1. My friend suggests that women are inferior to men even in the Hereafter. He says that in heaven they will not be on equal terms as they will not have male partners similar to the Hoors mentioned in the Qur'an, for men. Please comment.
2. You mentioned that sex is not one of the pleasures we enjoy in Heaven. This does not seem to fit, because there are women companions in Heaven, known as Hoors. Besides, not everyone has the chance to enjoy sex in this life. Such people may have their compensation in Heaven. What is the alternative for women?
1. What determines equality is the tasks assigned to men and women and the reward they are given for them, or the punishment they incur for failing to attend to them. What we read in the Qur’an, and the Hadith, we realize that men and women are assigned the same duties and given the same reward. All verses in the Qur'an, which address “believers” are equally applicable to men and women. In fact, there are two types of address in the Qur’an: one to men and women equally and the other to women only. Thus, they are given a special status, not an inferior one.
The person who made the claim that women are inferior in heaven does not know what he/she is speaking about. How has this person come to the conclusion that the Hoors in heaven are women companions given to men? For what purpose? The fact is that these Hoors; normally translated as wide-eyed maidens are placed in the service of the dwellers in heaven. There is no indication in the Qur’an that they are to be companions only for men. Moreover, the description of heaven and hell in the Qur'an, and Hadith are given in what is familiar to us so that we may understand them. But the real favors and blessings God provides for those whom He admits to heaven are far greater and richer than these descriptions.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, says about heaven: “It contains what no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of and no mind has ever imagined.” Furthermore, if the result of being admitted in heaven is perfect happiness, and if men and women attain such perfection of happiness in different ways, how does that signify superiority of one and inferiority of the other? ~
2. There is much that is said about Heaven and what people may receive there. Much of what is said does not carry any evidence. It is often received by word of mouth and taken for granted. Yes, there are Hoors, which means wide-eyed females; but there is nothing in the Qur'an, or the authentic Sunnah to suggest that the pleasure we have with them is sexual. Since the sexual desire is meant for procreation, and there will be no procreation in the life to come, it is logical to assume that there is no sex there. If some people do not seem to enjoy the satisfaction of their sexual desire in this world, it does not follow that they will have it in Heaven. What they will have is far superior to anything they have known in this life.
Besides, there is nothing to suggest that women will have so many husbands in Heaven, which, again, indicates that the whole idea of sex in Heaven is not realistic. If someone asks what is the point of having Hoors then, the answer is that their presence is part of life in Heaven, in the same way as the presence of boys serving its inhabitants. No one has ever suggested that these boys will be partners to the women inhabitants of Heaven. Why should the Hoors be sex partners to men? Many scholars express this view, but it is not shared by all.
Some people back home spend a number of nights and days during the last part of Ramadhan in a mosque, spending the whole night in prayer, and they may also do so during the whole day. Nowadays, some women also do the same. Do you think that it is better for the women to stay at home looking after their children?
Spending the last ten days of Ramadhan in a mosque to devote oneself completely to worship, staying up most of the night, and sleeping little in the mosque itself, is a Sunnah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to do it, and so did some of his companions. It has been practiced ever since by many Muslims. So we cannot have views‚ on whether this is appropriate or not. It is a Sunnah, and anyone who does it in order to follow the Prophet’s example will, God willing, be richly rewarded by God.
Moreover, this Sunnah, which is called I’tikaf, is mentioned in the Qur’an, as God says:
“Do not lie with them (i.e. your wives), skin to skin, when you are abiding in meditation in mosques (The Cow — “Al-Baqarah” 2: 187)
This statement also makes it clear that this Sunnah could be done in all mosques, but many scholars make it a condition that the mosque should be one where the Friday prayer is normally offered. However, women may do this Sunnah in any mosque, even if the Friday prayer is not held there, because she is not required to offer Friday prayers. Imam Al-Shaf’ie makes it clear that a woman who wishes to perform this Sunnah may not do so at home. She has to be in a mosque. However, she is recommended to have a cover around the area where she stays in the mosque.
Whether it is preferable for a woman to stay at home, looking after her own children, is subject to the needs of her children and her own circumstances. There can be no rigid rule applicable to all women. If a woman has young children, and has no responsible and mature person to look after them in her absence, then she is better off looking after them, because this is her duty. She may not abandon a duty in order to perform a Sunnah.
May I refer to the last verse in Surah 31, entitled “Luqman” which speaks of Allah’s knowledge of what lies in the wombs of women. It is now well known that doctors are now able to determine the sex of the child before it is born. Is that not contradictory with the Qur’anic verse to which I have referred.
