Sex, Marriage and Family in World Religions (37 page)

There is nothing in the verse which clearly suggests that “this soul”

refers to Adam himself as a person;

The narration which describes woman as “a rib which is crooked”

is metaphorical, “with the intention to urge men to be kind to their wives and to be patient in dealing with and tolerating their imper-fections.”

[Fatima Umar Naseef,
Women in Islam: A Discourse in Rights and Obligations
(Cairo: International Islamic Committee for Women and Child, 1999), pp. 51–52]

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k i n g m o h a m e d v i o f m o r o c c o

With regards to the issue of the family and the improvement of the status of women, I raised the fundamental problems related to this issue . . . by asking 162

a z i z a h a l - h i b r i a n d r a j a ’ m . e l h a b t i the following question in my address of 20 August 1999: “how can society achieve progress, while the rights of women, who represent half of it, are violated and while they are subject to injustice, violence and marginalization, notwithstanding the dignity and justice granted them by our glorious religion? . . .

Through the instructions I issued and the opinion I expressed regarding the proposed Family Law, I wanted to see to it that the following fundamental reforms be introduced:

Adopt a modern form of wording instead of concepts that undermine the dignity of women as human beings and make husband and wife jointly responsible for the family, in keeping with the words of my ancestor the Prophet Mohammad, peace and blessings be upon Him, who said, “women are the split halves
(shaqa’iq)
of men [before the law],’ and also with the saying: “Only an honorable man will honor them; and only an ignoble man will humiliate them.”

[King Mohamed VI of Morocco, excerpt from his speech at the opening of the Parliament fall session, October 10, 2003, introducing the Reform of the Family Code, known as Mudawwanat al-‘Usrah10]

THE FALL FROM THE GARDEN AND

GENDER EQUALITY

The Qur’anic account of the fall from the Garden also differs from the biblical one. For example, the forbidden tree was not that of (carnal) knowledge, but of immortality and an eternal kingdom (Q. 20:120). Both Adam and Eve were equally susceptible to the temptation. The Qur’an does not assign blame to Eve for eating from the forbidden tree and then tempting Adam. According to the Qur’an, Eve was neither the first to succumb to temptation, nor did she seduce Adam. Both shared the responsibility equally, and both received blame equally.

Significantly, while the Qur’an recognizes the pain and travails of childbearing, nowhere does it state that God cursed Eve for her disobedience by “increasing her pains in childbearing,” as narrated in Genesis 3:16. Nevertheless, in some of the passages below, Muslim exegetes of the Qur’an were clearly influenced by the Judeo-Christian account of the fall in developing their
tafasir,
or interpretations. This is evident in the interpretation espoused by a group of traditional scholars discussed by al-Suyuti (1445–1505) in the fifteenth century. Such interpretations influenced later attitudes about women, procreation, and gender and marital relationships in Muslim communities. But, as we see in Fatima Naseef’s late twentieth-century account, the incorporation of the idea of Eve’s responsibility for the fall is being revisited and questioned today even by some conservative Muslim women activists.

The Qur’anic view of gender—both in creation and in the fall—is based on ontological equality and social equity between men and women. Men and women are considered to possess the same dignity in the world and the same
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value before God. Neither gender has superiority over the other. God judges individuals, male and female, in light of their degree of piety and righteousness.

The Qur’an informs us that the most honored in the sight of God are those who are most righteous, regardless of their gender (49:130). The Qur’an also informs us that there will be no guilt by association. The act of every person is his own and no one else will be accountable for it (6:164). On this basis a woman who exhibits in words and deeds a high degree of piety is superior to men who have not reached such an advanced level. In fact, neither gender nor race, wealth, class, or power define a person’s true position with respect to others; righteousness does.

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q u r ’ a n 2 : 3 5 – 3 6

We said, “O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.”

Then did Satan make them slip from the (Garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been.

[Al-Baqarah, The Cow, Abdullah Yusuf ‘Ali,
The Meaning
of the Holy Qu’ran
(MD: Amana, 1991)]

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q u r ’ a n 7 : 1 9 – 2 0

“O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.

Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said, “Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever.”

[Al-a’raf, The Heights]

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q u r ’ a n 2 0 : 1 1 7 – 1 2 4

“Then We said, “O Adam! Verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him not get you both out of the Garden, so that thou art landed in misery.

There is therein (enough provision) for thee not to go hungry nor to go naked, Nor to suffer from thirst, nor from the sun’s heat. But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, “O Adam! Shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?”

In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to 164

a z i z a h a l - h i b r i a n d r a j a ’ m . e l h a b t i them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced.

But his Lord chose him (for His Grace): He turned to him, and gave him Guidance. He said, “Get ye down, both of you,- all together, from the Garden, with enmity one to another: but if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whosoever follows My Guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall into misery.”

[Ta Ha, Abdullah Yusuf ‘Ali,
The Meaning
of the Holy Qu’ran
(MD: Amana, 1991)]

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q u r ’ a n 4 : 1 2 4

“If any do deeds of righteousness—be they male or female—and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them.”

[Al-Nisa’, The Women]

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a b u j a ’ f a r m u h a m m a d i b n j a r i r a l - t a b a r i God (may His name be exalted) says that Adam and Eve ate from the tree he had forbidden to them. They obeyed the devil [instead] and disobeyed their Lord. Therefore, they were exposed, which means that their private parts were uncovered. . . .

Satan intended by his saying “do you want me to show you the tree of immortality and eternal prosperity?” to make them exposed to each other and show them what they didn’t see of each other, and that Satan knew about their intimate body parts, as he was reading on the sly from the books. Adam was not aware of this, so he refused to eat from it [the tree]. Eve then stepped forward and ate from it and then said, “O Adam! Do eat, for I have eaten from it and no evil befell me.” So he ate from it and they were exposed.

[Al-Tabari,
Jami’ al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur’an,
16:163]

Document 3–16

j a l a l a l - d i n a b d a l - r a h m a n i b n a b i b a k r a l - s u y u t i Wahb Ibn Munabbih [654/655–728?] said, when God gave Adam and his wife their abode in Paradise, and after God forbade him to eat from the tree, Adam noticed that the tree branches were intertwined and that it had fruits from which the angels ate regularly, for they were immortal. It was the fruit that was forbidden to him and to his wife.

When the devil decided to lead them astray, he hid inside the beast. The said beast had four legs and a domed back. It was among God’s most beautiful
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creatures. When the beast entered the garden of heaven, the devil jumped out of it, picked some of the tree’s fruits and brought them to Eve. The devil said unto her, “Look at this tree, how a soothing fragrance it has! A great taste it has!

A beautiful color it has!” Eve then took it from him and brought it to Adam.

She said to him, “Look at this tree’s fruit! How great a fragrance, taste and color it has!” Adam then ate from it “and they were exposed.”

Adam then hid inside the tree. When his Lord called upon him, “O Adam!

Where are you?” Adam replied, “Right here my Lord!” God said to him, “Don’t you want to get out?” Adam said, “I am too ashamed Lord!” God said, “Descend to earth!” He then said, “O Eve! Did you tempt my servant? For this reason, you shall never bear a child without pain and suffering and you shall never give birth without nearing death many times.”

[Jalal al-Din Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abi Bakr Al-Suyuti,
Al-Durr al-Manthur
fi al-Tafsir bi al-Ma’thur
(The Scattered Pearls: A Commentary on the Qur’an Based on Transmitted Narrations) 7 vols. (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al ‘Ilmiyyah, 2000), 4:555–556 (15th century ce)]

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m u h a m m a d r a s h i d r i d a

“If any do deeds of righteousness—be they male or female—and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them.”

This encompasses any one who does all he/she could of righteous deeds, which elevate the soul in its moral, ethical, individual, or social endeavors— either being a male or a female—contrary to some people who look down on women to the point they make them equal to animals. . . .

[Rida,
Tafsir al-Manar,
2:436 (19th century ce)]

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f a t i m a n a s e e f

Was not Eve the one who—as they say—tempted Adam and led him to eat from the forbidden tree as mentioned in Genesis? The noble Qur’an denies this false accusation and makes it clear that both Adam and Eve were responsible for their ejection from Paradise. The prohibition was directed to both of them. . . . Both of them disobeyed God (SWT) and together were tempted by Satan. He whispered to both of them, contrary to the biblical version in which Satan whispered to Eve and Eve tempted Adam. . . . Hence Islam exonerates woman [
sic
] from the sin that has been attributed to her, denying that she was responsible for Adam’s ejection from Paradise.

[Naseef,
Women in Islam,
pp. 56–57]

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a z i z a h a l - h i b r i a n d r a j a ’ m . e l h a b t i THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

The Qur’an does not refer to the marriage contract as a mere contract based on offer and acceptance. Rather, it describes it as a solemn covenant
(mithaqan
ghalithan),
which is carefully regulated by a body of laws. The term
mithaqan,
which means “covenant,” appears in a number of places in the Qur’an. In each place it refers to a momentous context, such as the covenant between God and the children of Israel, or those with whom Muslims have concluded a treaty.

Furthermore, Egyptian jurist Malakah Zirar notes that God has placed marriage within the category of
‘ibadat,
which relate to God’s worship, and not within
mu’amalat,
where contracts are usually placed. This makes the marriage contract radically different from and superior to all other contracts. The
sunnah
of the Prophet is no less emphatic.11 The Prophet said that the marriage contract is the contract most worthy of fulfillment. In other words, he, too, viewed the marriage contract as superior to all other contracts. He is also reported as saying, “Marriage is my
sunnah,
so the one who turns away from my
sunnah,
turns away from me.”11 After all, marriage concerns human happiness and progeny.

Ideally, it brings into being a relationship of affection, tranquillity and mercy, and usually results in offspring, which is not only very dear to the parents’ hearts but also very critical to the future of the community. Yet, despite the importance of marriage, jurists disagreed as to whether it was a duty upon a Muslim to marry or whether it was simply a desirable or just permissible act. Some argued that marriage in Islam was not obligatory except to avoid sin. Nevertheless, even jurists who viewed marriage as a duty prohibited a prospective husband from getting married in the presence of evidence that he was abusive. The prohibition is based on the fact that abusive marriages do not fulfill the Qur’anic standard of “Either hold together on equitable terms, or separate with kindness”

(2:229).

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q u r ’ a n 4 : 2 1

And they have taken from you a solemn covenant.

[Al-Nisa’, The Women]

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a b u j a ’ f a r m u h a m m a d i b n j a r i r a l - t a b a r i Opinion in interpreting His saying: “And they have taken from you a solemn covenant”. . . this refers to the binding obligations you took before them, those acts you promised and accepted to do, namely to hold together on equitable terms or separate from them with kindness. Muslims used to say to the man
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who is getting married: “By God, either you live with her on equitable terms or you leave her in kindness.”

[Al-Tabari,
Jami’ al-Bayan Fi Tafsir al-Qur’an
3:657–658 (9th century ce)]

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m a l a k a h z i r a r

Marriage in Islam has a distinctive characteristic. It is distinguished from other contracts, so that it does not follow their model nor can it be analogized to them. For, marriage in the judgment and Law of God and the text of the Noble Qur’an is a solemn covenant. God Almighty says: “But if you decide to take one wife in place of another, even if you have given the latter a whole treasure (as marital gift), take not the least bit of it back: Would you take it by slander and a manifest wrong? And how could you take it when you have gone into each other, and they have taken from you a solemn covenant? (Al-Nisa’ 4:20– 21) and with this covenant which is recognized by Islamic law, the Law Giver attached marriage to
ibadat
[matters of worship]. For, the one who follows the word “covenant” in the Qur’an and its placements in the text, would likely not find it except (in passages) where God orders His worship, the recognition of His unicity, and the adoption of his laws.