Divine,
they use religion to justify their actions.
This is the key point ^ For example, if you take Saudi Arabia as the rightful shari'a law and take it as the true face of Islam then you are utterly misguided (No offence intended here please note that). Misguided meaning that since that seems to be the central place for Muslim pilgrimage and is a middle eastern country, taking it as a Muslim country and taking it's law as Muslim law would be the obvious thing to do. I don't blame you. You would be surprised at how many Muslims want to overthrow the Saudi Monarchy that is prevalent right now. The country with a bloody sword on it's flag using Islam to justify taking rights away from women and treating them like dirt under their feet. It is disgusting. The truth is that they go against so many principles in Islam. They take away women's right to drive for example. That clearly goes against the verse I quoted in my earlier post. Remember, judge the religion by the book, not the people.
10. A husband has sex with his wife, as a plow goes into a field.
The Quran in Sura (Chapter) 2:223 says:
Your women are your fields, so go into your fields whichever way you like . . . . (MAS Abdel Haleem, The Qur’an, Oxford UP, 2004)
The analogy of the wife as a tilth for the husband reflects the simple reality wherein the husband 'sows' his seed and wife brings forth a return in terms of a child.
It also shows that sexual freedom is allowed in Islam. Meaning that permission is given to try different methods of sexual intercourse with one's wife.
9. Husbands are a degree above their wives.
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The Quran in Sura 2:228 says:
. . . Wives have the same rights as the husbands have on them in accordance with the generally known principles. Of course, men are a degree above them in status . . . (Sayyid Abul A’La Maududi, The Meaning of the Qur’an, vol. 1, p. 165)
Ah, this is something I must clear up with you brother. Sayyid Abul A’La Maududi is a Sunni scholar and his historical background hinted that he was a sectarian discriminator. There are two major sects in Islam, Shia and Sunni. I am part of the Shia group of Islam and I do not believe a word this man says. There is a lot of hate towards us these days. I do not feel obliged to defend the point of view of someone who has deviated from our religion. Sorry about that, but if possible, please try and stay only to Shia references, at least when debating with me. Thanks
(Bukhari and Muslim are not Shia references).
8. A male gets a double share of the inheritance over that of a female.
The Quran in Sura 4:11 says:
The share of the male shall be twice that of a female . . . . (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 311)
Muslim theologians explain this aspect of inheritance by looking at Islamic law in its entirety, which bestows the responsibility and accountability on men to provide safety, protection and sustenance to women. One might look at this and think that it is belittling women. Once again, in Islam, women and men have different responsibilities and the responsibility of a Woman is to raise the children. The responsibility of a man is to provide for the wife. The influence of the mother on children is much, much greater than that of the father on the child generally speaking. That is not to say that women aren't allowed to work. They can work if they wish, but in an ideal society it is better for them to raise the children. Thus they gain the status of respect 3 times that which the father gains, even though he is the one gaining the money for the sustainment of the family. I have a friend who has a masters degree in micro biology. He works and earns for their family, but his wife stays at home and looks after their 1 year old daughter. She is a convert from Christianity to Islam. The thing that is interesting here is that the wife has a doctorate in micro biology. I recently found this out and I was amazed at how well these people put their priorities in line. The wife refused to work because she knew that her duty was essential to the growth of their child. This verse does not mean that men are not equal to women; It is merely showing one of the many responsibilities of men. There are numerous verses of the responsibility of women too, in the Quran. man is the person solely responsible for the complete maintenance of his wife, his family and any other needy relations. It is his duty by Law to assume all financial responsibilities and maintain his dependents adequately. It is also his duty to contribute financially to all good causes in his society. All financial burdens are borne by him alone. This responsibility comes with a right, because as we know with any position, whether it be president, teacher, doctor, or husband comes with a responsibility. To fulfil the responsibilities of those positions, the person with that responsibility is entitled to certain rights. The president, for example has certain rights over his/her people.
