Investigating the View Points of Islam (Qur'an and Sauna of Prophet Muhammad (P. B. U. H.)) Regarding the Presence of Women in Different Social, Political and Defensive Areas in Comparison to That of the West (Christianity and the Western Philosophy)

The present research is intended to compare the position of women in two different schools of Islam and west and to see the position of women in different social, political, and defensive areas. In order to achieve this aim, first of all the position of Women in Qur'an and sauna of Prophet Muhammad (P. B. U. H. ) as the two great bases of Islam is investigated and then it tries to compare them with those of the position of women in the western schools of thought and philosophy and then compares the position of women in different common areas. Then the presence and the whys of women's presence in different areas in the western society are investigated. Then it will come upon conclusion after comparing the different viewpoints about women's presence in different areas. The basic hypothesis of this essay is to investigate: the positive viewpoint of Islam regarding the presence of women in different social, political, and defensive arenas on the basis of this religion's belief in the ability, capability and preserving the honor of women and this is why this presence is formally acknowledged but Christianity and philosophy as the two major components of western philosophy do not believe in the ability, capability and the rights of women for taking part in different areas and their participations have been limited to some inactive roles and in this way their honor and esteem have been damaged.

News ID: ۱۰۲۰۳۹

سه‌شنبه - ۳۰ تير ۲۰۰۸ / 2008 30 April

The Position of Women in Qur'an Since the Holy Qur'an is the words of God, it is necessary to read all the ayahs, words and the reasons why they have been sent; since there is a logical and a deep relationship between each of its sentences and it is not enough to read a sura and decree a rule or an order. Most of those who do not understand it, extract some rules from it that are in direct contrast to the intention of the ayahs and their senders. Such as the rule which had placed Khawarej (those who have gone out of Imam Ali's (A. S.) Camp). They have gone to fight with an Imam who was a spoken Qur'an with the weapon of "isn't it true that the arbitration is for God?" It is due to lack of understanding the language of Qur'an that many people, who are supposedly defending equal rights for men and women, consider the tone of Qur'an a manly tone in which the right of women has been subject to oblivion. The mistake of this group, in the first step, is their lack of understanding the language of Qur'an and secondly they have chosen the ayahs arbitrarily without paying attention to the preceding ayahs and those which come after. They have neglected the generality and wholeness of Qur'an and this is why such misunderstandings come out of their incomplete and illogical readings and the inequality of men and women are taken out from the heart of the Qura'nic Ayahs. The language of Qur'an is the language of common culture and conversation. Commonly man is supposed to stand for people I. e. male and female and not man against woman. There are, of course, some cases where God brings the name of men and women separately and in doing so it intends to destroy the corrupted and wasted ideas of pre – Islam society since they used to differentiate between men and women; they used to consider prayer and honors exclusively for men; therefore the Holy Qur'an wisely has said that: what has to be completed is spirit and the spirit is neither male nor female. When the Holy Qur'an, in ayah 18th of Al – Nisa (Women), says: «ÙŠØ§ Ø§ÙŠÙ‡Ø§ Ø§Ù„Ù†Ø§Ø³ Ø§ØªÙ‚ÙˆØ§ Ø±Ø¨ÙƒÙ… Ø§Ù„Ø°ÙŠ Ø®Ù„Ù‚ÙƒÙ… Ù…Ù† Ù†Ù?Ø³ ÙˆØ§ØØ¯Ù‡» “O people! Be careful of (your duty to) your lord, who created you from a single being”? This is a great reason for the equality of men and women. Here, gender is not so much a matter of concern since the addressee of God throughout Qur'an is the spirit of human beings, a spirit that forms the reality of human beings. If the formulator of everybody's reality is his / her spirit, then his / her body is no more than a means and this means is sometimes male and sometimes female. But the spirit of humans is neither male nor female. It is due to the same creation that men and women are equal in humanity and when the spirit is the source of grandeur and the major ladder of human being's ascendance toward God and it is neither male nor female and it is an abstract substance, therefore both men and women can achieve grandeur and it is not true to say that the spiritual capability of males is more than that of women. God says “we said to the angels: make obeisance to Adam … (Al – Baqara (The Cow), 34), and “I am going to place in the earth a caliph (Ibid. 30); now if we could take women out from being obeyed by the angels, then it would be impossible for Mary to have angels in her service or it was not feasible for Fatima to talk to them. There it can be said that the angels were asked to make obeisance to both males and females and hence in the world men and women are not different and the differences are merely related to the material world and in other words the order of the world makes it necessary that a creature be male and the other be female and in fact maleness and femaleness are seen throughout nature. There is no indication of any value or its contrary to be associated with being male or female in the holy Qur’an since values and anti – values are not gendered and its human beings who get them in accordance with the ways they select; If they go the straight and the true path that God decrees they would receive honor and esteem but if they go astray they would be carriers of turpitude. Ayah 35 of Al – Ahzab indicates that both men and women can achieve grandeur and goodness. The Holy God mentions both as with having great qualities: surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women, and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the fasting men and the fasting women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard, and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember-- Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward (35) Ø¥Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?Ø³Ù’Ù„Ù?Ù…Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?Ø³Ù’Ù„Ù?Ù…ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ù‚ÙŽØ§Ù†Ù?ØªÙ?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ù‚ÙŽØ§Ù†Ù?ØªÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„ØµÙ‘ÙŽØ§Ø¯Ù?Ù‚Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„ØµÙ‘ÙŽØ§Ø¯Ù?Ù‚ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„ØµÙ‘ÙŽØ§Ø¨Ù?Ø±Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„ØµÙ‘ÙŽØ§Ø¨Ù?Ø±ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ø®ÙŽØ§Ø´Ù?Ø¹Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ø®ÙŽØ§Ø´Ù?Ø¹ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?ØªÙŽØµÙŽØ¯Ù‘Ù?Ù‚Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?ØªÙŽØµÙŽØ¯Ù‘Ù?Ù‚ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„ØµÙ‘ÙŽØ§Ø¦Ù?Ù…Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„ØµÙ‘ÙŽØ§Ø¦Ù?Ù…ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’ØÙŽØ§Ù?Ù?Ø¸Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ Ù?Ù?Ø±Ù?ÙˆØ¬ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù…Ù’ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù’ØÙŽØ§Ù?Ù?Ø¸ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ø°Ù‘ÙŽØ§ÙƒÙ?Ø±Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽ ÙƒÙŽØ«Ù?ÙŠØ±Ù‹Ø§ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ø°Ù‘ÙŽØ§ÙƒÙ?Ø±ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? Ø£ÙŽØ¹ÙŽØ¯Ù‘ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù? Ù„ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù… Ù…Ù‘ÙŽØºÙ’Ù?Ù?Ø±ÙŽØ©Ù‹ ÙˆÙŽØ£ÙŽØ¬Ù’Ø±Ù‹Ø§ Ø¹ÙŽØ¸Ù?ÙŠÙ…Ù‹Ø§ ï´¿35ï´¾ In the holy Qur’an, in spite of all other religions and ideas as well as dominant beliefs of the society of those times, women have been considered equal with men; although there are some superficial differences between them such as the amount of inheritance and the responsibility of the family that is given to men and as such; but these differences are related to their social and natural conditions and there is not any difference between them from the humanitarian perspectives and spiritual positions in the Islamic programs; they are both equal and these equalities are to be argued on three bases: 1.Equality in Creation: A. Men and women are born of the same father and mother. o you men! surely we have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely allah is knowing, aware (Al – Hujraat (The Private Appartmenta13) ÙŠÙŽØ§ Ø£ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ù‡ÙŽØ§ Ø§Ù„Ù†Ù‘ÙŽØ§Ø³Ù? Ø¥Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽØ§ Ø®ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ‚Ù’Ù†ÙŽØ§ÙƒÙ?