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CHAPTER TWO
In the previous chapter, we discussed the woman's position in
Arabian society before Islam, i. e. her position as a wife, a daughter
and a mother. To compare the change, if any, between her status before
and after Islam, one must study, both generally and in detail, the
woman's position in Islam. It will then be possible to answer
such question as : Did the woman's status remain as it was in pre-
Islamic Arabia or was there any change ? If so. r was the change in
her favour ?
Islam is the religion of equality; it does not discriminate
between rich and poor, black and whites Arab and non-Arab. The only
basis of discrimination between people is their good deeds and their
faith. Islam has also equated man with a woman in many respects;
both the man and the woman are'human beings and both are equally
regarded as the source of procreation for their offspring, as the
Qurlan emphasises:
110 Mankind. We created you from -a single (pair)
of a male and a female, and made you into
nations and tribes, that ye may know each other
(Not that ye may despise each other). Verily*
the most honoured of you in the sight of God
is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And
God has full knowledge and is well acquainted
(with all things). 1
The word "people" in the previous Qurlanic verse includes both
men and women without discrimination. Furthermore. Islam has laid
down some religious duties for both men and women such as prayers,
fasting Ramadan, paying the Zakat, 'the payment of poor tax' and
pilgrimage. However, the woman has certain exemptions because of
her biological-and physiological make up* She is exempted from
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