Chapter Four: Woman's Social Status
Islam has given equal positions to man and woman in most social activities. Woman has responsibilities in all group social activities, except Jihad (the holy war) and only Jihad; women have duties in defense, preceding and following the stages of Jihad.
The Holy Qur'an says: (And as for the believing men and the believing women, they are guardians of each other; they enjoin good and forbid evil and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, and obey Allah and His Messenger. As for these, Allah will show Mercy to them; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise)
As to these words of Allah, women have the great responsibility of guardianship as men do, so they enjoin to good and forbid from evil.
Woman's social status is as vast as the concept of good and evil in Islam. Therefore, women can engage in all social activities that men do, including the most important social field that is politics and government.
That is why women were active in political scenes in the early Islamic era and had leading roles in government. Prophet Mohammad (a.s
.) took an oath of allegiance with women, according to the Qur'anic order, so that this half of the Islamic society becomes familiar with its socio-political responsibilities.
The Holy Qur'an states: (O Prophet! When believing women come to you, giving you a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah and will not steal and will not commit fornication and will not kill their children and will not bring calumny with what they have forged of themselves and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them from Allah, surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful)
This verse is about paying of allegiance with the newly-established Islamic government in the Prophet's age, which happened on the Day of the Conquest of Mecca. After the men's allegiance with the Prophet (a.s
.), women came to him and asked to pay allegiance too. Then the mentioned Qur'anic verse was revealed and it mentioned the qualifications for being the prophet's allegiant, emphasizing women's engagement in the political activities.
It is narrated that the Prophet (a.s
.), on that day, took the women's allegiance verbally. Women could also do so by putting their hands inside a bowl of water in which the Prophet (a.s
.) had put his own hand. This way, the allegiance between individuals and the government was established. It is also narrated that the Prophet (a.s
.) took women's oath, shaking hands with their hands covered.
It is narrated that on the day of al-Ghadir women paid allegiance to Imam Ali (a.s
.) by putting their hands in the same bowl of water as his hand was.
Moreover, women participated in the great socio-political movement of Hijra and their immigration to Medina was accepted along with men's. This is especially important at a time when women were deprived of most of their individual rights and could not engage in social issues.
The Holy Qur'an states: (O you who believe! When believing women come to you migrating,then
examine them. Allah knows best their faith. Then if you find them tobe believing
women, do not send them back to the unbelievers.)
As it is mentioned in exegesis books, the examination of emigrant (Muhajir) women was to ensure that their departure has not been due to family disputes. This was done by asking those women to swear that their emigration had not been because of disliking their husbands, tiredness of their city or other worldly problems.
Women can participate in other social movements and have a leading role in them. The Ashura movement is the best sample of this kind of participation. In recent times, women's role in Iran's tobacco movement led the monarch government to accept the verdict of the great Ayatollah Shirazi. Contemporary women's heroic role in the Islamic revolution of Iran is also clear.
Women can also take part in social positions. In fact, the only social positions in which women cannot participate are Imamate and prophethood. Of course, reaching the position of infallibility and guardianship (wilayah), which are the essence of prophethood and imamate, is possible for them; the great Lady Fatima az-Zahra (a.s
.) had possessed this position. Women, however, have not been given the demanding prophethood or Imamate positions in the society because they are too difficult and very heavy tasks.
For the Islamic authority (marji'iyyah), some do not consider masculinity as a prerequisite, provided a woman or some women have other qualifications.
In the future, after Imam Mandi's reappearance and international revolution, women shall have key social roles and some of them shall be disciples of the Imam (a.s). Imam Baqir (a.s) stated: (By Allah, that three hundred and thirteen men will come to him (Imam Mandi (a.s)) along with fifty women ...)
This shows the women's future social role, especially because the first group of Imam Mandi's disciples has deep understanding and faith. They are exceptional characters with especial intellectual and spiritual power.
