|
Woman's
Status:
In the Bible & Quran
We're trying to
compare the woman's status as seen in Christianity and Islam. The
sources are mainly the Bible, Quran, and the teachings of Prophet
Mohammed.
Female Gender
vs. Male Gender
|
Christianity (Bible) |
Islam (Quran) |
|
"...if a woman have conceived seed, and born a man
child: then she shall be unclean seven days...but
if she bear a maid child, then she shall be unclean
two weeks..."
Leviticus 12:2-5 |
"To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the
earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female
children to whomever He wills and bestows male
children to whomever He wills."
Quran 42:49
"He who is involved in bringing up daughters, and
accords benevolent treatment towards them, they will be
protection for him against Hell-Fire."
Prophet Mohammed |
The Female
Spiritual Essence
|
"I find more
bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose
heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who
pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will
ensnare." "Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have
discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the
scheme of things-while I was still searching but not
finding- I found one upright man among a thousand, but
not one upright woman among them all."
Ecclesiastes 7:26-28 |
"And Allah sets
forth, as an example to those who believe, the wife
of Pharaoh: behold she said: 'O my Lord! build for
me, in nearness to You, a mansion in the Garden, and
save me from Pharaoh and his doings, and save me from
those that do wrong," "And Mary the daughter of Imran,
who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her
body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of
the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was
one of the devout (servants)."
Quran 66:11-2
"Heaven is at
the feet of the mothers."
Prophet Mohammed |
Menses
|
"When a woman
has her regular flow of blood, the impurity of her
monthly period will last seven days, and anyone who
touches her will be unclean till evening. anything she
lies on during her period will be unclean, and anything
she sits on will be unclean. Whoever touches her bed
must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he will
be unclean till evening. Whoever touches anything she
sits on must wash his clothes and bathe with water, and
he will be unclean till evening. Whether it is the bed
or anything she was sitting on, when anyone touches it,
he will be unclean till evening."
Leviticus 15:19-23 |
Ali asked the
Prophet Mohammed if when a man and a woman make love
then their clothes stick to them from the sweat of their
bodies, or if when a woman has her period her clothes
stick to her body, are the clothes considered unclean?
The Prophet replied: "No, the uncleanness is only in the
semen and the blood."
Prophet Mohammed |
Sexual Relation
During Her Menses
|
"Do not
approach a woman to have sexual relations during the
uncleanness of her monthly period."
Leviticus 18:19 |
"And
they ask you about menstruation. Say: It is a
discomfort; therefore Keep aloof from the menstrual area
during the woman's period until they have become clean;
then when they have cleansed themselves, go in to them
as Allah has commanded you; surely Allah loves those who
turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify
themselves.
Quran 2:222 |
A Woman's Right
to Education
|
"let your
women keep silence in the churches: for it is not
permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to
be under obedience, as also saith the law, and if they
will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at
home: for it is a shame for woman to speak in the
church."
1 Corinthians
14:34-35 |
"Seeking
knowledge is obligatory on every Muslim man and Muslim
woman."
Prophet Mohammed |
Right to
Inheritance
|
"Say to the
Israelites, 'If a man dies and leaves no son, turn his
inheritance over to his daughter...'"
Numbers 27:8 |
"From what is
left by parents and those nearest related there is a
share for men and a share for women, whether the
property be small or large, -a determinate share."
Quran 4:7 |
Dressing Modesty
/ Head Covering
|
"Now I want
you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and
the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is
God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head
covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or
prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her
head...If a woman does not cover her head, she should
have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a
woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should
cover her head"
1 Corrinthians 11:3-6
"I also want
women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not
with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive
clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who
profess to worship God"
1 Timothy 2:9-10 |
"O Prophet! Tell
your wives and daughters, and the believing women, that
they should cast their outer garments over their persons
(when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should
be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is
Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
Quran 33:59
"...they
(believing women) should not display their beauty and
ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof;
that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and
not display their beauty except to their husbands, their
fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their
husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons,
or their sisters' sons, or their women...or small
children who have no sense of the shame of sex..."
Quran 24:31 |
Polygamy
|
"After he left
Hebron, David took more concubines and wives in
Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to
him."
2 Samuel 5:13
"He (Solomon)
had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred
concubines..."
1 Kings 11:3
"And Lamech
took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah,
and the name of the other Zillah."
Genesis 4:19
"If a man have
two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have
born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and
if the first-born son be hers that was hated: then it
shall be, when he maketh..."
Deuteronomy 21:15
"if he take
him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of
marriage, shall her not diminish."
Exodus 21:10 |
"If you fear
that you shall not be able to deal justly with the
orphans, marry women of your choice, two, or three, or
four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal
justly (with them), then only one... to prevent you from
doing injustice."
Quran 4:3 |
Prohibition in
Marriage
|
"Do not take
your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual
relations with her while your wife is living."
Leviticus 18:18 |
"Prohibited to
you (for marriage) are: -your mothers, daughters,
sisters...and two sisters (the wife and her sister) in
wedlock at one and the same time..."
Quran 4:23 |
Divorce
|
"...Anyone who
divorces his wife and marries another woman commits
adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband
and marries another man, she commits adultery."
Mark 10:11-12 |
"O Prophet! When
you do divorce women, divorce them at their prescribed
periods, and count (accurately) their prescribed
periods: and fear Allah your Lord..."
Quran 65:1 |
The Divorcee &
Widow
|
"...who
marries the divorced woman commits adultery."
Matthew 5:32
"'The woman he
(the priest) marries must be a virgin. He must not marry
a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by
prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people.'"
Leviticus 21:13-4 |
"If any of you
die and leave widows behind, they shall wait concerning
themselves four months and ten days: when they have
fulfilled their term, there is no blame on you (marrying
widows) if they dispose of themselves in a just and
reasonable manner..."
Quran 2:234 |
The Respect of
Parents
|
"Then he
(Jesus) went down to Nazareth with them (his parents)
and was obedient to them..."
Luke 2:51
"For Moses
said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Anyone
who curses his father or mother must be put to death."
Mark 7:10
"Each of you
must respect his mother and father..."
Leviticus 19:3 |
"He (God) has
made me (Jesus) kind to my mother, and not overbearing
or miserable."
Quran 19:32
"And We have
enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail
(pains of childbirth) upon travail his mother bore him,
and in two years was his weaning: (hear the command),
"Show gratitude to Me and to your parents: to Me is
(your final) Goal."
Quran 31:14 |
|