Are Men and Women Equal in Islam? Answer Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I (RA)

The Holy Qur’an teaches that all believers, without distinction, are equal, and that a person is elevated only through righteousness. However, Islam also recognises that equality does not mean that men and women are identical. Men and women have different physical and emotional strengths, and in view of these differences, Islam assigns them different roles and responsibilities in life.

The roles are therefore not a question of superiority or inferiority, but a question of natural capacity and proper functioning. For example, men have been assigned the duty to work and provide for their family and women have been assigned the role of motherhood and of looking after the household.

Without getting into the various Qur’anic verses and Ahadith on this subject, below is an incident from the life of Hazrat Khalifatul Masih I (RA), Hakīm-ul-Ummah, al-‘Allāmah, al-Muhaddith, al-Hafiz, al-Haaj, Maulānā Nūruddīn al-Bhairawī (RA), where he narrates an incident from his life and answers this question with a beautiful example:

There was a doctor who was a governor in Kashmir. He was a strong proponent of equality between men and women and, while sitting in a tent, stressed this point repeatedly in his speech. It so happened that I was walking nearby, although at that time he had not yet recognised me.

I slowly asked him, “Huzoor, do you have a son?” At first, due to my dress, he thought I was some sort of scoundrel who had come to question him in an ignorant manner. At last, however, he replied, “Yes, I do have a son.”

I then asked him, “Did this son of yours come from your wife’s belly?” He was quite surprised, but replied, “Yes.”

With great courage, I got up, grabbed his chest and twisted it. I knew that he was not stronger than me. He became worried and surprised at my courage and asked me, “What is the matter?”

I then said, “Now it is time for a baby to be born from your belly. Will milk come from your chest? And do you have the necessary things for children?”

The doctor then asked the Ameer, whose tent he was sitting in, “Who is this man?” He replied, “He is a prominent man. What can I say? He will introduce himself.” I said, “I am a faqeer.” After the doctor questioned me multiple times, I finally said, “My name is Nūruddīn.”

He knew my name very well and said to me, “You are a very great scholar.” I replied, “You have spent your entire life advocating this equality between men and women. Can you respond to my argument?” He said, “No one can respond to this argument.”

[Mirqatul Yaqeen Fi Hayat-e-Noor-ud-Deen page 255]