Women In The Bible

ARE WOMEN TREATED FAIRLY IN THE BIBLE? ARE THEY RESPECTED AS INDIVIDUALS OR SLAVES TO MAN? ARE THEY RESPECTED AND HONORED?

THE REASON BEHIND PAINS OF DELIVERY

[Gen 3:16]
God said to Eve when she tempted Adam, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing, in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.

MENSES IN THE BIBLE

[Levi. 15:19]
When a woman has a discharge of blood which in her regular discharge from her body, she shall be apart seven days. And WHOSOEVER TOUCHES HER SHALL BE UNCLEAN until the evening. And every thing that she lies upon in her SEPARATION shall be unclean. Every thing also that SHE SITS UPON SHALL BE UNCLEAN. And whosoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. And whosoever touches anything THAT SHE SAT UPON SHALL WASH HIS CLOTHES, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.

And if it be on her bed, or any thing whereon she sits when he touches it: he SHALL BE UNCLEAN UNTIL THE EVENING. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him: he shall be unclean seven days, and all the bed WHEREON SHE LIES SHALL BE UNCLEAN.

And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her SEPARATION: All the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her SEPARATION, she shall be unclean. Every bed whereon she lies all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her SEPARATION, and whatsoever she sits upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her SEPARATION.

And WHOSOEVER TOUCHES THOSE THINGS SHALL BE UNCLEAN and shall wash his clothes and bathes himself in water, and he BE UNCLEAN UNTIL THE EVENING. But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest to the door of the meeting tent.

POSTPARTUM IN THE BIBLE

[Levi. 12:2]
If a woman conceives, and bears a MALE CHILD, then she shall be unclean seven days.. But if she bears a FEMALE CHILD then she shall be unclean two weeks.

AFTER AN INTERCOURSE

[Levi. 15:16]
If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water, and be unclean until the evening. Every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening.

[Levi. 22:17] WHEN THE SUN IS DOWN HE SHALL BE CLEAN.

[Levi. 15:18]
If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen both of them shall bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening.

REJOICE WITH THEM !!

[Prov. 5:18]
REJOICE WITH THE WIFE of your youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; LET HER BREASTS SATISFY YOU AT ALL TIMES.

[Song. 8:8]
We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when is spoken for? I was a wall, and MY BREASTS WERE LIKE TOWERS.

WOMAN'S VEIL IN THE BIBLE

[1 Corin. 11:5]
But any woman who prays and prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head - it is the same as if her head were shaven, for if a woman will not veil herself then she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil. JUDGE FOR YOURSELVES; is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? (It seems that Christians are unaware of the obligation of the veil in the Bible, which made me put their verses in this book, and for those who attack the veil in Islam should notice these verses of their own Bible, and notice also this verse "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.)

WOMAN IS NOT THE GLORY OF GOD

[1 Corin. 11:7]
For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man, for man was not made for woman, but woman from man, neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

REMAIN SILENCE!

[1 Tim 2:11-14]
Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

SILENCE IN CHURCHES

[1 Corin 14:34]
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to
speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

WOMAN IS EVIL !

[Zech. 5:7]
The leaden cover was lifted, there was a woman sitting, and he (the angel) said: this is wickedness.

GOD MAKES PEOPLE FALL IN ADULTERY

[Amos 7:16]
God said to Am-a-zi'ah "You say, prophesy not against Israel and drop not your word against the house of Isaac?
Thus the Lord says: YOUR WIFE SHALL BE AN HARLOT in the city and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword."

[Jer. 8:9]
They have rejected the word of the Lord. Therefore I WILL GIVE THEIR WIVES UNTO OTHERS.
[Jer. 13:22]
"For the greatness of your iniquity are your skirts discovered, AND YOUR HEELS MADE BARE. I will discover your skirts upon your face, that your shame may appear I have seen your adulteries, and your neighings the lewdness of your whoredoms."

HIDE WOMAN'S VOICE !

[1 Corin. 14:34]
The woman should keep silence in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. If there is any thing they desire to know let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

[1 Timo. 2:9]
Woman should adorn themselves modestly and sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire but by good deeds.

WOMAN FOR THE MAN

[1 Corin 11:5-10]
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovereddishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels."

