Slave, Equal, Guardian: Who is She?
Why is it the man who is the breadwinner?
As for the responsibility of providing for the family (wife and children) this responsibility falls precisely on the man, whether husband or father, because he is the primary breadwinner. This rule will remain in effect until the Day of Judgment and it was established for wise and important social reasons, which we will explain in more detail.
Why does this rule persist, despite customs changing and civilisations evolving? Because if women were fully involved in the earning process and placed on an equal footing with men, one of the most sacred social duties – childcare and proper upbringing, would remain unfulfilled, as women, due to their busy schedules, would be unable to care for their offspring and, consequently, assume such responsibility. Since men are unable to fully replace women in this role, women remain the primary figure in this matter.
So, we must understand: the issue here is not that a woman is a woman and a man is a man. The reason for the division of roles is not gender, but life circumstances and wise reasons related to the social structure.
If men were obligated to raise children, it would distract them from more important tasks for which they bear primary responsibility: social and economic responsibilities, which are difficult or impossible for women to completely fulfill.
Why are women commanded to cover themself, but men are not?
Woman is obliged to cover her attractiveness: if a woman were seduced by a man in the same way a man is seduced by a woman, the same command would apply to men as well.
But Allah, the Most High, Who created men and women with their natural qualities, knows best who is more susceptible to what. He knows that women are attracted to qualities and characteristics in men that are different from those that attract men to women. Therefore, religious injunctions differ in these matters in accordance with the differences in nature and preferences of each.
With all of the above said, men and women are equal in those duties where the source of temptation (fitna) is the same.
For example, the obligation to cover the area between the navel and the knees applies to both, because the effect of exposing this part of the body is equally tempting for both men and women. However, Islam makes a distinction regarding the qualities that attract a man to a woman and vice versa, because the objects of attraction differ, as do the natural inclinations of the sexes.
Why are social roles more important than gender?
Thus, we can draw a general conclusion: the mere fact of being a man or a woman does not in itself justify differences in duties. If any differences exist, they are due to external factors related to life circumstances and social functions, as we have shown in the examples.
We also see that these same factors can lead to different duties even among men or women themselves, depending on their situation. This can be seen in the following example.
Imam Ahmad in his Musnad and an-Nasai in his Sunan reported a hadith from Umm Salama, who said, “O Messenger of God ﷺ, why are we women not mentioned in the Koran like men?” Then the ayah of the Koran was revealed (the meaning of the commentary), “Indeed, for the Muslims and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the submissive men and submissive women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the men who give charity (obligatory zakat) and the women who give charity, the men who fast and the women who fast, the men who guard their chastity and the women who guard their chastity and the men and women who remember Allah ﷻ often, Allah ﷻ has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” (Sura Al-Ahzab, ayah 35).
This ayah shows that Allah, the Most High, has united men and women into one category, encompassing all the duties He has prescribed for His slaves. He has not differentiated between them based on whether they are male or female.
If you see a difference between men and women in some of the rights established by Allah ﷻ, know that this is not due to femininity per se, but to external circumstances that sometimes affect men and sometimes women. Also, some rights sometimes remain associated with women due to certain social conditions and reasons conditioned by the realities of life.
