Zakir Naik on Women: Part 3 - Women in Politics

 For part 2, please click here.

Zakir Naik emphatically and incessantly argues that Islam promotes the equality of women and men, often citing Qur’anic verses such as 9:71, which reads, "The men and the women are supporters of each other." He asserts that the term "supporter" here means that they are each other’s supporters not only socially but politically as well. He lists women’s political rights as their rights to vote, take part in law-making, and join battlefields. His example for women’s participation in lawmaking is rather interesting:

According to the famous Hadith in which Hazrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) was discussing with the Sahabas, and considering the putting an upper limit on ‘Meher’, since young men were discouraged from getting married – a lady from the back seat objected and said “When the Qur’an says in Surah Nisa Ch. 4, Verse No. 20 that ‘You can even give a heap of treasure, a heap of gold in Meher, when the Qur’an puts no limit on ‘Meher’, who is Umar to put a limit (May Allah be pleased with him)?” And immediately, Hazrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) said: ‘Umar is wrong and the lady is right’.

He interprets the woman’s objection to Umar’s decision as a "breach of the constitution," and attributes to Islam her boldness to speak up: That the Qur’an is the constitution of Muslims "means a woman can even take part in lawmaking." How he reaches this conclusion is unclear, since he makes the assumption that the lady's bold disagreement with the caliph means that Islam approves of what she did; Naik also assumes that her standing up for her right to an unlimited dower means that Islam gives women the right to have an opinion in lawmaking. Lastly, in his discussion of women in the battlefield, he writes, "As the Qur’an says, ‘Man is the protector of the woman’; under normal circumstances the women should not go to the battlefield…. Women are allowed to go there only when required or under necessity; otherwise, not." Despite this obvious restriction, Naik presents his point as though there were no restrictions whatsoever and that women are Islamically permitted to participate in battle; he also does not define what "normal" conditions are and what "under necessity" actually means. He reasons that women should not be on the battlefield unless required and completely neglects to mention Aisha's role in the Battle of Camel, which she herself led against Ali.

Reference: Zakir Naik, Rights of Women in Islam: Modern or Outdated?, pp. 27-29.