Now, we have a male heir, on one side, burdened with all kinds of financial responsibilities and liabilities. We have, on the other side, a female heir with no financial responsibilities at all or at most with very little of it. In between we have some property and aid to redistribute by way of inheritance. If we deprive the female completely, it would be unjust to her because she is related to the deceased. Likewise, if we always give her a share equal to the man's, it would be unjust to him. So, instead of doing injustice to either side, Islam gives the man a larger portion of the inherited property to help him to meet his family needs and social responsibilities. At the same time, Islam has not forgotten her altogether, but has given her a portion to satisfy her very personal needs. In fact, Islam in this respect is being more kind to her than to him. Here we can say that when taken as a whole the rights of woman are equal to those of man although not necessarily identical (see Qur'an, 4:11-14, 176).
I hope this clears things up a little. I know it is a little hard to accept because of previous biases about the religion of Islam, but please try and read this with an open mind and you'll see where I'm coming from.
7. A woman’s testimony counts half of a man’s testimony.
The Quran in Sura 2:282 says:
And let two men from among you bear witness to all such documents [contracts of loans without interest]. But if two men be not available, there should be one man and two women to bear witness so that if one of the women forgets (anything), the other may remind her. (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 205).
Again, females have more rights over females in some aspects of Islam and males have more rights over males in other aspects. These rights come due to their respective responsibilities. I hope you understand that.
This verse is only meant in the financial context, loans etc. And this is why:
Again, as I stated above, women are gifted with the responsibility and right of raising the child and helping them grow and human beings. In an ideal Islamic society, women do not usually tend to financial cases, but in the event that women are needed, they are asked to present themselves in pairs because of the simple fact that they will be inexperienced in this matter. They would not be as accustomed to giving their account of events relating to a loan and thus to prevent any skewing of facts, one woman is there as moral support to another and to also support the other's facts.
A man may be polygamous with up to four wives.
The Quran in Sura 4:3 says:
And if you be apprehensive that you will not be able to do justice to the orphans, you may marry two or three or four women whom you choose. But if you apprehend that you might not be able to do justice to them, then marry only one wife, or marry those who have fallen in your possession. (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 305)
Tell me, what is the divorce rate in the US? 70% of all marriages sooner or later end up in a divorce?
What is better 4 wives that MUST under all circumstances be treated equally (it can be a great pain), or 1 wife and 3 mistresses? Also, when a woman is marrying a man she may specify in the marriage contract that she whishes the marriage to remain monogamous and from that point onwards, the man is not allowed to marry another wife because he must be obedient to his own wife and the contract they have both agreed upon.
A husband may simply get rid of one of his undesirable wives.
The Quran in Sura 4:129 says:
It is not within your power to be perfectly equitable in your treatment with all your wives, even if you wish to be so; therefore, [in order to satisfy the dictates of Divine Law] do not lean towards one wife so as to leave the other in a state of suspense. (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 381)
This one is a misinterpretation. The verse is stating that when a monogamous marriage is in place, if a man does not have the power to be equitable to all of his wives, he MUST NEVER leave one in suspense and lean towards another. He must try his best to keep all of his wives happy.
Husbands may hit their wives even if the husbands merely fear highhandedness in their wives (quite apart from whether they actually are highhanded).
The Quran in Sura 4:34 says:
4:34 . . . If you fear highhandedness from your wives, remind them [of the teaching of God], then ignore them when you go to bed, then hit them. If they obey you, you have no right to act against them. God is most high and great. (Haleem, emphasis added)
The verse says that if you think your wife is adulterating or conspiring against you, talk to her (admonish) about it gently and find out the truth and remind her of God's teachings:
Admonish:
To reprove gently but earnestly.
To counsel (another) against something to be avoided; caution.
If she doesn't listen and continues with her misdeeds separate her from you. And if she still continues, hit her (the root word in arabic used in the verse means a light hitting). 'Halaka'
Had you understood the verse's full implications you would have agreed with it. Today you see men murdering and hurting their wives if they commit adultery but the Quran says no, talk to them gently, then if they refuse to listen, separate them from you, if they still don't listen THEN only can you hit them (lightly). Because men are the protectors over women (again this is their responsibility, and it comes with rights).
That is all I have time to say for the moment brother. It was very nice talking with you and you seem like a respectable person. Please try and understand where I am coming from and then only judge whether you agree or disagree with what is being said. FYI, I am not an American-Born Muslim (idk why you made that assumption); I am Iraqi born. But I wish you all the best in your research and take care
- That just shows that the actual terrorism against everyone started lately (in the past 100 years).
