*!* Woman in Human History! *!*

Woman in Human History
Written by : Samr Al-Zain
Translated by : El-shenawy Mohammed El-shenawy
Revised By Magdy Abd Al-Shafy

Woman is considered the half of the society,

and with her goodness all the society will be goodness as she is the mother who nurtures , and the good wife who is behind every great man. She has rights and duties we shouldn't ignore. Did woman get her rights through the successive eras?

Here is a cursory look to the status of women through the successive eras :

Woman in the past

The Roman civilization decreed that the woman was a slave to man, and had the rights of the underage or had no rights at all. The old Indian laws considered that Epidemics, death, hell, poison, serpents, fire were better than woman." and her right in life ended with the end of her husband's who was her master and owner. When she saw his corpse was burning, she had to drop herself into his fire otherwise she will incur on herself the eternal curse and misfortune .
The Greek considered woman rubbish, she was sold and bought, and was thought to be the filth of devil's deeds. In Torah, woman is described with following words: "I toured with my heart to know, learn, search and seek for wisdom and sound mind. And to know that evil is ignorance, foolish is madness, I found out what is bitterer than death, it is woman who is a snare and her heart is a trap and her hands are chains."

In the Arabian Peninsula the status of the woman was not much better . God says in the Holy Quran in this regard what means " And when the news of (birth of) a female is brought to any of them, his face becomes dark, and he is filled with inward grief. He hides himself from people because of the evil of that whereof he has been informed. Shell he keeps her with dishonor or buries her in the earth? Certainly evil is their decision.
{Al Nahl: 58 – 59}.

If the newly-born Arab baby had survived burning alive, she would have mostly found a dark oppressing life awaiting her. She had no share in heritage and she may be forced topractice prostitution and after her husband's death, she would remain inherited belongings.

Woman in the Medieval ages

In Rome , a great synod convened and discussed woman affairs then decided that she was a being without a soul, and she would not enjoy the spiritual life in the Hereafter life for that reason.

And she is a filthy creature , she should not eat meat, laugh nor even speak and she is to pass her time in praying, worshipping and service.
At the beginning of the unwritten English law, there was an accusation , which was nearly confined to women ,concerning impudence
At the Medieval ages, sometimes the punishment tool was shaped as " impudent bridle"; it was a tool looked like a cage made of metal to surround the woman's head ; a bridle was put into the woman's mouth to diminish the movement of her tongue.
In spite of the bridle effectiveness, it was not considered sufficient in some cases. In 1322 A .D. a quarrel took place in a city, some workers called each others and assembled in the market to attack grains merchants storing provisions. There were two women among the eighteen workers who were punished. "The two women were condemned because their voices were high in a particular way. There tongues were cut before they were expatriated from the city for ever.

Woman at modern ages
In France , a conference was held in 1586A.D. to discuss woman's nature and whether she was considered a human being or not.
After discussion they decided that woman was a human being but she was created to serve man.
In February 1938 A .D. a law was issued to repeal the previous laws which banned French woman from some financial acts, and allowed to her, for the first time in the French woman history, to open a current account under her name in banks.
In England , till 1850 woman was considered non-citizen, and till 1882 A .D. woman was still without personal rights and she had not the right of possession . It was only for a resolution issued in July26th ,1964 , that Oxford university began to put female students with equal footing with young men in some rights ( Students clubs and students union )

Woman in Islam!!

With the advent of Islam and the spreading of its superior doctrines, woman's life entered a new stage far completely from previous ones. In this stage, woman became independent and enjoyed all her personal, social, human rights. Islam equalized woman like a man; a being with a complete human soul, with a will and free choice. Islam affirmed that both sexes are able to follow Islam way to reach incorporeal and material completeness to achieve the good life.

"Whoever works righteousness, whether male of female while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic monotheism) verily, to him we will give a good live (in the world with respect, contentment and lawful provision) and we shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)?"

Islam considers woman a free independent human like man as ( Allah the exalted) says in the glory Koran: " Every person is a pledge for what he has earned" and with this freedom, woman and man are equal before penalty laws too :
God says in the Holy Quran what means "The ornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them with a hundred stripes. Let not pity withhold you in their case, in a punishment prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a party of the believers witness their punishment. (This punishment is for unmarried persons guilty of the above crime, but if married persons commit it (illegal sex), the punishment is to stone them to death, according to Allah's law).