Abu Basir narrated,“Once, I asked Imam Sadiq (a.s): 'May I be sacrificed for you! Shall be there other believers besides Imam Mandi's disciples on that time?' The Imam answered: 'There shall be other believers too, but those who shall work with him after his revolution shall be elites, Islamic authorities, the knowledgeable, agents, and judges.”
'
Preparation for the twelfth Imam's era necessitates, at least for the waiting women, studying Islamic jurisprudence and knowing social management issues, to be able to participate in that great international revolution.
There are also various viewpoints concerning women's judgment. Some Islamic jurisprudents do not permit woman's being a judge, some others believe that this issue should be solved by consensus, and still other jurisprudents, both in the past and today, allow woman's being a judge. Among the late jurisprudents, the late Ayatollah Muqaddas Ardabili rejected the total abandonment of woman's judgment.
The argument of the opponents is not much grounded.
Proving the consensus is also not easy. One of the arguments of the opponents is a tradition of Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated by Abu Khadija who said,“Once, Imam Sadiq (a.s) sent me to the Shia with this message: 'Never go to corrupted judges in case of financial disputes! Identify a man among yourself who knows halal (lawful) and haram (unlawful) so that I appoint him as your judge. Never refer to an oppressor judge.”
It is doubtless that (man) does not mean a male person; rather it means a person who has an insight in Islamic rules and traditions to differentiate between the lawful and the unlawful. The criterion here is not femininity or masculinity at all.
As it was mentioned in the preface, most of the statements containing masculine references or pronouns are in fact general addresses to all human beings. Such statements address men, because men's roles were clearer and they were more at hand then. So, gender is not specified in these traditions and rules; they only reflect the conversational practices of the past.
It is also inferred from Imam Sadiq's tradition that he is denouncing the oppressive judges. Two points deserve being underlined in the mentioned tradition; that the judge should be a righteous and Muslim person, and that the judge should be conscious of the judgment issues. The emphasis of the tradition is after all on the judge's practical and scientific qualifications and the avoidance of tyrant courts, and not on the gender of the judge.
In sum, anyone who has the necessary qualifications of knowledge, piety, preciseness, and the power of decision-making away from passions and desires can be a judge. Therefore, woman's judgment does not add an especial condition to the general judgment issue.
Another tradition is used as an argument against woman's judgment. Sheikh al-Hurr al-Aamili has written a chapter in his Wasa'il Al-Shi'a with only this tradition that the Prophet (a.s
.) in his will had told Imam Ali (a.s):“The Friday Prayer is not required from women and they are not to be entrusted with judgment.”
The former part of this tradition is not followed and the Friday Prayer is considered true for both man and woman. It seems unjust to accept one part of the tradition and reject the other part, so the argument by this tradition is completely wrong.
The matter of woman's judgment, in sum, requires more scholarly scrutinizing. Of course, some contemporary jurisprudents have researched about this and approved woman's judgment.
It should be pointed out that judgment is one of the difficult jobs. The courts with criminals, wrongdoers, claimants, and complainants on the one hand, and the conscience's concern about knowing the very fact, fair verdict, and the hereafter account on the other hand, are truly distressing. Therefore, judgment is a demanding work. Many strict Islamic teachings have been mentioned in this regard that prevent most of the learned from entering the judgment profession. One of these traditions comes here as an instance:
Imam Sadiq says,“Judges are four groups (kinds); three groups go to the Hell and only one to the Paradise. One, who judges unjustly and knows that his judgment is unjust, goes to the Fire, one, who judges unjustly but does not know that his judgment is unjust, goes to the Fire, and one, who judges justly but does not know that his judgment is just, goes to the Fire. One, who judges justly and with knowledge, goes to the Paradise.”
In some traditions, judgment is considered the job of the prophets (a.s
.) and the Imams (a.s.). Imam Ali (a.s
.) considers judgment as difficult as the ruling over the society.
