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Your guide: Miss RabiaReads every story twice: once for fun, once for the paper.
Pause and reflect, as the book asks before you read: what challenges did women, orphans and slaves face in pre-Islamic societies? Why might reforming their rights have been revolutionary at the time?
Read paragraphs 1–5 in your book first (pp. 2–3). Here is what they say, in the book's order.
The book: Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ is the Last Rasool of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ). In 7th-century Arabia, he ﷺ transformed a deeply tribal and unjust society into one based on justice, compassion and equality.
Among his ﷺ most groundbreaking reforms were those for the most oppressed groups of his time: women, orphans and slaves. His teachings are embedded in the Qur'an and his practices (Sunnah).
Before Islam, Arabian society had a strong tribal structure, patriarchal norms and social inequality. Women were deprived of basic rights; in some cases newborn girls were buried alive.
Orphans were exploited and left without care. Slavery was widespread, and slaves had no rights. Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ brought sweeping reforms based on human dignity, justice and mercy.
His ﷺ teachings fundamentally altered the status of women. He ﷺ emphasized the spiritual and moral equality of men and women, as stated in the Qur'an:
O humankind! Surely, We have created you from a single (pair of) male and female,
and made you into tribes and families so that you may know one another (and so build mutuality and co-operative relationships,
not so that you may take pride in your differences of race or social rank, and breed enmities). Surely the noblest,
most honourable of you in God's [Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ)] sight is the one best in piety, righteousness, and reverence for God [Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ)].
Surely God [Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ)] is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Qur'an 49:13)
He ﷺ granted women legal rights that were unheard of in many societies at that time. Under Islamic law, women were given these basic rights:
a. Own and inherit property. The Qur'an mandated rights of inheritance for women:
For the male heirs is a share out of what parents and near kindred leave behind,
and for the female heirs is a share of what parents and near kindred leave behind, whether it (the inheritance)
be little or much – a share ordained by God [Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ]. (Surah An-Nisa 4:7)
So women could inherit from their fathers, husbands and children.
b. Consent to marriage. Women could no longer be forced into marriage. The Rasoolullah ﷺ emphasized that a woman's consent was a necessary condition for a valid marriage.
c. Divorce and maintenance. Islam introduced rules for the fair treatment of women in divorce, including financial support. The Qur'an tells:
Likewise, there should be a provision for the divorced women according to customary good and religiously approvable practice, as a duty upon the God-revering, pious.
(Qur'an 2:241)
d. Education and knowledge. The Rasoolullah ﷺ encouraged the pursuit of knowledge for both men and women. He ﷺ said:
“Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.”
Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ also redefined the role of women in family and society. His ﷺ matrimonial life was an example of mutual respect and partnership.
He ﷺ involved women in public matters: they voiced their opinions, took part in treaties, and even served in combat when necessary.
Step 1 / 7
Pause and reflect, as the book asks before you read: what challenges did women, orphans and slaves face in pre-Islamic societies? Why might reforming their rights have been revolutionary at the time?
Read paragraphs 1–5 in your book first (pp. 2–3). Here is what they say, in the book's order.
The book: Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ is the Last Rasool of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ). In 7th-century Arabia, he ﷺ transformed a deeply tribal and unjust society into one based on justice, compassion and equality.
Among his ﷺ most groundbreaking reforms were those for the most oppressed groups of his time: women, orphans and slaves. His teachings are embedded in the Qur'an and his practices (Sunnah).
Before Islam, Arabian society had a strong tribal structure, patriarchal norms and social inequality. Women were deprived of basic rights; in some cases newborn girls were buried alive.
Orphans were exploited and left without care. Slavery was widespread, and slaves had no rights. Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ brought sweeping reforms based on human dignity, justice and mercy.
His ﷺ teachings fundamentally altered the status of women. He ﷺ emphasized the spiritual and moral equality of men and women, as stated in the Qur'an:
O humankind! Surely, We have created you from a single (pair of) male and female,
and made you into tribes and families so that you may know one another (and so build mutuality and co-operative relationships,
not so that you may take pride in your differences of race or social rank, and breed enmities). Surely the noblest,
most honourable of you in God's [Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ)] sight is the one best in piety, righteousness, and reverence for God [Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ)].
Surely God [Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ)] is All-Knowing, All-Aware. (Qur'an 49:13)
He ﷺ granted women legal rights that were unheard of in many societies at that time. Under Islamic law, women were given these basic rights:
a. Own and inherit property. The Qur'an mandated rights of inheritance for women:
For the male heirs is a share out of what parents and near kindred leave behind,
and for the female heirs is a share of what parents and near kindred leave behind, whether it (the inheritance)
be little or much – a share ordained by God [Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ]. (Surah An-Nisa 4:7)
So women could inherit from their fathers, husbands and children.
b. Consent to marriage. Women could no longer be forced into marriage. The Rasoolullah ﷺ emphasized that a woman's consent was a necessary condition for a valid marriage.
c. Divorce and maintenance. Islam introduced rules for the fair treatment of women in divorce, including financial support. The Qur'an tells:
Likewise, there should be a provision for the divorced women according to customary good and religiously approvable practice, as a duty upon the God-revering, pious.
(Qur'an 2:241)
d. Education and knowledge. The Rasoolullah ﷺ encouraged the pursuit of knowledge for both men and women. He ﷺ said:
“Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.”
Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ also redefined the role of women in family and society. His ﷺ matrimonial life was an example of mutual respect and partnership.
He ﷺ involved women in public matters: they voiced their opinions, took part in treaties, and even served in combat when necessary.
Read the quotations exactly as the book prints them. In an answer, copy the translation and its reference; do not put a verse into your own words.
Q1. A1 (p. 6): What was the social condition of women, orphans, and slaves in pre-Islamic Arabia?
Women were deprived of basic human rights, and some newborn girls were buried alive. Orphans were exploited and left without care. Slaves were treated as subhuman, with no rights or legal recognition.
Q2. A2 (p. 6): What are the three specific rights that Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ introduced for women?
Women could own and inherit property (Surah An-Nisa 4:7). A woman's consent became necessary for a valid marriage. In divorce, women had the right to fair treatment and financial support (Qur'an 2:241).
✗ Writing a Qur'an translation from memory in new words.
✓ Copy the translation and its reference exactly as printed, for example (Qur'an 49:13).
✗ Mixing a right for women with a reform for orphans or slaves in A2.
✓ Take the rights only from paragraph 4 (a–d). Orphans and slaves come in paragraphs 6–10.
✗ Writing the Rasool's name without the salutation the book prints.
✓ Follow the book: Hazrat Muhammad ﷺ, the Rasoolullah ﷺ, and Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَىٰ).
1. Which three groups does paragraph 1 name as the most marginalized?
(b) Paragraph 1, p. 2.
2. Which reference does the book give for the verse on male and female heirs?
(d) Paragraph 4a, pp. 2–3.
3. According to paragraph 4b, what was a necessary condition for a valid marriage?
(a) The book: the Rasoolullah ﷺ emphasized that a woman's consent was a necessary condition (p. 3).
4. In the glossary, 'patriarchal' describes a system where
(c) Glossary, p. 6.
5. Paragraph 5 says women took part in public matters. Which is NOT in the book's list?
(b) Paragraph 5 lists opinions, treaties and combat when necessary (p. 3).
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