Commentary/Fuzail Jafferey

Women, mosques and the mullahs

Thank God the recent controversy about the status of Muslim women did not start either from the precincts of the Supreme Court or from the platform of any political party. But for this fact, Muslims in general, by now, would have taken to the streets to settle scores as it happened in the Shah Bano case a few years ago.

The controversy, which originated from Kerala, has all the potential of spreading to other parts of the country once the holy month is over. The Maulanas and their followers, most of whom are totally ignorant of the finer points of Islamic law, have already started flexing their muscles to take on P K K Ahmedkutty, the Imam of the Palayam mosque in Kerala.

What sin has Imam Ahmedkutty committed? Why are 286 Muslim organisations in Thiruvananthapuram district actively supporting the Sunni Yuvajana Sangham in its bitter fight against Imam Ahmedkutty who is widely known and respected for his progressive outlook and religious erudition?

The SYS and its supporters are enraged because, for the first time in the history of Indian Muslims, an Imam has allowed women to pray in the mosque along with their menfolk. According to the Imam, this arrangement is not restricted to the month of Ramzan. Henceforth, he says Muslim women can pray in the mosque five times a day like their male counterparts.

While Muslim women are flocking to the Palayam mosque in large numbers these days, the SYS-led Muslim organisations are busy organising demonstrations against the Imam. They term Ahmedkutty's revolutionary step as un-Islamic.

They contend that never before in the sub-continent have Muslim women been allowed to enter the mosques to say their prayers. How can the Imam then reverse the situation?

Ahmedkutty's answer is simple and clear:

'No holy book prohibits women from praying in the mosque The right of women cannot be denied merely because this practice has not been prevalent.'

The Imam is right. Islam, as a universal religion, believes in and passionately advocates gender equality in all spheres of life. The believers as well as all others who are acquainted with the Quranic verses know very well that on one occasion some women asked the Prophet why God's words were always addressed to men and whether they were not worthy of being addressed directly. The Prophet, who did not answer the question instantly, shortly thereafter, was favoured with the following revelation from the Almighty Allah.

Men and women who have surrendered,

believing men and believing women,

Obedient and truthful men and women,

Enduring and humble men and women,

Men and women who fast and guard their chastity

For them -- God has prepared forgiveness and rich recompenses

(Quran 33:35)

This makes very clear that men and women under Islam have equal rights. Theological convention and obscurantist tradition cannot snatch away the rights which God and his Prophet have bestowed upon women. In another verse men and women are described as each other's garments implying that neither is inferior in status and dignity to the other.

Prophet Muhammad always encouraged women to take active part in all fields including the wars that he fought against those who wanted to destroy the divine religion. In all Islamic countries women are free to go out in the public for performance of daily chores. The only restriction is that they should cover themselves in such a manner that the sensuous parts of their bodies are not exposed.

As far as the specific problem of women entering the mosques to say their prayers is concerned, God and His Prophet have never stopped them from doing so. Al-Bukhari, which is considered to be the most authentic compilation of the Hdith (the Prophet's sayings) informs us that during the Prophet's lifetime, it was quite common for many women to attend night prayers in the mosque. Many of them carried their babies with them. The Prophet always showed special consideration for such women and treated them with utmost kindness.

Al-Bukhari has also reported the Prophet having said that: 'Sometimes I stand up for prayer, my intention being to make it a long one. Then I hear a baby crying. So I cut short the prayer, not wanting to make things difficult for the child's mother.'

In recent times, Naila Minai, a noted Turkish scholar, has come out with an extensive and graphic description of the status of women throughout the history of Islam.

In her remarkable book, Women in Islam, she points out that while the Prophet chose the most learned and respected person to lead the prayers in his absence, a few learned women were also appointed as 'Islams' to lead when women congregated for prayer.

In one case, Umma Waragah, a great woman scholar of the Quran, was asked to to act as the Imam for both the men and women of her large household. According to Naila Minai, since, it was not specified if women could act as Imams and lead the prayers on a regular basis, the precedent of Umma Waragah was not carried forward by later generations.

However, there is no Islamic injunction against women believers who want to pray inside mosques. The discrimination that Muslim women have been forced to face for centuries is partially due to male chauvinism and partially because most women are totally oblivious of their legal and Islamic rights.

Now when P K K Ahmedkutty has taken a bold stand by allowing women to attend prayers in the mosque all right thinking people including the enlightened Ulema should rise to the occasion and ensure justice for women in this regard. Delivering long lectures and writing treatises on 'the equality of gender in Islam,' but deviating from the golden principles in practice, amounts to deliberate distortion of the true sprit of Islam.

Should we hope that our Ulema will realise their Islamic obligations and help Muslim women achieve the status and dignity given to them by Allah and His Prophet?