One day, some children brought their writings to Imam Ali (a.s
.) to choose the best one. Imam Ali (a.s
.) said:“Surely, it is a kind of judgment; oppression in this judgment is like oppression in the rule.”
Considering the difficulties of the judgment profession, is the removing of this burden from a certain group or class a service and consideration or it is a disservice and ignoring of their personality? It seems that detesting the burdensome judgment responsibility for woman, if it is proved at all, indicates a great service to woman, just as eliminating other hard jobs such as Jihad. Another consideration is that woman's delicate sensations might spoil just judgment.
However, this is only the author's view and the arguments against woman's judgment are not much grounded. Two aspects of woman's social activities are briefly mentioned here for their importance:
a. Cultural and scientific activities: One of the most supported issues in Islam is the scientific and educational growth throughout the society; without the slightest differences among people or classes. The Qur'anic verses are quite clear in this regard. The traditions necessitate cognitive growth too, to an extent that the religion is defined as reason.
Imam Ali (a.s
.) says,“Reason is one's inner religious laws, and the religious laws is his outer reason.”
Prophet Muhammad's statement, which is narrated and accepted by the different Muslim sects, is very famous in this regard. The Prophet (a.s
.) says,“Seeking knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim man and Muslim woman.”
In some versions of this tradition, the phrase 'Muslim woman' is not narrated. Scholars say that 'Muslim man' is a general noun including both man and woman. This view is undoubtedly true.
For many kinds of education such as learning Islamic fundamentals, woman does not even need her husband's permission, just as other obligatory deeds for which the dissent of the husband is not important.
That is why after the dominance of Islam and the eradication of the obstacles of learning, everyone, especially women, started acquiring knowledge. Not long afterwards, some learned religious scholars among women were well-educated and they reached high scientific ranks. A story about one of Muslim learned women deserves to be mentioned here.
Burayrah was one of the women of the early Islamic era. One day, her husband came to the Prophet (a.s
.), complaining that she had left home and gone away. Prophet Muhammad (a.s
.) called Burayrah and asked her to go back to her husband's house. Burayrah said,“Are you ordering me?”
The Prophet (a.s
.) answered,“No! There is no obligation, but I am the mediator.”
The conversation between the Prophet (a.s
.) and that woman shows that she had reached a religious cognition to differentiate the criteria of the Islamic rules. She analyzed the speech of the Messenger of Allah (a.s
.) and asked if he gave an order as the Islamic jurisprudent or only an advice to her. The Messenger of Allah (a.s
.) in return confirmed her view and said,“I am the mediator.”
The conversation in this tradition is widely used by the jurisprudents and scholars of Usool when discussing whether an order without necessary evidence is an obligation or not.
Anyway, this one and other traditions indicate that once pagan women, who were worlds apart from culture and knowledge, got very enlightened after the advent of Islam.
Such women are numerous throughout Islamic history up to the present day. It is highly expected from Muslim intellectual women to review the history and record the accounts of enlightened women to be presented to the new generations. Some books have been surely written on the life of great Muslim women; however, not enough eloquent works, especially by scholar women, have been produced. b. Economic activities: Women have the right to participate in economic and commercial fields, exactly as men do. In Europe, women were given the right of commercial activities only after centuries, not for their own sake, but for the capitalism purposes.“... The industrial revolution industrialized woman too...Women were cheaper workers, thus the employers preferred them to tough high-wage men The first law for freedom of our mothers was the 1882 law. According to this law, British women got extraordinary privileges. They could keep their wages for themselves. Factory owners in the House of Commons ratified this law to absorb women to their factories ...”
Centuries before Europe's giving privilege to women, Islam had granted rights to Muslim women, not for materialistic but for humane purposes. Islam permits women to work outside home and possess their own salary. Women can make a will and inherit from others. They can make any economic attempt, invest, and establish farms and factories. These issues are derived from the Islamic teachings and explicitly defined in our Islamic law (Fiqh).
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Author: Mohammad Hakimi
