Saturday, July 28, 2012

1] There were no female Prophets or Messengers – discussion of the wisdom behind that

1]
Why were all the Prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam men? Why were there no women Prophets? Why did they have to be male?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The Muslim does not hesitate to believe in the great wisdom of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, in all that He does. One of His names is al-Hakeem (the Most Wise) and one of his attributes is hikmah (wisdom).
Allah, may He be exalted, has decreed that one of the attributes of the Messengers is masculinity.Some of the scholars stated that there was consensus on this point. And there is the greatest wisdom behind that.
Shaykh ‘Umar al-Ashqar (may Allah preserve him) said:
Another aspect of the perfection that Allah granted is that He chose all the Messengers whom He sent from among men.He did not send any Messenger from among women. This exclusivity isindicated by the verse in which Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And We sent not before you (O Muhammad SAW) but men to whom We inspired” [al-Anbiya’ 21:7].
The Messengers were menand not women for reasons which were dictated by the nature of their task. For example:
1.
The role of Messenger requires a great many tasks to be performed: addressing men and women, meeting people in secret and openly, moving throughout the land, confronting liars andestablishing proof againstthem and debating with them, preparing and leading armies, and goingthrough the sufferings of war. All of that is suitable for men but not for women.
2.
The role of the Messenger demands that the Messenger should be in charge of those who follow him, so he issues commands and prohibitions to his followers, and he rules and judges among them. If a woman were entrusted with such tasks,she would not be able to do them properly, and there would be people who would refuse to follow and obey her.
3.
Masculinity is more perfect. Hence Allah has given the role of responsibility to men overwomen:
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women” [an-Nisa’ 4:34].
And the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said that women are lacking inreason and religious commitment.
4.
Women have to cope with things that prevent them from doing many tasks, such as menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and nifaas (bleeding following childbirth), which is accompanied by psychological stresses andpains, in addition to the care that is required by the child. All of that prevents her from being able to fulfil the role of Messenger and carrying out its duties.
(p. 84-85)
Secondly:
With regard to Prophethood, some of thescholars – such as Abu’l-Hasan al-Ash‘ari, al-Qurtubi and Ibn Hazm –were of the view that there were some female Prophets! including Maryam bint ‘Imraan. Their evidence is the verses in which it says that Allah, may He be exalted, sent revelation tothe mother of Moosa, for example, and what it saysabout the angels speakingto Maryam (peace be upon her), and also what it says about Allah, may He be exalted, having chosen her above the women of the world.
What they said does not seem to be correct.
Shaykh ‘Umar al-Ashqar (may Allah preserve him) said:
What they say cannot be taken as proof of the Prophethood of women. They Their view may be refuted from several angles:
1.
We do not accept their view that the Prophet is not commanded to convey the message, to teach and to mix with people. Our view is that there is no difference between a Prophet and the Messenger in this regard; the differences that are Prophet is sent with the laws of the Messenger who came before him.
If this is the case, then thereasons why a woman Messenger cannot be sent apply also to the sending of a woman Prophet. There are many reasons which make will be incapable of playing the role of the Prophet.
2.
The revelation sent by Allah to these women, themother of Moosa and Aasiyah, happened in the form of dreams. We knowthat dreams may form a part of revelation, and that this may happen to people other than the Prophets. .../ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en