The Position of Women in Islam: A Progressive View

12. Women in Politics and as the Head of a State

121 12 Women in Politics and as the Head of a State Women’s rights to participate in politics and to become a head of state or that of an administration has been challenged by conservative theologians as being un-Islamic. In the following discussion their opinion on this matter has been considered and rejected. As more and more Muslim women exercise their legitimate rights in different spheres of life it is quite natural that they will aspire to assume positions of authority in government. A clash has existed throughout Islamic history between conservatives who have aimed to restrict a Muslim woman’s ability to lead a political life and liberals who have sought to allow a Muslim woman’s legitimate right to sit in a position of authority. Let us explore what the original sources say on this matter. The Quran is silent about the specific question as to whether or not a woman can become the head of a Muslim state. However, the Quran does not deny women the privilege of leading a political life or of heading a Muslim state. In fact, many verses of the Quran, exemplified by the verses quoted in the first two pages of chapter 2 of this book, clearly mention that women have been given absolute equality with men so far as reward and punishment for their deeds by God are concerned. These verses are 5:10–11, 5:72, 4:125, 32:19–20, 45:22, 49:13, 3:195, 4:124, 33:35, 40:40, and 49:11 of the Quran. Two of the finest and respected translators of the Quran support the above view about women. Thus, Abdullah Yusuf Ali (1946) commenting on 3:195 states categorically that the Quran not only recognizes the equal 122 THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN ISLAM status of the sexes but also insists on this status for women. Similarly, Muhammad Ali (1951) states that by repeating ten times that women can attain every good quality men have access to in 33:35, the Quran asserts that women can obtain the same spiritual level as men. Turning to the question of women as heads of state, some very significant verses of the Quran deal with the Queen of Sheba as head of state with approval from the chiefs. Following are these relevant Quranic verses. • “She said, ‘You chiefs! Advise me in (this) my affair: no affair have I decided except in your presence.’ • They said, ‘We are endued with strength, and given to vehement war: but the command is with you; so consider what you will command.’ • She said, ‘Kings, when they enter a country, despoil it, and make the noblest of its people its meanest. Thus, do they behave. But I am going to send him a present, and (wait) to see with what (answers) return (my) ambassadors’” (27:32–35). These verses of the Quran clearly show the Queen of Sheba was the legitimate ruler of her people who made wise decisions independent of the advice of her chiefs or advisers, and that they clearly approved of her decisions. Nowhere in these verses is there an indication that the Quran disapproves of her rule as head of state. In fact, in further verses of the Quran (27:43–44), a description is given of her submission to Islam, again independent of chiefs or advisors. The verses 27:43 and 27:44 are as follows: • “And he (Solomon) diverted her (Queen of Sheba) from the worship of others besides God: for she was (sprung) of a people that had no faith” (27:43). • “ . . . She (Queen of Sheba) said: ‘O my Lord! I have indeed wronged my soul: I do (now) submit (in Islam) with Solomon to the Lord of the worlds’” (27:44). Let us now turn to one specific, alleged saying of the Prophet (pbuh) which the anti-women conservatives in Muslim society have advanced as their argument for excluding women from the position of head of state. In this Hadith, reported by Abu Bakra, the Prophet (pbuh) is alleged to have opposed a woman having the right to be head of state. The specific Hadith is an ‘ahad Hadith,’ meaning it is an isolated Hadith that was not 123 WOMEN IN POLITICS AND AS THE HEAD OF A STATE reported by more than one of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh). During the election...