Woman Between Islam and Western Society
1. A Survey
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and the result has been chaos on a grand scale. The
extremes to which he has gone are thus referred to
in the Qur’an: “Evil appears on land and sea as a
result of the (evil) which men’s hands have done.”
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WOMAN VERSUS MAN
In view of the divine law of balance, let us consider
the relationship between man and woman.
According to divine law, this relationship was set
up on the principle of the division of labor, i.e. it is
the responsibility of the man to carry out tasks
outside the home, while the woman takes charge of
tasks within the home. The Qur’an states that “men
are the protectors and maintainers of women.”
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This does not make a man a woman’s superior, or
her master. This only means that in running a home
and bringing up a family, it is for the man, with his
more active capabilities, to earn a living, deal with
all official matters, and, when called upon, defend
his country. A man is by nature more suited to such
tasks, and that is why it is in the nature of things
that they should be his responsibilities and not
woman’s. The word
qawwam
in the above verse, is
an intensive form of
qa’im
meaning, “one who is
