The veil or hijab worn by the Muslim woman has always been a subject of controversy and debate. Many people see it as a symbol of the suppression of women in Islam. The media flashes pictures, and documentaries of women in Muslim countries with their stories of how their hijab or veil is preventing them from leading normal lives. Then there are stories of how the Taliban are forcing women in Afghanistan to wear the veil and to be locked up inside their homes. These kinds of news and documentaries only focus on the worst angles, when in reality the truth is different.

Most people think that wearing a veil is suppressing Muslim women, but very few can look at the real purpose of a veil. The highlight of muslim women is that they wear veils, which distinguishes them from not only the non-muslim women but also the non pious women. Now that does not mean that women who do not wear a veil are impious, and should not be misquoted.

Generally it is believed by most people that women are forced to wear veils. That is a common misconception. Muslim women choose to wear the veil, they cannot be forced by anyone.

There is no compulsion in Islam. And apart from being a symbol of a muslim woman, the veil or hijab as muslims call it has many purposes. For example it is a symbol of modesty, and acts as protection. A muslim women needs not worry about people staring at her and has no fear of being judged on the basis of her looks and physique. She can freely be a part of modern society while being protected by her veil or hijab. It is her choice and not forced upon her contrary to popular belief.

Apart from being a form of modest protection, the hijab has other benefits also. Many non muslim women are also beginning to find the benefits of wearing a veil. The veil acts as a protection from the harmful effects of enviromental pollution and ultra violet rays of the sun, protecting the skin and hair.

If you ever ask a muslim woman why she wears a veil or hijab, she will say that because she wants to. You will never find any muslim woman being forced to wear it. These kind of women earn a lot of respect in their respective environments and professions.

But many people are biased towards women wearing hijab. In many western countries, they are viewed as being outsiders who just migrated to the western world, even if they have been living there since they were born. Many such muslim women are targets of racial and religious discrimination.

Non-muslims, who interaction with such women have come to realize that they are not suppressed and that wearing a veil does not make them “weird” as compared to the rest of the general population. These are normal women with normal feelings and lives. There is nothing odd about them if they want to live a modest life.

These women should not be treated as aliens, infact they should be given the respect they truely deserve. Muslim women are an integral part of every society just as every other woman is.

A muslim woman is a liberated entity with freedom of choice. The muslim woman has many responsibilities and roles in this life, not only on the domestic level but also as an essential player of the society. Although Islam has preferred the role of a wife who stays at home and takes care of the house and children, it is not compulsory. Many critics of Islam blame that because Islam has preferred the life in the home for the muslim woman, this is causing her to lack as at having a career or better a life. But, if you look at reality, you will find that muslim women can have any career they desire. For a muslim woman the career is not forbidden it is a choice, it is for her very convenience that she is to be home to provide comfort for her husband, while her husband slaves away all day to provide for her and the children. You must be thinking well that is unfair on the poor guy who has to work all day alone while his wife sits at home, and truth be told it actually is easier to be a muslim woman than a muslim man. There are so many burdens and responsibilities for the muslim man.  While the woman’s role is much easier.

As a wife, the woman has to stay home and take care of the children. She does not have to cook or wash, these are not her responsibilities, and if she does these it is her favour that she is doing for the man and the man should be thankful. The poor husband has to work all day while she sits at home. The duty of the wife is to provide comfort for her husband and when he arrives home from working all day, she should atleast put on a happy face to greet him, after all he does deserve a little appreciation after working so hard for her all day.

As a daughter, a muslim woman is to be respectful to her parents and siblings. She must take care of them and make sure that nothing is of inconvenience to anyone in the family. If she can, she must cater to the needs of her parents as they have raised her.

As a member of society she has many responsibilities. She should be an active member of society, as women are around 50 percent of every country a lot depends on her. In no way should she contribute to any obscene elements that disturb the balance of society, and should also aid others in abstaining from the evils present around them. Whatever she chooses to do, her aim should be that she wants to benefit the society as a whole.