Ù… Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ø°ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ±Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ£Ù?Ù†Ø«ÙŽÙŠ ÙˆÙŽØ¬ÙŽØ¹ÙŽÙ„Ù’Ù†ÙŽØ§ÙƒÙ?Ù…Ù’ Ø´Ù?Ø¹Ù?ÙˆØ¨Ù‹Ø§ ÙˆÙŽÙ‚ÙŽØ¨ÙŽØ§Ø¦Ù?Ù„ÙŽ Ù„Ù?ØªÙŽØ¹ÙŽØ§Ø±ÙŽÙ?Ù?ÙˆØ§ Ø¥Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ Ø£ÙŽÙƒÙ’Ø±ÙŽÙ…ÙŽÙƒÙ?Ù…Ù’ Ø¹Ù?Ù†Ø¯ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù? Ø£ÙŽØªÙ’Ù‚ÙŽØ§ÙƒÙ?Ù…Ù’ Ø¥Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽ Ø¹ÙŽÙ„Ù?ÙŠÙ…ÙŒ Ø®ÙŽØ¨Ù?ÙŠØ±ÙŒ ï´¿ Ø§Ù„ØØ¬Ø±Ø§Øª 13ï´¾ B. Men and women are created of the same single being. o people! be careful of (your duty to) your lord, who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind) and spread from these two, many men and women; (Al – Nisa ( Women), 1) ÙŠÙŽØ§ Ø£ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ù‡ÙŽØ§ Ø§Ù„Ù†Ù‘ÙŽØ§Ø³Ù? Ø§ØªÙ‘ÙŽÙ‚Ù?ÙˆØ§Ù’ Ø±ÙŽØ¨Ù‘ÙŽÙƒÙ?Ù…Ù? Ø§Ù„Ù‘ÙŽØ°Ù?ÙŠ Ø®ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ‚ÙŽÙƒÙ?Ù… Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ù†Ù‘ÙŽÙ?Ù’Ø³Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ§ØÙ?Ø¯ÙŽØ©Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ®ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ‚ÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ù†Ù’Ù‡ÙŽØ§ Ø²ÙŽÙˆÙ’Ø¬ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§ ÙˆÙŽØ¨ÙŽØ«Ù‘ÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ù†Ù’Ù‡Ù?Ù…ÙŽØ§ Ø±Ù?Ø¬ÙŽØ§Ù„Ø§Ù‹ ÙƒÙŽØ«Ù?ÙŠØ±Ù‹Ø§ ÙˆÙŽÙ†Ù?Ø³ÙŽØ§Ø¡ ......ï´¿ Ø§Ù„Ù†Ø³Ø§Ø¡ 1ï´¾ he it is who created you from a single being, and of the same (kind) did he make his mate, that he might incline to her; (Al – Araf (The Heights), 189) Ù‡Ù?ÙˆÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù‘ÙŽØ°Ù?ÙŠ Ø®ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ‚ÙŽÙƒÙ?Ù… Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ù†Ù‘ÙŽÙ?Ù’Ø³Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ§ØÙ?Ø¯ÙŽØ©Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ¬ÙŽØ¹ÙŽÙ„ÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ù†Ù’Ù‡ÙŽØ§ Ø²ÙŽÙˆÙ’Ø¬ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§ Ù„Ù?ÙŠÙŽØ³Ù’ÙƒÙ?Ù†ÙŽ Ø¥Ù?Ù„ÙŽÙŠÙ’Ù‡ÙŽØ§ ï´¿189ï´¾ C. As it is mentioned in the two holy ayahs, " ÙˆÙŽØ®ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ‚ÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ù†Ù’Ù‡ÙŽØ§ Ø²ÙŽÙˆÙ’Ø¬ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§”? and created its mate of the same (kind) and " ÙˆÙŽØ¬ÙŽØ¹ÙŽÙ„ÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ù†Ù’Ù‡ÙŽØ§ Ø²ÙŽÙˆÙ’Ø¬ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§ of the same (kind) did he make his mate", the wife of man was created of the same being. D. Men and women are complementary. "Ù‡Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ Ù„Ù?Ø¨ÙŽØ§Ø³ÙŒ Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙƒÙ?Ù…Ù’ ÙˆÙŽØ£ÙŽÙ†ØªÙ?Ù…Ù’ Ù„Ù?Ø¨ÙŽØ§Ø³ÙŒ Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ they are an apparel for you and you are an apparel for them" 2. Equality in Gaining Humanistic Honor and Esteem: The holy Qur'an mentions the same ten characteristics that are mentioned for males, for women, too and it does not differentiate between them. ""Ø§Ù† Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…ÙŠÙ† Ùˆ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…Ø§Øª ... They are both promised to be benefited by virtuous life in the world which is to come. whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, we will most certainly make him live a happy life, and we will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did (Al – Nahl (The Bee), 97) (Ù…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ ØµÙŽØ§Ù„Ù?ØÙ‹Ø§ Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ø°ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ±Ù? Ø£ÙŽÙˆÙ’ Ø£Ù?Ù†Ø«ÙŽÙŠ ÙˆÙŽÙ‡Ù?ÙˆÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŒ Ù?ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ†Ù?ØÙ’ÙŠÙ?ÙŠÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù? ØÙŽÙŠÙŽØ§Ø©Ù‹ Ø·ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ø¨ÙŽØ©Ù‹ ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ†ÙŽØ¬Ù’Ø²Ù?ÙŠÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù…Ù’ Ø£ÙŽØ¬Ù’Ø±ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù… Ø¨Ù?Ø£ÙŽØÙ’Ø³ÙŽÙ†Ù? Ù…ÙŽØ§ ÙƒÙŽØ§Ù†Ù?ÙˆØ§Ù’ ÙŠÙŽØ¹Ù’Ù…ÙŽÙ„Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ ï´¿ Ø§Ù„Ù†ØÙ„97 Both men and women are promised to enter paradise. whoever does an evil, he shall not be recompensed (with aught) but the like of it, and whoever does good, whether male or female, and he is a believer, these shall enter the garden, in which they shall be given sustenance without measure (Al – Ghafir (The forgiver (God), 40) Ù…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ Ø³ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ø¦ÙŽØ©Ù‹ Ù?ÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙ?Ø¬Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙŠ Ø¥Ù?Ù„Ù‘ÙŽØ§ Ù…Ù?Ø«Ù’Ù„ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§ ÙˆÙŽÙ…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ ØµÙŽØ§Ù„Ù?ØÙ‹Ø§ Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ø°ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ±Ù? Ø£ÙŽÙˆÙ’ Ø£Ù?Ù†Ø«ÙŽÙŠ ÙˆÙŽÙ‡Ù?ÙˆÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŒ Ù?ÙŽØ£Ù?ÙˆÙ’Ù„ÙŽØ¦Ù?ÙƒÙŽ ÙŠÙŽØ¯Ù’Ø®Ù?Ù„Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù’Ø¬ÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽØ©ÙŽ ÙŠÙ?Ø±Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙ‚Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ù?Ù?ÙŠÙ‡ÙŽØ§ Ø¨Ù?ØºÙŽÙŠÙ’Ø±Ù? ØÙ?Ø³ÙŽØ§Ø¨Ù? ï´¿Ø§Ù„ØºØ§Ù?Ø±40ï´¾. Men and women are equally promised to be benefited by God's luxury and gifts as well as His sustenance. whoever does an evil, he shall not be recompensed (with aught) but the like of it, and whoever does good, whether male or female, and he is a believer, these shall enter the garden, in which they shall be given sustenance without measure (Al – Ghafir (The forgiver (God), 40) Ù…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ Ø³ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ø¦ÙŽØ©Ù‹ Ù?ÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙ?Ø¬Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙŠ Ø¥Ù?Ù„Ù‘ÙŽØ§ Ù…Ù?Ø«Ù’Ù„ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§ ÙˆÙŽÙ…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ ØµÙŽØ§Ù„Ù?ØÙ‹Ø§ Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ø°ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ±Ù? Ø£ÙŽÙˆÙ’ Ø£Ù?Ù†Ø«ÙŽÙŠ ÙˆÙŽÙ‡Ù?ÙˆÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŒ Ù?ÙŽØ£Ù?ÙˆÙ’Ù„ÙŽØ¦Ù?ÙƒÙŽ ÙŠÙŽØ¯Ù’Ø®Ù?Ù„Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù’Ø¬ÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽØ©ÙŽ ÙŠÙ?Ø±Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙ‚Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ù?Ù?ÙŠÙ‡ÙŽØ§ Ø¨Ù?ØºÙŽÙŠÙ’Ø±Ù? ØÙ?Ø³ÙŽØ§Ø¨Ù? ï´¿Ø§Ù„ØºØ§Ù?Ø±40ï´¾. God considers doing good deeds, possible for both sexes. «Ù…Ù† Ø¹Ù…Ù„ ØµØ§Ù„ØØ§Ù‹ Ù…Ù† Ø°ÙƒØ± Ùˆ Ø§Ù†Ø«ÙŠ» . whoever does good whether male or female 3.Equality in Punishment and Rewards: A. God promises entrance to the paradise " whoever does an evil, he shall not be recompensed (with aught) but the like of it, and whoever does good, whether male or female, and he is a believer, these shall enter the garden, in which they shall be given sustenance without measure (Al – Ghafir (The forgiver (God), 40) Ù…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ Ø³ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ø¦ÙŽØ©Ù‹ Ù?ÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙ?Ø¬Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙŠ Ø¥Ù?Ù„Ù‘ÙŽØ§ Ù…Ù?Ø«Ù’Ù„ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§ ÙˆÙŽÙ…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ ØµÙŽØ§Ù„Ù?ØÙ‹Ø§ Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ø°ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ±Ù? Ø£ÙŽÙˆÙ’ Ø£Ù?Ù†Ø«ÙŽÙŠ ÙˆÙŽÙ‡Ù?ÙˆÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŒ Ù?ÙŽØ£Ù?ÙˆÙ’Ù„ÙŽØ¦Ù?ÙƒÙŽ ÙŠÙŽØ¯Ù’Ø®Ù?Ù„Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù’Ø¬ÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽØ©ÙŽ ÙŠÙ?Ø±Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙ‚Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ù?Ù?ÙŠÙ‡ÙŽØ§ Ø¨Ù?ØºÙŽÙŠÙ’Ø±Ù? ØÙ?Ø³ÙŽØ§Ø¨Ù? ï´¿Ø§Ù„ØºØ§Ù?Ø±40ï´¾. B. He makes every one be benefited by His abundance: whoever does an evil, he shall not be recompensed (with aught) but the like of it, and whoever does good, whether male or female, and he is a believer, these shall enter the garden, in which they shall be given sustenance without measure (Al – Ghafir (The forgiver (God), 40) Ù…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ Ø³ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ø¦ÙŽØ©Ù‹ Ù?ÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙ?Ø¬Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙŠ Ø¥Ù?