Written by  Sis. Khadija Watson 

It is unfortunate that many non-Muslims and Muslims for that matter are not aware of the liberty, dignity and rights that are accorded women in Islam. We will touch on some of these rights in order to enlighten the reader, a more detailed form may be found in other articles on this website. Again, we state that these are only a few of the rights of women so that you may get some idea.
We will start with her rights in marriage as this seems to be of most concern to the non-Muslim.

1. The Muslim woman has a right to chose if she wants to marry or not and if she approves of the man she is to marry. A Muslim woman can not be forced into a marriage that she does not agree to. Forcing a woman to marry, without her consent is a violation of Islamic law, and transgresses the teachings of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said, “A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her: and a virgin should not be given in marriage without taking her permission.”

2. The woman can not be married without the man giving her Mahr (dowry). This is a wedding gift given to the bride by the husband, which may be in money or kind (jewelry, property, clothes ect.). It is not the woman who gives this to the man as we find in some cultures, rather it is the man who gives to the woman, without it the marriage is invalid. The Statement of Allah in the Holy Qur’an, “And give the women (on marriage) their Mahr as a gift.” (chapter 4:4) like wise chapter 4:20 “ if you had given the latter a Qintar (of gold..ie a great amount) take not the lest bit of it back…” One who is poor may even teach or recite the Holy Qur’an to his wife as a mahr.

3. The Muslim woman also has a right to stipulate anything that she wishes on the marriage contract as long as it does not go against what Allah has allowed. The marriage contact is a written agreement by both parties, and the woman has a right to make stipulations to that agreement which is not given to the man. This is a right bestowed upon her 1224 years ago, and has only been picked up and incorporated into non-Muslim marriages since the early 1980’s. They call this a pre-nuptial agreement usually in regards to personal wealth. However, in Islam it is an option of the woman in regards to other conditions ie…she would like to continue her studies, she doesn’t wish to live in a certain area of the country etc. It does not pertain to her money because….

4. Her money is her own!  The Muslim women may work outside of her home but is not forced to. Whatever money she makes belongs to her, and she is not required to give this to her husband unless she willingly agrees to. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women..’  (chapter 4:34)

5. A wife does not change her basic identity; she retains her maiden name, as Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “Call them by their fathers name…” (chapter 33:5)

6. The Muslim woman has a right to inheritance: “There is a share for men and a share for women from what is left by parents and those nearest related, whether the property be small or large.” (chapter 4:7 of the Holy Qur’an) What the woman inherits, the man whether husband or male blood relative does not have any right to. Again, this right for the woman was stipulated 1224 years ago in contrast this was designated to non-Muslim women only in the last 200 years.

7. A Muslim woman has a right to seek knowledge. Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings be upon him) say, “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.” Knowledge is not just for men it is also for women and a life time pursuit. Both religious and secular knowledge is included in this statement. There are many kinds of knowledge but that which is beneficial to ones religion, self, family and mankind is best. Useless or trivia knowledge is a waste of time, Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us this  prayer: Allah, keep me from knowledge which is useless, a heart that is satiated and prayers that are not answered.

8. Divorce is allowed in Islam, but is not to be taken lightly. The situation is addressed  in chapter 2:229, 33:38,49 among others, and one complete chapter (65) is called Talaq (Divorce).Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessing be upon him) said.” Divorce is allowed but it is one of the most hated things in the sight of Allah.” The woman has had this right in Islam to seek divorce for the last 1224 years, this right was not allowed to the non-Muslim women in the secular society until only this last century. Before that in the secular societies, it was only the right of the man to seek divorce. In Islam, the right of the woman seeking this type of divorce is called Khul. In this type of divorce she is usually required to return all or part of the Mahr (dowry) given at the time of signing the marriage contract. It must be said here that divorce is not to be done arbitrarily but must follow rules and regulations set down by Allah as found in the Holy Qur’an.

9. A woman may also act as a witness to a contract as Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “And,  get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men, then a man and two women….” (chapter 2:282)

10. A Muslim woman also has the same spiritual responsibilities and rewards as men.      “The true believers, both men and women, are friends to each other. They enjoin what is just and forbid what is evil: they attend to their prayers and pay the alms-tax and obey Allah and His Apostle (Prophet Muhammad) On these Allah will have mercy. He is the Mighty, the Wise. (chapter 9:71)

“The believers who do good works, whether men or women, shall enter Paradise. They shall not suffer the lest injustice.” (chapter 4:124)

“Be they men or women, those that embrace the faith and do what is right We will surely grant a happy life: We shall reward them according to their actions”(chapter 16:97)

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