08 March, 2024
Q
As-salamu `alaykum. I read up about women’s rights in Islam and then I cry because I can’t help but feel that women have no rights at all.
I feel like the rights that were given are nothing. We’re just women; we’re insignificant and our feelings don’t matter at all.
Our only job is to raise the family and be the dirt on our husbands’ shoes. I also feel like I won’t be happy in Jannah because there is nothing mentioned about what women will get. This makes me not want to pray and fast.
Answer
Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.Â
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Indeed, what you have mentioned has nothing to do with Islam. You should read about Islam and its teachings from authentic sources.Doing this, you will find that Islam honors woman and preserves all her rights; this is clearly stated in the Quran and the Sunnah.
Answering your question, Dr. Muhammad Salama, PhD, Islamic Studies in English, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Islamic Sciences al-Madinah International University (Mediu), states:
I do not know what you have read, but I know that you are definitely talking about another religion. Islam has honored women and elevated their rights.
Here are some of these rights:
Women are equal to men in general with regard to rights and duties.Islam exhorted men to treat women kindly and warned against being unjust with them.A woman in Islam has full right to ownership and to manage her property as she likes, just like men.Islam has entitled women to have a share in inheritance.A woman is always under the care of a man who has to maintain and take care of her (a father before marriage and a husband thereafter).Islam has protected women’s honor, dignity, and chastity by prescribing laws concerning clothes and code of conduct.A woman has the right to work when she needs to within the Islamic code of conduct.
These are few of the rights given by Islam to women. Just read the Quran and you will see how Islam regards women. It is only Satan that whispers such misconceptions to your mind to bar you from the path of Allah.
 Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.
