Your articles are very inspring, mashallah. I am a Muslim woman who has a few questions. Hopefully you can answer them:
- the quaran gives details about the rewards for men in heaven e.g. hooris. What does the believing woman get? She might want something similar? How come there's no mention of it?
- men can marry up to four wives at one time. How come women can't marry more than one?
MY ANSWER:
Thank you for your nice words. Regarding the rewards, I can promise you they are good. Uh . . . a whole lot better than what a person will find in the fire!
Seriously, I think the point is not that believing men will have a haram of women in the Afterlife, but that all believers, men and women, will have rewards beyond their imagining, and far in excess of their expectations. So have a good opinion of Allah and understand that He knows best what will be a fitting reward--the one you will be most happy with over all others.
Regarding your other question, you have to remember that the Qur'an is a book of revelation, not a book of political correctness. There is a tendency in this day and age to try to equate men and women, but it is more healthy to recognize there really are differences between the sexes. If you have any doubt about this, read the book, Brain Sex, that discusses the differences in the male and female brains. The fact is that men and women both have strengths and weaknesses that set them apart from one another, and thank Allah for those differences! (chuckles permitted) Sure, men can marry up to four wives, but women can only have one husband. Why is this? Well, think of it from a religious perspective, not from the perspective of hedonistic desires. The point of multiple marriages is not to have fun with multiple partners, but to procreate and increase the number of Muslims, which is pleasing to Allah. In addition, everything in Islam is decent. A man with multiple wives will be able to tell all of his children who their father is, but women with multiple partners cannot know this without a DNA test, and even then, in many countries a large percentage of the population do not have money for food, much less for an expensive DNA test. Think how psychologically devastating it is to children to grow up not knowing who their father is. But there is a deeper issue, and it is this: some criticize Islam on the claim that it is a man's religion. Now, that is simply upside-down thinking. Islam, a man's religion? In fact, Islam curtailed practically everything men like to do -- gambling, drinking, sleeping around, etc, and directed them to clean, moral and productive lives. Yes, Allah gave men the right to four wives, but it gave women rights they never had before as well. For example, a man has to provide for his family, but a woman's money is her own, and the man can't touch it. Islam gave women the right to money, property, education, religion, and many other things they never had before. Islam elevated women in society and in their lives. The point is that Islam is not just a man's or a woman's religion -- no, Islam is a religion for all humanity for all time. Just as men and women are different in certain ways, Islam gives both sexes rights over one another in different ways. If you would like a more complete discussion of this subject, please take a look at my book, The First and Final Commandment (the end of Part III, chapter 5). Then get back to me.
Best,
LBrown
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