Jibreel (PBUH) appeared before the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and said “Read!” to which the Prophet replied, “I am unable to read”. Upon this Jibreel tightly embraced the Prophet and repeated “Read” two more times, and each time the Prophet gave the same answer: “I am unable to read.” Jibreel then went on to reveal the first few verses of the Quran: “Read in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher…”
Terrified and shaken from this event, the Prophet left Mount Hira a completely different person. He left the cave looking for refuge, for someone who could hold him and reassure him that he is in safe hands. He did not seek this support from friends or relatives; he knew that only one person could give him the support he was looking for. The Prophet sought refuge in the arms of his wife, Khadija, and said his famous words: “Cover me! Cover me!” Khadija laid him down, placed a cloak over him and listened to his story. In this moment, when he was at his weakest and most vulnerable, he heard Khadija’s calming words:
“Fear not! I swear by Allah that He shall never humiliate you. You keep good relations with your relatives, help the poor, serve your guests generously, and assist those who are hit with calamities”
al-Bukhari 1:3
At the most crucial moment of the revelation, she soothed him and reminded him that Allah would never let him down. It was these moments that inspired the Prophet and gave him the courage to start inviting people to join the religion. And it should come as no surprise that Khadija was the first person to convert to Islam. She was first to support him, and did so without questioning his integrity.
It was as if the Prophet had already heard the verse which states:
30:21
“And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy”
Khadijah was a successful merchant and businesswoman. She challenged the chauvinistic Meccan society who dismissed females and did not see them as equals in creation. She challenged this attitude and in doing so became one of Mecca’s most successful merchants. Before the revelation, Khadijah had hired the Prophet to work for her. After being impressed by his exemplary character, she sent her friend to ask him if he would consider marrying her. The Prophet eventually agreed. Khadija is but one example of the Muslim woman. Even after converting to Islam, Khadijah continued to be a successful merchant, a mother, and a supportive wife. Meanwhile, the Prophet ensured that Khadijah would be educated in all matters of religion.
In the Quran, Allah makes it clear that both men and women have been created in the same manner and their destinies are intertwined, as if they are the two parts of a single body. Both male and female have been created from a single soul, and that single soul was then molded into two shapes, but there is no need for conflict or hostility between them.
“Whoever has acted righteously, whether male or female, while being a believer—We will most surely grant him a good life, and We will most surely repay them their reward in accordance with the best of what they used to do”
16:97
The Quran not only teaches us that men and women are equal before Allah, but it grants women divinely sanctioned inheritance, property, social, and marriage rights, including the right to reject the terms of a proposal and to initiate divorce. The Prophet stated to his companions that, “You have rights over your women and your women have rights over you.” In the Prophet’s lifetime, he supported the education, liberty, and freedom of women. He dedicated one day of the week where he would only teach women. He would constantly remind his companions that, “The best of you is he who is best to his family, and I am the best among you to my family.”
The pre-Islamic era was not the best time to be a woman. Not only were women treated as subjects, female infanticide was a common action. Allah mentions this scene twice in the Quran. In one of them he says:
“And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark, and he suppresses grief. He hides himself from the people because of the ill of which he has been informed. Should he keep it in humiliation or bury it in the ground? Unquestionably, evil is what they decide”
16:58-59
As a result, what the Prophet proposed was quite radical and profound to the Arabian society at the time. They were in constant denial of the fact that males and females are equal in the sight of Allah. The Prophet elevated the status of women as equals. Even when some wives of the companions came to the Prophet’s wives to complain about their husbands beating them, he called for a meeting and said: “Many women have gone round Muhammad’s family complaining against their husbands. These men are not the best among you.”
The Prophet was never ashamed to announce his love for Aisha even when many saw it as a shameful thing to mention or to show your love for your wife. When Amr Ibn al-As asked the Prophet, “Who do you love most, O messenger of Allah?” He replied, “’Aisha” (al-Bukhari 64:384). Aisha was also among the most knowledgeable and educated people in her time. The Prophet treated her with courtesy and respect.
People constantly tell us that Islam degrades women, and yet when these detractors are challenged to find just one example from the Prophet’s life, they fail to do so. The Prophet prohibited any abuse to be done to animals and even trees; how could he ever permit the same to a human being? That would not fit the message that he was determined to spread throughout humanity.
The most dangerous of beliefs are those that are not part of Islam, but which people imagine is a part of it. The Quran speaks about the unbelievers who say
“Rather, they say, ‘Indeed, we found our fathers upon a religion, and we are in their footsteps [rightly] guided’”
43:22
We must have a full understanding of the Quran and the Sunnah in order to understand the message of Islam. The Prophet elevated women as equals in their creation, with rights to inheritance, marriage, attaining knowledge and freedom to choose and think. Unfortunately, some Muslims throughout the centuries have reduced the status of women, but that is not the worst of it. The worst is, they attributed it to Islam. They have this notion that Islam does not safeguard the freedom of women, and that women do not have the right to education, political freedom, or a say in the household. Some Muslims believe that women must serve their husbands, but in Islam it is not mandated upon them. If a woman chooses to take more responsibility in the household, she does so out of her own free will. And the same holds for men. It’s worth remembering that the Prophet himself used to mend his shoes, sew his clothes and help with the housework.
All rights come with responsibilities, and in an Islamic society both sexes are responsible for showing modesty and upholding the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. It is disappointing to have others lecture us Muslims on how to treat women. It is shameful to have others preaching to us about the rights of women, because we, as Muslims, were the ones who started this revolution.