Gender

Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between, masculinity and femininity.

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What does Islam say about gender inequality and gender discrimination of men and women?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 month ago

There is no question of gender in-equality nor discrimination in Islam if people understand Islamic rules properly. Allah, The Creator Has Created both man and woman and granted both of them the honor (We have honored the children of Adam (Human beings)(Sura 17, Verse 70).

There are common things among both genders like equal human values and honor, equal rights to life , safety, dignity, ownership, education, etc. Yet, there are gender different functions and responsibilities on man and woman, These different functions initiated its own rules to organize life accordingly. Those different rules are less than 5% of the common rules for both genders.

Injustice on any human being being a man or woman is a sinful act.

Both man and woman will get reward for any good act and both will go to the same Paradise, while sinners men and women will face the result of their sins equally.

Wassalam.

126210

Gym . Sin . Gender . Western Society

Is it permissible to open a gym in the West where both genders can mix freely with an intention to create an environment for exercise? If it results in sin, isn't it true that any gender mixing can cause it such as at restaurants?

Any work or act or business which causes or leads or results in sinful act is not permissible. Making both genders mix with out proper Hijab is not allowed in Islam. Usually gyms in western countries don't care for proper Hijab, that it why Muslim should not indulge himself in such business which can lead to sinful acts, otherwise he will be responsible and his income from such sinful business will not be lawful.

Wassalam.

112359

Gender . Surat al-Dhariyat

According to Surah 51:49 everything is created in pairs, but then why do there exist species that only consist of a single gender?

Everything is created in pairs does not mean necessarily in male and female because millions of things in the universes do not fall under two genders but still exist in pairs e.g. day and night.

Species with out male and female still have pairs within itself as the DNA two parts divides in to two parts in reproduction. With out that pairs of DNA, no reproduction can take place at all.

Wassalam.

102980

Desire . Gender . Life

If a person has much desire for the same gender, and has none for the opposite, how do you recommend they control this desire and live a fully Islamic life?

Desire itself can never be justified unless it is approved by pure religion which is the message of The Creator, Allah, to make our life on the right path. Unguided desires can lead to disastrous results. The examples of such unguided and wrong desires are so many. There are people who have desire for animals etc. This means that desire itself can never be justified unless it is approved by true religion.

Such desires need to be controlled by the intellect which guided by the word of Allah (SWT). The person should always remember Allah and seek His help in tackling evil desires.

Repeating Estighfaar and Salawaat is very useful.

'Wassalam.

89001

Gender

If Islam says that it does not discriminate people on the basis of gender then why does it seem to grant a higher status for husbands as compared to wives?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 2 years ago

This may come across as a non-answer, but I wanted to point out that there is a difference between "male" and "husband" and "female" and "wife". I am pointing this out because in most popular Islamic discourse about gender (at least up until recently), any discussion of "woman" was basically equivalent to a discussion of "wife" and the two terms were used interchangeably.

Whereas, in reality, a woman's existence is more than being a wife (there are times in her life when she won't be a wife, and times when she may be), and so one can't entirely reduce the question of gender in Islam to shariah laws regarding marriage.

Regarding the Quran, the only place where it actually discusses men and women differently is with respect to a few details about marriage (such as the 'iddah after divorce), pregnancy, or related issues (I would categorize the verse about khimar as relating to marital issues). By and large, the Qur'an doesn't have a lot to say about the nature or "role" of women in society or everyday life and seems to leave it open to people to choose how they want to live.

Regarding laws of shariah which might seem to be unbalanced, there are two views. One is that they are all correct and reflect the will of God in a perfect system. The other is that many of them are correct but some of them might have been misunderstood over the ages and are worth another look. For instance some people question the view why a husband should be allowed to prohibit his wife from leaving the home, since marriage is not supposed to be imprisonment, and in extreme cases this can disadvantage a woman severely. (Even though most people do not live this way and actually keep their wives imprisoned at home, but it does happen and is justified in the name of religion.) This is not the dominant "mainstream" view and is more of a reformist view but may become more mainstream in the future. God knows best.

Gender

If Islam says that it does not discriminate people on the basis of gender then why does it seem to grant a higher status for husbands as compared to wives?

Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 2 years ago

Bismihi ta'ala

Islam does not discriminate people based on gender. Islam allocates roles and responsibilities and duties for us as individuals and as a collective society. We function not alone, but also within a family and a community. We have certain roles and responsibilities, based on our position and where we fit as far as our involvement and authority as well.

A husband has a certain status, as far as his managerial role, or being the "director" of the family within the capacity he has, and a wive also has certain managerial roles, within the area that she is good at and within the capacity she has.

For the sake of keeping this answer brief, I would like to direct you to reading important books on the topic of Islam and gender roles, and you will become familiar with how our religion deals with this issue.

With prayers for your success.

87992

Gender . Lust

How and why is it considered respectful in Islam not to shake hands with the opposite gender, especially in formal settings when it seems to be a reasonable social expectation with no aspect of lust involved?

