Protection of women in the Qur'an

Providing maintenance for divorced women:
Allah states in the Qur'anthat providing maintenance for divorced
women is an obligation for all men of faith:
Divorced women should receive maintenance given with correctness and
courtesy: a duty for all who believe. (Surat al-Baqara: 241)
The amount of the maintenance is to be determined by mutual agreement
of the involved parties. While determining this amount, believers
assume a conscientious attitude and take into account the social
status and the needs of the woman. The appropriatebehaviour Allah
recommends believers is stated as follows:
… But give them a gift—he who is wealthy according to his means and he
who is less well off according to his means—a gift to be given with
correctness and courtesy: a duty for all good-doers. (Surat al-Baqara:
236)
He who has plenty should spend out from his plenty, but he whose
provision is restricted should spend from what Allah has given him.
Allah does not demand from any self more than He has given it. Allah
willappoint after difficulty, ease. (Surat at-Talaq: 7)
Whether well-off or poor, Allah commands believers to support women in
a manner commensurate with their own means. In societies which do not
live by the values of religion, generously supporting an ex-wife, from
whom one can no longer derive any benefits, is regarded as vain
spending. This being so, the people in question try to give the
minimum alimony possible and to this end even resort to fraudulence.
However, guided by his conscienceand his compassion, a believer never
reneges on such an obligation. After all, he performs this duty as a
good deed which will earn him the approval of Allah. That he has no
further expectations from her orthat she has fallen in his estimation,
never influences his attitude. Besides, his humane feelings and
compassionincline him to support a person who is in need. For that
reason, those who are well-off make adequate provision for divorced
women to havea good standard of living. Similarly, a poor person does
not shirk this responsibility, by saying, "I have insufficient means";
he fulfils this responsibility in the best way he can.
Not taking back the properties given to women after divorce:
If you desire to exchange one wife for another and have given your
original wife a large amount, do not take any of it. Would youtake it
by means of slander and outright crime? How could you take it when you
have been intimate with one another and they have made a binding
contractwith you? (Surat an-Nisa': 20-21)
In compliance with the command implicit in the above verses, upon the
decision to divorce, a man of faith makes no request whatsoever to
take back the properties he formerly gave to his wife. That is because
these properties were meant to be a safeguard for the woman and
theirloss may put her in difficulty. To prevent such an undesirable
situation, Allah imposes this condition upon malebelievers, thereby
securing the social well-being of women.
Besides, the extent of this property does not lessen the obligation
thisverse imposes upon a man. Even if a believing man has given all
his possessions to his spouse, he does not request the return of
anything after separation.
As is evident, these commands of the Qur'an make manifest the
superiority of the understanding of mercy the Qur'an offers to
believers. At the cost of placing themselves in difficulties,
believers never depart from the Qur'anic notion of mercyconveyed in
these verses, and fully comply with it.
Lodging divorced women:
Thanks to the merciful attitude the Qur'an enjoins upon man, believers
do not leave the women they divorce in a desperate situation without
providing them with adequate means to live. Women may not have a
family that can take care of them or even a house in which tostay.
Considering these and similar conditions, believers, although
divorced, ensure the welfare of women, until they find a way to
support themselves.
Upon their mutual decision, believers allow the women they divorce to
live in their own houses or in some other place under their control.
Their main intention here is to earn the approval of Allah and to
display a compassionate attitude to another believer. Other than this,
they have no other expectation. During this period, Allah recommends
that believing men should not engage in any deed which would do any
harm to women they divorced or put them in a difficult situation. This
affectionate approach displayed towards women is explained in the
verse below:
Let them live where you live, according to your means. Do not put
pressure on them, so as to harass them. If they are pregnant, maintain
them until they give birth. If they are sucklingfor you, give them
their wages and consult together with correctness and courtesy. But if
you make things difficult for one another, another woman should do the
suckling for you. (Surat at-Talaq: 6)
The second part of the verse recommends that believers display moral
perfection while settlingany problems that may arise after divorce,
and that they resolve all disputes in compliance with Islamic rules.
The values that ensure such asettlement no doubt stem from the fear of
Allah a person harbours in his heart, and conscience. Believers, who
value a person primarily because of his or her faith, can in no way
allow anything harmful to happen to him or her, nor can they put that
person in a difficult situation. To come up to this standardof moral
perfection, menof faith provide lodging to and otherwise meet the
needs of their divorced wives, as long as they ask for such support.
Not inheriting women against their will:
You who believe! It is not lawful for you to inherit women by force.
Nor may you treat them harshly so that you can make off with part of
what you have given them, unless they commit an act of flagrant
indecency. Live together with them correctly and courteously… (Surat
an-Nisa': 19)
Allah warns believers against inheriting women against their will,
except in situations in which women commitan explicit indecency. Never
exerting any pressure on women, believing men allow women to make use
of their possessions in any way they please after divorce.
However, we must bear in mind that, being so scrupulous comes from
observing Qur'anic morality. Due to believers' adherence to Qur'anic
principles firmlybased on the fear of Allah, there is no diminution of
the mercy shown by them to women, no matter what the circumstances.
Indeed, even in an environment where there is no one to bear witness
to their conduct,their compassionate attitude never alters. Aware that
Allah witnesses every deed they do, believers commit themselves to
never swerving from moral perfection.
In the Qur'an, there are numerous other verses about the measures that
secure the protection of women with compassionand the prevention of
their suffering. All these explicitly reveal how Qur'anic morality
encourages the showingof mercy to women and how believers commit
themselves to displaying this noble attitude. (For further reading,
see Harun Yahya "The mercy of believers" )