HOW TO RESCUE HER HUSBAND

[Deut. 25:11]
When men fight with one another, and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him, and puts out her hand seizes him by the private parts, then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall have not pity.

MARRIAGE BY FORCE !!

[Deut. 25:5]
If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be marries outside of the family to a stranger; her husband's brother shall go into her, and take her as his wife.

WHAT IF HE REFUSES ?

[Deut. 25:7]
And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate of the elders, and say, "My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel.. Then the elders of his city shall call him.

And if he persists.. Then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot, and spit in his face; and shall answer and say: So it shall be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. And the name of his house shall be called in Israel THE HOUSE OF HIM THAT HAD HIS SANDAL PULLED OFF.

UPRIGHT WOMEN!

[Eccless 7:26-28]
And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare....while I was still searching but not finding, I found one upright man among a thousand but not one upright woman among them all".

KILL WOMEN, CHILDREN, ANIMALS !!

[Ezek. 9:5]
And the Lord said, "Go through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have you pity. SLAY UTTERLY OLD AND YOUNG, BOTH MAIDS AND LITTLE CHILDREN, AND WOMEN.
[Num. 31:1]
And the Lord said unto Moses, "Avenge the children of the Mid'-an'ites.. They warred against the Mid'-i-an'ites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they slay all the males. And they took all women as captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

Moses said, "HAVE YOU SAVED ALL THE WOMEN ALIVE? NOW KILL EVERY MALE AMONG THE LITTLE ONES, AND KILL EVERY WOMAN that has known a man by lying with him, but all the young girls who have not known a man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.

[Josh 6:16]
Joshua said to the people of Israel, "The Lord has given you the city (of the Canaanites).. all silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord: They shall come into the treasury of the Lord. The people utterly DESTROYED ALL THAT WAS IN THE CITY, BOTH MAN AND WOMAN, YOUNG AND OLD, AND OX AND SHEEP, AND ASS, WITH THE EDGE OF THE SWORD.

KILLING, KIDNAPPING, SLAVERY

[Josh. 16:10]
So the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of E'phraim to this day, but become slaves to do forced labour. (see also Joshua 17:13 and Judg. 1:30)
[Judg. 21:10]
The congregation of Benjamin sent twelve thousand of their bravest men, and commanded them, "Go and smite the inhabitants of Ja'-besh-gil'ead with the edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones. Every male and every
woman that has lain with a male YOU SHALL UTTERLY DESTROY.

And they found among the inhabitants four hundred YOUNG VIRGINS who had not known a man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp of Shiloh, which is the land of Canaan. And Benjamin returned at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Ja'besh-gil'ead, but they did not suffice for them.

STEALING WOMEN !!

And they commanded the Benjaminites, saying:"Go and lie in wait in the vineyard, and watch, if the daughters of Shiloh go out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyard and seize each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh. And the Benjaminites did so, and took their wives from the dancers whom they caught.

KILL THEM AND TAKE THEIR PROPERTIES

[Deut. 20:10]
When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it SHALL BE FORCED LABOUR FOR YOU AND SHALL SERVE YOU.

But if it makes no peace with you, then you shall besiege it, .. YOU SHALL PUT ALL ITS MALES TO THE SWORD, BUT THE WOMEN AND THE LITTLE ONES, the cattle and every thing else in the city all its spoil, YOU SHALL TAKE AS BOOTY FOR YOURSELVES; AND YOU SHALL ENJOY THE SPOIL OF YOUR ENEMIES.

In other words, the Bible teaches us that:

