became illegal for a Hindu to have more than one wife. At present it is the Indian Law that restricts a Hindu man from having more than one wife and not the Hindu scriptures.

Let us now analyse why Islam allows a man to have more than one wife.

4. The Qur'an permits limited polygyny. As mentioned earlier, Qur'an is the only religious book on the face of the earth that says 'marry only one: The context of this phrase is the following verse from Surah Nisa of the Holy Qur'an English translation by Abdullah YusufAli:

"Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal justly (with them) then only one." [An-Nisa 4:3]

Before the Qur'an was revealed, there was no upper limit for polygyny and many men has scores of wives, some even hundreds. Islam put an upper limit of four wives.

Islam gives a man permission to marry two, three or four women, only on the condition that he deals justly with them.

In the same chapter i.e. Surah Nisa verse 129 says:

"Ye are never able to be fair and just as between women...." [An-Nisa 4:129]

Therefore polygyny is not a rule but an exception. Many people are under the misconception that it is compulsory for a Muslim man to have more than one wife.

Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do's and Don'ts:

(i) 'Fard' i.e. compulsory or obligatory

(ii) 'Mustahab' i.e. recommended or encouraged

(iii) 'Mubah' i.e. permissible or allowed

(iv) 'Makruh' i.e. not recommended or discouraged

(v) 'Haram' i.e. prohibited or forbidden

Polygyny falls in the third category of things that are permissible. It cannot be said that a Muslim who has two, three or four wives is a better Muslim as compared to a Muslim who has only one wife.

Average life span of females is more than that of males.

Males and females are born in approximately the same ratio. A female child has more immunity than a male child. For this reason, during the pediatric age itself there are more deaths among males as compared to the females.

During wars, there are more men killed as compared to women. More men die due to accidents and diseases than women. The average life span of females is more than that of males, and at any given time one finds more widows in the world than widowers.

6.India has a larger male population than female due to female foeticide and infanticide. India is one of the few countries, along with the other neighbouring countries, in which the female population is less than the male population. The reason lies in the high rate of female infanticide in India, and the fact that more than one million female foetuses are aborted every year in this country, after they are identified as females. If this evil practice is stopped, then India too will have more females as compared to males.

7. The World female population is more than male population.

In USA, women outnumber men by 7.8 million. New York alone has one million more females as compared to the number of males, and of the male population of New York one-third are homosexuals. The U.S.A as a whole has more than 25 million homosexuals and lesbians. This means that these people do not wish to marry women. Great Britain has 4 million more females as compared to males. Germany has 5 million more females as compared to males. Russia has 9 million more females than males. God alone knows how many million more females there are in the whole world as compared to males.

Restricting each and every man to have only one wife is not practical. Even if every man got married to one woman, there would still be more than 30 million females in U.S.A who would not be able to get husbands (considering that America has 25 million homosexuals and lesbians). There would be more than 4 million females in Great Britain, 5 million females in Germany and 9 million females in Russia alone who would not be able to find a husband.

Suppose my sister happens to be one of the unmarried women living in USA, or suppose your sister happens to be one of the unmarried women in USA. Among the options open to her are marriage to a man who already has a wife, or becomes "public property." Those who are modest will opt for the first.

In Western society, it is common for a man to have mistresses and/or multiple extramarital affairs, in which case, the woman leads a disgraceful, unprotected life. The same society, however, cannot accept a man having more than one wife, in which women retain their honourable, dignified position in society and lead a protected life.

Between the two options to a woman who cannot find a husband get married to a married man or become "public property," Islam prefers giving women the honourable position by permitting the first option and disallowing the second.

There are several other reasons, why Islam has permitted limited polygyny, but the aim is mainly to protect the modesty of women.


POLYANDRY

Question:

If a man is allowed to have more than one wife, then why does Islam prohibit a woman from having more than one husband?

Answer:

A lot of people, including some Muslims, question the logic of allowing Muslim men to have more than one spouse while denying the same 'right' to women.

Let me first state emphatically, that the foundation of an Islamic society is justice and equity. Allah has created men and women as equal, but with different capabilities and different responsibilities. Men and women are different, physiologically and psychologically. Their roles and responsibilities are different. Men and women are equal in Islam, but not identical.

The following points enumerate the reasons why polyandry is prohibited in Islam:

1. If a man has more than one wife, the parents of the children born of such marriages can easily be identified. The father as well as the mother can easily be identified. In case of a woman marrying more than one husband, only the mother of the children born of such marriages will be identified and not the father. Islam gives tremendous importance to the identification of both parents, mother and father.