Abbas Di Palma, Shaykh Abbas Di Palma holds a BA and an MA degree in Islamic Studies, and certifications from the Language Institute of Damascus University. He has also studied traditional Islamic sciences in... Answered 2 years ago

as salam alaikum

from a psychological perspective, even the mere presence of a person of the opposite gender have a particular influence that mold behavioral tendencies and attitudes that not necessarily relate to lust. That is also why many Islamic places, and traditional societies in general, always had a specific code to limit promiscuity and social contact between genders.

There is no problem in dealing with the opposite gender in the prescribed shar'i way and in case of necessity as long as all Islamic etiquettes are observed but one should try as much as possible to move forward what Allah has commanded in all circumstances.

With prayer for your success.

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Gender . Marriage . Homosexuality . Asexuality

Are you still required by Islam to get married if you are asexual or homosexual and have no interest in the other gender?

Zoheir Ali Esmail, Shaykh Zoheir Ali Esmail has a Bsc in Accounting and Finance from the LSE in London, and an MA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University. He studied Arabic at Damascus University and holds a PhD... Answer updated 2 years ago

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Marriage in Islam is not compulsory (except in certain situations when a person fears falling into sins), even if it is highly recommended. So if a person doesn't want to get married for any reason, they are not required to.

May you always be successful

Gender . Marriage . Homosexuality . Asexuality

Are you still required by Islam to get married if you are asexual or homosexual and have no interest in the other gender?

Marriage is either highly recommended or obligatory depending on the situation of the person. It is highly recommended for people in general to get married as the prophetic orders to Muslims: تناكحوا تناسلوا Get married, Have children. Hadeeth states: Marriage is from Sunnah, so any one who abandons my Sunnah is not from me. النكاح من سنتي فمن رغب عن سنتي فليس مني.

Marriage becomes obligatory when a person is in danger of falling in sinful acts just because of being unmarried.

In the case mentioned in the question we must emphasize that marriage should never cause injustice to your spouse if you do have any interest in other gender. You need to consult medical and psychological experts and get proper treatment then go for marriage. Some times, marriage itself can help in treatment.
You should never give up or surrender to abnormal situation which is away from the teachings of Allah (SWT).

Leaving marriage might worsen such cases, but with out proper treatment, you might do injustice on an innocent person whom you want to live with when you are still not adequate to be a proper spouse.

Wassalam.

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Human . Gender . Psychology

What is the explanation, from the perspective of human psychology, for a Muslim boy who loses attraction in the opposite gender and gains attraction to his own?

Human life is based since its start from time of Adam and Eve and continuing on the marriage between man and woman. With out this clean and instinct relation of marriage between man and woman, no life can continue.
Losing attraction in opposite gender and feeling attracted to same gender is an abnormal situation which needs to be dealt with by specialist psychiatrists.
Sexual attraction can be deviated and go in wrong direction as we see some abnormal persons feel attracted to a married woman or a close family member or even to an animal. This means that not every attraction is legitimate but it can be wrong and sinful even if some people think it normal.
The person who feels such abnormal attraction needs to deal with himself to understand and treat the reasons and seek help and advice from specialists and trusted scholars.
No doubt, the believer in Allah, the Prophet and Ahlul Bayt should read what the holy texts said about such feelings and acts and why such acts are mentioned in holy texts as major sin which led to destroying Communities which used to do it as we read in Quran about people during the time of Prophet Lut.

Wassalam.

73154

Man . Wife . Gender

How is it fair that a man can leave the house without telling his wife but she has to take permission from him? How does this prove equality or anything but inferiority and ownership?

Bismillah

Thank you for your question. Islam has stressed the equality of men and women when it comes to their relationship with God. Their actions and attitudes are their own and they will be recompensed with justice and mercy. When it comes to some of the rulings on a sociological level, while they may not be the same for a man and woman, that doesn't affect their equality in front of God and certainly doesn't indicate inferiority as the Qur'an has clearly defined the benchmark of superiority being that of God-consciousness. There is also no ownership as the woman is a free woman and is responsible in front of God. It is her choice to follow these rules in her obedience to God, and for that she achieves the spiritual progression which is the benchmark of excellence.

At the same time, there is much discussion on the rulings related to women and the paradigms that have been used throughout our intellectual history to determine the rulings in different epochs. While that discussion has not resulted in a change of view of many scholars in regards to the specific ruling in your question, research is continually being made to apply our understanding of Islamic law in each time and the concern that you have raised is one that is taken seriously in intellectual circles, bearing in mind the changing roles of women in the modern world.

May you always be successful

68125

Gender . Medicine

How can a doctor or therapist who works with patients or clients of the opposite gender handle the issue of physical contact? They can avoid it unless absolutely necessary, but when it is necessary does that constitute a sin?

Islamic rules forbidding seeing or touching other gender (Non Mahram) are very clear but exceptions come if there is a real necessity to save life. Necessity must be assessed and the exception should meet no more than the necessity. Any act more than the real necessity is not permissible.

Wassalam.