Sexual
Differences
Assertion:-
The Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said
that there would be more women in Hell than men. Islam it seems discriminates
against women. This is further established by the fact that in the Quran women
inherit half as much as men and by the fact that the testimony of a woman is
worth only 1/2 of a man. No matter whether this only refers to financial
transactions or to all judicial cases, this verse is regarded as a divine rule,
sent to be followed. But it is accompanied with no rational reasoning. Every
such (attempt of) reasoning goes back to man, but lacks any Quranic roots.
Comment:-
The Quran does not always "spoon
feed", but requires us to ponder and meditate or to accept things by faith
or it is a test of faith in Allah or in the Quran as the Word of Allah. But the
Quran is about Truth, knowledge, and awareness. We are required to seek
knowledge and warned against interpreting it according to our own whim, fantasy
or prejudice. The understanding must come from Allah through the Spirit or the
Prophet.
Statements in the Quran are not only factual,
but have a purpose and both may be circumstantial rather than absolute or
universal.
It could be argued that women in so far as
they are distinct from men by having the function of bearing and rearing
children are equipped for that purpose with appropriate physical and
psychological characteristics. For instance, they are more closely bound to the
child than men and this gives them greater tenderness, gentleness, softness and
social skills. Their emotions and feelings are more developed and this makes
them more involved and subjective in perception, judgement and action. They are
home makers and domestically orientated.
Men tend to be or are equipped to be more
remote, uninvolved and objective, competitive, aggressive and adventurous. This
allows them to deal better with the outer world. Women are more interested in
people and are prone to talk and gossip and are said to be able to
"multi-task" and this can be construed as "scatter-brained"
by men who are more focused. Men can concentrate better and are more interested
in objects, machines, tools, skills and abstract ideas. The mother has greater
affects over the child's emotional development than the father who ought to
have greater intellectual influence. Each of these affects the Spiritual
development in different ways.
Clearly both characteristics have their uses
each in its own set of circumstances. That is why the co-operation between men
and women is important and that is why marriage completes each and the family
provides a balanced environment in which children are best brought up.
These differences also strengthen the
attraction between the sexes unless, of course, perverse cultural development
distorts these characteristics or the appropriate value systems.
The rules in the Quran and Hadith regarding
the relationship between men and women take into consideration the differences
between the sexes. These differences do not imply inequality in Justice. As has
been pointed out from numerous verses, there is equality between the sexes in
that each will be rewarded or punished according to their deeds.
"And do not covet that by which Allah
has preferred one of you over another. The men shall have what they earn, and
the women what they earn; but instead (of envy) ask Allah for His Bounty,
verily, Allah is All-Knowing." 4:32
The differences between the sexes means that
each sex has its own distinct duties and responsibilities with respect to each
other and the children. It also means that each sex by itself has certain
limitations and faces certain challenges and difficulties which could be dealt
with by co-operation with the other. When it is asserted that there are more
women in Hell than men, this need not merely be a factual statement, but the
statement may be meant to point out that there are some particular difficulties
which women have to face - perhaps the desire for rebelliousness or control (as
over children) is one of these. Another may be the inability to be impartial
and just. On the other hand to be in Hell could refer to depression and despair
to which women are more prone than men.
(If it had been stated that there would be
more men in hell than women, similar questions would have been asked. If there
were to be an equal number of each this would lead to questions as to how this
could be reconciled with Justice, which requires that people be treated in
proportion to their deeds.)
Quran 2:282 has
been used by some people to prove the inferiority of women. It states:-
“O
you who believe! If you contract a debt for a stated time, then write it down,
and let a scribe faithfully record it in writing between you in equity; nor let
a scribe refuse to write as Allah taught him, but let him write, and let him
who owes dictate; but let him fear Allah his Lord, and diminish nothing there
from; but if he who owes be of low understanding, or weak, or cannot dictate
himself, then let the guardian of his interests (or agent) dictate faithfully
in justice. And call two witnesses out from amongst their men; or if two men
not be at hand, then a man and two women, from those whom he approves as
witnesses, so that if one of the two should err, the second of the two may
remind the other. And let not the witnesses refuse when they are summoned; and
let them not tire of writing it, be it small or great, with the terms of payment.
That is more just in the sight of Allah, and more upright for testimony, and
brings you nearer to avoiding doubt." 2:282
This verse refers
to witnessing the recording of a loan where the debtor is mentally retarded,
and not to the witnessing of other events. The verse does not say that one man
is worth two women. It simply gives the alternative, from having two male
witnesses, if these are not available, from among those a person approves, of
having a man and two women. The second woman is required in case the first
errs. The difference takes into consideration the fact that financial matters
were generally controlled by men.
It is not difficult to see that if the women
were to develop masculine characteristics or the men develop feminine
characteristics then neither could fulfil their respective roles adequately. As
they are inter-dependant, both would suffer and the society would malfunction.
Islam requires that each should fulfil their natural
roles for the welfare of both and the community as a whole. No doubt this also
has affects on the environment with which people interact, directly and
indirectly.
But present social conditions driven by the
development of technology, organisation and education have altered natural
roles. It can be argued that male values have become dominant and female ones
are devalued - women to a large extent have become ashamed of themselves, try
to cultivate male characteristics or find it necessary to compensate by
flouting their physical feminine assets. This has resulted in a more
self-seeking, individualistic, competitive, aggressive and violent society.