Psychologists tell us that children who do not know their parents, especially their father undergo severe mental trauma and disturbance. Often they have an unhappy childhood. It is for this reason that the children of prostitutes do not have a healthy childhood. If a child born of such wedlock is admitted to school, and when the mother is asked the name of the father, she would have to give two or more names! I am aware that recent advances in science have made it possible for both the mother and father to be identified with the help of genetic testing. Thus this point which was applicable for the past may not be applicable for the present.

2. Man is more polygamous by nature as compared to woman.

3. Biologically, it is easier for a man to perform his duties as a husband despite having several wives. A woman, in a similar position, having several husbands, will not find it possible to perform her duties as a wife. A woman undergoes several psychological and behavioural changes due to different phases of the menstrual cycle.

4. A woman who has more than one husband will have several sexual partners at the same time and has a high chance of acquiring venereal or sexually transmitted disease which can also be transmitted back to her husband even if all of them have no extra-marital sex. This is not the case in a man having more than one wife, and none of them having extra-marital sex.

The above reasons are those that one can easily identified. There are probably many more reasons why Allah, in His Infinite Wisdom, has prohibited polyandry.


3. HIJAB FOR WOMEN

Question:

Why does Islam degrade women by keeping them behind the veil?

Answer:

1. The status of women in Islam is often the target of attacks in the secular media.

2. The hijab or the Islamic dress is cited by many as an example of the subjugation of women under Islamic law. Before we analyze the reasoning behind the religious mandate of 'hijab', let us first study the status of women in societies before the advent of Islam.

In the past women were degraded and used as objects of lust.

The following examples from history illustrate the fact that the status of women in earlier civilization was very low to the extent that they were denied basic human dignity:

i) Babylonian Civilization:

Women were degraded and were denied all rights under the Babylonian law. If a man murdered another woman/man, instead of him being punished, his wife was put to death.

ii) Greek Civilization:

Greek Civilization is considered the most glorious of all ancient civilizations. Under this very 'glorious' system, women were deprived of all rights and were looked down upon. In Greek mythology, an 'imaginary woman' called 'Pandora' is the root cause of misfortune of human beings. The Greeks considered women to be subhuman and inferior to men.

Though chastity of women was precious, and women were held in high esteem, the Greeks were later overwhelmed by ego and sexual perversion. Prostitution became a regular practice amongst all classes of Greek society.

iii) Roman Civilization:

When Roman Civilization was at the zenith of its 'glory', a man even had the right to take the life of his wife. Prostitution and nudity were common amongst the Romans.

iv) Egyptian Civilization:

The Egyptian (pre-Islam) considered women evil and as a sign of the devil.

v) Pre-Islamic Arabia:

Before Islam spread in Arabia, the Arabs looked down upon women and very often when a female child was born, she was buried alive.

Islam uplifted the status of women and granted them their rights 1400 years ago. Islam expects women to maintain their status.

Hijab for men

People usually only discuss 'hijab' in the context of women. However, in the Glorious Qur'an Allah (swt) first mentions 'hijab' for men before 'hijab' for the women. The Qur'an mentions in Surah Noor:

"Say to the believing men that they should  lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that they will mahe for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do." [An-Noor 24:30]

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

Hijab for women

The next verse of Surah An-Noor, says:

"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof that they should draw veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands'fathers, their sons..." [An-Noor 24:31 ]

3. Six criteria for Hijab.

According to Qur'an and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijab:

i) Extent:

The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and hands up to the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of 'hijab'. All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.

ii) The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure. iii) The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.

iv) The clothes worn should not be so glamourous as to attract the opposite sex.

v) The clothes worn should not resemble those of the opposite sex.

vi) The clothes worn should not resemble those of the unbeliever i.e. they should not wear clothes that have special identities or symbols of  the unbelievers' religions.

4. Hijab includes conduct and behaviour among other things. Complete 'hijab' besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual.

A person fulfiling only the criteria of 'hijab' of the clothes is observing 'hijab' in a limited sense. 'Hijab' of the clothes should be accompanied by 'hijab' of the eyes, 'hijab' of the heart, 'hijab' of thought and 'hijab' of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, talks, behaves, etc.

