Muslim women are beneath Muslim Men. Do you agree I will prove it to you?

Question

If you check Sura 4-35 in the Quran.
It says the following:
" Men are managers of the affairs of women for that God has preferred in bounty one of them over another, and for that they have expended of their property."

This Surah clearly tells us Men are above women. So how can Muslim women say they are equal to Men.
Also just a note if anyone mentions a hadith(prophets sayings) saying the prophet said "Man is equal to woman" please let me know. Becuase a hadith should not contradict the Quran. Quran stands by itself. If a hadith contradicts the Quran the Hadith is considered to be invalid. Also the Quran does says respect your parents, don't use the argument saying the prophet said mother is most important person in the world. Mother is a parent. A man can beat his wife and his daughter but not his mother.

So once again on what basis do western muslimah considers themselves equal to men when it is clearly forbidden in the Quran?

I would prefer Western Muslim women answer this question. Becuase Muslims believe the "Quran" is direct message from Allah and is not tainted by the culture, thinking that existed at that time period.

For some people accused me for taking this surah out of context so here is the rest of the Surah

"Righteous women are therefore obedient, guarding the secret for God's guarding. And those you fear may be rebellious admonish; banish them to their couches, and beat them. If they then obey you, look not for any way against them; God is All-high , All great."

Also saying muslim women are treated equal to muslim men in America is not a valid argument because the women enjoy these rights because of our secular government. Shariah does not support this.

Answer 1

Most Muslim women gracefully live their lives beneath Muslim men, as you say. They are born and raised to believe that this is the way they should act, that this is the right way. They see nothing wrong with their own culture.... they think western culture is corrupt and women are abused here, seen as sexual objects. It's really striking how different 2 cultures can be, even when they have so many of the same problems.

Answer 2

Allah (swt) forgive me if I am incorrect but this hadith talks about equality in between man and woman, regarding to how women and men, though having differing roles, responsibilities and obligations in Islam, they are all judged equally based upon their deeds. This is how man and woman are equal.

God treats men and women as spiritual equals, Quran 3:195 tells us :

"Their Lord responded to them: "I never fail to reward any worker among you for any work you do, be you MALE OR FEMALE, YOU ARE EQUAL TO ONE ANOTHER........."

Therefore the Qu'ran does not contradict the hadith.

From verse that you are talking about, Qu'ran 4:34, a better translation is:

"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband's) absence what Allah would have them guard..."

Answer 3

A man can marry a muslim woman, who does not have any attribute against islamic concepts/laws even going against parents unless they (the parents) have valid reasons for that. Secondly, a muslim virgin woman can not marry without her gardian's permission. Which we call a 'wali' but a widow can do. On the other hands, parents have great liabilities on their children according to Quran and Hadith therefore they must not be insulted by not obeying their decission without any islamic reason. The best idea is to bring them round and enjoy this precious moments with everybody so that every body should get his rights. This is islam. NOTE: I have just shared my knowledge in this subject but a islamic scholar must be consulted for specific case. May Allah the Almighty guide us all towards the right path.

Answer 4

Mario, I am sorry, but you have misunderstood that verse, the verse is only saying that the men are the protectors of women and are supposed to work to provide for the women, and secondly, you have taken the verse out of context, so tell me. So tell me, how is the man being the protector, and financial supporter of women in Islam make women any less than men. You see, Allah has said that the only person who is seen as the greater person is a pious person, not men, or women, but rather a righteous person.

Thank you.

Answer 5

I will quote another translation for you to have multiple perspective:
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means.


In matters of faith, in reward fror good deeds, gender is not an issue in front of God. So, for a Muslim, since the most improtant aspecti s gaining Allah's favor, so in that there is no distinction of gender. A woman can be more pious than a man and vice versa.

Then we come to the practical matters of the world Men and owmen are not "equal" in terms of mathematical equality. For a harmonious ife pattern Allah has defined certain areas of influence for each gender. The qualities specific to that gender are also suited to the duties. For example men are made physically stronger, less vulnerable. Women , on the other hand, have been bestowed with flexibility of body, higher threshold for bearing pin. These qualities make them suitable for child birth. At the same time, since bearing a child and rearing a child in its early years of infancy is quite a time and energy consuming process, therefore, they have been absolved from the necessity of economic struggle. That task has been assigned to man. Since he does not have to play a direct part in this process so he can go out and provide for the family. You must also bear in mind that Islam talks about the majority. It is true that you will find women who are stronger physically etc but then exceptions prove the rule. Also majority of women marry (in fact, marriage is considered a desirable state for both men and women) and hence bear children so again for majority of the cases, these conditions hold.