An essential point of Islam that should be mentioned here is that in Islam, an individual is not a separate entity, but we all are a part of one big wholeness. Every single one of us is a brick in the wall of the whole structure that is humanity. So whatever we do not only effects us individually, but has its effects on a mass level.

It is a common misconception not only among the non-Muslims but also among Muslims themselves, that Islam is a religion that suppresses women. Nothing could be farther than the truth.

Many people believe that women are treated like slaves in Islam. They can be forced to marry anyone their parents want. Their husbands can treat them any way they want and can have as many wives and concubines as they like, while all these women serve them to their utmost desires. Muslim women are not allowed to have jobs or to step outside of their homes. Such are the stereotypical concepts about women in Islam. Now where do these ideas come from, we have no idea, because being Muslims we know there is no such thing.

Muslim women have a right to choose whom to marry, and whom to reject. There is no compulsion and neither is it encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in his ahadith or the Quran. The muslim system might not be as liberal as in the western society, where women date men and have intimate relations before deciding whether or not to marry and whom to marry. But nevertheless, muslim women are liberal within their reasonable limits.

Many critics of Islam have objected on polygamy as being a drawback in Islam. Because they believe that women in Islam are poor little creatures used by man as he wishes. But that is not the case. The practise of polygamy is not a common practise. It is not a rule, but a choice. The choice depending upon the rule that if a man can provide for and satisfy more than one wife, then he is allowed to marry more than once and that too if he needs another wife. But only four wives are allowed at the same time. Polaygamy, just like so many other practices in Islam is allowed so that a man does not need commit adultery, nor divorce his wife to marry another.

Another misconception is about muslim women being locked up inside their homes, and not allowed to have careers nor to be an efficient part of society. This also is incorrect. If one observes, it will be found that muslim women excel in every field on this planet with great achievements and contributions. Neither their religion, nor their practices offer any hindrance in their path to prevent them from being normal functioning citizens of society. Usually, her veil or hijab is criticised for being a drawback for the muslim woman, when in fact it is the perception of the general public that forces her to think that with the hijab she cannot be an active member of scoiety.

Women in Islam are not forced to be or do anything they do not like or disagree with. There are laws and rules for all muslims to follow to ensure better living environments and conditions for all people.

There are no biases in Islam towards women, nor are they treated less than men. Islam sees the birth of a female child as a blessing for the parents. Infact it was with the dawn of Islam that the age old practise of burying and killing daughters was condemned and stopped.

In reality, women in Islam have more rights than men, and if you were to analyse with an open mind, you would find that it is men that are subjugated in Islam.

Islam repeatedly highlights that men and women are equal. From the advent of Islam, this notion was forced upon the Arabs of the time with their primitive culture that degraded women as if they were less than men. Men and women are associates of each other. Women have as much right to be educated as men have.

Muslim women can chose who to marry and what to do in their life, they cannot be forced to marry nor to live their lives subdued by men. Parents must ask before arranging their marriage and if she refuses, she must not be forced. Women are even allowed to propose if they find a suitable man. Dowry is also discouraged for the bride to be, except for a certain necessary things which are allowed if affordable for the parents.

According to Islam, women deserve to be treated with respect. Men are forbidden to stalk them or to even lay a single evil glance upon them.  That is why women are told to wear a veil, so that they are protected and modest, and this also makes them respectable. They are instructed to guard their chastity just like men are instructed. Muslim women are encouraged to attend mosques, and it is not as if they never step out of their homes.

Unlike other religions, where women are blamed to be temptations and the cause for the downfall of man, Islams presents no such notion.

Islam also is against violence against women. Not even a husband is allowed to hit his wife so as to bruise her or to cause severe injury. The only moment hitting is allowed is to prevent a wife from being adulterous, and that too only below the face and only so as not to leave a bruise.

The muslim wife only has to take care of her home and her children as a loyal wife, while it is the duty of the husband to provide her with food and everything she needs. Bringing cooked food is also a part of the husband’s duty, and whether or not the wife chooses to cook is her choice alone.  It is not in her duty to cook, to wash and to clean , but if she does something other than her duties then that counts as extra, and she is rewarded for it by God. It is also the responsibility of the husband to provide a set annual allowance for his wife and kids, sufficient enough. Especially if he has more than one wife, he must divide his attention, money and days equally among them all.