5. Hijab prevents molestation.

The reason hijab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Qur'an in the following verses of Surah AI-Ahzab:

"0 Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should he known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." [Al Ahzab 33:59]

The Qur'an says that Hijab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.

6. Examples of twin sisters.

Suppose two sisters who are twins, and who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired in the Islamic hijab i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and hands up to the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a mini skins or shorts.

Just around the comer there is a hooligan or ruffian who is waiting for a catch, to tease a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijab or the girl wearing the mini skin or the shons? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skin or the shon. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Qur'an rightly says that hijab prevents women from being molested.

7. Capital punishment for the rapist.

Under Islamic shariah (law), a man convicted of having raped a woman, is given capital punishment. Many are astonished at this 'harsh' sentence. Some even say that Islam is a ruthless, barbaric religion! I have asked a simple question to hundreds of non-Muslim men.

Suppose, God forbid, someone rapes your wife, your mother or your sister. You are made the judge and the rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said they would put him to death. Some went to the extent of saying they would torture him to death. To them I ask, if someone rapes your wife or your mother, you want to put him to death. But if the same crime is committed on somebody else's wife or daughter you say capital punishment is barbaric. Why should there be double standards?

8. Western society falsely claims to have uplifted women.

Western talk of women's liberation is nothing but a disguised form of exploitation of her body, degradation of her soul, and deprivation of her honour.

Western society claims to have 'uplifted' women. On the contrary, it has actually degraded them to the status of kept women and mistresses and society's butterflies who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketers, hidden behind the colourful screen of 'art' and 'culture'.

9. USA has one of the highest rates of rape.

United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries in the world. It also has one of the highest rate of rape in any country in the world.

According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, everyday on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S.A alone. Later another report said that on average 1900 cases of rapes are committed daily in USA. The year was not mentioned. Maybe the Americans got 'bolder' in the following years.

Consider a scenario where the Islamic hijab is followed in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic hijab, that is the complete body covered except the face and the hands up to the wrist. After this if any man commits rape he is given capital punishment. I ask you, in such scenario, will the rate of rape cases in America increase, will it remain the same, or will it decrease?

10. Implementation of Islamic Shariah (Law) will reduce the rate of rapes cases.

Naturally as soon as Islamic Shariah is implemented positive results will be inevitable. If Islamic Shariah is implemented in any part of the world, whether it is America or Europe, society will breathe easier.  Hijab does not degrade a woman but uplifts a woman and protects her modesty and chastity.


EQUALITY OF WITNESSES

Question:

Why are two witnesses who are women, equivalent to only one witness who is a man?

Answer:

1. Two female witnesses are equal to one male witness only in financial transactions.

Two female witnesses are always considered as equal to only one male witness. It is true only in certain cases. There are no less than four verses in the Qur'an that mentioned witnesses, without specifying male or female. There is only one verse in the Qur'an, that says two female witnesses are equal to one male witness. The verse is Surah Baqarah, chapter 2 verse 282. This is the longest verse in the Qur'an and deals with financial transactions. It says:

"Oh! ye who believe! When ye deal with each other, In transactions involving future obligations In a fixed period of time, Reduce them to writing... And get two witnesses Out of your men And if there are not two men. Then a man and two women. Such as ye choose, for witnesses  so that if one of them errs. The other can remind her"  [Al-Baqarah 2:282)

This verse of the Qur'an deals only with financial transactions. In such cases, it is advised to make an agreement in writing between the parties and take two witnesses, preferably both of which should be men only. In case you cannot find two men, then one man and two women would suffice.

For instance, suppose a person wants to undergo an operation for a particular ailment. To confirm the treatment, he would prefer taking advice from two qualified surgeons. In case he is unable to find two surgeons, his second option would be one surgeon and two general practitioners who are plain MBBS doctors.

Similarly, in financial transactions, two men are preferred. Islam expects men to be the breadwinner of their families. Since financial responsibilities are shouldered by men, they are expected to be well versed in financial transactions compared to women. As a second option, the witness can be one man and two women, so that if one of the women errs the other can remind her. The Arabic word used in the Qur'an is' Tadillu' which means 'confused' or 'to err'. Many have wrongly translated his word as 'to forget'.

Thus, financial transactions constitute the only case in which two female witnesses are equal to one male witness.

2. Two female witnesses are equal to one male witness even in the case of murder.

However, some scholars are of the opinion that the feminine attitude can also have an effect on the witness in a murder case. In such circumstances a woman is more terrified compared to a man. Due to her emotional condition she can get confused. Therefore, according to some jurists, even in cases of murder, two females witnesses are equivalent to one male witness. In all other cases, one female witness is equivalent to one male witness.

