The Role of Men and Women: The Principle of Function

[In the light of Surah an-Nisa Ayah 34] The second reason given for the precedence of men is that they spend their earnings to take care of women. Here too, there are some points to ponder. To begin with, it removes the possible doubt that may creep up due to the share of men being twice…

The Qur’anic Eloquence in Describing the Precedence of Men

[In the light of Surah an-Nisa Ayah 34] It is noteworthy that the Qur’an, while giving the first reason for the precedence of men, has not opted for an expression like: ‘because He made men excel women’. On the contrary, it has elected to give a deeper significance to the statement by using the expression:…

Marrying A Female Slave If One Cannot Marry A Free Woman

Tafseer Surah An-Nisa Ayah 25 The following ayah is in continuation of the commands relating to marriage, appearing in earlier ayaat. In this ayah, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala talks about the option of marrying a bondwoman and the command of Hadd [capital] punishment concerning them since the status of a bondman and a bondwoman is…

Women Before Islam: Eradication of Injustices

(In the light of Surah an-Nisa Ayaat 19 - 21) Given in these three ayaat are steps taken to eliminate injustices to which women were commonly subjected. The most glaring of these was that men used to act as owners of the life and property of women. After her husband's death, a woman was passed…