I've been thinking a lot about why you rarely hear a woman recite. I personally think its a shame because a woman reciting is truly beautiful. I'm not a big fan of the lack of support for female participation in c
ongressional prayer which is probably most of it. I totally get why we can lead a mixed group in prayer because we'd be wiggling our bums in front of all the men and that is just not quite kosher :). But I'm not sure I see the issue with being heard reciting from the
Qur'an or doing
Du'a. I can kinda see an issue with the
adhan because it is very loud and to be frank female voices don't carry quite as well as male voices. But
du'a, even in
congressional prayer, is done at a normal speaking level and I really see no issue with allowing a women to read it. Many will say its because the men will be attracted to her voice and I want to say "What do you think the men will do, storm the partition?". We need to give the men a little credit, they aren't barbaric brainless animals. They 're human, they have some self control after all. Plus I think a MAN sounding like he is singing is much more attractive to a woman than a woman's voice to man. One of the sexiest things a man can do is sing for a woman. But because we
inherently have more self control we do not deserve the same treatment to lessen our burden of being attracted to men? Yeah that doesn't seem quite fair either, but its also my issue with male
hijab. We may not act on our hormones like men do but that does not mean we don't want to do so.
I think communities need to encourage their girls to be more active and to learn recitation. As I mentioned before, boys get rewarded often for their recitation skills and often have whole competitions dedicated to recitation. Why not have that for the girls too? Why not let them participate. I think if one of the girls at my school asked Br. S to let them recite he would probably say yes. But out of 3 recitation classes there are only two girls both of which are very shy. Such a shame. Maybe someday I will be decent enough to give it a try Insha'Allah. I know that recitation should be done because it is inherently good but its hard to be motivated when no one is giving you encouragement.
They need to know Allah wants to hear their voices as well.
How does your community treat women reciting?
Posts
It might be because of a verse in sura 33 that says something like "don't make your voice overly soft incase it provokes men with diseased hearts". It was addressed to Muhammad's wives but people might think it applies generally to women. I've seen someone use it in an argument against women singing in front of men.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think girls and women should learn how to recite Qur'an. There is so much blessing in it, and the Qur'an belongs to women just as much as it belongs to men. If there is a concern about reciting in front of men, then there can be women-only practices and "recitals" of Qur'an. All the barakah will remain without any issues of modesty.
ReplyDeleteI guess my issue is I don't see the issue of modesty in recitation. I often feel Islam makes way too many excuses for men and those excuses keep women from being able to participate. I do not feel this was the intention of the prophet.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/12/09/93705.html
ReplyDeleteYou will appreciate what this sheikh has to say about mixing of the sexes then. Finally someone using their brain!
From what I have read, a woman with more knowledge of the Qur'an can lead a prayer. But it think it applies more at home when the father is not around.
ReplyDeleteBut it can be done. I know here at uni our ISOC do it for the girls (actually before the classes were set up for the guys!)
Maybe its an area thing?
Interesting. I always thought (don't ask where I got the impression, I can't recall) that it had something to do with the idea that every part of a woman was 'fitnah'? Keep in mind, I've sort of realized I was hanging around with some very...I don't even know what the word is...'haram police'-ish Muslims, when I was looking into Islam. The kind who forbid *everything*.
ReplyDeleteThough I now have the mental visual of a woman saying something from behind the partition and the men storming it, having to be driven off with cattle prods. :) It's entertaining, in my brain.
I agree with the idea that more women should be given the chance to recite the Quran during gatherings etc (women are just as capable of memorizing and reciting as men)....I dont agree with your assumption that women are "inherently" more capable of controlling themselves. This is a cop out for men who are raised to believe they "inherently" have NO control...and that women should do all the work in preventing men from losing that control they are barely hanging on to already.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the "million" (exaggeration Im sure) times I prayed...I dont recall ever wiggling my butt. Ive personally never seen anyone do that...so that was rather a harsh and demeaning comment to make. Prayer is supposed to be a serious undertaking...and for the most part...most people take it that way. I dare say if a woman rose in knowledge and rank enough to be chosen to lead prayers (whether in front of men or women) she wouldnt demean herself to the point of "wiggling her butt" while leading the prayer.
