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--- Issue: "785" Section: ID: "1" SName: "Living The Quran" url: "living-the-quran" SOrder: "1" Content: "\r\n

Responsibility not Superiority
\r\n Al-Nisa (The Women) Chapter 4: Verse 34 (partial)

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"Men shall take care of women with what God has bestowed on the former ..."

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This verse does not state a "superiority" of man over woman; rather it explains the "responsibility" of a man for sustaining the family. Since the woman is physically restricted from earning a living during the late stage of her pregnancy and the first year - or more- of her child's life, it is essential to show who is responsible for supporting the wife, mother and the children. This is the "care" that is mentioned in the above verse of the Quran. In Arabic, the verb (qama) with the preposition (‘ala) means to "take care of".

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But, this responsibility of taking a care of "qawama," is within the family as the Qur'anic verse shows clearly, and cannot be extended to be a general rule in the whole society. Besides, the man's obligation to support the family does not contradict or restrict the woman's right to work if she likes to do so, and a coordinated timetable for both spouses can be reached after a constructive discussion that ends in mutual consent. When a man does not work and cannot secure for himself and his family a decent living for any reason, he cannot assume "qawama" just because he is related to the gender of men. However, his wife who works and earns money and secures for the whole family its needs should treat the non-workingman respectfully. Each believer - male or female - has to observe the divine teachings in mutual relations, whether one may be more or less powerful. This is the main difference between a God-conscious society and a jungle of selfish materialist.

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A view that makes a man superior to a woman because he is physically 'stronger' lacks the support of the Quran and authentic Sunna. The divine sources mention "care" and "responsibility" within the family, but not superiority. Muslim men and women are equal in their individual and social responsibilities. They have to support each other in maintaining human rights and attaining moral and material development of each and of the whole society, being in charge (protectors) of one another and of the whole society "awaliya", and enjoining the doing of what is right and forbidding the doing of what is wrong.

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Compiled From:
\r\n \"Muslim Women - The Family and the Society\" - Fathi Osman, pp. 27, 28

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