To be or not to be equal: Comments on gender equity in Islam

Question: Are women equal to or inferior to men in Islam?

Answer: Women are NOT INFERIOR to men, women are NOT EQUAL to men, women are SUPERIOR to men in Islam.
Men have been appointed our guardians and protectors, and as such have been accorded certain rights over us (that is obedience and fidelity, guarding what one must guard in any relationship). They have to go out and earn the bread, they have to provide food, clothing and comfort for the wife, the children, his parents and the rest of the family including unmarried or widowed sisters, and the community at large, according to their means, and discharge these financial duties with love, kindness and willing happiness!
Women have been given the burden of pregnancy and childbirth, and as such, have been exempted of everything else. They have the freedom to do business/ jobs, but are not required to spend a single penny from it on anybody, except of their own free will.
The institution of marriage is to get ‘sukoon’….. that is peace and contentment/ happiness/ a state of felicity! Furthermore, men are required to give a gift (mehr) to the wife at the time of the nikah, before consumption of marriage, according to the financial means of the groom, which is hers to keep and do whatever she wishes with it, and she is not required to return it even if they eventually divorce.
Men may have been allowed to marry more than once BUT under certain conditions………… they are to take care of the orphans in the society…. And if they are not able to foster-parent the orphans, they may marry( I think the ayat implies the widowed mother), and yet the ayat continues to say that you may alternatively use the services of your servants/slaves for the purpose of taking care of the orphans, and that ONE(wife) is better for you if you know!
Men may have been given the right to divorce, but under so many conditions that it is extremely difficult, if they want to follow letter and spirit. Women have also been given the right to khula.
Furthermore, in the event of death or divorce, Allah tells the women to wait for a period prescribed till it is established if the woman is pregnant or not, so that the father of the child may be accurately identified, but after the prescribed time-period, the woman is free to marry. Don’t find any advice for re-marriage for men anywhere except for the care of orphans!
In financial transactions, it is prescribed to take as witness one man or two women; in cases of adultery, the witness of four pious men is required, and if they are found lying, then forever their word is not to be accepted in any matter!
What is essential is the spirit within, in that case, all humans are equal, the male or female body is simply the mortal shell without, and thus the different rules for the time we spend here on this temporary abode.
May Allah grant us all the guidance to study the Quran, understand it, and follow it and may Allah grant us all success in both this world and the hereafter. Amen.

To spank/beat wives is not a crime?

Question: To spank/beat wives is not a crime?

Answer: I have been listening to a scholar who has had the privilege of growing up and studying in Medina in an extremely religious environment.
During tafseer, when we came across the ayat you have mentioned, he explained that ‘daraba’ has many shades of meanings, one of which is to separate. From this, he logically concludes that in the event the husband and wife have severe disagreements, they should be separated for a while so that they can assess their emotions in each other’s absence, and focus on what’s really important and valuable in their relationship.
Also, if we take the Sunnah of our dear Prophet (saw), he never hit any of his wives; when the rumour-mongers were spreading bad thoughts about Bibi Ayesha, he did not confront or hit her, he simply separated himself for a while, giving everybody time to think things over, and the truth to be revealed.
Islam means Peace, and Allah loves all his creations. Islam is a religion based on ‘nature and what’s natural’, in urdu we call it ‘fitrat pay’, thus, it cannot condone something which is so completely wrong.
Beating the wife, or anybody else for that matter, may be able to get submission, but will never be able to get love, respect and willing obedience, which is so crucial to a happy marriage. After all, Allah says in the Quran that he has made the institution of marriage so that we find peace and solace/tranquility(Surah Room Ayat 21, Arabic word:lay-ta-skunoo [root: sa ka na ] ). Love and mercy has been ordained.
Can’t happen if one half is wielding a baton!