At the same time men have become more
effeminate, docile and conformist as greater hierarchical organisation demands.
This has led to the weakening of initiative, responsibility, self-control and
self-reliance and the demise of Value Systems.
The erosion of sexual differences has
weakened the ties between them leading to the collapse of families. This in turn
produces an increasing number of inadequate, neurotic, socially malfunctioning
children that grow up to create an increasingly malfunctioning society that
must be controlled by coercion.
All this is can be established by
observation.
Critic:-
It would appear
that for you 'womanhood' is reduced to motherhood and 'wifehood'. Are
women, whose contributions are not limited to these functions, somehow being
'unnatural' due to 'perverse cultural developments’? Was Marie Curie, one
of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th Century an 'unnatural' woman whose
achievements must be attributed to 'perverse cultural developments'?
Comment:-
You are reading
more into the article than it contains, and also less.
(1) Would you say
that I suggested that "manhood" is ""reduced" to
husbandhood and fatherhood?
They are both human
beings and each has the right to fulfil themselves and the duty to seek
knowledge, ability and virtue. But marriage is half of religion in Islam. It
contains many of the challenges and responsibilities that are
required for social welfare and spiritual development. This requires a great
amount of knowledge, expertise and effort. We employ teachers, nurses,
doctors, counsellors, social workers, designers, and so on, all of whom have been
trained in various skills, and all these skills are required within the
home.
(2) Do you think
motherhood and wifehood are trivial roles? And that fatherhood and husbandhood
are trivial roles also? This shows Western prejudices which are responsible for
the breakdown of families and the neglect of children and the general
irresponsibility towards social and spiritual welfare. These are sacrificed to
economic or material pursuits.
The result is that
vast sums have to be spent in training and employing all kinds of experts to
deal with the resulting social and psychological malfunctions. This money comes
out of the income of people through taxes and expenses. But those so employed
still have no intimate personal interest in those they have to deal with. All
this could have been avoided if the family duties had been taken seriously
and the educational system had put some emphasis on family needs, on
social and psychological well fare and the development of appropriate
knowledge, motives and skills. In times and places where people are trapped in
poverty and physical needs are urgent, then the concentration of effort on
economic growth is understandable, but not when there is wealth beyond needs.
Greed then ties the community to the primitive stage, instead of liberating and
allowing ascent.
Critic:-
Is it 'unnatural'
for women to have an education beyond learning household skills? Is it
'unnatural' for them to be scientists? Is it 'unnatural' for women to be doctors? I'm
sure the Taliban (and how many other Muslims?) would think so. Is it
'unnatural' for women to be jurists
and judges? Khomeini certainly thought so as he forbade women judges on the
grounds that there judgements would AUTOMATICALLY be influenced by their
emotions rather than by objective reasoning. It is unlikely that as
industrialisation, organisation and education spread, women anywhere will
accept the role you recommend for them.
Comment:-
You are criticising
your own misunderstandings. Nothing I have said can be construed as meaning
that women should not be educated or restricted in careers. There is nothing in
Islam that condones this. On the contrary, the whole nation suffers when half
the population is disabled, specially that half on which the welfare and
development of the next generation mainly rests.
But the State of a
Society is all a question of values and priorities, and of knowledge and
circumstances. Several distinct varieties of Value Systems can be discerned:-
(1) A large section of the population has little in its mind other than sport
and games, gambling, violent films, fashions in clothing, cosmetics, cars,
gadgets and consumer goods, popular music, fantasies, excitement and escapism
in alcohol and drugs, of course sex and other sensory pleasures, clubbing,
partying, take away fast foods, trivialities such as tattoos and self-decoration,
rivalry, posturing, boasting, gossip, scandal mongering, criticising others,
group conflicts, and spending time conversing about all these. And their heroes
are film and football stars and scandals associated with them. All the more
important aspects of life are ignored. They have little control over their
lives, drift with the flow of events, victims of circumstance. The society
would collapse but for the control of the few over them, even for the basics
required for existence. (2) The main interest of those who dominate the society
is the pursuit of wealth, power and prestige. (3) There are some who have
various cultural interests such as in the arts, various technologies and
sciences. (4) Others seek to develop skills and expertise in various fields.
(5) Some people give priority to social and political matters – poverty,
health, welfare and education, organisation, distribution of resources and
charities. (6) Others are concerned with environmental matters – the
ecological system, land, water and atmosphere, mountains and forests, weather
and climate, animals and plants. (7) Some follow an ideology, doctrine, a set
of Principles, religion or Ethical system. (8) A few devote themselves to
spiritual welfare and development.
The State of the
Society will depend on the relative importance given to these different value
systems by various groups, the proportion of the society which those groups
form and their relative power and influence. It is these which determine
perception, and direct thought and effort. In the present state of society the
value systems are kept deliberately low by the conditioning pressure of
advertisements and propaganda in the profit interest of the relative small group
that runs the industries and also controls the governments.
However, the
relationship between these value systems can and do change. In so far as human
beings have three basic needs, physical, social and psychological, this
relationship between value systems can change owing to changes in economic,
social or ideological conditions. Human affairs depend on the relationship
between the sexes, as these are wholly inter-dependent.
“O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your
Lord, who created you from one soul, and created there from its mate, and
scattered from the twain a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty
towards Allah, in whose name you claim rights of one another, and the wombs
that bore you; verily, Allah is Watcher over you.” 4:1
----------<O>----------
Contents