With this article you might have gotten a general idea of what the rights of women are in Islam. It is evident that women are not suppressed at all. They have every right and are free to choose any path in their life, within the limits of religion, society and modesty. The limits ruled out for a woman are also for her own benefit. In fact if humorously said, considering how much rights muslim women have, it is men that are suppressed in Islam.

It is important for muslims to understand their religion to not only practise it better, but also to set an example for others so that they may also be attracted to the blessings Islam has to offer.  Women have the prime responsibility in Islam of raising their children with the right values. Guidance is needed to teach children and themselves what Islam truly is and how it deserves to be practised. Below is a list of books to aid women and children in understanding this religion better.

Books for women

The Status of Women in Islam (Dr.Yusuf Al Qaradawy)

This book covers every aspect of a woman’s life, with references from hadith and the Quran to explain the rights of women. The many topics covered in this book include divorce, polygamy, inheritance and a woman’s role in society.

Women Rights in Islam – Modernising or Outdated? (Dr. Zakir Naik )

A  valuable book for understanding the rights of women in Islam. Many questions such as criteria of judgement of God between men and women, whether pregnancy is degrading for a woman, economical rights such as jobs, social rights, educational rights, legal rights, political rights, and women on the battlefield. All such issues are discussed with logical reasoning and new insight.

Gender Equity in Islam (Jamal A. Badawi, Ph.D.)

This book clarifies gender equity in Islam with references from the Quran and ahadith. With this book one gets a clear idea of the difference of the teachings of Islam and the common practises of muslims. Islam is a gender neutral religion and is not responsible for the wrong ways muslims today treat gender differences. There are separate laws and rules for both genders but that does not make one gender superior over the other.

Books for Children

What Do We Say (A Guide To Islamic Manners)

By Noorah Kathryn Abdullah

This is a guide book for young children to learn what supplications to offer at what times. The book is for nursery level children and helps them memorize quickly while understanding their uses and timings. The meanings of all supplications are also provided in the book. Only short supplications are provided for children so as not to burden them with memorizing long ones.

Goodnight Stories from the Quran (Saniyasnain Khan)

The Islamic alternative to bed time story books of fairytales, but in this book Islamic stories from the Quran are told in such a way that the children understand and enjoy them. A great book to start with and build your child’s imagination and knowledge of the Quran.

Quran and Seerah Stories for Kids (Saniyasnain Khan)

Like the above book, this is also a book of bed time stories of the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and his disciples. With colorful illustrations and simple language, this book is fun learning for the kids.

This book is composed of the following tales :

Allah Made Them All

The Miraculous Baby

How to Pray Salat

The People of the Book

The Garden of Saba

Love Your Parents

Nursed in the Desert

A Visit to Madinah

An Extraordinary Experience

The Stone Moved

The Angel and the Three Men

A King Helps Out

A Mothers Rights (Matina W. Muhammad)

This book contains stories and events regarding history through which children are taught the value of their mothers and how to treat them. An important book for inducing from the very beginning a manner of respect in the young for their parents, and mothers in particular. The book is also laid with beautiful colorful illustrations which interest the youngsters.

The following stories are narrated in the book.

Asma’s Mother

Imam al-Ghazali’s Mother

A Mother’ Right

A King and a Gardener

Women’s Place in Islam

The Allowance for Children

Umm Salamah

Over the ages, many muslim scholars have worked hard to write books with relevant facts and information either regarding the ways and practices of the Prophet (pbuh), or further explaining the meaning of the Quran. Today there is a huge collection of such books that help guide the average muslim and provides all the answers to questions that might puzzle him. Some essential books for the modern muslim are discussed below.

Kanz al-Ummal

Is a collection of Ahadith colected by Ala’Uddin Ali al-Muttaqi ibn Hisam-Uddin al-Hindi. These ahadith provide basic knowledge and understanding of Islam for a muslim.

