Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
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Muhammad to meet Waraqah ibn Nawfal.
Muhammad related the events exactly as they had
taken place and, when he had finished, Waraqah
said, “By the Master of my soul, I swear that you
are the same Prophet whose coming was foretold by
Jesus, son of Mary.” But then Waraqah sounded a
note of warning: “You will be denied and you will
be hurt. You will be abused and you will be
pursued.” He nevertheless immediately pledged
himself to the Prophet: “If I should ever live to see
that day, I should surely help you.”
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ABSOLUTE FREEDOM
Zihar
was an old pagan custom among the Arabs
which permitted a husband to nullify his wife’s
right to consider herself his lawful spouse. All he
had to do was utter the words,
“anti ‘alayiya ka zahr
ummi,”
meaning, “be to me as my mother’s back.”
He was then free of conjugal responsibilities, but
the wife was not thereby set free to leave her
husband’s home or to contract a second marriage.
It happened once in Medina that a Muslim by the
name of Aws ibn as-Samit cast off his wife,
Khawlah bint Tha’labah, by uttering the fateful
