Rafed English
site.site_name : Rafed English

The process of preparing and educating has an important effect on building and forming man's character. It directs his abilities and merits in a constructive manner. Thus, he is able to carry out his tasks in society. When man is neglected and deprived of education, direction, and organized preparation, he will grow up spontaneously. In other words, circumstances, environment, and events will direct him. All these things kill his character, waste his abilities, and hinder his social growth. Then he will have a weak and unstable character, so he will be unable to deal successfully with society, events, problems, and chances. The conditions of woman should be studied through the picture represented in Islam. This picture is in the Qur'an and the purified Sunnah. It depends on numerous bases. They are as follow:

1. The unity of mankind depending on His words, the Exalted: "O people, keep your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind), and spread from these two many men and women. And keep your duty to Allah, by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (to) the ties of relationship. Surely Allah is ever a Watcher over your." Holy Qur'an (Nisa 4:1)

We can understand this verse not only through its great meaning, but also through the Revelation that opened the Sura of al-Nisa' that talks about the affairs of woman with this verse and depends on it. The sura of al-Nisa' is among the greatest Suras. It has 176 verses excluding the bismillah, namely, in the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

This surah is regarded as the foundation, legislation, and values that organize the relationship between man and woman, and limit their position and their role in society.

2. The relationship between man and woman depending on love, affection, mercy, calmness, and tranquility. All these qualities are presented in these words of His, the Exalted: "And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves, mates that you may dwell (inclined) unto them, and caused between you love and compassion: Verily in this are signs for a people who reflect." Holy Qur'an (Rum 30:21)

3. Man and woman are equal in rights and duties: "and for the women shall be similar rights (over men) in fairness,." Holy Qur'an (Baqara 2:228)

In this verse, Allahs means that man and woman have rights and duties over each other. Each of them has rights and duties. They both should carry out their duties through paying the rights of each other with kindness and good association. With this unique religious, and moral principle, Islam has balanced the relationship between man and woman. Accordingly, it has established an outstanding principle for the rights of woman.

4. The social relationship between man and woman is based on friendship as declared by the Holy Qur'an. Allah, the Exalted: "And the believer men and the believer women, they are guardians to one another." The Qur'an gives this wonderful picture of the relationship between man and woman. This relationship is based on friendship. The highest degrees of love and respect are presented in this relationship. It has been established in the language that the word wali' means supporter, lover, and friend.

Among the clear social phenomena in our world, which suffer from tyrants, are persecution, depression, force, and domination. Thus, this phenomena have negative effects on social dealings, education in school and home, the relations of work, and all kinds of social organization.

The absence of freedom, scorning the character of others, persecuting them, and depressing their will are familiar phenomena in our present society. Nobody protests against them but in some limits which are inappropriate for these phenomena.

Woman suffers from the pressure of this phenomena more than man. Our society has inherited backward habits, customs, and concepts. Through them it treats woman. Thus, it scorns the character, abilities, and merits of woman. Moreover, in many environments, man regards woman as a creature below the love of humanity of man. The concepts of isolating woman from advanced social life have come into existence because of backwardness and the absence of Islamic awareness and understanding from the circles of Muslims, and general social, political, and intellectual situation. We find strange that some material writers have ascribed these concepts to Islam.

Because of the conditions of ignorance and backwardness, Muslims have submitted to material intellectual invasion through its two eastern and western schools. Thus, has begun a war waged against Islamic thought and to focus on the conditions of woman in the Islamic world. So, non-Islamic information and cultural foundations, secular parties, and the propagators of materialism and dissoluteness have spared no effort to drag woman from those circumstances and conditions in which she lives in backward society to the circle of dissoluteness, to corrupt woman, and to trade with her affairs politically and culturally. That is because they have become sure of corrupting woman through sexual dissoluteness, and the motto of (woman's rights) and (woman's freedom), being the best way to corrupt the generation of males and females. That is because woman is the source of temptation and sexual excitement. Besides spreading sexual dissoluteness, which they have called (sexual rights), is among the most dangerous ways to destroy the family, to make children homeless, and to destroy human relationship between man and woman.

Thus, the plan of preparing and educating woman faces three directions. They are as follow:

1. The direction that resulted from the conditions of civilizational backwardness and awareness. It is the direction that depends on the base of scorning woman's character, depressing her will, and making absent her human and social role beside man. This direction has been inherited through habits and customs that have resulted from those who have no knowledge of Islam, the conditions of domination, the haughtiness of man, and intellectual backwardness.

2. Material direction: Western material civilization summons (people) to adopt this direction. It is the direction that summons people to believe in sexual dissoluteness that aims at destroying family relationships and empowering persecution and oppression of woman in another way and under the motto of "woman's rights" and "sexual freedom", etc., that makes woman the victim of sexual enjoyment and violation and diseases.

3. Islamic direction: It is the direction that believes in the unity of mankind and organizes the relationship between man and woman according to respect and cooperation that aim at building society and organizing sexual relationship between man and woman not according to dissolute woman's body and to enjoy it and to destroy the foundations of family ties, as it occurs nowadays in Europe, America, Russia, China, Japan, an other countries in the world, that have followed the trend of material civilization. Rather on the foundation of respecting woman's humanity and granting her her rights, for she is a human being with qualities and rights and character.

Adopted from the book : "Woman and Society" by : "Al-Balagh Foundation"