Riyadh us Saliheen

Compiled by Al-Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya bin Sharaf An-Nawawi Ad-Dimashqi, is a collection of ahadith divided into 19 books covering a wide rage of topics such as manners, etiquettes of eating and sleeping, virtues, prayers, meditations and so on. This is a must have book for every household. It is not only useful for learning every day practices from but also for training children from the very beginning on how to lead an Islamic disciplined life.

Tafhim al-Qur’an – The Meaning of the Qur’an

It is a book of tafseer or the meaning of Quran written by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. The main purpose of the author for writing of this book was to create awareness and educate the common man about Islam without translating literally but with the context. This is a comprehensive book with relevant references and simple explanations and is a must have for both existing muslims and new muslim converts. In no other modern book is the message of Islam so clearly stated. It is a book of 6 volumes, and each Surah is explained individually with references.

The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam

Written by Dr. Yusuf al Qaradawi, is a beautiful book explaining what is prohibited in Islam and what is lawful, in the light of hadith and Quran as well as the collective opinion of Islamic scholars. This book covers every area of the life of a normal muslim and after reading it one gets a clear idea of how and why certain things are prohibited and others are lawful. Many of the topics covered in this book include relationships, marriage, keeping dogs, halal and haram etc.

Shari’ah – The Way To God

Is a book about Islamic law written by Khurram Murad. covering a wide variety of topics such as man’s relationship to God, human freedom, human reasoning, and legislation. This is a great book if you want to get an idea of what Shariah is and how it is applied to the muslim way of life.

Unity of The Muslim World

In this book Syed Abul ‘Ala Maududi discusses the importance of muslim unity. He argues that the muslims are a nation as a whole throughout the world. His idea is that Islam has the potential of uniting the world and that this can only be done if we muslims try.

Islam arose in the Arabian deserts. Muhammad, the prophet of Islam was visited by the angel Gabriel and told that he is to be the much awaited prophet. The prophet did not take to that lightly and was petrified of the angel. Eventually he came back home and told his wife Khadija, who instantly testified to his integrity and converted to Islam. Followed by Warca, a christian and Ali, Muhammad’s cousin, being the youngest convert to Islam.

It would be wrong to say that Islam is only the religion of Muhammad and the Arabs. As the message of Islam was brought to people by every prophet, but with time people called it Judaism, Christianity and so on.

But the Quraysh perceived the new religion preached by Muhammad to be unsuitable for them. If this religion were to prosper, it would cause economical loss for Makkah, as the pilgrims that came to Makkah were mostly idol worshippers. The Quraysh depended on the livelihood they earned with he arrival of these pilgrims. So they tried whatever they could do to prevent Islam from spreading.

The Arabs of the time were very cruel and ignorant people. They would kill their new born girls, and denied women all kinds of rights. Women were the most oppressed of all creatures. Followed by the slaves. The treatment of slaves was unimaginable, especially if the slaves were black. They were treated lower than animals, and denied basic human rights.

With the advent of Islam, Muhammad set rules for the treatment  of women and slaves. He gave them rights and freedom of choice. Which did not go down well with the Quraysh.

During the time of the initial spread of Islam, Muhammad and his followers faced many hardships and had to migrate many times. Sometimes to Medina and sometimes to Africa. The people of Medina were very hospitable towards the prophet and the other muslims, so were the africans christian.

The initial practices of Islam were similar to Jewish practices and the direction of prayer was Jerusalem, but these later changed.

The Quraysh waged many wars against the muslims. The first being the battle of Badar, which was won by the muslims. It was this first most historical battle that laid an example for the rules of war. Muslims were told by the prophet not to mistreat their prisoners, and offered to those captured the opportunity to earn their freedom by teaching the young of the muslim families to read and write. The second battle was Uhud, in which the Qraysh were led by Khalid Bin Waleed, who later became a famous general of Islam. The Muslims lost this battle.The third battle was the battle of the trench in which the Makkans besieged Medina, but they were miraculously driven away by a wind storm.

