Throughout history, women have been treated as property, silenced in places of worship, and denied basic human dignity. From ancient Rome’s debates about whether women even have souls, to modern trafficking networks exploiting millions, the record of civilization’s treatment of women is deeply troubling. Islam, however, arrived with a revolutionary message that elevated the status of women over 1400 years ago.
How Other Civilizations Treated Women
- Ancient Rome (586 AD): A church conference debated whether women had human souls or were merely created to serve men’s desires
- Pre-Islamic Arabia: Baby girls were buried alive because they were considered a disgrace to the family
- Hindu tradition: A wife was her husband’s slave who could be gambled away; if he died, she was often burned alive
- Biblical tradition: Women were blamed for the “original sin” and banned from speaking in churches
- Modern era: Over 127 countries are involved in trafficking women for exploitation in Western nations
“In Islam, if a man accuses his wife of adultery, she can take an oath five times that she is truthful and innocent — and she would be considered innocent. Her testimony matters.”
How Islam Truly Liberated Women
Islam made education obligatory for both men and women. A woman once came directly to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to discuss a religious matter, and Allah revealed an entire Quranic chapter — Surah Al-Mujadilah (The Pleading Woman) — in response to her concern. In Islam, both Adam and Hawwa (Eve) shared equal responsibility for their mistake, unlike the Biblical narrative that places all blame on the woman.
“In Islam, both Adam and Eve equally made the mistake. They are both responsible. Allah says in the Quran: ‘But Satan whispered to both of them.'”
Islam gave women the right to own property, conduct business, receive inheritance, choose their spouse, and maintain their dignity in a court of law — rights that Western women would not receive until centuries later. The Islamic framework of modesty, respect, and spiritual equality represents the true liberation of women, not the exploitation disguised as freedom that the modern world often promotes.
