The equality of men and women in the sight of God, argued from the Quran against hadith teachings that keep women from the temple and the Friday Congregational Prayer, leads this issue, written by an incarcerated brother. Contradictions among hadiths follow, along with letters from readers and new converts, and an announcement of the 1998 Submitters conference in Seattle, Washington.
Are men and women created equal? The traditional
Muslim would answer this question with a “NO” but the Quran
teaches otherwise. Let us look at Verse 3:195. It says:
Their Lord responded to them: “I never fail to reward
any worker among you for any work you do, be you male or female—you
are equal to one another.
The verse goes on to say
Thus, those who immigrate, and get evicted from their homes,
and are persecuted because of Me, and fight and get killed, I will surely
remit their sins and admit them into gardens with flowing streams.”
Such is the reward from God. God possesses the ultimate reward. (3:195)
This verse tells us that men and women are
equal. It clearly states that we can all work, fight, die and be persecuted
for God, but for the reward of their righteous works, both men and women
are in fact equal to each other in the sight of God.
On the traditional side, what does Hadith say? Bukhari wrote: “Women
are naturally, morally and religiously defective.”
He did not say a woman, that woman, or that group of women. He said
women. Not only is Bukhari wrong, he contradicts what the Quran says.
The problem is that some men and women take the words of men (Sunnah and
Hadiths) over God’s word (Holy Quran) and some people have gone
as far as to accept both as sources
You shall recite what is revealed to you of your Lord’s
scripture. Nothing shall abrogate His words, and you shall not find any
other source beside it. (18:27)
God has told us not to find any source besides His scripture. And a lot
of women have suffered because people tend to follow the words of Bukhari,
Ibn Hambali, Ibn Majah, Ibn Kathir and other hadith narrators, instead
of the Quran. If God wanted us to follow Sunnah and Hadith, He would have
made them part of the Quran. They are not in the Quran, they are not part
of the Quran, and they don’t help you understand the Quran. God
says in the Quran:
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Men and Women are Equal
A.L.R. This is a scripture whose verses have been
perfected, then elucidated. It comes from a Most Wise, Most Cognizant.
(11:1)
How long will women be treated unfairly by Muslim men who follow
hadiths without the knowledge of the Quran, and guidance from God?
A lot of men and women are so caught up in what man has said, so
caught up in tradition that they don’t see the truth. The
hadith followers may dislike what is being said but it is the truth.
The Quran says
“Verily, we have brought the truth to you.
But most of you hate the truth.” (43:78)
Men are to treat women with a great deal of love, trust and understanding.
She is not a pet. She is part of man and should be respected. A
Muslim woman cannot be happy if she is being oppressed by her mate.
How can a woman be happy if her mate makes her feel less worthy
than he? How can she be happy if she is made to stay away from the
temple 25% of her life? During the time of her periods, a woman
is kept away from the temple. Her body is simply submitting to the
will of God. She is also not permitted to enter the temple on Fridays
for Congregational prayer to worship God. The Quran says:
O you who believe, when the Congregational Prayer
(Salat Al-Jumu`ah) is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the
commemoration of God, and drop all business. This is better for
you, if you only knew. (62:9)
No where in the Quran does it say that the woman cannot come to
worship
God because her body is simply submitting
to the will of God. God did not say “O you believing men”
in the verse. He said, O you who believe when the prayer is called,
come worship Me.
No Contradiction in the Quran
When you compare what men have said in different hadiths, you will
find a number of contradictions. For example, Bukhari (4/60.62)
wrote that
“the prophet (pbuh) urinated in standing
position.”
But Ibn Hambal (6.192) wrote that
“the prophet (pbuh) never urinated in standing
position.”
Now these are supposed to be authentic (genuine) hadiths. There
is no way you can believe both of those statements. Their statements
show how accurate they are. On top of all that, what difference
does it make how the prophet urinated!
Bukhari (97/36) also wrote:
To prove His identity, God opened His legs and
showed the prophet His thigh.
What a blasphemy! What was Bukhari thinking when he wrote that.
God is not a man (Numbers 23:19, Torah) that He should open His
legs to prove any identity.
Man can be very misguiding through innovations, opinions and ignorance.
Therefore, one should only follow the clear revelations from God.
It is God who has sent down the best hadith, which is the Quran.
God has revealed herein the best Hadith; a book that
is consistent, and points out both ways (to Heaven and Hell). The
skins of those who reverence their Lord cringe therefrom, then their
skins and their hearts soften up for God’s message. Such is
God’s
guidance; He bestows it
upon whoever wills (to be guided). As for those sent astray by God,
nothing can guide them. (39:23)
The Quran is the true guidance, the best guidance, the way to both
heaven and hell. If you want to know about the prophet, read the
Quran. The Quran also tells you how to treat your mate, the woman.
Men and women have been misled by hadiths and misled others when
they teach hadith by ignorance:
They will be held responsible for their sins on the
Day of Resurrection, all of them, in addition to sins of all those
whom they misled by their ignorance. What a miserable load! (16:25)
The majority of humanity has given itself over to Satan. Christians
accept Jesus as being God, or His son. Muslims follow teachings
that are not authorized by God, such as making women miss the Friday
prayer. Women believe and have faith in God just as men and should
be allowed to worship as such.
Some men and women follow teachings outside the Quran and they think
that they are being guided.
Some He guided, while others are committed to straying.
They have taken the devils as their masters, instead of God, yet
they believe that they are guided. (7:30)
It is past time for men and women to put the traditional nonsense
out of Islam. If you know the truth, promote it. It is your duty
as a Submitter to God’s will.
I leave you as I came,
As-salaam Alaikum
William C. Sweeps
(Ed’s note: Br. William is currently incarcerated.
His article is slightly edited for readability.)
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Readers' Comments
on Newsletter and Internet Home Page
Dear Brothers,
As-salamu alaikum
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Salim
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I just wanted to thank you for putting this page out
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Alain Turbide
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I have been following your home page program for quite
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Well I guess that will be all for now. And if its possible please
update me on new discoveries of Islamic misconceptions.. Thank you.
Zulkifli Md. Alipiah
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About this work
Kind
Document
Author
International Community of Submitters
Publisher
International Community of Submitters / Masjid Tucson