This was followed by the treaty of Hudaybieh, which subsequently followed by the conquest of Makkah two years later. It was here that Islam thoroughly flourished and established as an organized religion uniting the Arab tribes and converting them to the religion of Islam.

The books of Ahadith contain the sayings and deeds of the prophet. These sayings and deeds were passed on by honest and pious muslims, intact as they were stated or performed. The signifacance of hadith is that they serve as a guiding system to explain the practise of Islam in the light of the Quran.  There are many books of Ahadith compiled by muslim scholars to the best of their abilities. But only a few have been rendered authentic on the basis of the quality of the originality of the hadith and the narrator who quoted it. A hadith cannot be judged authentic unless quoted by some one who could be trusted as being honest.

These books of hadith help muslims to interpret Islam, its message and pactices better. Without the hadith the muslims would not know how to interpret the Quran, nor would they know how to follow Islamic laws and what to follow.

A few of such books are notable among the books of Ahadith and are mentioned in this article.

The Sahih Bukhari

Written and compiled by Imam Bukhari, it is said to be the most trusted books of ahadith. With a collection of 2,602 hadith (9,082 with repetition), it is divided into 93 books. These books are divided into many topics such as the books of knowledge, dress, medicine, divorce, gifts, peace making, conditions, tricks wishes, judgments etc. There is not a single aspect of life that is not covered with the ahadith in this book. It is said that the Imam, used to perform istekhara before writing every single hadith, and that he always asked about the narrator’s reputation as a man of honesty. If the narator was of ill repute as a man of trust, the Imam would not hold his quoted hadith as valid.

Sahih Muslim

It is the second most authentic book of ahadith, compiled and written by Imam Muslim Ibn al Hajjaj. After evaluating 300,000 ahadith, the Imam selected only 4000 to be included in this book as authentic ahadith. The acceptance criteria for the ahadith was very strict and after painstakingly confirming the line of narrators were any hadith added to the list of authentics.

Al-Sunan al-Sughra

Compiled and written by Al -Nasai, is regarded as the third most authentic and trusted book after the above two. It is a collection of 5270 ahadith.

Sunan Abu Dawood

Is a collection of 4,800 ahadith, compiled by Abu Dawood. But he himself declared some ahadith in this book to be unauthentic, which places it below the above three books.

Jami al Tirmidhi

Written and compiled by Eesa Muhammad ibn ‘Eesa al-Tirmidhi. According to numerous scholars is the best book for the common man. Only experts can understand the Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, but every man can derive intellectual benefit from the collection of ahadith in Jami al Tirmidhi. It is not only a collection of ahadith, but the validity and authenticity of each and every hadith is also stated in the book so as to guide the reader.

Sunan ibn Majah

Is a compilation of 4000 ahadith in 32 books, divided into 1500 chapters written by Ibn Majah. It is regarded as the sixth in strenght among all books of hadith.

Islam spread from Makkah onwards to Medina. The Arab tribes flocked from far and wide to Makkah and Medina to convert to Islam. This continued far after Islam had established itself as the main ruling religion of the area. Those that converted to Islam, converted of their own free will. Medina was appointed as the centre of Islamic activities by the prophet Muhammad.

After the prophet died the Caliphs were appointed each taking the other’s place after the death of the former. The Caliphs managed to spread and maintain the Islamic rule far and wide by sending expeditions and armies under the command of competent generals to spread the message of Islam either by preaching or conquering the new lands.

After the death of the Caliph Usman, Ali was appointed as the new caliph. Ali moved the centre of Islamic rule from Medina to Kufa. During these times Ali fought a war against the supporters of Usman. This war divided muslims into many parties and later on sects, namely Sunni and Shi’ite. These Sunni and Shi’ite conflicts continued many years leading to the fall of the Arabs and rise of the Abbasid caliphate, under the famous caliph Haroon-ur Rasheed. Up till this time Islam had spread all around North Africa, Mesopotamia and central Asia.

