Recently I have been thinking about feminism and many say that you can’t be Muslim and a feminist and that it’s haram to be one.
Is being a feminist haram and if so why?
01/27/2024
Published by mina
Recently I have been thinking about feminism and many say that you can’t be Muslim and a feminist and that it’s haram to be one.
الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاء
Men are the protectors and maintainers of women,
meaning, the man is responsible for the woman, and he is her maintainer, caretaker and leader who disciplines her if she deviates.
RasooluLlah sollaLlahu alayhi wa sallam also said an authentic Hadith
Abu Hurairah narrated that The Prophet (ﷺ) said:
“If I were to order anyone to prostrate to anyone, then I would order the wife to prostrate to her husband.”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi, 1159
In-Book Reference: Book 12, Hadith 14
English Reference: Vol. 1, Book 7, Hadith 1159
In another hadith reported by
Umm Salamah narrated that The Messenger of Allah said:
“Whichever woman dies while her husband is pleased with her, then she enters Paradise.”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi, 1161
In-Book Reference: Book 12, Hadith 16
English Reference: Vol. 1, Book 7, Hadith 1161
So Feminism is a Western ideology that goes against the teachings of Allah and his messenger
It’s important to remember however, that some of the rights they fought for have given rise to injustice against men. If you look at western courts and how oftentimes, women are rewarded for breaking their marriage contracts with men, it puts men into a bad position, again, in the west. Altogether, this also jeopardizes the family unit which causes pain and suffering to children that lasts for generations. There’s a lot of western ideas that aren’t that great when you look at them beyond just the surface.
Should women have rights? Of course they should. Should they all be the same? Of course not. Men and women are different. But in western society women are in competition with men which, sadly, oftentimes makes them have to become more manly than men, because they’re competing about many of the things that men may be better suited for. This is again, unfair to women. Unless particular attention is given to each genders situation, the same rights won’t work in a sensible way.
Also remember that western feminism has often looked down upon women in other cultures as inferior because they, just like colonialistic ideas of the west, tend to look at the world through the same narrow lens of prejudice and superiority. Just look at how little the idea of women’s rights seem to matter in Gaza. Western nations are not only staying shamefully quiet, but oftentimes supporting the murder of women and children in Palestine.
In Islam our value is seen as equal, but our rights are different because our responsibilities are different. God does not burden anyone with more than they can bear. Anyway, all of this to say that it would make more sense to study the rights given to women in Islam, along with their responsibilities, something which western ideas often seem to lack.