Status of Women in Islam – by Saima Sheikh

In a recent interview someone brought up the issue that Muslim women are not treated equally under Islamic Shariah law. Their analysis is on the basis of what they have seen in Muslim majority countries such as Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia doesn’t speak for Muslims nor did the Holy Quran or Prophet Muhammad appoint Saudi Arabia as the final say in Islamic law. The status of women or any Islamic law is based on the Holy Quran.

At the time of the advent of Islam, women had very few rights not only in Arabia, but everywhere in the world. They had no real status in society.  They could neither own nor inherit property, and were given little or no education.  They had no say in religious matters and were regarded as being limited in spirituality and intellect. The Holy Quran put an end to this inequality and granted women spiritual, intellectual, economic, and social rights equal if not more than men.  This is a vast subject and I’m going to present few examples from the Quran and sayings of Prophet Muhammad.

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