Theological Debate: Islam Does Not Degrade Women

Thanks, Con. Recall I wrote in the comments section that we should not clog up the debate with walls of text. What I meant was not that we should refrain from using all the characters that we have, but rather sort the text properly so it is readable and not very boring at first sight. Just clarifying. Before I rebut certain points that my opponent presented, I will make arguments in favor of Islam first. This will also make it easier for me to explain why Con's points are weak and rather untrue. I will elaborate on the Islamic view on women throughout the Qur'an, as well as the authentic hadith.Arguments1. Females are equal to malesIn the Qur'an, we read about both the rights and the good qualities of males and females. No passage in the Qur'an places men on a higher degree than women. Both are mentioned in honorable ways with accordance to different contexts. In short, what that means is that the Qur'an never puts emphasis on the qualities of men while ignoring the qualities of women. It never states that the righteous males will go to Paradise, and leaves it at that without mentioning women. Men and women are mentioned with equal proportionality in these regards.[Qur'an 4:124] If any do deeds of righteousness,- be they male or female - and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them. [Qur'an 3:195] Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female: Ye are members, one of another... Obviously one can go on quoting similar verses for a very long time. What we realize from the verses above is that the works of the male and the female are equal in the sight of Allah. If a man does a good deed, it does not count more than if a woman does a good deed. And good deeds are very significant in Islam. What point is there in our lives if we neglect doing good to God's creation?Moreover, if we take a look at scriptures that were revealed earlier in the Qur'an, we realize that they put more emphasis on the male in preference to the female. In certain passages, daughters are looked upon as the least favorable among them and sons. In the Qur'an, we read that God is highly displeased with people who look negatively upon female children, or mistreat them like people in ancient times did. Read [Qur'an 16:58-59].The following site gives an overview of Qur'anic verses, as well as statements from the Prophet (peace be upon him) concerning parents: http://www.islamfortoday.com... realize that the mother is honored at least as much as the father. In fact, when the beloved Prophet was asked concerning parents, the Prophet replied with very honorable words. Sahih Bukhari: "A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?' The Prophet said: Then your father." He has also claimed that Paradise lies beneath a mother's feet. What I have shown so far is that women are highly honored in Islam, and given the facts above it is very hard to conclude that Islam degrades women.2. Financial mattersIslam has placed a high emphasis on financial matters, as in every aspect of our lives. That is to ensure that we Muslims have something to guide us and make our lives easier. The scholars of Islam undoubtedly agree that financial matters are generally the responsibility of the male. The renowned Islamic commentator of the Qur'an, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, translated the Qur'anic verse 34 of the 4th chapter as follows: "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means."What people fail to realize is that this verse in no way says that men are superior to women. It deals with financial matters, to which God says that he has made on gender exceed the other (i.e., in financial matters). It also indicates that men are guardians of women. Women need to be protected from danger. Who protects a woman better than he nearest male relatives? Now, what we have is a verse telling us that men are in charge of financial matters.According to Islamic Law, which is a personal law that every practicing Muslim follows, the male (hereby husband) is not only permitted, but obliged to distribute his wealth among his household. He is obliged to meet the needs of his children and wife in the best way possible. He has to work and provide the basics for his family, at minimum. However, none of this is obligatory for the female. If she is thrice as rich as her husband, she is not obliged to distribute her wealth. On the other hand, whatever the husband earns, he is obliged to spend on his household and particularly meet the needs of his wife.Moreover, exceptions are welcome in necessary situations. If the husband is disabled, naturally the healthy wife should provide needs for the household, to her best ability. But necessities do not have to be elaborated on right now, since I think both my opponent and I agree that whatever ruling there is on any issue, necessary exceptions are welcome.I will make further arguments for the Islamic view on women in the next rounds.RebuttalsMy opponent cited Qur'an 2:228. He has not given any interpretation on the verse besides stating that "basically wives are not looked upon as equals [to husbands]." This is not true. The meaning of this verse is similar to the meaning of 4:34, which emphasizes the household responsibility of the male. He has a degree over the female in that regard. Having a greater responsibility is in no way an indication that the male has a higher status simply because he is a male.Moving on, verse 4:34 has already been explained in my arguments. However, a follow up is 4:11 which speaks of the male inheritance being twice as big as that of the female. This is true in general terms. If we do simple maths, we realize that if Person X gets $100, and Person Y gets $50, and the former has to distribute his money, while the latter can do whatever he wants with his money, then naturally Person Y is in no way treated worse. At minimum, he is treated just as well as Person X. $100 for two people is equivalent to $50 for one person. Therefore, since Islam tells us that the male needs to distribute his wealth among his household, and the female is not obliged to do so, then the double inheritance for the male is neither unjust nor does it degrade women.Also, the exception to this ruling applies when a female has the responsibility to maintain her household, if she is forced to do so in any way, such as lack of having male guardians to deal with the financial matters.Concerning Qur'an 2:282, it is true that it speaks of two female witnesses for one male witness. However, as with all of the points my opponent presented, this clearly deals with financial matters. The entire verse is very large, but it begins with: "O ye who believe! When ye deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time..." It speaks about financial transactions. Again, since it deals with finance, and the male has a greater responsibility in that, clearly it is reasonable to have one male as a witness for financial transactions for the value of two female witnesses. The responsibility is on the male, hence the male should not have to find another witness to deal with his own responsibility.It is easy to prove that two female witnesses count for one male witness only regarding financial matters. The Qur'an speaks of witnesses for other crimes, and it mentions that either male or female witnesses can be brought. No mentioning of one more than the other. Clearly this means that excluding financial transactions, female witnesses count as good as the male witnesses.