Women

This surah focuses on the rights of women in marriage, divorce, and inheritance.

Muslims are asked to stand up for justice and to care for orphans.

They are also asked to protect their community and defend powerless men, women, and children.

The door of Allah's mercy is always open, as long as the person repents before he or she dies.

Allah makes things easy for people.

We can shorten salah while travelling.

The Jews and Christians are criticized for their false beliefs about 'Isa.

'Isa was not killed.

Rather, Allah raised him up to the heavens.

The hypocrites are criticized for their evil practices and attitudes.

Everyone is invited to believe in Muhammad as the final messenger.

Before Islam, orphans (especially females) were exploited.

Women were typically denied their share of inheritance by male relatives and had no control over their marriage gifts.

Islam granted rights to women and other vulnerable community members, including the right to inheritance, religious education, property ownership, and a say in marriage.

Several verses in this surah emphasize caring for orphaned boys and girls to ensure their rights are protected after losing their fathers.

Their guardians are instructed to treat them as their own children, increase their wealth, and return it to them once they reach maturity and responsibility.

Verses 3-4 instruct Muslim men: if you marry female orphans, give them their marriage gifts.

If you fear you cannot be fair to them, there are many other women available.

The marriage gift (mahr) varies by culture; it can be money, gold, Hajj or Umrah trips, or anything affordable to the husband and acceptable to the wife.

Technically, the gift should be paid when the wife moves in, but it can be paid later, and the wife can waive part of it if both parties

agree.

Someone might ask, "If Islam is fair to women, why are some of them abused in Muslim countries?

" The Quran clearly states that men and women are equal before Allah and Islamic law (16:97 and 33:35).

Abuses against some Muslim women are strict cultural practices in some Muslim countries that have nothing to do with Islamic teachings.

This includes forcing a woman to marry a man she doesn't like, preventing her from getting a share of inheritance, or stopping her from gaining knowledge.

That being said, there are many successful Muslim women in different fields, such as education, science, business, and so on.

Even though scholars have debated whether or not a female can become a leader of a country, several women have been elected heads of state in Muslim-majority countries

like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Türkiye—something that has not yet happened in U.

S.

history until today (1776-2023).

The high status of women in Islam explains why around 75% of all new Muslims are female.

Someone may ask, "Why does the Quran order men to marry 4 wives?

" The Quran doesn't order each man to marry 4 women.

It only allows it if there's a need.

In fact, the Quran is the only holy book that tells a man to marry only one wife (verse 3).

Many religious figures in the Bible had more than one wife.

For example, Solomon had 700 wives (1 Kings 11:3) and his father, David, had many wives (2 Samuel 5:13).

So, Islam puts a limit on the number of wives a man can have.

A Muslim man may only marry up to 4 wives, as long as he's able to provide for them and treat them equally.

Otherwise, it's forbidden.

This ruling is practical in societies with many single mothers or where women greatly outnumber men, especially after wars, where mostly men die in battle.

John and Michael are brothers, who have a younger sister named Lisa.

When their rich father died at the age of 87 in 1995, he left a will, giving: The family's house (worth $1,000,000) to his wife.

$50,000 to his best friend, an old bulldog.

The rest of his property (around $4,950,000) to John.

Nothing to Michael and Lisa.

Now, John's children are living a very comfortable life, enjoying the money and land their dad got from his father.

However, Michael and Lisa don't have much to offer their children, because they were not as lucky as John.

Michael's son had to take a big student loan to pay for his college education.

Even though he graduated a long time ago, he's still struggling to pay off his loan, which has doubled over the years because of interest.

He just can't understand why in the world his dad couldn't get a share of his grandfather's property.

Ali and Yasin are brothers, who have a younger sister named Maryam.

When their rich father died in 1995, his property (worth $6,000,000) was distributed according to Shariah (Islamic law): His wife got 1/8 = $750,000.

Ali and Yasin each got $2,100,000.

Maryam got $1,050,000.

They have all started their own businesses and their kids went to some good schools.

Everyone is grateful for being able to get a share of the family's wealth.

Someone may ask, "If Islam is fair, how come the male gets twice the share of the female?

" This is a very good question.

Consider the following points: A female can be the dead person's mother, sister, daughter, or wife.

