Originally posted by: micshy
thats because man has been declared superior. n unfortunately Men misuse it... they know how to take their rights but coming to fulfilling the duties they tend to ignore so many sayings... but yeah that varies from culture to culture
@ Bold: In the Qur'an, it says that no gender is superior over the other. It instead says, that men are one degree higher than women in terms of responsibility, which means that they are physically stronger, so they have the responsibility of protecting the women. That means, when they see a woman at the verge of being molested or teased, they should not be silent spectators, because the only reason they have been made stronger is so that they may guard the women from predatory men. They are by no means SUPERIOR TO WOMEN and are not ALLOWED to abuse this strength that has been bestowed upon them. Qur'an also says that men have an advantage over women when it comes to inheritance of the property of their respective parents. This means that men get double of what a woman gets and a woman's share will be half of the man's, because when she is a daughter, she has rights over her father's income (i.e. the father provides for her, but that doesn't mean she isn't allowed to work...she can choose to do so but only if she wants to), when she is a wife, she has rights over her husband's income (but her husband has no rights over her income, if she is earning, and he has no rights over the property she has inherited and if she has inherited property, then it is ONLY for her to keep...her husband has no right to take that either), and when she is a mother, she becomes the responsibility of her son (again she is allowed to be independent, and earn but it can happen only if she chooses to...if she has no sons, then her daughter, if she is earning can provide for her, and the daughter's husband has no right to stop her from providing for her mother). Since the women have so many sources of income and has rights on her father, husband, sons' and her own income, she gets half of what her brother or any male member would inherit. Since a man can't keep any income for himself and must spend everything on the family before spending for himself, and since women have the right to keep all sorts of income to herself, including her own income, that is why to safeguard the men's rights and financial security, Islam has given them the permission to inherit more than the female members of their respective families. This permission by no means is a sign of superiority over the opposite gender and neither is this a sign of inferiority or lower status for the females. It is a permission that has been granted to men so that they may be given some compensation in exchange of the rights and facilities that are granted to women. The Qur'an also says that men have been created such that they are impatient whereas women by nature are more patient. Therefore, if you look at it, you will come to observe that one gender is physically stronger while the other one is stronger in terms of patience and perseverance.
As far as superiority is concerned, a human being whether male or female can be superior in the eyes of Allah only by doing good deeds, becoming more conscious of Allah's presence, believing in the five pillars of Islam, offering prayers, giving charity, guarding their modesty, taking care of the parents in old age and refraining from using language that is profane by nature or engaging in ill conduct. Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) did not indulge in loose talk nor did he like to listen to it. He used to say, "The best of you is the best among you in conduct.''
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Therefore, superiority status can be achieved by either male or female...no gender is superior over the other. 😊 Women and men get the same reward for doing good deeds and similarly, the penalty for both is going to be the same when they commit major sins such as adultery and fornication. This proves women and men are equal in Islam in terms of status. It is just that physically, they are not mirror images of one another which is why men are a degree higher than women (in terms of responsibility...i.e. the responsibilities such as protecting them and providing for them). Allah has made it compulsory for men to earn and the same thing has been made optional for women is because if it had been made compulsory for women to earn, then many men would abuse their wives to send them to work while they would enjoy at home. Thus, the women would end up bearing children, nursing them, doing chores, earning, and providing for the family, while the men would have nothing to do. This is why earning is compulsory for men and a matter of choice for women. 😊 The role of men as breadwinners has nothing to do with them being superior over women. The superiority of a human being whether male or female is closely associated with the sincerity with which he/she worships Allah and how much he practices the religion in order to establish righteousness. 😊
Edited by rabees011 - 11 years ago