Uzma Khatoon

To understand Islam's vision of family and women’s rights, the Qur’anic message must be read with its original social context. This revelation addressed a society plagued by a tribal hierarchy, male dominance, and social inequality. In pre-Islamic Arabia (Jahiliyyah), women were often treated as property, and practices like female infanticide reflected a system that valued strength and lineage over human dignity.

The Quran’s condemnation of infanticide was a radical moral intervention. It affirmed a girl’s inherent right to life and dignity, challenging the logic of the existing social order. Beyond moral reform, the Qur’an introduced a legal transformation by recognising women as independent legal subjects. By granting women fixed inheritance shares protected by divine command, it ensured economic security and shifted women’s status from transferable property to rights-bearing individuals.

The Quran treats the family as a central moral space where justice must be practised daily. While it offers a strong framework for gender justice, patriarchal interpretation and social practice have often limited its realisation, making critical ethical engagement necessary.

The Quranic vision of gender justice begins with its understanding of human creation and purpose. “I did not create jinn and human beings except to worship Me” (51:56). This verse defines human existence in moral and spiritual terms, assigning no different purpose to men and women. Worship, accountability, and ethical responsibility apply equally to all. Unlike traditions that portray women as morally inferior or responsible for humanity’s fall, the Qur’an presents a shared narrative.

Adam and his spouse err together, repent together, and are forgiven together. This removes any theological basis for blaming women or viewing them as spiritually deficient. Moral worth in Islam is determined by taqwa, not gender, lineage, or social status.

The Qur’an repeatedly addresses believing men and women as moral partners: “The believing men and the believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong” (9:71). Reward and accountability are also described without hierarchy: “God has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow” (9:72). This establishes women as active moral agents, not passive followers.

Muslim women praying

Individual accountability is further emphasised: “Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer, We shall grant them a good life” (16:97). A woman’s spiritual success is not mediated through her father or husband. She stands before God as an autonomous individual. Yet in many Muslim societies, women continue to be treated as moral dependents, with decisions regarding education, mobility, and marriage controlled through selective religious interpretation.

The Quran also recognises women as legal persons with economic rights. “For men is a share of what parents and relatives leave, and for women is a share” (4:7). This verse affirms women’s independent right to inheritance and property ownership. A woman’s wealth belongs solely to her, whether acquired through inheritance, work, or trade. However, patriarchal customs and a lack of legal awareness often deprive women of these rights, while religious language is misused to justify injustice. Marriage in the Qur’an is presented primarily as a moral and legal contract (nikah), not as a sacrament beyond question.

A contract requires consent, rights, and responsibilities from both parties. The Qur’an describes marriage as a relationship based on tranquillity, affection, and mercy (30:21). A woman’s free and informed consent is essential, yet social pressure and family authority often compromise this principle in practice.

Islam does not treat marriage as an unbreakable bond at any cost. While reconciliation is encouraged, the Qur’an permits separation when harm persists: “If they separate, God will enrich each of them from His abundance” (4:130).

The provision of khula affirms that women are not meant to remain trapped in unwanted or harmful relationships. Justice during separation, especially concerning children, is emphasised: “No mother should be made to suffer because of her child, nor should a father suffer because of his child” (2:233). The Quran calls for modest conduct from both men and women, focusing on ethical behaviour rather than control.

However, modesty norms are often enforced disproportionately on women, restricting their mobility, education, and participation in public life. When morality becomes a tool of surveillance, it loses its ethical purpose. Respect should not silence discussions on domestic violence, unpaid labour, or unequal expectations. The Qur’an recognises women as full moral beings regardless of marital or maternal status.

The gap between Quranic ethics and social practice becomes most visible in the lives of marginalised Muslim women, whose experiences are shaped by the intersection of gender, caste, and class. Despite Quranic guarantees, many lack access to education, legal awareness, property rights, and leadership spaces. Elite Muslim discourse often ignores caste realities, treating the community as socially uniform.

For marginalised women, religious language is frequently used to demand obedience rather than justice. Reclaiming the Qur’an as an ethical resource requires democratising religious knowledge and confronting internal hierarchies. Without addressing caste and class, gender justice remains incomplete.

A crucial distinction must be made between the Qur’an as an ethical text and Islamic law (fiqh) as a human interpretive tradition. While fiqh deserves respect, it is shaped by historical contexts and power structures. Treating legal interpretations as divine freezes inequality into permanent norms. A Quran-centred approach allows ethical correction when lived realities contradict foundational principles. Education plays a central role in transforming women’s rights from theory into practice.

When women lack access to knowledge, they become dependent on others for interpretation, making it easier for authority figures to misuse religion. Reclaiming women’s voices in religious discourse is therefore essential. Women’s lived experiences must be recognised as legitimate sources of ethical insight.

The Qur’an lays a strong ethical foundation for women’s rights grounded in spiritual equality, moral agency, and human dignity. Yet these principles have often been undermined by patriarchal interpretation and legal rigidity. The solution lies neither in abandoning religion nor in uncritical defence of tradition, but in honest ethical engagement with social realities. Gender justice in Islam is not a completed chapter of history; it is an ongoing moral responsibility.

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The Qur’an calls not for blind obedience to the past, but for accountability in the present. Responding to this call requires courage, the courage to question inherited practices, challenge unjust power structures, and ensure that justice and compassion are practised in the everyday lives of Muslim women.

Dr Uzma Khatoon, former faculty at Aligarh Muslim University, is a writer, columnist, and social thinker.