Ù„Ù‘ÙŽØ§ Ù…Ù?Ø«Ù’Ù„ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽØ§ ÙˆÙŽÙ…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ ØµÙŽØ§Ù„Ù?ØÙ‹Ø§ Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ø°ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ±Ù? Ø£ÙŽÙˆÙ’ Ø£Ù?Ù†Ø«ÙŽÙŠ ÙˆÙŽÙ‡Ù?ÙˆÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŒ Ù?ÙŽØ£Ù?ÙˆÙ’Ù„ÙŽØ¦Ù?ÙƒÙŽ ÙŠÙŽØ¯Ù’Ø®Ù?Ù„Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù’Ø¬ÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽØ©ÙŽ ÙŠÙ?Ø±Ù’Ø²ÙŽÙ‚Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ Ù?Ù?ÙŠÙ‡ÙŽØ§ Ø¨Ù?ØºÙŽÙŠÙ’Ø±Ù? ØÙ?Ø³ÙŽØ§Ø¨Ù? ï´¿Ø§Ù„ØºØ§Ù?Ø±40ï´¾. Men and Women are both promised to be benefited by virtuous life in the world which is to come. whoever does good whether male or female and he is a believer, we will most certainly make him live a happy life, and we will most certainly give them their reward for the best of what they did (An – Nahl (The Bee), 97) Ù…ÙŽÙ†Ù’ Ø¹ÙŽÙ…Ù?Ù„ÙŽ ØµÙŽØ§Ù„Ù?ØÙ‹Ø§ Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù† Ø°ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ±Ù? Ø£ÙŽÙˆÙ’ Ø£Ù?Ù†Ø«ÙŽÙŠ ÙˆÙŽÙ‡Ù?ÙˆÙŽ Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŒ Ù?ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ†Ù?ØÙ’ÙŠÙ?ÙŠÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù? ØÙŽÙŠÙŽØ§Ø©Ù‹ Ø·ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ø¨ÙŽØ©Ù‹ ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙ†ÙŽØ¬Ù’Ø²Ù?ÙŠÙŽÙ†Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù…Ù’ Ø£ÙŽØ¬Ù’Ø±ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù… Ø¨Ù?Ø£ÙŽØÙ’Ø³ÙŽÙ†Ù? Ù…ÙŽØ§ ÙƒÙŽØ§Ù†Ù?ÙˆØ§Ù’ ÙŠÙŽØ¹Ù’Ù…ÙŽÙ„Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽ ï´¿ Ø§Ù„Ù†ØÙ„97 ï´¾ Still if any one commits a sin and does a wrong doing, he / she will be punished and chastised whoever he / she is, male / female. and (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, an exemplary punishment from allah; and allah is mighty, wise (Al – Maeda (The Table), 38) ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ø³Ù‘ÙŽØ§Ø±Ù?Ù‚Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ø³Ù‘ÙŽØ§Ø±Ù?Ù‚ÙŽØ©Ù? Ù?ÙŽØ§Ù‚Ù’Ø·ÙŽØ¹Ù?ÙˆØ§Ù’ Ø£ÙŽÙŠÙ’Ø¯Ù?ÙŠÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù…ÙŽØ§ Ø¬ÙŽØ²ÙŽØ§Ø¡ Ø¨Ù?Ù…ÙŽØ§ ÙƒÙŽØ³ÙŽØ¨ÙŽØ§ Ù†ÙŽÙƒÙŽØ§Ù„Ø§Ù‹ Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù†ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘Ù‡Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ù„Ù‘Ù‡Ù? Ø¹ÙŽØ²Ù?ÙŠØ²ÙŒ ØÙŽÙƒÙ?ÙŠÙ…ÙŒ ï´¿ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø§Ø¦Ø¯Ø© 38ï´¾ (as for) the fornicatress and the fornicator, flog each of them, (giving) a hundred stripes, (A- Noor (The Light), 2) Ø§Ù„Ø²Ù‘ÙŽØ§Ù†Ù?ÙŠÙŽØ©Ù? ÙˆÙŽØ§Ù„Ø²Ù‘ÙŽØ§Ù†Ù?ÙŠ Ù?ÙŽØ§Ø¬Ù’Ù„Ù?Ø¯Ù?ÙˆØ§ ÙƒÙ?Ù„Ù‘ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§ØÙ?Ø¯Ù? Ù…Ù‘Ù?Ù†Ù’Ù‡Ù?Ù…ÙŽØ§ Ù…Ù?Ø¦ÙŽØ©ÙŽ Ø¬ÙŽÙ„Ù’Ø¯ÙŽØ©Ù? ï´¿ Ø§Ù„Ù†ÙˆØ± 2ï´¾ Therefore in the school of Islam where Qur'an is its major source of education, Gender, position, clan, and blood … would never be a matter of superiority and honor and the only means for the superiority of human being over each other is virtue: «Ø§Ù† Ø§ÙƒØ±Ù…ÙƒÙ… Ø¹Ù†Ø¯Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‡ Ø§ØªÙ‚ÙƒÙ…» Therefore from the point of view of this school all the human beings are equal and men and women are no exception to this rule. With regard to what has been mentioned before it should be noted that the approach of Qur'an to the rights of men and women is an egalitarian and progressive approach. Islam and Women's Presence in Different Social Arenas and Social Activities Social activities will provide the opportunity for taking part in different scenes and this will lead to the fulfillment of different dimensions and the human talents will find a fertile ground for growth. In Islam, people are avoided from seclusion and individualism. If the slogan of prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) and his great school was to leave seclusion, this is not specialized for men for it includes all his followers, women are included, too. Seclusion is not limited only to leaving society and living in the caves rather preventing women from taking part in society and getting them out of the social scenes is also a kind of seclusion. It is under the aegis of social presence that one can prepare the ways to help others which is in it a virtue. And it is also under the aegis of social participation that one's political understanding and awareness of time, which are of the necessities of this world, increases and would be rendered possible. Ø§Ù„Ø¹Ø§Ù„Ù… Ø¨Ø²Ù…Ø§Ù†Ù‡ Ù„Ø§ØªÙ‡Ø¬Ù… Ø¹Ù„ÙŠÙ‡ Ø§Ù„Ù„ÙˆØ§Ø¨Ø³ Those who are aware of their times, they won't be the butt of the attacks. Imam Ali ( A. S. ) in criticizing Escapism or escaping from participation in the social or official affairs says: "Make sure that you have to be with the greatest multitudes and be sure that God will help people in their gatherings. Avoid loneliness the only result of which is enticement by the Satan as the only end of a secluded sheep is to be eaten by a wolf. Imam Ali ( A. S. ) did not exempt women from the principle of social life and his addressees are all human beings. Women, on one hand, compose a half of the people in society and on the other hand they play one of the most basic roles in the family to create a happy and peaceful environment as mother and wife and if they themselves are not having such conditions and remain secluded in the family, then how would they be able to do their missions? There is nor prohibition on the way of women's participation in society unless it is not associated with corruption. At the time of Prophet Muhammad (P. B. U. H.) women used to ask their questions from him without having to have it on them to carry their questions via their men; they used to ask him presently and he never stopped them from doing so. Sheikh Toosi quotes Safvan, the son of Mehran, who was the leader of a Caravan: I have once asked Imam Sadeq (A. S.) about a woman who knew about my job and she has referred to me to take him on travel without a chaperon and now what should I do? Imam Sadeq (A. S.) said: A Muslim man is a chaperon of a Muslim woman and recited this ayah: Ùˆ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø¤Ù…Ù†ÙˆÙ† Ùˆ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø¤Ù…Ù†Ø§Øª Ø¨Ø¹Ø¸Ù‡Ù… Ø§ÙˆÙ„ÙŠØ§Ø¡ Ø¨Ø¹Ø¶ Some Muslims are the protectors and leaders of the others. And this clearly shows the naturalness of the relationship of men and women to each other. On the other hand her holiness, Khadijeh, was one of the tradeswomen of her period and no tradesman or tradeswoman can be a successful tradesman or tradeswoman without having a great knowledge of the society and certainly Khadijeh's wealth was very fundamental in the formation of the Islamic society. The holy Qur'an introduces the real Muslims as: Ø§Ù†Ù…Ø§ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ø¤Ù…Ù†ÙˆÙ† Ø§Ù„Ø°ÙŠÙ† Ø§Ù…Ù†ÙˆØ§ Ø¨Ø§ Ù„Ù„Ù‡ Ùˆ Ø±Ø³ÙˆÙ„Ù‡ Ùˆ Ø§Ø°Ø§ ÙƒØ§Ù†ÙˆØ§ Ù…Ø¹Ù‡ Ø¹Ù„ÙŠ Ø§Ù…Ø± Ø¬Ø§Ù…Ø¹ Ù„Ù… ÙŠØ°Ù‡Ø¨ÙˆØ§ ØØªÙŠ ÙŠØ³ØªØ§Ø°Ù†ÙˆÙ‡ The real Muslims are those who are having belief in God and Prophet Muhammad and who have a great knowledge of the society and do not take seclusion in case they are needed. General issues are those issues which are related to all such the prayer of the Fridays (Friday Prayers), demonstration against disorder and the cruel as well as oppressors, taking part in voting, confirmation of the Islamic leaders and confirmation of the great men, giving order to do good and preventing from wrong doings. The Islamic Sunna (Prophet Muhammad's Behavior and Attitudes) and the Political Activities of women The progressive attitude of Islam towards the rights of women is seen in the Prophet Muhammad's and his caliph's and Imams' behavior and attitudes and the women at the time of Prophet Muhammad had basic roles in three dimensions: general activities, political activities such as promise of cooperation and support, departure and fighting with the cruel rulers. 1.Allegiance (promise of cooperation and support): By allegiance we mean an act by which some people, separately or in group, authorize a person and support him / her in what he / she does. After Islam Even after Islam Allegiance remained; and the way of allegiance remained unimpaired: Men used to shake hands with one whom they wanted to cooperate or support. But because of women's presence in Allegiance after the advent of Islam, there were other ways of Allegiance among which the following two methods are too common: 1. Prophet Muhammad used to deepen his hand in a bowls and then women deepened their hands in the same bowl as a sign of cooperation and support. 