His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, received today, Wednesday at Al-Azhar headquarters, a delegation of the Religious Affairs Committee in Uzbekistan, the Administration of Muslims of Uzbekistan, and the Islamic Academy of Uzbekistan, to discuss women and family issues in Islam. The delegation is headed by Dr. Kadirkhanova Malika Akbarovna, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Women and Gender Equality of the Oliy Majlis (the Uzbek parliament). 

His Eminence said that the affairs of women in Islam resurfaces from time to time on the global scene to accuse Islam falsely of being a religion hostile to women. He pointed out that the Holy Qur’an, the Prophetic Sunnah, and the conduct of the Prophet (PBUH) in dealing with wives clearly establish equality between men and women. He added that this kind of equality regulates an integrative relation that allocates the roles of men and women in a way that suits the nature of each gender, and that the Qur’an and Sunnah explain the method of implementing this equality, which was confirmed by the behavior of the Prophet (PBUH) towards women in Mecca and Medina. 

He pointed out that Islam assigned husbands and wives specific and clear tasks, and established the marriage system as an extremely important institution and provided it with all the factors for success and stability.

The Grand Imam affirmed that the Qur’an and the Sunnah have referred to the philosophy of equality between men and women in several places and made preserving the family a noble goal that each party must do everything they can to attain, even in the most difficult circumstances, even when one party hates the other, as in Allah Almighty’s saying: “Treat them fairly. If you happen to dislike them, you may hate something which Allah turns into a great blessing.” (Qur’an, 4:19), and the Prophet’s hadith: “A believer must not hate a believing woman; if he dislikes one of her characteristics, he will be pleased with another.” 

The Grand Imam pointed out that many Muslims do not understand the true meaning of the Almighty’s saying: “But men have a degree over them,” (Qur’an 2:228) and they interpret it as an absolute preference for men over women, but the truth is that the concept of degree refers to more responsibility towards family, children, spending, and other responsibilities of men.

His Eminence pointed out that the Prophet (PBUH) was sent during an era in which women were denied their rights and were not treated humanely. Rather, men were quick to kill their daughters immediately after they were born by burying them alive. The Prophet came to announce that “Women are the twin halves of men,” and that equality between men and women is equality in merit, status, and humanity.

The Grand Imam explained that the Prophet (PBUH) established a culture of equality between men and women, and the male and female companions inherited this culture, so they were keen to apply it, and they followed his example. Hence, women excelled in several fields, such as science, and were partners with men in building the Islamic society that flourished and expanded at that time.

But when interest in the teachings of Islam began to falter, customs and traditions prevailed in dealing with women’s issues, so women lost many of the rights granted to them by Islam, and a new school of jurisprudence emerged that was not based on the texts of Sharia as much as it was based on social customs and traditions at that time.

Since that time, Muslim women have lost many of their rights, and the Islamic community has lost the second pillar upon which it depends to achieve its renaissance and prosperity. His Eminence declared: “I am among those who believe that one of the reasons for the weakness and humiliation that afflicted the Islamic community is ignoring the Islamic logic in establishing equality between men and women,” stressing that women must fight to regain the rights guaranteed to them by Islam.

For their part, the members of the Uzbek delegation expressed their happiness for visiting this esteemed institution, which is the destination of learning and knowledge for Muslims around the world and for meeting the Grand Imam. They also expressed their appreciation for his positions, which support the issues of Islam and Muslims. Being proud that nearly 3,000 Uzbek students study at Al-Azhar institutes and university, the delegation stressed their aspiration to continue cooperating with Al-Azhar in a way that serves Muslims in Uzbekistan and meets their religious, dawah and scientific needs.