The Prophet Muhammad made many teachings on women and their rights. Women have always had, since the days of Muhammad, the right to own property. They can inherit wealth, although not as much as her counterpart male relative. The logic behind this principal is that males have people who depend upon them such as wives and children; women do not have anyone that relies on them in this way so it is considered that they do not need as much money to live from. According to the teachings of Islam, the rights of a woman are equal to those of a man but men and women are not identical, they are different beings so their rights and responsibilities should be complementary to one another’s rather that degrading or competitive. The Quran does however teach that it should be the husbands, not the wife, who makes the final decision, this can be observed in the Surah 2:228 “their husbands have the better right”. Though western views may often beg to differ, Muslim women do have the right to study, refuse a marriage, to divorce, to keep their own names and to take part in business and politics whether married or not.
With family being so significant in Islamic life, the elderly are well cared for by their families. Muslim families deeply respect their elder relatives and would be very rare for a family to place their elders in retirement homes, shunned out of their way, to be someone else’s problem to deal with. The old are treated with respect and their life experience is regarded as a valuable asset to the whole family as there is much to be learnt from the elders of the family. It is quite often that when living with their extended family, the elderly find that they have a new role in life to play in that they help out with the young children and listen to them when the parents are working or ties up with the running of a household and seeing to everyone’s needs. Care and concern within the family is often seen as reflection of Allah’s compassion and a way of showing gratitude for his eternal love for us all.
Marriage is a very important part of life, it is the bonding of two lovers and also the bringing together of two families. It is the starting point of a long, happy and prosperous life together for the majority of people. Within the Islamic community, marriages can often be arranged however, this only takes place with the consent of both the bride and the groom; no one is forced into doing anything that they do not wish to do. If two people were forced to marry one another, the marriage would be invalid. All Muslims are expected to marry in life. The age at which they are allowed to do so varies according to the law of the country in which they live. Courting is not permitted in Islam; the couple who are to get married are only allowed to meet each other with members of their families present. A Muslim man is allowed to have up to four wives, but they must all be treated equally. The Quran teaches us this, “marry women of your choice, two three or four” (Surah 4:3). An Islamic marriage usually takes place at a mosque or in the home of family. The actually ceremony is quite simple. The couple declare to their witnesses that they are marrying of their own free will and then special vows are often made such as that they will try to make their marriage an act of submission to Allah. During the ceremony, there are readings from the Quran (Surah 4:1). The Imam and the guests will pray for the couple wishing for things like wealth, happiness and children. A marriage contract (‘Aqd Nikah’) is read and written. The contract specifies the ‘mahr’ (money) which the groom gives to the bride and which belongs to her for life. Sunni and Shi’ah Muslims have different arrangements for the ‘mahr’. Shi’ah Muslims pay the money immediately whilst some Sunni Muslims arrange to give part of it later on.
In regards to divorce, Islamic teachings would prefer reconciliation between the couple and actual divorce as a final resort to end prolonged misery together. The Hadith says “Among all lawful things, divorce is most hated by Allah.” Divorce is a lawful act and Islamic teachings do not forbid it. The Quran says that “there is no blame on them if they arrange an amicable settlement between themselves; and such settlement is best” (Surah 4:128). This means that a peaceful reconciliation between the couple is preferred by Allah. A man is not allowed to seek a divorce from his wife until it is certain that she is not pregnant as it is possible that he may then change his mind knowing that a child will come into their life, bringing them together. If they do decide to divorce, then there is a period of three months called ‘‘iddah’, this is a period in which reconciliation should be attempted by the husband and the wife. If they are unable to reconcile then the divorce takes place. A man and a woman are allowed to remarry each other twice but not for a third time unless the woman was been married in between. A wife can free herself from the marriage by giving back her ‘mahr’ but during the period of ‘’iddah’ she must stay in her husband’s house and her must provide everything for her as she is not allowed out. A woman is also allowed to get a divorce by an agreement (‘khul’) with her husband because of his treatment of her.
Islam teaches that sexual intercourse is an act of worship which fulfils emotional and physical needs as well as a means to have children. By having children is how humans can contribute towards Allah’s creation. Sexual intercourse must only ever take place within a marriage as it is seen as a gift from Allah. By being married, the couple are responsible for meeting each other’s sexual needs. Islam forbids men from being in the alone company of another woman which he is not married to as he may be tempted by her. The Hadith preaches, “Let no man be in privacy with a woman who he is not married to, or Satan will be the third”. Islam also teaches, like most other religions, that adultery by the husband or the wife is a serious crime, this is described in Surah 17:32. Muslims believe that the conception of a child is never a mistake or an accident but a gift of life from Allah, “He bestows children, male or female according to His Will” is what the Quran tells us in Surah 42:50. Due to this, contraception is not welcomed in Islamic life. However, at the 1071 conference on Islamic family planning, it was agreed that safe and legal contraception was permitted if there was a threat to the mothers health, if there was a chance of the child having mental or physical deformities, if the family didn’t have enough money to raise a child or if the use of contraception would help women who have already had children. On the whole though, Muslims would prefer to have intercourse at the time of the month when the woman is least fertile. Islam also disapproves of permanent sterilisation or vasectomy.
