Women in Islam - Book Report/Review Example

A girl child is born to share full rights along with male children. She has the right to receive and manage her own dowry and may not be forced to marry someone she does not wish to marry. The state has a responsibility to provide work and a fair wage but individual men have also a responsibility to provide for the wife and for their children, especially during the pregnancy of the wife and the time when she cares for young children. Children must respect their parents, both mother, and father, in all things.

Divorce is allowed but should be seen as a last resort, undertaken only when mediation has failed, and when the due legal process has been followed. Widows are permitted to remarry after three months waiting time. Inheritances favor men in quantity because men have more responsibilities and costs, but Muslims are encouraged to be generous far beyond the minimum that Sharia demands. Responsibility is not the same as superiority. Men and women are equal and should share home tasks like childcare and housework in a spirit of love and respect for each other.

Polygamy is permitted in Islam but was always intended only for extreme situations. Monogamy is more respectful and fair for all concerned. Some traditions which have grown up over time in Islamic societies are based on human fashions or on readings of one or other tiny part of the Quran and Sunna without reference to the whole message of Islam.