Woman in Islamic Shari‘ah
3. Womanhood in Islam
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The tenets of Islam are based wholly on nature. This
is because Islam is the religion of nature. The laws
Islam requires us to follow are, in fact, our own
instinctive human requirements expressed in legal
terms. And the teachings of Islam with respect to
women are no exception. They too are based on
nature. Modern, psychological, biological and
anatomical research proves women to be more
passive than men. This is the way their Maker has
fashioned them. The nature of their womanhood,
the special part they have to play in society,
demand that they should be just as they have been
made — that is, relatively delicate as compared to
men.
It is this fact of nature on which Islamic teachings
have been based. Because of women’s delicate
constitution, Islam teaches men to be gentle with
them. That way they will not lose heart or become
too despondent to perform their special duties in
life. Women are not like iron and steel ribs: they are
fragile and delicate. It is best to let them be, in their
natural state. If one treats them as though they were
tough metal, one will only break them.