2. This case happened at the Peace Treaty of Hodaibiat: Imam Ali, who was responsible for allegiance, has laid a cloth on the ground and women used to touch it with their hands as a sign of support and then prophet Muhammad touched the cloth and this was thought of allegiance. In the first case of allegiance which is known as al _ Nisa allegiance, there was woman called Afra, daughter of Abid Ibne Shobe, aong with some other women from Medina. Some believe that since there was this woman, this allegiance was called al _ nisa allegiance. In the second Aghaba's allegiance which was made at the presence of 73 Muslims from Medina, there were some other women named Nosaibeh daughter of Haret Ansari, her sister, Soibeh daughter of Ka'b from Bani Khazraj Clan, Amm Mani'e and Asma daughter of Omar and Ibne O'da. These women, after being familiarized with the Islamic Teachings, announced their agreement to support and help Prophet Muhammad at a time when the blasphemers of Mecca were still at the apex of their power and it was possible they were being attacked by the enemy at any moment. Still they were not afraid and announced their support of the Prophet Muhammad bravely despite the fact they were to be killed in case they were known. But what is here amazing is their great understanding of Islamic principles and their readiness for accepting the true spirit of a religion the understanding which was impossible for some men of their period. Another point to be considered in the issue of allegiance is that it is one of the most fundamental principles in the formation of the Islamic government and it was the presence of women in this political scene which indicate their presence in the political affairs of Islam. Allegiance with Prophet Muhammad was once more repeated in the peace process of Hodaibieh; it was happened when the Muslims were returning from Hajj and they noted that the Qoreish were intended to attack them and this was in a condition when the Muslims had no means to defend themselves. In this difficult condition the Muslims gathered under a tree to take oath of allegiance to Prophet Muhammad even to their death. It was such an oath of allegiance that Moslemat Ibne Akoo named it an oath of death. In this oath were there some women such as Rabi Bent Ma’ooz, Omm Hosham Ansarieh, and Nosaibeh, daughter of Hareth. Some ayahs were descended on the importance of this oath of allegiance in which God expresses His satifaction with those who took the oaths: certainly Allah was well pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree, and he knew what was in their hearts, so he sent down tranquility on them and rewarded them with a near victory, (Al – Fath (Victory), 18) Ù„ÙŽÙ‚ÙŽØ¯Ù’ Ø±ÙŽØ¶Ù?ÙŠÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù? Ø¹ÙŽÙ†Ù? Ø§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ Ø¥Ù?Ø°Ù’ ÙŠÙ?Ø¨ÙŽØ§ÙŠÙ?Ø¹Ù?ÙˆÙ†ÙŽÙƒÙŽ ØªÙŽØÙ’ØªÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ø´Ù‘ÙŽØ¬ÙŽØ±ÙŽØ©Ù? Ù?ÙŽØ¹ÙŽÙ„Ù?Ù…ÙŽ Ù…ÙŽØ§ Ù?Ù?ÙŠ Ù‚Ù?Ù„Ù?ÙˆØ¨Ù?Ù‡Ù?Ù…Ù’ Ù?ÙŽØ£ÙŽÙ†Ø²ÙŽÙ„ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ø³Ù‘ÙŽÙƒÙ?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽØ©ÙŽ Ø¹ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙŠÙ’Ù‡Ù?Ù…Ù’ ÙˆÙŽØ£ÙŽØ«ÙŽØ§Ø¨ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù…Ù’ Ù?ÙŽØªÙ’ØÙ‹Ø§ Ù‚ÙŽØ±Ù?ÙŠØ¨Ù‹Ø§ ï´¿ Ø§Ù„Ù?ØªØ 18ï´¾ About the presence of women in this oath of allegiance, God says: o prophet! when believing women come to you giving you a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah, and will not steal, and will not commit fornication, and will not kill their children, and will not bring a calumny which they have forged of themselves, and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge, and ask forgiveness for them from Allah; surely Allah is forgiving, merciful ( Al – Mumtahina (She that is to be examined), 12) Ø§ Ø£ÙŽÙŠÙ‘Ù?Ù‡ÙŽØ§ Ø§Ù„Ù†Ù‘ÙŽØ¨Ù?ÙŠÙ‘Ù? Ø¥Ù?Ø°ÙŽØ§ Ø¬ÙŽØ§Ø¡ÙƒÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù’Ù…Ù?Ø¤Ù’Ù…Ù?Ù†ÙŽØ§ØªÙ? ÙŠÙ?Ø¨ÙŽØ§ÙŠÙ?Ø¹Ù’Ù†ÙŽÙƒÙŽ Ø¹ÙŽÙ„ÙŽÙŠ Ø£ÙŽÙ† Ù„Ù‘ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙ?Ø´Ù’Ø±Ù?ÙƒÙ’Ù†ÙŽ Ø¨Ù?Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡Ù? Ø´ÙŽÙŠÙ’Ø¦Ù‹Ø§ ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙŽØ³Ù’Ø±Ù?Ù‚Ù’Ù†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙŽØ²Ù’Ù†Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙŽÙ‚Ù’ØªÙ?Ù„Ù’Ù†ÙŽ Ø£ÙŽÙˆÙ’Ù„ÙŽØ§Ø¯ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙŽØ£Ù’ØªÙ?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽ Ø¨Ù?Ø¨Ù?Ù‡Ù’ØªÙŽØ§Ù†Ù? ÙŠÙŽÙ?Ù’ØªÙŽØ±Ù?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽÙ‡Ù? Ø¨ÙŽÙŠÙ’Ù†ÙŽ Ø£ÙŽÙŠÙ’Ø¯Ù?ÙŠÙ‡Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ£ÙŽØ±Ù’Ø¬Ù?Ù„Ù?Ù‡Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽÙ„ÙŽØ§ ÙŠÙŽØ¹Ù’ØµÙ?ÙŠÙ†ÙŽÙƒÙŽ Ù?Ù?ÙŠ Ù…ÙŽØ¹Ù’Ø±Ù?ÙˆÙ?Ù? Ù?ÙŽØ¨ÙŽØ§ÙŠÙ?Ø¹Ù’Ù‡Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ ÙˆÙŽØ§Ø³Ù’ØªÙŽØºÙ’Ù?Ù?Ø±Ù’ Ù„ÙŽÙ‡Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽ Ø¥Ù?Ù†Ù‘ÙŽ Ø§Ù„Ù„Ù‘ÙŽÙ‡ÙŽ ØºÙŽÙ?Ù?ÙˆØ±ÙŒ Ø±Ù‘ÙŽØÙ?ÙŠÙ…ÙŒ ï´¿ Ø§Ù„Ù…Ù…ØªØÙ†Ø© 12 In this allegiance women had rejected all the drawbacks and sins of the ignoramus age by their allegiance with Prophet Muhammad and announced their readiness to follow truth and Islam. In a situation when the enemies were ambushed to damage the ideals of Islam, this allegiance shows great understanding of those women who took oaths. The presence of women in this allegiance with Prophet Muhammad strengthened the army and made it decisive in conquering Mecca. On the other hand the presence of women in this allegiance indicated the victory of Islamic logic over the sword of the ignorant. According to what Imam Sadeq (A. S.) in the Ghadir Khom ceremont has said women had taken oaths of allegiance with Imam Ali (A. S.). Imam Ali (A. S.) in one of his sermons in Nahj Al – Balagheh refers to the presence of women in the oaths of allegiance when he talks about the characteristics of homage to his followers: “… People were so interested in taking the oaths of allegiance with me that children and the old people came to take the oath infirmly and the ill people came on the shoulders of their relatives and the young girls came without mask to the scene”?. A very important point about the presence of women in the first act of allegiance with in the beginning of Islam and the others indicate the officially accepted presence of women in different political arenas; this illustrates the fact that Islam, unlike what some believed and thought that the politics was to be exclusively the domain of men and intelligence and hence excluded women in this scene, not only rejected this division but also by accepting women’s presence in the first act of allegiance, as the first base of the Islamic government, considered it to be one of their primary rights. While Islam considers and officially acknowledges the rights of women in its beginning days in political – social affairs, but as we have seen it took a long time that the European societies to accept these rights and consider women as second class citizens and placed them alongside the slaves and were not allowed to take part in elections. It took centuries to even officially acknowledge their being and existence, let alone accrediting the same political rights and privileges that men had and this will be sufficient to stand against the wrong claim that Islam confines and limits women. 2.Departure and Abandonment: Departure is one of the other social and political achievements of the Muslims at the beginning of Islam for the sake of its persistence and preservation. The Muslims departed twice as a social – political movement and in both cases women were present. There were 83 men and 18 men in departing toward Ethiopia that was made completely covertly; there were women such as Asma Bent Amis, daughters of Safvan Ibne Bani Omaieh, Amineh daughter of Khalf Ibne Sa’d, Omm Habibeh daughter of Abu – Safia, Berkat Daughter of Yasar, Hosnat wife of Safian Ibne Mo’ammar, Ramleh daughter of Abu - Ovf, Fatima daughter of Hareth Ibne Khaled, Fatima daughter of Mohallel, Makiheh daughter of Saiiar, Hafseh daughter of Omar, Leili daughter of Abu – Heshmat Ibne Ghanem, Amreh daughter of Ibne Vaghdan among whom Fatima daughter of Safvan Ibne Abi – Omaieh, Omm Harmaleh and Ramtieh daughter of Hareth Ibne Habileh , Ayesheh, and Zeinab were died in the foreign country. Of the women who took part in the departure to Medina I can mention: Fatima Bent Asad, Omm Ramam, Zeinab daughter of Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ), Her holiness Fatima, Omm Hosham Ansarieh, Sabi’a, Omm Kolsom Bent Aghabeh. These departures had great political dimensions such as negating and expressing disagreement with the regime of the time, propagating new religious messages and political thinking for the preservation and persistence of the newly emerged religion. It means that if the blasphemers and disbelievers had destroyed the Muslims in Mecca there were other Muslims in other places that would have supported them. With having a look at the geographical condition of Hijaz and the problems that the blasphemers and disbelievers