Islam is logical and rational. The arguments provided thus far are sexist and poor. The arguments provided thus far are opinions of who knows who. They are conjecture. The arguments are poor because they bring discord. There is no satisfaction of the mind nor the soul.
And he was also human, doing the best he could, may God reward him handsomely. Humans may err despite their best efforts.
How else would you explain it, brother? Why did scholars of the past, as well as recent times, such as Al-Albaani, find many hadeeths in Al-Bukhaari and Muslim that they rated weak?
Could the reason be that he didn't know? Did he know everything there is to know? Did God or His Messenger say that there will come a man from the city of Bukhaara who will not make any mistakes? We know the Prophet, peace be upon him, himself made mistakes and God corrected him, so why is it unbelievable that a distinguished scholar may make them?
Norhayati Kaprawi, a prominent Malaysian Muslim women's activist, said the appointments were long overdue.
"What they must focus on is ensuring that they deliver justice and take into consideration ... the realities of Muslim women's lives," Norhayati said.
You're right. In fact, the Quran has implied that leadership by women is fine. We learn that from the story of Balqees, the Queen of Sheba. It's in Chapter 27 (Soorat An-Naml). In this Chapter, we hear the hoepoe bird agonizing that Sheba worships the sun and we read how angry Solomon was, peace be upon him, that Sheba worships the sun, but not one word criticizing that Sheba has a queen. Neither does God comment on that, nor did the Prophet, peace be upon him. If there was anything fundamentally wrong with a woman appointed leader over men, God or His Messenger would have said something.
Quite the contrary, in fact. The story of Balqees as narrated in the Quran shows a wise woman. She consults with her court and military. She does the diplomatic thing and sends Solomon a gift. And, when she recognizes the truth, she accepts it. To me, that's a leader. The story, therefore, is praise for women leaders, far from the condemnation opined by many scholars.
This, of course, is rational and natural. Some women have leadership qualities and others don't. Some men have leadership qualities and others don't. There is no biological cause for leadership!
Some will jump in and quote a hadeeth that says, "No people ever prosper who appoint over them a woman." This hadeeth has been shown by many scholars to be doubtful, because it was narrated by a convicted felon! His name was Abu-Bakra. He was convicted of bearing false testimony in an adultery case. Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may God have been pleased with him, flogged him eighty times and never allowed his testimony, as Chapter 24 mandates. A man whose testimony is permanently rejected cannot be believed in any narration he gives.
And how will appointing women as judges in these affairs solve anything? They can be equally or in fact, even more biassed and sexist than men. And history has proven this matter. The above situations require justice, which is a human and not gender specific quality.
If justice is not a gender specific quality, then there shouldn't be an issue. And to claim that women are even more biased and sexist than men is opinion. Based on what I've read lately, men are far more sexist. And some women buy into their opinions.
This is really discouraging.
Opening the door to sisters doesn't solve the situation, because being female doesn't qualify one as being just.
It's a metaphor, a figure of speech. The Arabs use metaphors all the time. You probably noticed that after reading their poetry. Exegesis books have pointed that out too about the Quran in abundance.
There's absolutely no basis for stating that women are less impartial. To give a real world example, there is a female judge in Palestine right now and all the women expected her to be lenient with them and sympathize with them but she doesn't - she is impartial and strict in her application of the law. She does not side with women simply because they are women.
The whole thing is simply ridiculous. If you think a woman sides with a woman because she's a woman, then why don't you think a man would side with a man because he's a man? There is so much sexism and unjust patriarchy in society today - the courts can only benefit from female judges. Women who are educated and have proven their ability to fairly cases and apply law, they should have the opportunity to become judges.
Some of the attitudes in this thread are further proof to me that we desperately need more women lawyers and judges.
Assalaam walaikum,
As the brother said we have female related issues in Muslim lands..hello..who better to give fair judgement on a female issue than a woman. If I am not mistaken the Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, would suggest to women to seek counsel from his wives.......
There's absolutely no basis for stating that women are less impartial. To give a real world example, there is a female judge in Palestine right now and all the women expected her to be lenient with them and sympathize with them but she doesn't - she is impartial and strict in her application of the law. She does not side with women simply because they are women.
The whole thing is simply ridiculous. If you think a woman sides with a woman because she's a woman, then why don't you think a man would side with a man because he's a man? There is so much sexism and unjust patriarchy in society today - the courts can only benefit from female judges. Women who are educated and have proven their ability to fairly cases and apply law should have the opportunity to become judges.
Not every woman is suited to be a judge, and not every man is either. It has nothing to do with sex or gender but personality and intelligence which both men and woman are equally as capable of having.
Some of the attitudes in this thread are further proof to me that we desperately need more women lawyers and judges.