My opinion only.
btw nice blog
Coolred: "inherently" should have been in quotes because I agree with you. We can control ourselves better because it is expected, but I don't think we were made with more control. And I think men get too many excuses.
ReplyDeleteWiggling was a joke and not a literal happening. I apologize if it was taken the wrong way. I've never seen anyone wiggle their bum during prayer. But it would not be appropiate to prostrate directly in front of men. Sorry to offend you, that was not my intention.
Thank you for the compliment.
Stacy: I'll check that out when I get home. I've come to see many are starting to agree that women should be more involved.
Amber: All parts of a woman are not fitnah, but there is a hadith that suggests something of that nature. There are loads of explanations for the hadith....I'll have to find it again.
:) That might just have to be a new drawing.
It seems that participation of women is on the rise. Which is good because I can cross off "discouraging women to participate" on my Issues list, which I will post soon Insha'Allah.
ReplyDeleteOh! I found an article that quotes some of the hadith used for the 'women shouldn't speak' opinion:
ReplyDeletewww.muhajabah.com/docstorage/voice-amina-h.htm
It's just the authors personal opinion, but like I said, some of the hadith are listed. :)
I like this muhajabah.com. Its a little hard to navigate, much like al-Islam.org but it seems rather helpful
ReplyDeleteActually, one of the widely spread rumors is that Islam considers the voice of the woman private and should not be heard.
ReplyDeleteThe Holy Quran narrated the story of the two daughters of the Prophet Shu'ayb (Peace be upon him) when they spoke to the Prophet Moses (Peace be upon him) in the following verse: {And when he arrived at the water of Madyan (Midian) he found there a group of men watering (their flocks), and besides them he found two women who were keeping back (their flocks). He said: "What is the matter with you?" They said: "We cannot water (our flocks) until the shepherds take (their flocks). And our father is a very old man} (Qasas 23) and one of them told Moses (Peace be upon him) {Then there came to him one of the two women, walking shyly. She said: "Verily, my father calls you that he may reward you for having watered (our flocks) for us} (Qasas 25).
Accordingly, if the voice of the woman should be kept private, then how the two daughters of Shu'ayb (Peace be upon him) spoke to Moses (peace be upon him)?
Moreover, how the could the woman be prevented from speaking while Islam allowed her to sell, purchase, give advices, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong? {The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong} (Al-Tawbah 71).
It is narrated also that a woman has stood up in the Masjed and asked the Caliph Omar (May Allah be pleased with him) to comply with the verses of the Holy Quran when the Caliph wanted to put limits for the dowries, and She said: "How is it that you want to limit the dowry? while Allah The Almighty said: {But if you want to replace one wife with another and you have given one of them a great amount [in gifts] , do not take [back] from it anything}, then the Caliph Omar (May Allah be pleased with him) said his known statement: "Omar has mistaken and the woman was right".
Anon: I'm not really questioning a woman being allowed to speak. For some reason, many think they should not recite because its too melodic like singing and singing could be attractive to men. Obviously, I don't agree with that, and you don;t seem to either.
ReplyDeleteLovely examples btw
Amber: finally read the link. Yeah I don't agree with her. This is another one of my issues: SO many excuses for male behavior. Hijab makes sense but not speaking AT ALL because you have a soft voice? Thats just nonsensical. You can speak to man without arrousing him, it really is possible. Sure one shouldn't hang out with a non-maharam flirting and chatting it up with lots of jokes and fun games. That would be pushing it. But I don't see the issue with a simple conversation.
ReplyDeleteWe speak to the brothers at the school and they to us and there are no issues. Its polite speech and not a lot of idol chatter but jokes are sometimes cracked between teachers and kindness shown. I just think sometimes things are taken way too literally but it usually turns out that it is not done in practice in such a literal fashion.
