The Grand Imam Urges Jurisprudential Councils to Bring about Jurisprudential Revolution against Customs and Traditions that Oppressed Women in Name of Shariah
The Grand Imam: Progress and Renaissance of Muslim Society Are Contingent on Advancement of Muslim Women and Ensuring their Rights
Members of Nigerian Religious Leaders Delegation to Grand Imam of al-Azhar: We Promise to Do our Utmost to Promote your Vision of Women’s Rights in Islam
His Eminence the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Prof. Ahmad at-Tayyeb, stated that Islamic Shariah did justice to women, preserved their dignity and gave them a pivotal role in building societies. It also liberated them from the constraints of pre-Islamic ignorance (jahiliyyah), granting them a mandated share in inheritance after they had been denied inheritance. In addition, it granted them financial independence, prohibited the killing and burying alive of girls and guaranteed their rights to education and participation in social life. It rendered women counterpart of men, as the Holy Quran explicitly stated women’s rights “women shall have rights similar to those due from them, with justice” [Q. 2: 228].This was a challenge to the prevailing norms at the time, as the Quran was revealed to a society known for oppressing and restricting women as well as diminishing their rights.
Moreover, he emphasized during his meeting with the high-level delegation of religious leaders from Kano State, Nigeria, the urgent need for a jurisprudential revolution in various jurisprudential councils and fatwa institutions against customs and traditions that oppressed and deprived women of many of their rights in the name of Shariah. He called for a fair discussion of fatwas related to women’s affairs and rights that does justice to Islam and not leaving any opportunity for old pre-Islamic customs to prevail over the texts and implications of Shariah.
At-Tayyeb expressed his deep regret that some scholars and muftis are one of the reasons for the spread of fatwas that oppressed women in the name of Shariah. This could be directly attributed to neglecting texts that preserve women’s dignity and highlighting other texts that portrayed women as inferior to men, finding erroneous justifications for these views. This led to the spread of violence and injustice against women, to the extent that we still see many husbands treat their wives in ways that are inappropriate humanly, morally and religiously.
The Grand Imam expressed his astonishment that the status of Muslim women did not reach the expected level, despite the existence of so many foundations, institutions and centers serving for the rights of women. His Eminence added that many of Muslim women’s rights nowadays are still wasted compared to what they had been in early Islam and the rules Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) had been applying during that time. The Grand Imam stressed the necessity to perceive and bear that responsibility before Allah Almighty and to draw the societies’ and governments’ attention to the Fatwas and issues that are concerned with wasting women’s dignity and aggressing their rights, in addition to the misreading that gives priority to customs and traditions rather than the legal religious texts. Further, His Eminence underlined the inevitability of putting Allah Almighty before our eyes while transferring and applying His judgments to people. He pointed out that the state of division, fragmentation and disagreement, we are suffering at present, should not be a reason for not unifying our Fatwas and perspectives that form our reality, otherwise, such reality will remain farther than the divine guidance and order Allah Almighty sets for His universe. Additionally, His Eminence emphasized the desperate need for retrieving the rights acknowledged by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) for women, concluding his word with the Prophet’s commandment: “fear Allah in respect of women”.
On their part, the delegation expressed their pleasure to meet with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar as well as their appreciation of the efforts exerted by His Eminence to reflect the righteous image of Islam. The delegation underscored that al-Azhar is the beacon that enlightens the whole Islamic nation; it is the heart of the nation and the utmost destination for knowledge seekers. In fact, al-Azhar invested in the education of all Muslims worldwide, and it is not limited to teaching the religious and Arabic sciences only, but also the other modern applied sciences.
The delegation addressed the Grand Imam, saying: “we pledge to exert our best efforts to introduce and transfer your perspectives concerning the issue of women rights in Islam”. In the same vein, the delegation requested to increase the number of Nigerian imams joining al-Azhar International Academy for Training Imams and Preachers, in order to enhance their skills to better handle the new social issues and refute the extremist ideas.
