Lizzie Schofield, a member of Pfander
Ministries based in the UK managed by Jay Smith, has written a misleading article
on Islam. This article is a response to her article and not a personal
attack on her. She wrote and I quote:
“The Qur’an teaches women are not equal with men,
according to Suras 4:11, 24, 34, 2:223, and 230; and while your husband is
allowed to have up to 4 wives (Sura 4:3) you just get the one husband. He can
exclude you from your bed and beat you if he suspects ‘ill conduct’
(Sura 4:34)".
I’m very disappointed in Lizzie, her article is a
misrepresentation of Quranic verses which are taken out of context.
Firstly, none of the verses she mentioned in her article teach that women
are not equal to men.
Surah 4:11 speaks about inheritance and
not equality. This alone is a huge subject which cannot be summarised in
one verse. Here is a link to an excellent article written by Br. Ansar Al-Adl on Islamic
Inheritance http://www.call-to-monotheism.com/the_inheritance_law__by_ansar_al__adl.
Surah 4:24 which if you are reading in
context, v23 speaks about marriage specifically the prohibitions on who you can
& cannot marry. There is no mention of equality. Now surah 2:223 again
reading in context v222 tells us how to behave towards women who have started
their menses. In all fairness, this is a difficult time for them here Allah Swt
is instructing the believer to stay away from them i.e. have no sexual contact
until they have completed their cycle. However, after this period is over man
should approach his wife freely without any hesitation, note v223 is expressed
metaphorically, once again there is no mention of equality. One wonders why
Lizzie Schofield didn’t mention surah 2:187 in her article regarding the
equality of men and women (“Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is
the approach to your wives. They are your garments and ye are their garments.”
Surah 2:187). I believe this verse shows men and women are equal refuting
Lizzie's argument.
Surah 4:3 again reading in context in v2 "God
directs the guardians of the orphans to spend out of the latter's property
while they are still minors” (Islamic studies tahfeem commentary), not to
cheat them or take advantage of their vulnerability purely to devour
their property, rather restore it to them when they reach
maturity. This also applies if you marry them as mentioned in v3. You
should not marry an orphan who is under your guardianship just because she is
attractive or has a large amount of wealth which you can take for yourself.
That’s complete injustice towards the orphan so in that case marry others of
your choice two, three, or four but if you cannot do justice to them all then
marry only one.
If Lizzie is consistent she should first look into
her Bible before coming to the Quran. Is she not aware that women are degraded
and disgraced in the Bible? Husbands are the rulers of their wives. Take for
example this verse “To the woman he said, "I will make your
pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to
children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over
you" (Genesis 3:16). Notice how women will suffer child
pain and on top of that her husband will rule over her, talk about equality.
How about this statement from Paul, “Then
they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and
children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to
be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will
malign the word of God” (Titus 2:4-50). Here we read women should love
their husbands look after their children and be busy at home i.e. busy with
house work. Doesn’t this tell us men and women are not equal according to the
God of the Bible? how about when a woman gives birth to a female she is defiled
much longer than if she gave birth to a boy? (Leviticus
12:1-5). I’m
curious to know if Lizzie finds the inheritance law in the Bible fair and
equal. If she does then, she may have to reconsider the books of Moses. It’s
clear from Deuteronomy 21 and Numbers 27 that men and women are not equal when
it comes to sharing inheritance. Let’s also not forget how the Bible restricts
women from speaking in church or preaching (Paul's letters to the Corinthians).
How about polygamy according to the Jewish Bible there is no prohibition on
polygamy. Some of the Old Testament prophets had more than one wife. Moses had
2 wives, Jacob had 2 wives, & 2 concubines, David had 8 wives, Abraham had
2 wives, Solomon had hundreds of wives & concubines etc.. How about this
statement from Yahweh “in that day seven women will take hold of one
man and say, "We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes;
only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!, " Isaiah
4:1, a supposed prophecy where seven women will have one man. I wonder what
Lizzie has to say about that? The Talmud also doesn’t restrict Jewish men from
having multiple wives, it says in the Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Yebamoth Folio 65a.
Now coming to Surah 4:34 men can
beat their wife if they suspect ill conduct. This is one of the most
misinterpreted verses cited by Christians. Below is an excerpt from Dr. Shabir
Ally's talk-show, let the Quran speak:
Prophet Muhammed Pbuh is our role model and he never
beat anyone with his hands This is found in Authentic hadith:
“Aisha reported that
Allah's Messenger, may Allah bless him, never beat anyone with his hand,
neither a woman nor a servant, but only, in the case when he had been fighting
in the cause of Allah …” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 4296)
This is another Hadith from Prophet Muhammed Pbuh where he is teaching us to love our wives
and never to raise our hands on them:
Narrated Mu’awiyah al-Qushayri: “I went to the
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and asked him: What do you say (command)
about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and
clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not
revile them. (Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139
recorded in Ibn Majah as well, and others. Verified to be Authentic by Al-
Albani, As sahihah Number. 687).