created for the Muslims, the decision to depart especially women who left their homes indicates their deep knowledge about the principles of Islam and having faith in them since they were ready to suffer all the problems and dangers that might have happened in their way of departure. Women and defending Islamic Society: The subject of Jihad from the viewpoint of Islam has many broad dimensions and it can be studied from different perspective. It includes verbal, spiritual defense and defense by one’s life and wealth. Defending the Islamic state and country is not possible just by the use of weapons in the fore fronts. So far as the Muslim men are able to participate in the war scenes it is not the duty of women to take part in the war fronts in person and they can be defensive forces behind the wars. With regard to the elegance and beauty of the nature of women, Islam is not inclined to damage this elegance and sensitivity by letting them participate in the wars so that they are kept safe from the spiritual and emotional consequences of the war. But this does not indicate that they are bereft of their natural right to defend themselves and the Islamic society directly. Although Islam has authorized the presence of women in defense and Jihad but it has set some special conditions for their taking part and in any situation it has placed priority on keeping their Hijab, remaining loyal to the Islamic rules in their relationships with men, and separating their dormitory and rest rooms. We have some documents that indicate the presence of women in defense scenes both in the beginning of Islam and in the forced war of Iran against Iraq where women have observed the Islamic rules completely. In the 34 – day war of Khoramshahr women had missions of service activities, reinforcement, and supportive roles in the war such as building trench, sending ordnance to the fronts, sentry over the stock of the ordnance and discharging cars which carried ordnance; they also participated in person in the war. Mariam Amjadi is one of those daughters who have taken part in fighting with the Iraqi soldiers repeatedly very closely. But in other place there was no need for their direct participation in the wars and therefore they did supportive, service, and promotional activities behind the war scenes. The presence of some women in the fore fronts should not result in the oblivion of the other mothers’ roles such as mothers and wives. The presence of women in many of the wars that Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) and Imam Ali ( A. S. ) took part and the other wars at the beginning of Islam is another reason for this claim that in addition to emphasizing women's role in the foundation of the family, Islam has considered a special position for their defensive activities. According to history, women used to take part in many different wars that Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) and Imam Ali ( A. S. ) took part and they were busy with bringing water, caring for patients and he injured and curing them, preparing food for the fighters and transferring the corpses to their families. Women such as Omm Sanan, Omm Salit, Nosaibeh daughter of Ka'b, Omm Ka'b Ansarieh, Rabi Bent Ma'ooz, Lobabeh, Leili Ghafarieh, Omm Salmeh, Hend daughter of Asaseh, Saifeh, Omm Migh, Ka'bieh daughter of Sa'd, Omm Mata', Omm Salim daughter of Amro Ibne Hazam, Omm A'la, Omm Al – fazl, Omm al – Kheir, Raghaieh, Soodeh Hamedani, Zargh'a, daughter of Oda Ibne Ghaleb, Omm Al – Bara, daughter of Safvan, Akresheh daughter of Atash, Bekareh Helalieh and others to name but a few are among those women who took part in the wars that Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) and Imam Ali ( A. S. ) took part. Omm Salmeh, Omm Al – Fazl and Leila Ghafarieh are women who took part in the wars of Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) and Imam Ali ( A. S. ) as well as Jamal and Seffain wars took part. The story of brevity of Nosaibeh daughter of Ka'b in the war of Ohod is itself the greatest witness for the attendance of women in the wars that took place in the beginning of Islam. Nosaibeh retold her fighting's story in defense of Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) for Omm Sa'd Bent Rabi as follow: "When Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) Went out to the war of Ohod, I have gone out with him, too; I have been carrying a bowl of water and offering it to his companions until the time that all his companions have escaped. I have reached Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) and I thrown the bowls and started to fight; I used to keep the enemy away from him either by sword or by ØªØ¨Ø± so much so that I was injured. Omm Saeid said she had seen an injury on the neck of Nosaibeh and she had asked who had injured her, she had answered Omm Qomieh. Omm Al – Hareth, in the Honain war, remained with Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) when his companions escaped. She remained with him and lost her life in defending him. Omm Sanan Al – Eslamieat had gone with Prophet Muhammad ( P. B. U. H. ) when he had gone to the Kheibar Boroughs so that she could cure the injured and giving water to the thirsty soldiers. Omm Kasir used to give water to the fighters and to cure the patients and the injured in the Ghadesieh war. The attendance of these women is very important; while they have felt and sensed the truthfulness of Islam very clearly and were ready to forsake their life and wealth for the sake of Islam, there were some men who were not able to see the light and truth of Islam. The roles that great women such as To'eh, Maria Bent Saied, Omm Vahab, Deilam Zojat Ibne Al – Taghin and … the historical event Ashura can not be ignored. For example To'eh gave shelter to Muslim Ibne Aghil in his wandering in the alleys of Koofeh and Maria Bent Saied has offered her home to Imam Hussein's companion to gather around each other as a result of which many of his Basra companions emerged from these meetings and joined his army. Dilam, wife of Zahir Ibne Al – Yaghin played an important role in encouraging her husband to join Imam Hussein's army: "when a man came to Zahir and told him that Hussein Ibne Ali had asked him to go to him and her wife found him sitting still she encouraged him to go. When he was about to leave she told him that "since you want to offer your life for the son of Imam Ali, why shan't I be in the service of the daughter of Prophet Muhammad?" Therefore they went together. The presence of these women in the historical revolt of Ashura, under the leadership of Ima Hussein ( A. S. ) is very important and valuable. Since they announced their support to Imam Hussein at a time that Moavieh in a calculated strategy was intended to demolish and destroy it Islam and its name completely. People have suffered the government of a Moavieh that was "the most dangerous regime which was inclined toward sheer ignorance and prepared the way toward blasphemy from believing in God". These women had joined Imam Hussein at a time when from among all the population of Hejaz only 72 persons could have understood the light of his path and the rest were the enemies and the army of Yazid and were ready to fight Imam Hussein or were busy with teaching the philosophies of determination and Hope. Hope and determinism were two frightful dangers that the Omavi regime propagated among people in the name of religion and God. The hypothesis of Hope was that any corrupted man or woman with whatever crimes that they committed should take hope in the forgiveness of God and no one is allowed to curse these people or fight with them since God is the most the most knowledgeable arbitrator and no one is allowed to arbiter and judge the issues in this world. Determinism was the first philosophical school that has come to the fore at the time of Bani Omaieh government as a divine philosophy. The determinism of God was meant that God is the absolute ruler and whatever happens in this world is in accordance with His wishes and whatever is done by whoever it is, is done under the permission of God. By this thesis the supporters of determinism came upon this conclusion that if today Bani Omaieh Dynasty are the governors it is due to a fact that God wishes so and it is not good that the sinful servants of God (human beings) interfere with the decisions of God. At that time when such illnesses had fallen on the Muslims and the Arab men were fatally ill with these two illnesses, there were women who had grown their religious and political understandings and had escaped these illnesses and had joined Imam Hussein's followers; what more can be indicative of great understanding, wisdom and faith of these women at the beginning of Islam; what other document shall be brought forth so that the propagandistic and wrong suppositions – such as women are limited due to their Chador (a long dress for women) and are kept out of socio –political activities – about Islam are no more available? Political Fighting and Promotion Promotion has been always one of the means of success for Islam, since Islam is the religion of reason and its principles and teachings can be more propagated among people through promotional activities. A preacher, along with having strong belief in the principle of defense, should be well equipped with oratory skills and the talents for making his speech heard. In the beginning days of Islam as well as at the time of Imam Ali ( A. S. ) women played an important role in the promotion of the Islamic principles. Women's role in this area shows their powerful presence in the political scenes of the day. For example at the time of Moavieh's era and Hajjaj Ibne Joseph, when terror and fear was dominant on the Islamic society, there were women such as Omaieh, Aphra daughter of Samir Koofi, and Horreh and etc. who have defended the Islamic territories and the truthfulness of Imam Ali's Mission. In order to understand Islam's attention paid to women's presence in different areas of political competitions and fighting with cruelty as well as the roles they have to play regardless of their gender, we have to return to the life of women at the beginning of Islam especially to the two primordial images of fighting, Her holiness Fatima ( S. A. ) and Her lioness Zeinab ( S. A. ). They started a serious political competition and disagreement with the rulers of their times that according to history, the survival of Islam is owe to their political understanding, brevity and dare. Now if we see the attendance of women in general areas in the Islamic societies, we have to avoid from blaming the basic principles of Islam rather we have to cite the vacuumed Islam from its original essence, and the culture of the Muslims themselves as the major causes of women's seclusion. In fact the more the Muslims are gone away from Qur'an, Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali's behavior and treatment, the more women are left out in general areas. In other words the writer differentiates the true Islamic culture from the culture of those Muslims who have set barriers in the ways of women's presence in general areas. This is while in Christianity and western societies, the more people have gone away from Christianity the more opportunities they found. In the following heading we will discuss the perspective of Christianity and western Philosophy to women and to the whys and how of their presence in society. The Position of women in Christianity: Unlike Qur'an, Bible is a collection of ethical rules and is less concerned with social and political issues and it does not deal with the presence of women. What is seen in the Bibles that are written After Jesus Christ are those subjects and rules that were written by great men of Christianity; still there is no indications of women in the attitudes of Jesus Christ. But we can understand the stand point of Christianity toward women by studying the story of Adam and Eve's descend to the earth. Like Jews, the Christians regard Eve as blameful for the corruption of Adam. In ØµÙ?Ø± Ù¾ÙŠØ¯Ø§ÙŠØ´ , in sentences 11 and 12 we read: "The woman that you gave me to be my companion has given me from the fruit of that tree and I have eaten it." Therefore Eve caused Adam's downfall and she is responsible for all the sins and misdeeds of human beings and unavoidably God has sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to be crossed and cleans mankind from the sins of that woman by his blood!! The Catholics believe that women, except for Holy Mary, have no spirit and women are placed between animals and men in the next world. In 586 an association formed to see if women have spirit or not and finally concluded that women are creatures that are created fro men and needs protection as children do. They are not able to witness. Still Jesus Christ has considered some rights for women and in as much as women are required to satisfy the needs of men , it is required that men have to respect their right in turn. But in this religion, it is repeatedly mentioned that women have to obey their husbands. One of the bases of patriarchy in Christianity is The Philosophy of Trinity. God, the father, God, the Son are both male and this has been the cause for the existence of patriarchy in Christianity. The identity of the Christian woman can be understood by reading the Old and New Testament. In the New Testament the identity of Christian woman is linked to the wishes of being virgin which is the basis of seclusion. Jesus made it clear that the end result of virginity is faith. Women are created from men and they are companions and assistants of men". In Christianity the relationship of women to men are like that of the relationship of Christ to the Church. Jesus says: "Lo! Women! Obey your husbands as such as the church follows the Christ". In Christianity women are not independent beings and are not allowed to participate in the social affairs; they are allowed to take part in religious ceremonies still they should be quiet and if they might have a question, they should ask their husbands not the church. In Christianity women should remain silent in the awe of not being superior to men. Men are not created for women and that is women who are created for men. In Christianity women are not allowed to ØªØ¹Ù…ÙŠØ¯ . It is not possible for them to be come monks; they are not able to teach their men some thing religious since they might become superior to men. There are not much things in the Bible about women. It was Protestantism which has laid the basis of Christianity on the common knowledge; finally men and women became equal. Women are, in the words of the great men of Christianity, voluptuous and jealous; they are the means through which Satan entices men; they are not completely created (their creation is defect) and this is why they are dependent on men like children. Woman in the Western Philosophy Western philosophy has an ideological stand point about existence. By ideology we mean the same concept that Jacque Derrida, French Philosopher, meant i. e. a kind of gravitation toward the center and the axis which forces us into mutual contradiction. In fact these mutual contradictions divide the world into two halves of dark and white. Culture, wisdom, and intellect are attributed to men who are in the white sphere while nature, illogical emotions are specified for females and are located in the dark sphere. Derrida in the criticism of the western culture, which he considers to be based on the Metaphysics of Presence, believes that the importance of this presence returns to the axiomatically being of Logos. Logos has different meanings in Greek Language such as wisdom, logic, intellect, appropriateness, and speech. Derrida has combined this term with another one, centrum, meaning axis, center, and coined a term, Logocentrism, which he uses it as the symbol of inclinations in the western metaphysics towards wisdom, reason, logic, speech and etc. He tried to deconstruct logocentrism of the western philosophy in his Deconstruction Theory. In this way Derrida has challenged the philosophy of the western societies from the Greek times to the age of enlightenment which is the sign of modernism. We can see the traces of metaphysics of presence and its consequences from the far past in the western philosophy. Wisdom is a gendered subject that has never been the domain of women and it is absolutely male and so far as the social scenes were the arena of the wise beings, women are deprived of it. Therefore women were deprived of the social and general scenes on the bases of the following steps: 1.First step: The social scene is an intellectual scene. 2.Women are without wisdom and intellect. Result: Women should not take part in the general and public scenes. In Greek times, man was the sign of clear and determined thought and woman was the symbol of ambiguous and unclear thought. In the Pythagoras table which he drew in 6th century, there were 10 kinds of binary oppositions: Limited / unlimited, odd/ even, single / plural, right / left, light / dark, good / bad, regular rectangle / irregular rectangle in this way man / woman like the other oppositions was not an opposition in itself to be made use of for explanation. Like the other binary oppositions man was considered superior to the tern in its front, woman. The reason for their superiority was due to the form which was one of the basic principles in Pythagoras's Principle. In the mythical Platonian expression, quoted by Timaoos, there are some differences in the wisdom of the two genders. From the point of view of Plato the reflection of order and wisdom of the world are seen less in women than in men. The natures of women are formed of the nature of those weak and infirm men who are not bestowed upon so much wisdom. Plato in the book of the Rules considers women as human beings who have lesser capabilities and abilities in getting and achieving the honors and esteems that men can achieve. They have to be educated and trained due to their wicked and corrupted nature. Plato, on one hand supports the equality of men and women and on the other he thanked gods that he had not been created as a woman. In Aristotle's chain of Being and patriarchal standpoint to society, women are placed in the second rate; they have the same duties and responsibilities that they had in ancient Greek. In the Greek society of those times, women had no privilege and were oppressed without any considerations. On the other hand it was men who used to determine the fate of women. In Aristotle's Chain of Being, women were placed in the second rate, equal to children, slaves, animals and properties. Being under the effects of his biased time, Aristotle believed that slaves and women were doomed to prison and limitation due to their defect nature and hence are not suitable to take part in the social and public affairs. The roles of women in the ancient Greek are truly illustrated by Homer. He says" Women are naturally considered as second rate beings and their duties are limited to bringing children and house keeping. And it is men who have the managerial and social roles. Although, Saint Augustine had inclinations toward accepting the spiritual and divine equality of men and women and was totally in opposition to any interpretations about separate creation of women, which he considered to be minimizing the great purpose of God in Creation, he was keenly in search of the reasons for the inferiority of women in comparison to men. Although Saint Aquinas considers women as an inferior species possessing less wisdom but in “Comprehensive Theology”? accepts Aristotle’s expression that women can not be though of as pious since they would lose their control due to their lack of wisdom instability. And will soon go after their temptation since they lack stability. Hegel also believed that there was a relationship between being male and achievement. Of course in the western thought men and achievement are related. It is an abnormal condition that women are created. From the point of view of David Hume, British Naturalist Philosopher, women are dependent on inactivity since it is men that are the manager of the family. In his ideas men and women are related together.”? Roseau, like his precedents, believes that women are the potentials of disorder who have to be regulated by wisdom. In a complaint to Dalamber, he writes that “no tribe or dynasty by inebriety; the cause of all downfalls have been women”?. Roseau believes that women’s intellects are unable to decipher the written thoughts and theories”?. The social conditions and statuses of women in Roseau’s speech are clear since he believes that the appropriate place for them is the private environment of the house and it is clear that in such conditions they won’t find the chance to take part in society and the rights to live in it. Therefore it is not wise to expect women, whom Roseau believes take their ability from their husbands, to become real citizens. Thomas Hobbs and John Locke, despite accepting and trying equal right for anyone, are contradicting their own ideas by accepting the dominance of men over women. Freud also considers the ethical growth of women less than that of men and all the characteristics that have been accredited to women, such as being less than men, being just and wishing justice, having no readiness to bear difficult conditions, being under the influence of emotions and senses in their judgments, are related to the ways their super – ego formed. In the philosophy of Nietzsche woman is the symbol of trickery, and lies and their most basic art is the arts of fraud and telling lies. Nietzsche does not believe that women have an independent being and believes that it is a man who creates a women’s picture / image to himself and the woman just adapts herself to this image. Since in this kind of thinking women are not associated with social logic and intellect, it is not possible to investigate the position of women in public arenas from this point of view. Western Women and Taking Part in the Public Arenas No one is able to negate the presence of women in the social and public arenas in the west for example in comparison to the undeveloped countries such as Islamic countries, they are present in government, parliament and Justice office as well as important and exquisite posts or in the social or economical management levels as well as different military levels such as soldiers, women pilots, women commanders, or in the police posts such as detectives. But these presence and capability of women in different social and public scenes are not confirmed by the Christianity and the western philosophy. Still in reacting to the Christian theology which is anti – feministic and the patriotic attitude of philosophy that has been the cause of pining down women to the borders, the possibilities for women's presence were prepared. Feminism in the west had a long competition with the attitudes of Philosophy and Christian theology so that they gained equal rights for women. Now that the western women are actively involved in the social and public scenes, it was due to the dominant conditions in the western societies. For example the three important events of the Industrial revolution and the World War 1 and 2 in getting women involved in the public scenes which will be discussed here. The Industrial Revolution; the Beginning of Women's Presence in the Public Scenes The industrial revolution has made the most important change in the form of the traditional families and challenged it greatly and transferred its activities to the social level and consequently has caused the greatest changes in the women's perspective. The tradesmen and the manufacturer invited women to work due to the lower pay and in order to get their attention they made great uproars about the rights of women and requested that women be the owners of their own earnings and properties; in order to prevent women, who had young children and were worried about their loneliness at home, from stopping working outside of the family, they established kindergartens and pre – elementary schools so that they could attend their working places readily and without having concern. Due to these advertisements and promotions a lot of women entered the world of work and this process has continued so far. Nowadays about 2 / 3 or 3 / 4 of the works in the world are done by women. Still % 10 of the earnings and incomes are for women. Women came out for the first time from their houses and were working out of their homes. Although the owners of the factories and the manufacturers gave women strenuous and very difficult tasks to women and paid very low wages and salaries to them, still it paved the way for the presence of women in the social scenes and public affairs and accordingly they found the chance to compete with men. But this unequal and sudden appearance of women was the cause for their placement in strenuous and very difficult tasks and in this way the western culture has opened the doors of the public affairs for the presence of women due to the need of capitalism to the cheap working forces. Will Durant considers the freedom women as a consequence of industrial revolution and then continues: women were cheaper working forces and the owners and employers preferred them over the expensive and unruly men. During the last century finding jobs for men became almost difficult but they were asked to send their women and children to work. The first step for the freedom of our great women was the law passed in 1882. According to this rule, British women gained precious advantages. They had authority over what they earned and they could keep it for themselves. This great Christian law passed by the owners of the factories who were the members of the House of Common to draw more women to the factories. From that time onward to the present time their resistance has freed them from working hard house and now they are drawn to working in the shops and factories. Capitalism and its governing rules have played a very important role in rendering women without identity. Due to a patriarchal look that is interwoven into every corner of the societies, the majority of women instead of being placed in the consumer group are categorized as the consumed groups. In order to compete with the males for superiority, they are ready to suffer any injustice and oppression and this is what the male dominated societies are in favor of. Of course this does not mean that women are not capable of achieving scientific and cultural achievements of the new age rather it means that the dominance of the patriarchy has a male point of view about every thing especially humanistic activities and the activities of females. In this way the western woman is not under pressure as it was in the beginning of the industrial revolution but in order to be present in the social and public scenes they should dispense with their identity and femininity. In addition the radical movement of the feminism has damaged the identity of the western women greatly. Although Feminism was successful in challenging the Christian Theology and metaphysics of presence and could manage to introduce women as to the borders of human society still inferior to men but it produced and created special problems for women to some of which we'll refer below: 1.This movement, in its beginnings, instead of emphasizing human identities, had tried effortlessly to fight for the equal rights of men and women in all dimensions and it did not try to discuss women's social and political requirements according to their abilities and capabilities. 2.In mistake the families, through making sexual use and the very role of motherhood, were pointed out as the major and basic means of cruelty over women. They judged it and decreed its destruction. 3.Over emphasizing the separation of women from men's society and promoting a special kind of female culture on the basis of the realities of life. 4.Preparing the ways for rendering women as properties by emphasizing their escapes from sexual ties and their ownership over their own bodies. Nowadays under aegis of freedom of women in the capitalist societies, the sexual trade and exchange has grown rapidly and every day we witness the voluminous development of prostitutes. 5.Feminism has made the presence of women in the public scenes and affairs possible at the expense of the appearance of prostitutes an sexual perversions as well as homosexuality. If women were under the supervision of the patriarchal families and ideological cultures, now they are caught in a culture of escaping the norms. They have exchanged their hiddenites as mothers and wives only to be present in the society and free from restrictions. They have altered into properties to gain money in the hands of the capitalists. The liberal feministic movement was not successful so far to prepare the ways for women to enter social and public as well as political arenas without making use of them as properties. The western Women and War: The presence of western women in the war fronts and in defense of their societies is neither supported by the Christian teachings nor is confirmed by the western philosophy. As it was mentioned, woman in the western philosophy and Christian theology is considered as a creature without intellect and capabilities to be present in society and public scenes but her considerable participation in the war fronts refers to the beginning of the World War 1. During World War 1 and 2, women had great roles in the war and industry. It was due to lack of men in both of the wars that they were actively involved in the war. With the start of the Word War the second two important events happened: first due to the participation of men in the wars women found more chance to enter the economical and social scenes as the new leaders of the families and their presence in the society has changed the context of the economy in the society and the efforts that was made at the end of the wars to bring women back to their traditional roles in the families were but futile. Secondly, after the war the equality of men and women was greatly pursued. After these events, the presence of women in the army was not limited to the time of war and hence they were busy in the army during the peaceful periods. Although many people think of this presence as a document and witness for the importance that the western societies consider for women but according to the westerners this presence has been accompanied with sexual terror, forced prostitution, and different emotional and spiritual problems and without considering the physical and emotional differences between men and women, they are forced to do difficult military activities alongside with men. On the other hand, today the participation of European and American women in the armies for defending their countries is not justified still they are present as oppressors and trespassers in to the borders of the other countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan; it is while neither men nor women are allowed to participate in the belligerent wars. Military women in western countries especially American Military women are facing very difficult conditions which are the result of paying less attention to their femininity and identity. On the basis of Pentagon statistics, there are over one hundred and eighty thousand women who are working in the armies that are located in Iraq and Afghanistan and this number is about 11 % of the America forces in these countries. This is while the number of the women participated in the war with Vietnam was seven thousand and five hundred women who were sent there as nurses. This number reached forty one thousand women in the war of the Persian Gulf; the women that were sent to the wars were not directly faced with the happenings and the stresses of the war directly but their numerous presences in Iraq made it possible to be exposed to these scenes. The American female forces are joined those who have to refer to the health care centers for their affliction with trauma and different emotional and spiritual problems. Many of them have suffered sexual rapes by their commanders or even their friends. In 2006, there were two hundred and one case registered in Iraq and Afghanistan and in 2005 there were only two cases reported but the real statistics is more than this. On the Basis of the Pentagon statistics there were one hundred women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan so far and five hundred and seventy were injured; but the emotional and psychological consequences of these wars were more than their physical damages. % 14 of all the soldiers that were treated in the last year due to the emotional and psychological disorders was female. It is while the psychologists believe that women are weaker in tolerating emotional problems and announce that women suffer the consequences of the war more than men due to stronger sensitivity. Indeed women are treated as weapons and the butt of the war in the west. Women and Politics in the West For a long time women had not equal rights with men in the west; in other words they were not considered as first class citizens. The anti – feminist Christian theology and the patriarchal western society had crucial roles in keeping women in the borders and out of the centers. The first wave of feminism which started from the 19th century and lasted to a few years after the First World War, announced that their basic aim was to gain the right to vote for women since they thought that if women could vote, all the biased forms and the biased sexualities would be vanished. In 1920s a new concept of woman (new woman) was brought forth. The new woman was able to vote and could make use of it; she was after finding work outside of the family and she thought of herself to be sexually free as men were. This seems to be the interpretation of the egalitarian representatives which wanted that all women be like men in all respects; they were after breaking the limitations and ethics as well as categories that separated men from women. The First World War cultivated hatred of war and inclinations toward flexibility and mercy in the general thought of the nations who were involved in the war and since they blamed male authority for the emergence of terror, the filed was ready for women's participation in politics and hence reinforced the claim for political equality of men and women but it was not accepted generally until the outbreak of the Second World War. Nowadays women have passed the stage where they were regarded as "voters" on the basis of which they only voted and now they have achieved the stage of "political presence" on the basis of which they have stepped in the power arena powerfully and they will achieve high political positions. But here, some major points should not be left out: first of all quantitatively the number of these presences is less that those of men and even countable, secondly, women in the western societies have never been successful in acting independently and they were always affiliated with and heavily under the influence of some parties the leaders of which have been males and their votes have always been in the service of these men to achieve power and from this point of view they have had no development and progress. Thirdly many of the stateswomen, instead of producing and generating humanistic policies on the basis on the femininity, have become promotional means in the hands of their parties and ethical crisis have affected them seriously and in this way they have been called upon for tenders in the process of the competition for great capitalists. Miss . a candidate from the TaniBelgium