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| Gender Equality in Islam
"I shall not lose sight of the labor
of any of you who labors in My way, be it man or woman; each of you is
equal to the other (3:195)" Spiritual equality, responsibility and
accountability for both men and women is a well-developed theme in the
Quran. Spiritual equality between men and women in the sight of God is not
limited to purely spiritual, religious issues, but is the basis for
equality in all temporal aspects of human endeavor. Adam and Eve: Gender Equality The concept of gender equality is best
exemplified in the Quranic rendition of Adam and Eve. The Quran states
that both sexes were deliberate and independent and there is no mention of
Eve being created out of Adam's rib or anything else. Even in the issue of
which sex was created first is not specified, implying that for our
purpose in this world, it may not matter. "O mankind! Be conscious of your
Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity (nafs), and out of
it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men
and women. And remain conscious of God, in whose name you demand your
rights from one another, and of these ties of kinship. Verily, God is ever
watchful over you! (4:1)" Quranic translators disagree on the meaning
of "nafs" in the above verse which Muhammad Asad translates as
"living entity." Many claim that "nafs" translates as
"person," that is, Adam. But according to Asad and other
scholars, God created humankind and its sexual counterpart out of its own
kind. The Arabic word referring to mate (zawj) in the above Quranic verse
is grammatically neutral and can be applied both to male and female
interchangeably. So it is not clear, nor should we conjecture, that Adam
was created first, Eve was created out of Adam, or that Eve/woman is
innately subservient to Adam/man. The fact that this Quranic verse does
not specify one specific sex over the other is proof of gender non-bias
and equality. It is commonly (and mistakenly) argued that Adam was created
first, and that by this gesture God finds the male dominant and superior
to the female; however, the wording of the Quran in the aforementioned
verse does not support this claim. The Quran describes how Adam and Eve were
told to avoid a specific tree, which they both approached. For this act of
disobedience to God, they were consequently banished from the garden;
however, later both repented and were forgiven by God. The Quran does not
allude to Eve tempting Adam to eat from the tree and being responsible for
their downfall. In the Quranic version, both were held accountable and
both paid the price for their choices, proving that gender equality is an
intrinsic part of Islamic belief. (See Quran 2:30-37) Accountability, Independence, and
Freedom of Choice Women are independent individuals, as
exemplified by the fact that all human beings will be accountable for
their own intentions and deeds on the Day of Judgment when "no human
being shall be of the least avail to another human being" (82:19) If
men were ultimately responsible for women (fathers for their daughters,
husbands for their wives, etc.), then this accountability would be solely
on men's shoulders to bear until the Day of Judgment. But this is not the
case: "And whatever wrong any human being commits rests upon himself
alone; and no bearer of burdens shall be made to bear another's
burden..." (6:165) Consequently, we cannot be judged according
to our own deeds unless we have the freedom of choice to do so. This free
choice carries with it the responsibility to make the right choices or
paying the consequence for wrong ones, best exemplified by Adam and Eve. Equality in Practice In the Quran, reference to men and women is
through attributes and deeds, by which we will be judged. The most pious
of us, or those who follow God's commands, are referred to as
"believers" or "mu'mineen" (pl.) in the Quran. In many
references, in fact, the Quran resonates this equality by eloquently
repeating "men and women" with ethical and practical qualities
throughout the verses, and even emphasizes this ten times in the following
verse: "Verily for all men and women who have
surrendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing
women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and
women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in
adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves before God, and all
men and women who give in charity, and all self-denying men and
self-denying women, and all men and women who are mindful of their
chastity, and all men and women who remember God unceasingly: for all of
them has God readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward."
(33:35) It is paramount to understand that the Quran equates being a "mu'min" (sing.) with actual practice, so that it is not enough to just have faith in principle; we must put our faith into practice. The same applies to our belief in the equality of men and women; gender equality as outlined in the Quran must also be put into practice. In reference to the above verse, modern scholar Laila Ahmed in "Women and Gender in Islam" says that "the implications are far-reaching. Ethical qualities, including those invoked here--charity, chastity, truthfulness, patience, piety--also have political and social dimensions." Source: |