3.Two female witnesses are not always considered equal to one male witness.

There are no less that four verses in the Qur'an which speaks about witnesses without specifying man or woman.

a) While making a will of inheritance, two just persons are required as witnesses. In Surah Al-Maidah chapter 5 verse 106, the Glorious Qur'an says:

"Oh ye who believe! When death approaches any of you, (take) witnesses among yourself when making bequests. Two just men of your own (brotherhood) or others from outside if you are journeying through the earth and the chance of death befalls you." [Al-Maidah5:106]

b) Two persons endued with justice in case of talaq (divorce).

"And take for witness two persons from among you, Endued with justice, and establish the evidence (as) before Allah" [At-Talaq 65:2]

c) Four witnesses are required in case of charge against chaste women.

"And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations) flog them with eighty strike; and reject their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors" (An-Noor 24:4]

4. Qur'an clearly specifies that one female witness is equal to one male witness.

There are some scholars who are of the opinion that the rule of two female witnesses equal to one male witness should be applied to all the cases. This cannot be agreed upon because one particular verse of the Qur'an from Surah Noor chapter 24, verse 6 clearly equates one female witness and one male witness:

"And for those who launch a charge against their spouses, and have (in support) no evidence hut their own - their solitary evidence can he received." [An-Noor 24:6]

5. Solitary witness of Ayesha (a wife of prophet Muhammad) is sufficient for hadith (saying of prophet Muhammad) to be accepted. Ayesha (May Allah be pleased with her) the wife of the beloved Prophet has narrated no less than 2220 Ahadith (sayings of prophet Muhammad) which are considered authentic only on her solitary evidence. This is sufficient proof that one witness of a woman can also be accepted.

Many jurists agree that even one witness of a woman is sufficient for the sighting of the crescent of the moon. Imagine one woman witness is sufficient for one of the pillars of Islam, i.e. fasting and the whole Muslim community of men and women agree and accept her witness!

Some jurists say that one witness is required at the beginning of Ramadan and two witnesses at the end of Ramadan. It makes no difference whether the witnesses are men or women.

6. Female witnesses are preferred in some cases.

Some incidents require only female witnesses and that a male cannot be accepted. For instance, in dealing with the problems of women, while giving the burial bath i.e. 'ghusl' to a woman, the witness has to be a woman.

The seeming inequality of male and female witnesses in financial transactions is not due to any inequality of the sexes in Islam. It is only due to the different natures and roles of men and women in society as envisaged by Islam.




INHERITANCE

Question:

Under Islamic law, why is a woman's share of the inherited wealth only half that of a man?

Answer:

A female usually inherits half the share of that of the male counter part.

It is true that as general rule, in most cases, the female inherits a share that is half that of the male. For instance in the following cases:

i) A daughter inherits half of what the son inherits.

ii) A wife inherits l/4th and husband 1/2 if the deceased has no children.

iii) A wife inherits l/8th and husband l/4th if the deceased has children.

iv) If the deceased has no parent or descendant the sister inherits a share that is half that of the brother.

A male inherits double than the female because he financially supports the family. In Islam a woman has no financial obligation and financial responsibility lies on the shoulder of the man. Before a woman is married it is the duty of the father or brother to look after the lodging, boarding, clothing and all other financial requirements of the woman.

After she is married it is the duty of the husband or the son. Islam holds the man financially responsible for fulfiling the needs of his family. In order to be able to fulfil the responsibility the men get double the share of the inheritance.

For example, if a man dies and after giving the share of the wife and parents the balance U.S.$ one hundred and fifty thousand are left, for the two children i.e. one son and one daughter. The son inherits U.S.$ one hundred thousand and the daughter only U.S.$ fifty thousand.

Out of the one hundred thousand which the son inherits, as his duty towards his family, he may have to spend on them almost the entire amount or say about eighty thousand and thus he has a small percentage of inheritance, say about twenty thousand, left for himself.

On the other hand, the daughter, who inherits fifty thousand is not bound to spend a single penny on anybody. She can keep the entire amount for herself.

Would you prefer inheriting U.S.$ one hundred thousand and spending eighty thousand from it, or inheriting U.S.$ fifty thousand and having the entire amount to yourself?


 


"The best among you are the best to their wives" Prophet Muhammad.