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A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!

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A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
Anonymous
03/26/03 at 04:50:44
Salaam. I came across this site while doing research on women in Islam. One of
the articles called "women in sharia" starts off on how it is only a woman whose nature
is completely "corrupted" who would make the first move on a man!  A bold and tasteless
claim to make for sure!  Just a reminder to the brilliant intellect who wrote it, one of
the Prophet's wives actually made the first move and proposed to the Prophet; Yes, she
actually initiated her own marriage!  Corrupt?! It would be nice if we knew our own religion
before we went about preaching it to others and then wondering why they think we're
backward and sexist!  It's simple-- If we keep claiming we know what every woman's "nature" is
and labeling all these women (including all these GOOD MUSLIM WOMEN) who don't fit into
that definiton as "un-natural" and "corrupt" and whatever other stupid label, non-muslims
are gonna keep seeing us as sexist backward brainwashed idiots! Because frankly, right
now we are! I've yet to read a non-sexist article about how 'un-sexist' Islam is!!!
uh oh.
theOriginal
03/26/03 at 09:34:23
[slm]

Reminds me of the time someone asked me to read a book on Muslimas and character (or something)...

The very first page talked about how if a man sees a woman walking down the street, and he is unable to lower his gaze, the woman will burn in hell for it.  

But actually, you should try Sh. Adhami....that brother has a gift, Alhumdulillah.  One of the few people who's tapes/books don't leave me feeling like the scum of the planet.  :)

Wasalaam.

Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
ummfatima02
03/28/03 at 01:18:45
[slm]


 I also recommend Sh. Hamza Yusuf. He has some very good research on the Hur Al-Ayn. I know that this has always been a type of struggle with me to understand. He explains it coming from the research of a scholar by the name of M. Al-Ghazali
   
                [wlm]

             Ummfatima
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
Dude
03/28/03 at 10:44:34
[quote]The very first page talked about how if a man sees a woman walking down the street, and he is unable to lower his gaze, the woman will burn in hell for it.  [/quote]

I've heard that too...don't see how that would be God's preference though. There's no sin in a woman being beautiful. Maybe that passage has more to do with how reavealing a woman may be dressing in public, but still...
03/28/03 at 10:45:15
Dude
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
sofia
03/28/03 at 12:49:05
[i]As a sidebar - I have yet to see Islaam as a "sexist" religion, in and of itself. But I don't think that's what's being debated here.[/i]

As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullaah, Anonymous -
Were you referring to the "Women in Shariah" article by Ahmad Doi? It states:

[quote]Maulana Abul A'La Maududi has made a fine psychological distinction, however, between women looking at men and men looking at women. The man, he says, "...is by nature aggressive. If a thing appeals to him, he is urged from within to acquire it. On the other hand, the woman's nature is one of inhibition and escape. Unless her nature is totally corrupted, she can never become so aggressive, bold and fearless, as to make the first advances towards the male who has attracted her.[/quote]

This is not the words of God, nor of the Prophet (S). Maududi is a well-respected scholar, but just that. How we interpret this to mean, however, may have been different from what Maududi intended. The way I saw it is, in most societies throughout history, a woman is less likely to be as bold as men to make sexual advances to unrelated men (not a proposal), as men would be to make sexual advances to unrelated women. I'm not sure that's even a debateable issue. But Allaahu A'lim if that's what was intended by this article in the first place.

The problem that may arise in some people's minds, however, is that a woman who does make sexual advances towards unrelated men may be "corrupt," while a man who does the same to unrelated women, would not be "corrupt." That's an inaccurate assumption. From an Islaamic viewpoint, both would be susceptible to punishment for the same sin(and as I've said in other threads, ultimate judgement belongs to God, so we can't say anyone in particular, no matter how haraam their actions, will "burn in hell"). This statement seems to be more of a social commentary on the nature of women versus men, than of punishment for women versus men. In Islaam, men and women get rewarded and punished the same way based on their deeds, not on their gender.

Allaahu A'lim. Best to find out from those who know (ie, ask a knowledgeable scholar in person, otherwise, we may get more confused by other people's opinions. Like mine). Broad, sweeping interpretations can be/are easily manipulated.
NS
03/28/03 at 12:54:52
sofia
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
humble_muslim
03/28/03 at 16:24:36
AA

I believe that what Maududdi was talking about here (and Allah knows best) was why a woman's hijab is more restrictive than a man's.  His point is (and again Allah knows best) that a man WILL be attracted to an attractive woman if he sees her without hijab, more than a woman would be in the same situation. And that the man is MORE LIKELY than the woman to act on his attraction than the woman, unless the woman is ... whatever. So he's not talking about marriage, but about the HARAM actions which a man/woman may do if he/she is attracted by someone of the opposite sex.  And his point is this is WHY the hijab needs to be more restrictive for women than for men.

So I guess the question to discuss is ... would a God fearing woman be more or less likely than a God fearing man to start acting in a haram way when she gets attracted to man ?  And I think the answer is definetly "less likely".
NS
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
bhaloo
03/28/03 at 21:56:07
[slm]

Where is this quote from Madudi taken from, referece, page number, etc.?
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
humble_muslim
03/29/03 at 13:11:32
AA

I would imagine that it is taken from "Purdah and the Satus of Women in Islam", one of his more famous books.  Purdah is the Urdu word for hijab.
NS
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
oneway2paradise
04/02/03 at 23:23:52
[quote author=ummfatima02 link=board=madrasa;num=1048672244;start=0#2 date=03/28/03 at 01:18:45] [slm]


?I also recommend Sh. Hamza Yusuf. He has some very good research on the Hur Al-Ayn. I know that this has always been a type of struggle with me to understand. He explains it coming from the research of a scholar by the name of M. Al-Ghazali
? ?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? [wlm]

? ? ? ? ? ? ?Ummfatima[/quote]

[slm]

I suggest you read this article about Hamza Yusuf.  I believe that he has incorporated some corrupt ideas into his teachings.  Here is an article about it:
[URL Removed]

[slm]



[Admin Note: Please re-read constitution rule about 'bashing scholars and other Muslims'.]
04/02/03 at 23:35:33
jannah
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
ummfatima02
04/03/03 at 14:06:15
dear one way to paradise  [slm]

 Thank you for trying to help. If you wish to send me that url, you may send it to me via email, or leave it  in my message box (if I haven't checked it already). Although I must say that Hamza Yusuf is considered to be one of MY favorite learned persons of this century. Although we all may disagree with some of everyone, we all can benefit each other by bringing what we know to the table, and leaving off things that may cause some disagreement :)
 
   We are all in this together, the muslimun. And let's hope that we can all stay together and united, and not become split apart by differences, or we will become similar to the disbelievers, the Kaffirun. Insha-Allah we will stay united during our perilous times!

                                 [wlm] ummfatima
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
oneway2paradise
04/03/03 at 14:20:07
[slm]

 :'( I apologize.  I wasn't trying to bash a scholar.  :(  I was just trying to provide information that I thought would be helpful.  Is it ok for me to send the article to her privately?

[slm]
Re: A "Corrupted" "Un-natural" Woman?!
jannah
04/04/03 at 14:41:08
[wlm]

You can do whatever you want privately as long as it is ok with the other person inshaAllah. :)


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