With the spread of Islam, the Quran was translated to many languages to ease the understanding of the locals. This was a time when muslim arts and literature particularly flourished. Muslim scientists had written great many books about science and they had accomplished far more than the greeks ever had. The muslims brought a cultural revolution being the cause of spread of knowledge in parts of Europe where books were translated to Latin and Spanish. They brought paper from China, employed the Arabic numeral system and introduced zero, which was much more efficient than the greek system which had huge drawbacks. This was the golden age for the muslims.

During the reign of the Abbassid Caliphate, Islam spread through the Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia over to Indonesia, and some parts of Europe. After successive invasions Spain was captured in the 8th century. But Spain was later captured by Christians in the 15th century, and the muslims were either expelled or forced to convert. This is remembered as a sad time in muslim history.

The muslims were challenged by the crusades that arrived in the middle east in 1096 and captured Jerusalem. Jerusalem was recaptured by the Muslim General Salahud Din Ayubi.

The Mameluke Turks were a race of slave caste warriors who took over the rule in Egypt around 1250 AD.

Then came the Mongols after 1258, led by Huleku Khan. They took over Baghdad ending the Caliphate rule and going across the middle east while destroying much of the culture. The Mongols managed to destroy the vast stores of knowledge at the libraries of the muslims, setting muslims back many years of hard work. But these Mongols eventually converted to Islam.

As the Mameluke Turks were taking power over in Egypt, the Ottoman Turks were building up their rule in Asia Minor and parts of Europe. Osman I established the Ottoman Dynasty at Asia Minor in 1293. The Ottomans were a powerful race, with tactical and military advantages. They had also employed the use of fire arms. It was the Ottoman turks that captured Constantinople, and established the rule of Islam there. The empire flourished during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Apart from all this, Islam has spread from word of men. Many people on observing Islam and its religious practices and values have become impressed and converted to this religion.

The desert of the Arabian Peninsula, occupied by a nomadic race of people, the descendants of Abraham and his son Ismael, became the birth place of Islam. Before the advent of Islam, these regions were occupied by christians, jews and people of the Abrahamic faith. The religion of Abraham had been polluted to become a mixture of many elements. The arabian people had combined the worship of deities and idols with their Abrahamic religion. Every village and tribe had their own gods and idols that they worshipped. Makkah was the religious centre for all these tribes. The Ka’aba, built by the prophet Abraham and his son himself, united all these different tribes together at Mecca for worship.

The people had brought together as many idols found and housed them in the Ka’aba. The number of idols totalling to 360.

The pilgrims came to Makkah to encircle the Ka’aba and prayed to their Gods. It seemed as if all had forgotten that their original faith was monotheistic.

The prophet Muhammad was born in an influential family  the Quresh of Makkah. His parents died when he was quite young, leaving him as an orphan at the hands of his grand father, who raised him quite well. It is said he was prophecised by many jews and christians to be the next prophet.

Muhammad grew up to be an honest and respected young man. He had gained the trust and respect of all those he interacted with. From a young age he was involved in trading. At the age of 25 he was proposed by Khadija, who was 15 years older than him. They got married.

It was Muhammad’s habit to go to meditate in a cave for days. At the age of 40 the angel Gabriel came to him and told him to recite the words he spoke. The angel gave him the news that he was to be a prophet of Allah, just like Moses, Jesus, and the many other prophets that came before his time.

When Muhammad went back home, he was overwhelmed by the experience and told his wife, who instantly believed him as she knew he was an honest human being. She was the first convert to Islam. After that there was a revolution. Many people blieving in his words converted to Islam, while many of his friends and family turned against him and forbid him from spreading hs message. Muhammad refused to do so.

In the initial time of Islam the muslims suffered grave hardships at the hands of their own people. But they did not lose hope in Allah and struggled against their oppressors, while setting a good example of kindness and love for others to follow. It was not long before people flocked from far and wide to convert to this new religion. These times were ancouraging and tough for the muslims. As more and more people started converting, the non muslims of Makkah and Medina were infuriated and started plotting against the prophet (PBUH).

The muslims fought many wars and migrated many times. In the end they manage to take over Makkah and established the rule of an Islamic system.