Woman Between Islam and Western Society
5. Position of Woman in the Islamic Shari‘ah
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exemplary phase) which show that certainly
women were not confined indoors. They certainly
went out in order to attend to many necessary
outdoor duties. However, one point should be
made clear: these outdoor activities of women were
not engaged in entertainment but as a matter of
necessity. They were meant to build up the family
on proper lines and were in no sense intended to
establish women’s equality with men in the outside
world.
WOMEN’S POSITION
The honorable position accorded by Islam to
woman is symbolically demonstrated by the
performance of the rite of
sa’i,
as an important part
of the pilgrimage to Mecca, made at least once in a
lifetime as a religious duty by all believers who can
afford the journey. The rite of
sa’i
is performed by
running back and forth seven times between Safa
and Marwah, two hillocks near the Ka ‘bah. This
running, enjoined upon every pilgrim, be they rich
or poor, literate or illiterate, Kings or commoners, is
in imitation of the desperate quest of Hajar (Hagar),
Abraham’s wife, for water to quench the thirst of