A male can be the father, brother, son, or husband.

A person's share is decided mainly based on how close they are to the person who has died, as well as their age.

Generally, those who are younger and closer to the dead person get more than those who are distant and older.

For example, if a man died and left $60,000, this is how the money would be distributed among his close relatives: For females, their share can either be:

1.

Less than a male's share.

For example, if she is a daughter, she will get half of the share of her brother, because he is required to provide for the family and pay

a marriage gift when he gets married, whereas his sister keeps all her money.

2.

More than a male's share.

For example, if a man leaves $24,000 and 2 daughters, a brother, a wife, a mother, and 2 uncles.

The wife will get 1/8 = $3,000, the mother 1/6 = $4,000, the 2 daughters will share $16,000 ($8,000 each), his brother will take the rest ($1,000), while

his uncles will get $0.

3.

Or an equal share.

For example, the father and the mother will each get 1/6 of the property of their dead son who left children, according to verse 11 of this surah.

Also, if a man's wealth is inherited only by his brothers and sisters from the mother's side, his brothers and sisters will share his property equally, according to

verse 12.

Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' was a wealthy companion from Madinah.

After he died as a martyr in the Battle of Uhud, his brother took over his wealth, leaving nothing for Sa'd's wife and 2 daughters.

When his wife complained to the Prophet, verse 11 was revealed.

So, he ordered the brother to give 2/3 of the wealth to Sa'd's daughters, 1/8 to his wife, and then he could take the rest.

(Imam Ahmad)

Verses 7, 11-13, 32-33, and 176 talk about the shares of close relatives, including children, parents, full- and half-brothers and sisters, husbands, and wives.

Before distributing these shares, other financial duties should be taken care of first, such as funeral expenses, debts, and wills (gifts or donations).

A person can write a will to donate or gift up to 1/3 of his or her own property for charities or individuals who do not have a

share in inheritance.

Let's say a Muslim man is married to a Christian woman.

Even though she doesn't inherit her 1/4 (if they don't have kids together) or 1/8 (if they have kids), she can get up to 1/3 of his property

through a will.

The same is true for one's non-Muslim parents.

Someone may ask, "If the Prophet cared about human rights, why didn't he ban slavery from day one?

" Before we talk about the Prophet, let's talk a bit about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the U.

S.

During his time, northern and southern states disagreed on freeing slaves, leading to the American Civil War (1861-1865), which left over 620,000 soldiers dead and millions more

injured.

President Lincoln himself was killed in 1865 by a man who supported the southern states, which favored slavery.

Some 13 centuries earlier, the Prophet declared that all people were equal, because they came from the same father and mother.

He said that whites were not better than Blacks, and Blacks were not better than whites.

Keeping in mind that slavery had existed for thousands of years, the Prophet knew that it would be impossible to free slaves overnight (as Lincoln later tried to

do).

However, the Prophet introduced many rules to help solve this issue.

For example, Islam opened the door for ending slavery by making it an act of charity to free slaves.

The Prophet and his companions supported slaves financially so they could buy their own freedom, as they did with a famous companion named Salman.

Before Islam, free people were kidnapped and sold as slaves.

According to Islamic teachings, no free person can be turned into a slave.

Children born to slaves automatically became slaves.

Under Islam, children born to slave-masters were considered to be free, and their mothers would gain their freedom upon the death of their masters.

It was forbidden to separate a mother from her children.

Former slaves were given important roles in Muslim society.

For example, Bilal, of African background, was the first official caller to prayer in Islam.

Usama ibn Zayd (a Black man, the son of a freed slave) was appointed by the Prophet as the leader of the Muslim army at the age of

18.

Another companion, Ibn Abza, became the mayor of Makkah during the time of 'Umar.

It's interesting to note that the Mamluks (slave soldiers) ruled Egypt and Syria for almost 3 centuries (1250-1517).

The Prophet said, "Feed your slaves from what you eat, clothe them from what you wear, and do not burden them with work, unless you help them.

" (Imam Al-Bukhari & Imam Muslim)

Although slavery has officially been banned worldwide, many forms of slavery still exist today.

This includes work slaves, sex slaves, debt slaves, and so on.

Many children in poor countries work like slaves for companies that supply products to businesses in some rich Western countries.