The word used in the verse is "Qawwam" (plural "Qawwamoon). This word can best be translated as manager of affairs. So, in simple words, since men's prime responsibility is economics therefore they are assigned with this management task. Women, no matter if they are working, are not obliged to contribute economically in the house.

So in the end, I would say that this is an efficient method of managing affairs of a household. If you want to look at it in terms of superiority of men then this is a perspective you have. Quran is just saying that men are assigned caretakers for women. And in an egalitarian society, even the ruler is answerable for his actions to the people and the status of man in the house is still not that of the ruler.

Answer 6

if we take thing's out of context we can come up with all sorts of rubbish . when coloring you picture ask mummy for some red blue green, orange ,purple crayons and see how much better your picture will be rather just use ing black and white
it is said that mothers are at the foot of Allah's throne .mothers are the teachers of the children mothers are women we must hold them in high regard.Please try to look at the big picture and read all the words it is like a dot to dot until you join them all up you will not have the correct view of what it is may Allah help you in the struggle to find the truth

Answer 7

Hi Mario,

I agree with some fellow Muslims here who quoted the Koranic verses to answer your question. You ought to study Koran comprehensively (not partially) in order to have fair opinion about Islam. Not only you should read it carefully, but you have to find out about the social condition of the Arabs when Koran brought to them for the first time.

As for Mr Punter, the same thing applied for you too. I think you repeated Mario's action by quoting the Bible as you see fit before interpreting it. For example:
You said Bible declares male supremacy over females by quoting:
I Corinthians 11:8-9 "For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man."
Please read the subsequent verses (I Corinthians 11:10-12):
"For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authorithy on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God."
Now, do you still think that Bible declares male supremacy over females?

May we all become wiser as each day passes. Heaven helps us.

Answer 8

Your Quotes are very poor translations of the Quran. You should know that men are suppose to be the provider for women in Islam. Women have many rights and that so more then men. I never said I am equal to a man and I expect my husband to care and make sure all of my basic needs are met. In return I care for him. The reason why men get more inheritance then a women is because of this basic concept. Men are suppose to provide for their families. Women who marry are suppose to be provided for by their husbands.

Answer 9

What translation are you quoting?

The Abdullah Yusuf Ali translation says:

Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means.
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Quite different from the source you have quoted, isn't it?
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Did you know that a Muslim man is required to provide all of the support to, plus protect, all of the women to whom he is closely related, whereas a Muslim woman is not required to spend one penny of her income to support her husband, her children, her parents, or even herself? If she doesn't have a male relative to support her, the Muslim State must support her. If she does spend her own money on her husband, her parents, her children, or even herself, it is an act of charity, for which she will receive a Divine reward.

A Muslim sister once summed it up: "What's mine is mine, and what's his is mine, too."

Even caring for the children is the responsibility of the husband, unless the wife has agreed to do it. If she doesn't want to take care of the children, he has to hire someone else to do it. If she does do it, she will earn a Divine reward, as for an act of charity, for every small action, as, for example, putting a spoonful of food into her own child's mouth.

Commentary (by Abdullah Yusuf Ali) on the verse you cite:

'Or the sentence may be rendered: "and protect (the husband's interests) in his absence, as Allah as protected them."
'If we take the rendering as in the text, the meaning is: the good wife is obedient and harmonious in her husband's presence, and in his absence guards his reputation and property and her own virtue, as ordained by Allah.

'If we take the rendering as in the note, we reach the same result in a different way: the good wife, in her husband's absence, remembering how Allah has given her a sheltered position, does everything to justify that position by guarding her own virtue and his reputation and property.

'Muslim men and women have equal rights, but their rights in marriage and family situations are different. Equal, but complementary, rather than identical.'

Arabic is not an Indo-European language, and precise translation to English is very difficult. It's not merely a matter of grammar; the meanings of individual words vary greatly depending on the context. The Holy Qur'an is the finest work in Arabic literature, and therefore both the richest and the most subtle. Not surprising, considering the Source!

The best way for a non-Arabic speaker to understand the Holy Qur'an is to compare several different translations, and read tafsir (explanation) along with the text itself.

These websites are good places to compare translations:

http://www.IslamAwakened.com/Quran

http://www.quranbrowser.org/

Answer 10

Men and women are both equal in the sight of God Almighty according to Holy Quran. Both gets the same reward for their deeds. Both have equal rights accordingly. But naturally men are given a degree higher than that of women. Men are men and women are women in Islam. Men have a higher responsibility to take care of women. Men are protectors of women. Men are responsible and accounted if he don't take care of women that are under him but women are not accounted for not caring for men. Men have their responsibility and women have their own responsibility. Women is this way more respected, more protected in Islam.