Nowhere in the entire bible is wife beating
prohibited, rather disciplining your wife and family is urged.:
Whoever
heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads
others astray. (Proverbs 10:17)
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
(Proverbs 6:24)
What happens if you have an evil wife? The
Bible gives you the answer
Beatings and
wounds cleanse away evil, and floggings cleanse the innermost being.
(Proverbs 20:30)
As we can see from the above verses the only way to
get rid of evil is to beat it out, what should a husband do when his wife seeks
for another God, again Bible gives us the answer:
Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed.
(Exodus 22:20 )
Again prohibitions on wife beating are not
found anywhere in the Bible.
Lizzie asked where is your guarantee for salvation
in Islam. Unlike Christianity, Islam does not require human sacrifice. Below
are two verses from the Quran which refutes her point (I.e. Islam doesn't
guarantee salvation):
Allah states:
Allah has
promised to the believers -men and women, - Gardens under which rivers flow to
dwell therein forever, and
beautiful mansions in Gardens of 'Adn (Eden Paradise). But the greatest bliss
is the Good Pleasure of Allah. That is the supreme success. (Surah
9:72)
Allah also states:
Verily, Allah never breaks His Promise (Surah 3:9)
Lizzie Schofield also said, “once you’re in, you
can’t get out. Sura 4:89 says of apostasy: “They wish that you reject Faith, as
they have rejected Faith…” again Lizzie is misquoting texts from the
Quran. Reading in context this verse is speaking of the hypocrites, here’s a
quote from ibn kathir tafsir:
“The Two Sahihs also recorded this Hadith.
Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said that the Ayah was revealed about some
people in Makkah who said they embraced Islam, yet they gave their support to
the idolators. One time, theses people went out of Makkah to fulfill some needs
and said to each other, "If we meet the Companions of Muhammad, there will
be no harm for us from their side.'' When the believers got news that these
people went out of Makkah, some of them said, "Let us march to these
cowards and kill them, because they support your enemy against you.'' However,
another group from the believers said, "Glory be to Allah! Do you kill a
people who say as you have said, just because they did not perform Hijrah or
leave their land Is it allowed to shed their blood and confiscate their money
in this case'' So they divided to two groups, while the Messenger was with
them, and did not prohibit either group from reiterating their
argument. Thereafter, Allah revealed,
(Then what is the matter with you that you are
divided into two parties about the hypocrites) Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this
Hadith. Allah said,
(Allah has cast them back because of what they have earned.) meaning, He made them revert to, and fall into error. Ibn `Abbas said that,
(Arkasahum) means, `cast them' . Allah's statement,
(because of what they have earned) means, because of their defiance and disobedience to the Messenger and following falsehood
(Do you want to guide him whom Allah has made to go
astray And he whom Allah has made to go astray, you will never find for him a
way.) meaning, there will be no path for him, or way to guidance. Allah's
statement,
(They wish that you reject faith, as they have
rejected, and thus that you all become equal.) means, they wish that you fall
into misguidance, so that you and they are equal in that regard. This is
because of their extreme enmity and hatred for you.
I don’t know where Lizzie got apostasy from? In
fact, here is a verse from the Quran where the freedom of religion is given to everyone:
And say, "The Truth is from your Lord; so
whoever decides, then let him believe, and whoever decides, then let him
disbelieve." Surely We have readied for the unjust a Fire whose canopy
encompasses them; and in case they call for succor, they will be succored with
water like molten metal that will scald their faces. Miserable is the drink,
and odious is it (as) a resting place! (Surah 18:29)
As you can see there is no mention of killing
apostates in either of the verses. Here is a video of Dr. Shabir Ally dealing
with the subject of apostasy in Islam.
If Lizzie is so concerned about killing apostates,
then she should be the first to condemn the Bible for its ruling on dealing
with apostates. I would like to urge Lizzie to read Deuteronomy 13:6-15,
Deuteronomy 17:2-7, 2 chronicles 15:13 and explain them.
I hope Lizzie Schofield will read my response
and correct her article as she is misleading innocent truth seekers.
Peace be upon you all
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