   1.Women should learn in silence and subjugation.
   2.Women should not teach.
   3.Women should not have authority over men but should remain silent.
   4.Adam and Eve were not equal in sin. Adam was not deceived but Eve was.
   5.Women are commanded to be under obedience to men. God ordained that men shall for all time rule
     over women
   6.Women must keep silent in Churches. It is shameful for them to open their mouths therein. If they
     have a question they should ask their husbands before going to church and then their husbands will
     ask for them in the church.
   7.A woman should neither pray nor profess with her head uncovered.
   8.If a woman prays with her head uncoveredthen she might as well shave her head.
   9.Man was created in the image and glory of God, and Woman was created in the glory of Man, thus
     Man must have power over her.
10.Any woman who delivers a male baby shall be unclean for one week. But any woman who delivers a
     female baby shall be unclean for TWO weeks. Thus, females make their mothers DOUBLY unclean
     as compared to males.
11.While it is possible to find one upright man in every thousand, it is impossible to find even one single
      upright woman in every thousand
12.Woman is a snare, her heart is a trap, and her hands are chains. The man who pleases God will
      escape her, but she will ensnare the sinner.
13.If a woman had her period and touches a chair or a bed or anything else then that item immediately
     becomes unclean. Anyone who then touches those things shall also become unclean. They must then
     bathe themselves and wash their clothes because they have touched an item that a menstruous woman
     has touched.

ARE WOMEN OPPRESSED IN ISLAM ?

Islam: Women must cover their heads as a sign of "modesty." It also serves as protection for the female.

Christianity: 1 CORINTHIANS 11:3-10 in the christian bible orders women to cover their heads in prayers. These verses further state that the male doesn't have to cover his head because "female was made from male, and the male not from the female." It further states that a woman covering her head is a sign of male "authority."

Conclusion: Islam and Christianity both tell women to cover their heads. The main difference, however, is that women in Islam cover their heads for purposes of "modesty." Christian women cover their heads as a sign of "male authority." It is clear that the bible gives women an inferior status, whereas Islam doesn't.

Islam: Adam and Eve (peace be upon them) were EQUALLY responsible for eating from the "forbidden tree." They both repented and were forgiven by the Most-Forgiving and Most-Merciful Allahu ta'ala.

Christianity: Eve ate from the "forbidden tree" BEFORE Adam did. Adam ate from the tree AFTER Eve did. The woman was deceived FIRST. Because of EVE causing Adam to sin by eating from the forbidden tree, the ground is "cursed." God doesn't forgive them, but damns them and humanity -- thanks to Eve (the woman)! ALL females go through "pains of childbearing" as a punishment from God -- because of EVE'S sin. All males have to go through pains of eating from the ground, thanks to EVE. ALL babies are born in SIN, thanks to EVE. All of this can be found in GENESIS 2:4-3:24.

"Adam was not deceived but the woman was" (1 TIMOTHY 2:11-14)

"Woman will be ruled over by the male" (GENESIS 3:16)

In other words, thanks to a FEMALE, we are damned! It is clear that in Christianity, the very first woman
is blamed for wrongdoing, but not the very first male.

Islam: Quran orders us that we should not "bury daughters alive."

Christianity: -"The birth of a daughter is a loss" (ECCLESIASTICUS 22:3, Catholic Bible)

- Ritual impurity of a mother is TWICE as long if a female is born and not a male. (LEVITICUS 12:2-5)

Is it not clear that Islam again gives a higher status to females? What Islam came to radicate -- the bad treatment of females -- still continues in today's Protestant and Catholic scriptures.

ISLAM: Women can talk in the mosque. (place of worship)

CHRISTIANITY: "It is a shame for women to talk in the church." (1 CORINTHIANS 14:34)

If females cannot talk, then how are they supposed to learn? Again, it is obvious that Islam gives the female a higher status than the bible does.

Muslim women are objects of derision and mockery especially in the Western world. Women in Islam are portrayed to be "oppressed" and "inferior" by many Westerners. However, most of the Westerners I've heard this from are usually Christian. It is amazing how many verses the Christian bible has which supports Islamic treatment of women, among other issues. Here is a small list I would like to share with all of you. You will also know that the christian bible degrades the female sex!

At a time when the rest of the world, from Greece and Rome to India and China, considered women as no better than children or even slaves, with no rights whatsoever, Islam acknowledged women's equality with men in a great many respects. The Quran states:

"And among His signs is this: that He created mates for you form yourselves that you may find rest, peace of mind in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are signs for people who reflect." [30:21]

Prophet Muhammad said:

"The most perfect in faith amongst believers is he who is best in manners and kindest to his wife." [Abu Dawud]

Muslims believe that Adam and Eve were created from the same soul. Both were equally guilty of their sin and fall from grace, and both were forgiven by Allah. Many women in Islam have had high status; consider the fact that the first person to convert to Islam was Khadijah, the wife of Muhammad, whom he both loved and respected. His favorite wife after Khadijah's death, Aeisha, became renowned as a scholar and one of the greatest sources of Hadith literature. Many of the female Companions accomplished great deeds and achieved fame, and throughout Islamic history there have been famous and influential scholars, jurists and mystics.