Let us first look at the verse to which you have referred. It may be rendered in translation as follows:
“Truly the knowledge of the Hour belongs to alone. He sends down the rain and He knows what lies in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow and no soul knows in what land it will die. Most certainly God knows all and is aware of all things.”
Most people tend to assume that the reference in this verse to God’s knowledge of what lies in the wombs actually means that He knows the sex of unborn babies. This assumption has been strengthened by the fact that until recently, it was impossible to know the sex of an embryo. That could not be established even with the use of X-rays. Hence, the statement that God has that sort of knowledge was sufficient to give an idea of the limitless nature of God’s knowledge.
Now that doctors have been able to come up with a test which correctly predicts the sex of a child, people tend to think that this acquired knowledge contradicts the Qur’anic verse. Well meaning Muslims have, in many instances, denied that doctors could develop that knowledge. Yet there is no need to adopt such an attitude. What is needed is a proper understanding of the Qur’anic statement. That is sufficient to show that there is no need to deny the newly acquired knowledge of doctors and that there is no contradiction between their knowledge and the Qur’anic statement. Let us first consider what the doctors are able to know about unborn babies.
Doctors can follow the progress of a pregnancy, week by week. They can listen to the heartbeats of the fetus and they look for indications to determine whether the fetus is in distress. Recently, two methods have been introduced which help doctors determine the sex of the fetus. One method is to use ultrasound scanning. It is necessary; however, that the fetus should be in a particular position before a doctor can determine its sex with the help of ultrasound scanning. The other method involves a test, which requires drawing out a sample of the water around the baby. It needs a skilful doctor to get that water, because a clumsy one might puncture the placenta with his needle and thus expose the baby to unnecessary risks. Doctors resort to that test for some medical purposes. They do not care to make it to satisfy a pregnant woman who is keen to know the sex of her unborn child. It should be mentioned, however, that both methods could only be done when the pregnancy reaches an advanced stage. I have also heard of a third method developed more recently, but I do not know enough about it. All these methods simply give a simple point of information about the fetus, namely, its sex. But is that all there is to know about an unborn baby?
Before answering this question, let us say that the Qur’anic verse says that ‘knows what is in the wombs.” It does not say that others may share no such knowledge. Had the Qur’anic verse been phrased in a way to indicate that only God knows the sex of an unborn baby and then scientists manage to develop a test to provide them with that knowledge, then a claim of contradiction may be made. [An example may be the use of qualifying word ‘only’ with ‘knows’, as we see in the first of the statements in this verse. It reads “Truly the knowledge of the Hours belongs to God alone” In yet other statements a more definitive expression “No soul knows” has been used.] But the Qur’an does not make any such statement. It simply describes God’s knowledge as encompassing what lies in the wombs. A brief reflection on God’s knowledge in this sphere is appropriate. We can say with absolute certainly that God has infallible knowledge, not only of the sex of the fetus, but of the shape and features of the unborn child, not only while it is in the womb, but also after it will have been born and becomes a grown up. He also knows its nature, manners, temperament and what work it will be doing, to whom it would be married in future, its likes and dislikes, life duration, etc. He knows its development, what events will affect it and what would contribute to shaping its future. He knows everything that will happen to it from the moment of conception to the moment of its death. Moreover, God’s knowledge of such an embryo does not begin at a certain point. Indeed, He has all the knowledge not only from the moment of its conception, but well long before that. As we know, God’s knowledge is complete and nothing can be added to it. His statement that He knows what lies in the wombs is meant simply that God’s knowledge extends even to the most secret of situations. If human beings can make a breakthrough by getting to know sex of fetus, God’s knowledge extends far beyond that to include everything and every aspect.
Besides, the Qur’anic statement does not merely speak of human wombs. God’s knowledge includes everything that lies in every animal’s womb. But it does not stop at that either. If camels have wombs to bear their offspring, other animals have different methods of reproduction. Birds, fish and amphibians, for example, lay eggs. God certainly knows what each egg contains. He knows the offspring of every individual in each species. It is not only that doctors and scientists cannot aspire to achieve such knowledge. They recognize that it is well beyond them. But God’s knowledge encompasses all and includes every situation and every individual member of every species. His knowledge is accurate, complete, total, and absolute. Knowing what lies in the wombs represents only a small fraction of it. This is indeed what we understand of the meaning of this verse. We need not worry if the scientists are able to add a simple point of detail to their limited knowledge.