ASK MAULANA
Your Questions Answered
Director of the New Delhi-based Centre for Peace and Spirituality,
editor of the monthly Al-Risala journal and author of almost two
hundred books, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is one of India’s best
known Islamic scholars. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand, he
talks about issues related to Islam and women.
You have written extensively on the issue of Islam and women.
Contrary to many traditional ulema, you argue the case for gender
equality in Islam. How does your approach differ from that of most
traditionalist scholars?
The approach of the traditionalists is based largely on the corpus of
medieval fiqh, (Jurisprudence) while my understanding is based on a
direct reading of the principal or original sources of Islam—the Quran
and the authentic Hadith. The former, by and large, uphold what can
be called the Muslim cultural tradition that developed in the medieval
period of Muslim history. So, I would call mine a scriptural approach
and theirs a cultural approach.
Take, for instance, the institution of the burqa, which many traditionalists
stress as essential for Muslim women. The burqa is part of Muslim
culture, but is not mentioned or advocated in the Quran. Another
example is the traditionalist ulema’s insistence that women and unrelated men cannot, or should not, talk to each other, on the grounds
that, so they say, a woman’s voice is something to be kept concealed
from such men. This notion is absent in the original sources of Islam.
In fact, there are many Hadith that tell us that there was considerable
intellectual exchange between men and women at the time of the
Prophet. For instance, Aisha, one of the wives of the Prophet, regularly
spoke to or addressed many of the Prophet’s Companions, on a vast
range of issues. They used to come to her for guidance and discussion.
According to one report, whenever the Companions faced a problem to
which they could find no answer they would approach Aisha. So, how,
then, can it be said that a woman’s voice is to be kept concealed. I am
not aware of any authentic Hadith about the women’s voice.
If the traditionalists have any such proof of their claim, they must offer
it. But even supposing, hypothetically, they are able to come up with
such proof, we need to redefine or reinterpret it in the present context,
and also by taking into account the accepted principle, recognized by Islamic scholars, that sometimes ‘necessity makes the unlawful lawful’.
We are living in a vastly different age today, where there is simply no
escape from hearing the voice of women!
Many traditionalist scholars often cite a Quranic verse that describes
men as the qawwam of their wives to argue that this means men are
their superiors and that women must be subordinate to them. How do
you interpret the term qawwam?
It is a universal principle that everywhere—in government, in a
business, in a school or whatever—there has to be a manager to
manage practical affairs or else there will be chaos. This applies to the
family also. This role of manager of affairs is what is actually meant by
qawwam. It does not at all imply subordination or degradation, or any
sort of hierarchy. Rather, it is simply a principle for overall management
and administration of the family. In my own home my daughter is the
qawwam. She runs the affairs of the house. She is the manager of the
house. So, it does not mean that a woman cannot be the qawwam of
her house.
Unfortunately, many scholars translate the term qawwam to mean
that the man is the hakim or ruler of the house, as if he can be some
sort of dictator. Many Quranic commentaries give a completely
wrong interpretation of the term. Some go to the extent of describing
husbands as the ‘symbolic god’ of their wives. This is really a sign of
deep-rooted patriarchy and deviation from Islamic teachings. It is a
wrongful innovation
We have the model of the Prophet Muhammad to explain the correct
meaning of the term qawwam. His first wife Khadjiah looked after him
when he was in distress. He worked for her, in the business that she
ran. He took the advice of another of his wives, Umme Salamah, on
many issues, contrary to some Muslim scholars, who argue, without
any convincing proof, that a Muslim man may take the advice of his
wife but must do precisely the opposite of what she recommends.
One can cite several examples to suggest that the Quran does not call
for women’s subordination to men, unlike what some traditionalist
Muslim scholars as well as critics of Islam claim, and contrary to what
their rendering of the term qawwam suggests. Thus, for instance,
although the Caliph Umar issued a fatwa calling upon women not to
pray in mosques, his wife refused to listen to him and he could not stop
her because that was her Islamic right. Barirah, the wife of Mughis, a
Companion of the Prophet, once came to the Prophet in order to seek
a divorce from her husband. The Prophet advised her against this, to which she responded by asking him if that was his personal opinion
or the command of God. When the Prophet replied that it was his own
view, she told him that she did not agree, and so the Prophet arranged
for her to be separated from her husband.
Traditionalist scholars (as well as critics of Islam) contend that the
Quran allows husbands to beat (dharaba) their wives if they are
disobedient. How do you respond to this argument?
The dharaba that the Quran refers to is simply a token pat, not wild
hitting. One Hadith report suggests that this should be done with a
tooth-stick (miswak), which implies that it is not meant to be any sort
of serious beating. According to another Hadith contained in the
Masnad of Imam Ahmad, no prophet ever beat his wives. Sometimes,
the Prophet Muhammad had problems with some of his wives but yet
he never beat them.
The Deobandi-dominated All-India Muslim Personal Law Board
(AIMPLB) projects itself as the sole authority as regards Muslim
Personal Law matters (most of which impinge on Muslim women) in
India. What do you feel about this organization, particularly its stance
on Muslim women’s issues?
The claim that the AIMPLB is the spokesman of all the Muslims of India
is completely false. In fact, it does not have any mass base. It is, to my
mind, just a group of maulvis who have put a stamp on themselves,
projecting themselves as leaders while they have little contact with the
masses. They might represent just themselves, but certainly not all or
most of the Indian Muslims.
Permit me to say this, but I regard the traditionalist maulvi class, to a
very large extent, as responsible for the backwardness of the Muslims
of this country—and not just as far as women’s issues are concerned.
They have little knowledge of the complexities of the contemporary
world and so cannot address modern problems or interpret Islam
in a manner that would appeal to modern minds. But, I see signs of
change all around now. Increasingly, Muslims are refusing to listen
to their fatwas which they find outlandish, and are marching ahead in
the race for modern education. Even the sons of leading maulvis are
choosing not to become traditional maulvis but, instead, are entering
universities. I hope that augurs well for the future and that modern
educated Muslim scholars would be in a better position to interpret
Islamic teachings, including about women, in a proper manner.