With regard to education, both women and men have the same rights and obligations. This is clear in Prophet Muhammad's saying:

"Seeking knowledge is mandatory for every believer." [Ibn Majah]

This implies men and women.
A woman is to be treated as God has endowed her, with rights, such as to be treated as an individual, with the right to own and dispose of her own property and earnings, enter into contracts, even after marriage. She has the right to be educated and to work outside the home if she so chooses. She has the right to inherit from her father, mother, and husband. A very interesting point to note is that in Islam, unlike any other religion, a woman can be an imam, a leader of communal prayer, for a group of women.

A Muslim woman also has obligations. All the laws and regulations pertaining to prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage, doing good deeds, etc., apply to women, albeit with minor differences having mainly to do with female physiology.

Before marriage, a woman has the right to choose her husband. Islamic law is very strict regarding the necessity of having the woman's consent for marriage. A marriage dowry (money) is given by the groom to the bride for her own personal use. She keeps her own family name, rather than taking her husband's. As a wife, a woman has the right to be supported by her husband even if she is already rich. She also has the right to seek divorce and custody of young children. She does not return the dowry, except in a few unusual situations.

Despite the fact that in many places and times Muslim communities have not always adhered to all or even many of the foregoing in practice, the ideal has been there for 1400 years, while virtually all other major civilizations did not begin to address these issues or change their negative attitudes until the 19th and 20th centuries, and there are still many contemporary civilizations which have yet to do so.

What the canonized saints of Christianity said about women:

Ø Ø "Woman is a daughter of falsehood, a sentinel of Hell, the enemy of peace; through her Adam lost paradise" (St. John Demascene)

Ø Ø "Woman is the instrument which the devil uses to gain possession of our souls" (St. Cyprian)

Ø Ø "Woman is the fountain of the arm of the devil, her voice is the hissing of the serpent" (St. Anthony)

Ø Ø "Woman has the poison of an asp, the malice of a dragon" (St. Gregory)

What about the Christian tradition? It is well known that Catholic Nuns have been covering their heads for hundreds of years, but that is not all. St. Paul in the New Testament made some very interesting statements about the veil:

"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head" (I Corinthians 11:3-10).

St. Paul's rationale for veiling women is that the veil represents a sign of the authority of the man, who is the image and glory of God, over the woman who was created from and for man. St. Tertullian in his famous treatise 'On The Veiling Of Virgins' wrote, "Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets, so you should wear them in the church, you wear them when you are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers..." Among the Canon laws of the Catholic church today, there is a law that requires women to cover their heads in church. 82 Some Christian denominations, such as the Amish and the Mennonites for example, keep their women veiled to the present day. The reason for the veil, as offered by their Church leaders, is that "The head covering is a symbol of woman's subjection to the man and to God", which is the same logic introduced by St. Paul in the New Testament. 83

From all the above evidence, it is obvious that Islam did not invent the head cover. However, Islam did endorse it. The Quran urges the believing men and women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty and then urges the believing women to extend their head covers to cover the neck and the bosom:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty......And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms...." (24:30,31).

The Quran is quite clear that the veil is essential for modesty, but why is modesty important? The Quran is still clear:

"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so that they should be known and not molested" (33:59).

This is the whole point, modesty is prescribed to protect women from molestation or simply, modesty is protection. Thus, the only purpose of the veil in Islam is protection. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil of the Christian tradition, is not a sign of man's authority over woman nor is it a sign of woman's subjection to man. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil in the Jewish tradition, is not a sign of luxury and distinction of some noble married women. The Islamic veil is only a sign of modesty with the purpose of protecting women, all women. The Islamic philosophy is that it is always better to be safe than sorry. In fact, the Quran is so concerned with protecting women's bodies and women's reputation that a man who dares to falsely accuse a woman of unchastity will be severely punished: