Does Islam support feminism?

The main goal of feminism is to establish equal opportunities for women and men in all spheres of society. However, if we consider that humanity is divided into two genders—male and female—we understand that they differ from each other biologically, psychologically, and in other ways.

Our Prophet (ﷺ) described the marital relationship as: “Indeed, women are the companions and lifelong partners of men,” (Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi).

Islam views the relationship between men and women through the lenses of equality, justice, and ihsan (excellence). Here, justice and ihsan are considered higher than mere equality. Nevertheless, Islam has established equality between men and women in the following areas:

• Equality in humanity. Allah says in the Qur’an:

  “O mankind! Be conscious of your Lord, who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate, and from the two of them spread many men and women throughout the earth. So be mindful of Allah, through whom you ask one another, and of the wombs.” (An-Nisa, 1).

• Equality in religious duties. The Qur’an states:

  “The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, establish prayer, give zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger.” (At-Tawbah, 71).

• Equality in reward and punishment in this world and the Hereafter. Allah says:

  “Whoever does good, whether male or female, while being a believer, We will surely grant them a good life, and We will reward them according to the best of what they used to do.” And also: “As for the male or female thief, cut off their hands as a recompense for what they committed, as a deterrent from Allah.” (An-Nahl, 97).

• Equality in property and inheritance. Allah says in the Qur’an:

  “For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, be it little or much—a determined share.” (An-Nisa, 7).

• Equality in family, social, and cultural-spiritual rights and responsibilities. The Qur’an states:

  “And due to the wives is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable. But the men have a degree over them.” (Al-Baqarah, 228).

However, Islam also states that in some cases, the rights and responsibilities of men and women are not identical. For example, women are exempted from certain obligations (such as participating in combat or congregational prayers), while some duties are specifically assigned to them (such as wearing the headscarf and covering the body). The share of inheritance for a man is set at twice that of a woman, the testimony of two women is equivalent to that of one man, and the role of head of the household is assigned to men, among other distinctions.

Experts say that trying to make the genders completely equal goes against human nature and is harmful to society as a whole, especially to women. Furthermore, the Prophet (ﷺ) disliked women who try to imitate men and men who try to imitate women.

Prepared by Hasan AMANKUL