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Women
in the Political System: An
Islamic Perspective
Business-s-usual
politics (like every other social institution that is traditionally the
“sphere” of men) is male-dominated. It is politics dominated by men
not only in numbers but also in outlook-authoritarian, exclusionary
opinionated and competitive. Political
participation has taken different forms in different countries in the last
few decades; due not only to main changes inside political systems in
force in each country, but also ion the international situation as a
whole. Female political participation, especially, has demonstrated a
considerable amount of imagination and creativity, as women’s
organizations and feminist groups become more and more aware of the
crucial importance taking part in the decision-making process has for the
improvement of women’s social condition. What
is interesting is that Allah, The Most Wise, has not specified any
particular role for all men or all women. The Qur'an does not propose or
support a singular role or single definition of a set of roles,
exclusively, for each gender across every culture. This
thus allows individuals the freedom to decide on their functions and roles
best suited to their contexts. This must, of course, be done by
maintaining fairness and equality through mutual consultation, mercy,
consideration and compassion between those affected by the decision. Social
responsibility in Islam is derived from the Qur’anic verse which states:
"And
[as for] the believers, both men and women - they are friends and
protectors of one another: they [all] enjoin the doing of what is right
and forbid the doing of what is wrong." (Qur’an Surah Tauba:71). This
verse compels women and men to act for the betterment of society. One is
encouraged to take an active role in society rather than merely a passive
one. Yet when we attempt to assert ourselves as Muslim women we are
accused of being influenced by the West and attempting to cause divisions
and putting Muslims and Islam to disrepute. Since
the beginning of Islamic history women have had a voice in electing their
leader. The leader of an Islamic state is confirmed by the people through
a process known as bai'ah; a symbolic contract between the leader and the
people wherein the leader promises to obey Islamic law and the people, in
exchange, promise their allegiance. In essence, bai'ah is the election of
a leader, for without the bai'ah the purported leader has no legitimacy
and thus cannot act as the head of state. Prophet Muhammad received the
bai'ah from the people. The Qur’an addresses the issue of women giving
the bai'ah to Prophet Muhammad and God tells Muhammad to accept the pledge
of the women: "O
Prophet! Whenever believing women come unto thee to pledge their
allegiance to thee...then accept their pledge of allegiance." (Qur’an
Surah al Mumtahana:12) Women
can also hold political positions in Islam. No Qur’anic verses exist
that prevent women from holding positions of leadership. Much
vaunted hadith that the Prophet said, `A people who entrust power to a
woman will never prosper', has been shown to be extremely unreliable on
several counts. It is an isolated and uncorroborated one and therefore not
binding in Islamic law, and in addition there is reason to believe it may
have been forged in the context of the battle, which Aishah the Prophet's
widow led against the fourth Khalifah Ali.
In view of the examples set by women rulers in history, it is also
clearly untenable and false. The
word imam as used in the Qur’an means a source of guidance (e.g.
Qur’an Surah Baqara:124). The meaning is not limited only to prayer.
Thus, the leader should guide the people along the path of Islam. In other
words, the leader should follow the teachings of Islam in leadership and
should act as a role model. Leading prayer is not a necessary criterion
for leadership, although it is symbolically desirable. Thus, the
assumption that the leader must actually lead the prayer is not actually
necessary. The
Qur'an even speaks favorably of the Queen of Sheba and the way she
consulted her advisors, who deferred to her good judgment on how to deal
with the threat of invasion by the armies of Solomon. She
(the Queen of Sheba) said, `O chiefs, advise me respecting my affair; I
never decide an affair until you are in my presence.'
They said, `We are possessors of strength and possessors of mighty
prowess, and the command is thine, so consider what thou wilt command.'
She said, `Surely the kings, when they enter a town, ruin it and
make the noblest of its people to be low, and thus they do.
And surely I am going to send them a present, and to see what
(answer) the messengers bring back.' Islamic
law makes no demand that women should confine themselves to household
duties. In fact the early
Muslim women were found in all walks of life.
The first wife of the Prophet, mother of all his surviving
children, was a businesswoman who hired him as an employee, and proposed
marriage to him through a third party. Women were given the responsibility
of running the affairs of the State. A woman - Shifa bint 'abd Allah - was
appointed controller of the market of Madinah by the Prophet and the
Khalifah Umar, not normally noted for his liberal attitude to women,
reappointed her, to supervise the market. Hazrat Umar used to take advise
from her. Hazrat Umer also
appointed Hazrat Umm Hakim Baiza, who was the paternal aunt of Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) a learned women, at the post of Khilafat. (Ref:
Rehmatulalamin page no 105-part II by Qazi Suleman Mansoorpuri). The
criteria for leading prayer are an ability to read the Quran, knowledge of
the Quran, and knowledge of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (Hadith,
Sahih of Muslim). Thus, maleness is not a criterion. Furthermore, Umm
Waraqa, an Ansari woman who was well versed in the Quran, lead her people
in prayer (Hadith, Sunan of Abu Dawud); (Musnad Ahmed Ibn Hanbal).
Following the footstep of Ummeh Waraqa the Khalifa Walid II of Banu
Ummaiah sent one of his Kaneez (slave) giving her his turban, to the
mosque of Damascus and ordered her to lead in the Juma (Friday) Prayer. At
this mosque the ruler had to lead the Juma prayer. This incident happened
in the history of Damascus yet no objection from any quarter; any jurist
has come into light or reported in the history. Hundreds and thousands of
the male at that time listened the Khutaba (sermon) from the woman and
followed her in the prayer. (Justice Syed Ameer Ali , Short History of
Saracens Page No. 196). In addition to Umm Waraqa leading her family in
prayer, a woman named Ghazala, in the 7th century A.D., led Muslim men and
women in prayer. (al-Tabari, History of Messengers and
Kings, Cairo, Ch. 51, p.80); (Ali Masudi, Gardens of Gold, Dar al-Andalus,
Beirut 1965, ch. 3, p.139). Not only did she lead Muslim men in
prayer, she recited the two longest chapters in the Quran during that
prayer (many traditional imams do not accept Ghazala as legitimate
precedent because she belonged to the Khawarij school; however, this does
not necessarily invalidate her actions. Women can be a head of the state
according to the Imam Malik, Imam Tibri and Imam Abu Hanifa. Women's
views were listened to, respected, and usually supported, by the Prophet
as we have seen. Another example is when the Makkans who made an agreement
with him that he and the Muslims could return the following year stopped
the Prophet’s pilgrimage to Makkah. He told the people to shave their
heads and offer their sacrifices where they were, but they did not obey,
so he asked his wife Umm Salamah, and she advised him to lead them by
doing so himself. He took her advice, and it worked. “Hazrat
Ayesha, the first woman leader of Islam was a teacher of men and women. In
turn her students, men and women, taught others how to govern, how to
organise Muslim communities, and how to arrange Muslim family and social
life. The great scholars of hadith got their learning from Ayesha. The
holy Prophet bore witness to Hazrat Ayesha’s intellect, understanding,
rational approach to life. At a time of crisis she had no hesitation in
taking over command of the Islamic army and directing it in the field of
battle. In peace time she gave religious rulings and helped the most
learned of the Companions of the Prophet differentiate between the right
and the wrong. All the Fiqh
and Laws of Islam are related to Hazrat Ayesha. It is about time that
Muslims started remembering Hazrat Ayesha. Contact
Info: B-2/20, Al Ahram Plaza, Block 13- A, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi. 75300. |