Woman judges and Sharia

[Riaz Ahmed Alizai]

RECENTLY two women judges have been appointed in Malaysia in the Sharia court but strangely enough their appointment is conditional on their not handling cases pertaining to marriage and divorce.
They can handle other cases like the custody of children, maintenance, property, etc. The appointment of women judges is a welcome move but the conditionality attached seems strange.

The question is: why can’t women judges deal with marriage and divorce cases? Is there any such injunction in the Quran or the Sunnah?

[Invincible]

Dear I have googled this article on this topic. I hope it would quench your thirst.

Q: Respected scholars, as-salamu `alaykum.

Recently, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper ran a piece of news about the appointment of the first woman judge in Egypt. Kindly shed light on the opinions of Muslim jurists regarding this issue.

A:Wa `alaykum as-salamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.


In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.


All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.


Sister in Islam, we really appreciate your efforts in pursuit of knowledge, which is an Islamic obligation upon all Muslims, males and females.



Jurists differ as to whether a woman may assume the post of a judge. The majority of jurists held the view that it is not allowed for a woman to act as a judge. The opinion held by Hanafi jurists, however, was that this is permissible only when she will act as a judge with regard to non-criminal cases. As for Azh-Zhahiriyya scholars, they are of the opinion that a woman is definitely permitted to act as a judge with regard to criminal and non-criminal cases alike.



In his response to your question, eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi states,

As for a woman's work in judiciary, Abu Hanifah permits her to be a judge in cases in which her testimony is accepted; that is, in cases other than criminal ones. Ibn Hazm and At-Tabari, however, are of the opinion that a woman can be a judge in all cases.

Here, we should keep in mind that the permissibility of appointing a woman as a judge does not necessitate it. Rather, the public interest of the Muslim society and the welfare of the woman herself and the family should be the main criteria in deciding whether it is necessary to appoint a woman in such a serious position or not. Accordingly, some distinguished women of a certain age [that is, with enough experience] may be appointed judges regarding certain matters and under certain circumstances.

As for the prohibition of appointing a woman as the ruler or the caliph of a Muslim state, it is because often she cannot bear the burdens of that tremendous job. We say "often" to refer to the fact that there may be some women who are more powerful and forbearing than some men, such as the Queen of Saba' [Sheba] whose story is related by Allah in the Qur'an . Yet this is unusual and the Islamic rulings, therefore, cannot be founded upon exceptions.

However, there is nothing wrong if a woman is appointed as head of an institution or a member of parliament as long as it is within the interests of the Muslim society.


Source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/S...EAskTheScholar

[Maroof Hussain Chishty]

Several hadiths have been narrated by the Prophet’s (PBUH) wives, particularly Hazrat Ayesha, in matters of marriage and divorce. If a woman has no proper understanding of such issues why are such hadiths accepted by the jurists? They should be rejected because they have been narrated by a woman. Also, it is known to Islamic historians that the Prophet used to consult his wives on several matters.

The Quran repeatedly asks believers to enforce what is good (maaruf) and prohibit what is evil (munkar) and believers include both men and women. Thus, it is as much obligatory on men as on women to carry out this injunction of the Quran, more so in the case of a judge. Imam Abu Hanifa was in favour of appointing women qazis precisely on the basis of this Quranic injunction. What is the function of a qazi if not to enforce what is good and prevent that which is evil?

Also, who understands better than women as to what marital problems are and how often men divorce their wives simply in a fit of anger? In Islam marriage is a contract and both men and women have equal rights to enter into the contract, laying down conditions they like. If the woman has the right to lay down conditions for entering into a marital contract, she can also be supposed to have a thorough understanding of marital relations or a mutual relationship.

Nowhere do we find a verse in the Quran or a suggestion in a hadith that women are intellectually inferior in understanding such matters. As for the controversial tradition that women are naqis al-aql (intellectually inferior) and naqis al-iman (inferior in faith), the less said the better. The Prophet consulted his wives in several matters. He consulted one of them on the crucial matter of peace at Hudaibiyah, and accepted her advice to sacrifice his camel. He could not have said that women were inferior in intellect.

It was Hazrat Khadija who congratulated her husband for becoming the Prophet of Islam after he received the first revelation, and was perspiring and feeling uncertain as to what was happening to him. It was Hazrat Hafsa, his wife, in whose custody the earliest compiled Quran remained until the time of Hazrat Usman. The Prophet also is reported to have said that one who honours women becomes honoured himself.

The Prophet had all daughters and no surviving male offspring. He greatly loved them and brought them up with great affection. He used to say that one who loves his daughter, educates her and marries her off his place in paradise is assured. He loved his daughter Fatima most and would rise to his feet in respect when she entered his house. There are no differences on these matters among jurists and narrators of hadiths, and yet several hadiths are deemed as forged, which show women in a very poor light.

In fact, it should be not surprising that the entire discourse on women in the Quran is right-based and for men duty-based. What is surprising is that in Islamic jurisprudence the entire discourse reverses: for men it is right-based and for women duty-based. It is high time the Muslim intelligentsia came forward to rethink the entire corpus of Islamic jurisprudence in respect of issues and bring it in conformity with the Quranic spirit of justice, equality and human dignity.