Rights and Responsibilities of Muslim Women

"Ya ayyuhalladheena amanut-taqullaha haqqa tuqatihi wa la tamutunna illa wa antum muslimun." (Aal 'Imran, 3:102)

"Ya ayyuhannas uttaqu rabbakumul ladhi khalaqakum min nafsin wahidatin wa khalaqa minha zawjaha wa baththa minhuma rijalan katheeran wa nisa'a. Wattaqullahalldhee tasa'aluna bihi wal-arham. Innallaha kana 'alaykum raqeeba." (An-Nisa, 4:1)

Dear brothers and sisters in Islam,

Brothers and sisters, we need to have an honest conversation about the rights of women in Islam — not according to culture, not according to tradition, not according to what our grandparents practised back home — but according to the Quran and the authentic Sunnah.

Before Islam, women in Arabia were treated as property. Baby girls were buried alive. Women had no right to inheritance, no right to choose their husband, and no standing in society. Then Islam came and revolutionised everything.

Allah declared:

"Wa lahunna mithlul-ladhee 'alayhinna bil-ma'ruf." (Al-Baqarah, 2:228)

Rights similar. Not identical in every detail — because men and women have different roles in some areas — but equal in dignity, in spiritual status, and in accountability before Allah:

"Man 'amila salihan min dhakarin aw untha wa huwa mu'minun fa lanuhyiyannahu hayatan tayyibah." (An-Nahl, 16:97)

1. Right to education. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said: "Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim." (Sunan Ibn Majah, 224) — This includes women. 'A'ishah, radhiAllahu 'anha, was one of the greatest scholars of this ummah. Companions — men — used to come to her for fatawa.

2. Right to own property and earn. A woman's wealth is her own. Her husband has no automatic right to it. Her mahr belongs to her. Her inheritance belongs to her. This was established 1400 years before Western women won the right to own property independently.

3. Right to choose her husband. No woman can be forced into marriage against her will. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:

"A previously-married woman should not be married until she is consulted, and a virgin should not be married until her permission is sought." (Sahih al-Bukhari, 5136; Sahih Muslim, 1419)

4. Right to dignity and good treatment. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said in his Farewell Sermon:

"Istawsu bin-nisa'i khayra." — "Treat women well." (Sahih al-Bukhari, 3331; Sahih Muslim, 1468)

And he said:

"The best of you are the best to their families, and I am the best of you to my family." (Sunan at-Tirmidhi, 3895 — graded Sahih by al-Albani)

Brothers and sisters, many of the problems Muslim women face today are not because of Islam — they are despite Islam. Forced marriages, denial of education, domestic abuse, denial of inheritance — these are cultural crimes, not Islamic teachings. When we deny women their God-given rights, we are not upholding Islam — we are violating it.

Brothers and sisters,

First: If you are a husband or father, ask yourself honestly: am I fulfilling the rights that Islam gives to the women in my family? Am I kind to my wife? Am I facilitating my daughter's education? Am I fair in my treatment? The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, was asked: "Who has the greatest right to my good companionship?" He said:

"Your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father." (Sahih al-Bukhari, 5971; Sahih Muslim, 2548)

Second: If you know of a sister in your community who is being denied her rights — her inheritance, her choice in marriage, her dignity — speak up. Don't be a bystander to injustice. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said:

"Support your brother whether he is an oppressor or is oppressed." And when asked how to support the oppressor, he said: "By preventing him from oppressing." (Sahih al-Bukhari, 2444)

Islam came to liberate women, not to enslave them. Let us live up to that standard.