Sexism In Islam?
Brother Abdullah, as a Muslim and a believer I would try to find the reason why Allah recommended this, without an expectation that every time I will find an answer that will satisfy me or every time I will be able to read the mind of Allah if he has not directly answered the question himself. But once I believed Allah, I wouldn’t call him potentially sexist. You gave two examples in support of your argument that Allah is perhaps sexist and biased against women. 1. Do you think he has a motive to be biased against women? 2. Your second example actually goes against your argument. It seems like Allah is extremely sexist and biased against men. He seems to be putting the entire responsibility of one of the most difficult task in this World of earning money on men. Furthermore he wants men to share his earings with his wife and children for his entire life. Beyond that he has to physically protect his wife and family and if necessary fight till death in a conflict or a war. Now returning to your first example. I have heard of an answer that did not completely satisfy me but this is how it goes. In Islam since a man has to earn and share his earnings, he is given leadership of the organization of a family. Just like a leader of any other organization, the leader can fire a subbordinate while a subbordinate can only submit a resignation. A subbordinate cannot fire a leader of an organization as there are msny other subbordinates in an organization that a leader manages too. Also the leadership position for men is Allah’s recommendation as men are generally better suited to earn and go through physical strains. If by mutual agreement a woman wants to take all the man’s responsibilities so be it. In that case perhaps the woman will be able to divorce her husband.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229916382_Egalitarian_or_traditional_Correlates_of_the_perception_of_an_ideal_marriagehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4273893/ Traditional gender role is related to greater sexual intimacy https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/sex-study.pdf Analysis of 3 studies, sexual intimacy can predict marital happiness under regular/normal circumstances Read the abstract if u don’t have time. Social/relationship studies r v complex and honestly v boring to read! Husband doing household work is not egalitarian at all. That’s not the meaning or understanding of an egalitarian marriage brotherIf husband and wife do help out each other (husband doing housework and wife takes on some more masculine stuff or just takes care of her husband) that’s Ehsaan. Not the urdu version but quranic Ehsaan meaning doing extra out of love or respect or devotion This is far more comforting for both partners than any egalitarian idea. Main idea is to keep your spouse happy and satisfied so you can both strive for their own goals for this world and hereafter.