Islam has given her the rights she has been fighting for so long, writes Ashiq-ul-Islam.

Before the advent of Islam the pagan Arabs used to bury their female children alive, make women dance naked in the vicinity of the Ka'ba during their annual fairs, and treat women as mere chattels and objects of sexual pleasure -- possessing no rights or position. Other religions regarded women as perpetrators of inherent sin and wickedness, and men as being possessed of inherent virtue and nobility. Islam regards men and women as being of the same essence created from a single soul. The Qur'an declares:  “O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, his mate, and from this pair scattered (like seeds) countless men and women. Reverence God, through whom you demand your mutual (rights), and reverence the wombs (that bore you); for God ever watches over you” (4:1).
The Prophet of Islam (SAW) said, "Women are the twin halves of men". The Qur'an emphasizes the essential unity of men and women in a most beautiful smile “They (your wives) are your garment and you are a garment for them” (2:187).
Just as a garment hides our nakedness, so do husband and wife, by entering into the relationship of marriage, secure each other's chastity. The garment gives comfort to the body; so does the husband find comfort in his wife's company and she in his. "The garment is the grace, the beauty, the embellishment of the body, so too are wives to their husbands as their husbands are to them." Islam does not consider woman "an instrument of the Devil", but rather the Qur'an calls her muhsana - a fortress against Satan because a good woman, by marrying a man, helps him keep to the path of rectitude in his life.
The Prophet Muhammad (SAW), was full of praise for virtuous and chaste women. He said: "The world and all things in the world are precious but the most precious thing in the world is a virtuous woman." He once told the future Caliph, 'Umar: "Shall I not inform you about the best treasure a man can hoard? It is a virtuous wife who pleases him whenever he looks towards her, and who guards herself when he is absent from her." On other occasions the Prophet (SAW) said: "The best property a man can have is a remembering tongue (i.e. which remembers God), a grateful heart and a believing wife who helps him in his faith."
Before the advent of Islam women were often treated worse than animals. The Prophet wanted to put a stop to all cruelties to women. He preached kindness towards them. “The Prophet (SAW) was most emphatic in enjoining upon Muslims to be kind to their women when he delivered his famous Sermon on the Mount of Mercy, at Arafat, the Hajj al-Wada (Farewell Pilgrimage). In it he ordered those present, and through them all those Muslims who were to come later, to be respectful and kind towards women. He said: "Fear God regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust of God, and made their bodies lawful with the word of God. You have got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their food and clothing according to your means."
In Islam a woman is a completely independent personality. She is entitled to inherit in her position as mother, as wife, as sister and as daughter. She has perfect liberty to choose her husband. The pagan society of pre-Islamic Arabia had an irrational prejudice against their female children whom they used to bury alive. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) was totally opposed to this practice. He showed them that supporting their female children would act as a screen for them against the fire of Hell.
To sum up, the West has degraded woman and Islam wants to restore that respect and dignity to her.

(Ashiq-ul-Islam is a former student of Islamic Studies, Kashmir University. Mail at ashiqulislam123@gmail.com)

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