I completely agree with coolred - why is it commonly assumed that women have more self-control, and why can't men control themseleves when a woman is praying in front of them? Seriously, this has annoyed me for ages. If during PRAYER, a Muslim man can do nothing but think about the woman in front of him, then that is HIS fault, not her's! Why do we need to pray in separate areas because of that?
ReplyDeleteI see nothing wrong with women reciting the Qur'an - like you said, if it's about her voice being tempting to men, then why isn't it assumed a man's voice will be tempting to women?
Cairo Lusaka Amsterdam: Exactly. This is a big issue for me, all the excuses made for men. Mash'Allah women are starting to stand up for themselves and are asking the men to take more responsibility. Now, I actually like the separate rooms providing I can see the speaker or the room is well equipt. But really we need to give men a little more credit. Hijab makes sense, men are very visual and treatment from men changes drastically when you dress modestly. But I seriously don't think my voice in a melodic pattern is going to drive a man so mad he will be filled with lust and forget his prayers. Common people that's just getting silly and not really what the Qur'an was trying to say much less the Sunnah.
ReplyDeleteIf I was a man and wasn't expected to have any self-control at all, I would be pretty offended. Also, I always thought that the verse about how women shouldn't be "soft in speech" meant that they shouldn't speak flirtatiously. You know how some women change their tone of voice when they're flirting or trying to be seductive (just listen to commercials and you'll see what I mean). However, if a woman naturally has a "soft voice" and isn't intending to flirt, then it shouldn't be a problem. "Soft in speech" could also refer to the actual words being said; if a woman with a very deep voice was flirting or talking about inappropriate things, then her speech could be called "soft" as well. I'm not sure what the actual Arabic words are that are used in this ayah, but these words and knowledge of their meanings will give the best insight as to what the Qur'an actually means.
ReplyDeleteBanana Anne: I think you are 100% right.
ReplyDeleteI like the rationalisation, but I can't help but wonder why the wives of the prophet would need to be told not to flirt?
ReplyDeleteSarah: You mean the surah you mentioned above? I never thought it was directed at his wives. I suppose it could have been something he said to the women in general. Makes way more sense that way because I agree it makes no sense for the prophet to tell his wives not to flirt.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I should have actually quoted it!
ReplyDelete33:32 O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any of the [other] women, provided that you remain [truly] conscious of God. Hence, be not over-soft in your speech, lest any whose heart is diseased should be moved to desire [you]: but, withal, speak in a kindly way.
Regarding 33:32: Here is Abdullah Yusuf Ali's tafseer of the verse:
ReplyDelete"While they (the Prophet (saw)'s wives) were to be kind and gentle to all, they were to be guarded on account of their special position lest people might misunderstand or take advantage of their kindness. They were to make no vulgar worldly displays as in the times of Paganism."
Yusuf Ali's translation of the meaning of this verse also uses the phrase "complaisant in speech" rather than "soft in speech". The word "complaisant" (according to dictionary.com) means "inclined or disposed to please' obliging; agreeable or gracious".
Given this interpretation, "soft in speech" might mean just being careful in general of what you say, because some people "whose heart is diseased" might get the wrong idea and take advantage of you (not necessary in a sexual way). This makes sense in applying to both the wives of the Prophet (saw) (who I also don't think needed to be reminded not to flirt) and women in general.
This is why it is so important for us to learn how to read the Qur'an in Arabic, because there are so many things that can get lost in translation, and because Arabic words often have numerous definitions that an English translation cannot possibly take all into account. Insha'Allah we will all be able to read the Qur'an in Arabic and understand it someday.
Everything I've read suggests that if the most Qur'an knowledgeable person present is female, then she should be the one to do the recitation. I also disagree that a female voice (especially a trained one) isn't powerful enough to call the Adhan. Let's say that the only reason I haven't done it myself is that I'm not a Muslim ;)
ReplyDeleteCaraboska: Oh a woman totally could have a powerful voice, I'm a trained performer myself and was always the loudest of the bunch. Its just less common is all.
ReplyDeleteYes that makes sense, if the woman is the most knowledgeable then she should do the recitation