Because independence entails free will and free choice, Islam approved off the independence regarding all economic rights and allows woman to practice all financial acts and makes her an owner to her yield and money. Allah the Exalted says:

"For men there is reward for what they have earned (and likewise) for women there is reward for what have earned."

We, the Muslims, have a Divine document that has greatly honored woman and treated her fairly and saved her from the darkness and oppression of the ignorance. This document is the Glory Koran.

This document showed that man and woman are equal in the origin of creation, equal in the common human characteristics, equal in duties and responsibilities, equal in reward and destiny, in that (meaning) the Glory Koran says: "O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife {Hawwa (Eve)}, and from them both He created many men and women; and fear Allah through Whom you demand (your mutual rights), and (don't cut the relation of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you."

Allah addresses both man and woman in the Glory Koran, at the same level of honorable addressing, and at the same level of the allusion to the human value which they share together. For example , God says:

Whoever works righteousness, whether male of female while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic monotheism) verily, to him we will give a good live.

The Glory Koran settles the mutual responsibilities between man and woman, It orders man to be responsible for woman and orders woman to be responsible for man. It says:

The believers, men and women, are Auliyâ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another; they enjoin (on the people) Al-Ma ̒ rûf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid (people) from Al-Munkar (i.e. polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden).
( Al-Hograt)

The social system which draws the relationship between man and woman in the Islamic society appears in Allah's saying in the Glory Koran which settles the human's dignity and the equality between man and woman in the scale of this dignity by saying :

O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqw â {i.e. he is one of the Muttaqûn (the pious).

(49:13)

That also appears in this Koran verse which orders man to associate woman with respect and honor even if he dislikes her for psychological reasons:

God says in the Holy Quran what means "And live with them honorably. If you dislike them, It may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good."(4:19)

This is also appears in the prophet's(PBUH) Hadith " women are full sisters to men" and in the other text ( The best of you he who is the best to his household, and I am the best to my household " also at the prophetic tradition " Allah advises you to trart women well ."

Islam actually comes to contribute in human liberation to move the concept from a situation to another, before Islam it was a particular thing and after Islam is (completely) another thing. Woman as a human obtained a part of her liberty and possessed some of her value as man, and became equal to him in a lot of his economic, social and cultural positions. And what comes as differences between them are due to biological nature of woman and of man too, that nature makes woman requirements more urgent in our age, also due to practical conditions which were, at that time separated man from woman and made all the society under the mercy of man.

The Glory Koran treated fairly woman in His Exalt saying: "Indeed Allah has heard the statement of her (Khaulah bint Thalabah) that disputes with you (O Mohammad) concerning her husband (Aus bin As-S â mit)." (58:1)

It is fair treatment that raises the equality between both sexes before Islam, and the prophet said: No priority to an Arab upon a non-Arab or a non-Arab upon an Arab, or a fair man upon a negro or a negro upon a fair man except for by pious." (Islam) equalizes between people regardless their nationalities or language or color as long as they fear Allah and fearing Allah i means respecting human dignity.
And the prophet's (PBUH) saying" All of you is (like) a herdsman (curator) and is responsible for his family, a man is (like) a herdsman (curator) and responsible for his family, and the woman is (like) a herdsman (curator) at her husband's home and responsible for her family.

This Hadith declares the range of responsibility dashing from the practical conditions which control all the society and control both man and woman. That from a hand, from another hand we find the Hadith declares what is understood from the saying of Allah the All- Exalt" The believers, men and women, are Auliyâ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another." And some Hadiths give the woman the preference to man as it is narrated in the Hadith "Whoever is the most deserving of my best companionship? He said "Your mother" he said" then whoever?" he said "Your mother" he said "then whoever?" He said "Your mother" he said" then whoever?" "Your father"

This prophetic tradition reflects the importance which woman occupies in the society, and the society soundness is pledged to the woman's role in preparation of the incoming generations and that gives her an educational rank.
Thus ,the woman we need is the progressive one who enjoys all rights that she struggles for and clinging to and who strives to make herself co-operative and who aims to keep her dignity through keeping the dignity of all the society, consequently she contributes to the formation of the society of liberation, equality and social justice that is the dream of everyone.

The woman has a grace at social construction, we testify , but for her advance, there won't be civilization.

She is a school for her children; she is helpful to her parents.

Her goodness is a reformation of a nation; her spoil is death and forfeiture.

For correspondence, you can write to : [email protected]
for further information , E-mail Magdy Abd Al-Shafy

[email protected]

[email protected]





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