What does the Quran say about women?

What does the Qur’an say about the standing of women before God?

Qur’an 33:35 is the clearest statement. It runs through a list — the believing men and believing women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient, the charitable, the fasting — pairing each and every category, and closes by promising them forgiveness and a great reward. Nothing in it distinguishes the reward by sex. Qur’an 3:195 states that God will not let the work of any worker among them be lost, whether male or female, adding that they are of one another. Qur’an 16:97 promises a good life to whoever does righteousness, male or female, while a believer. Qur’an 4:1 places the whole matter at the beginning: O mankind, be conscious of your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate.

What did the Qur’an change for women at the time?

Several things the text names directly. It condemned female infanticide in terms that leave no room: Qur’an 81:8-9 describes the buried infant girl being asked for what sin she was killed. Qur’an 16:58-59 describes a man’s face darkening at news of a daughter and hiding himself from his people, and calls the judgement he makes evil. It gave women a defined share of inheritance rather than none: Qur’an 4:7 states that for men is a share of what parents and relatives leave, and for women is a share, whether small or large — an obligatory share. It made the bridal gift the wife’s property, to be given graciously Qur’an 4:4. And Qur’an 4:19 forbade inheriting women by compulsion and instructs living with them in kindness.

What about 4:34?

This is the verse most quoted against the Qur’an, and it should be read rather than avoided. Qur’an 4:34 opens by describing men as qawwamūn over women — a term rendered variously as protectors, maintainers or those responsible — and connects it to what they spend of their wealth. It then addresses a case of nushūz, usually rendered as arrogance or serious discord, and sets out three steps: admonish them, then forsake them in bed, and a third word, ḍaraba. That third word is where the disagreement lies. Its ordinary meaning includes to strike, and many translations render it so. Other scholars, classical and modern, note that the same root carries meanings including to separate or to depart, and read it accordingly. Commentators who take the striking sense have very generally held it to be symbolic and non-injurious, and to be a last resort in a sequence designed to avoid it. What should be clear is that this is a genuine disagreement among Muslim scholars about a single Arabic word, not a settled reading with dissenters. Presenting either side as the only one would misrepresent the state of the discussion — and Qur’an 4:19, instructing that women be lived with in kindness, sits in the same Surah.

Why does 2:282 mention two women witnesses?

Qur’an 2:282 is the Qur’an’s longest verse and concerns recording a debt. It calls for two male witnesses, or one man and two women, and gives a reason in the text itself: so that if one of the two errs, the other can remind her. The verse is about documenting a commercial debt specifically, and readers differ over whether it establishes a general rule of testimony or addresses the commercial familiarity of the intended audience. Notably, Qur’an 24:6-9 sets out a case in which a wife’s testimony alone stands against her husband’s.

Does the Qur’an record women speaking for themselves?

It does, and in one case the whole chapter turns on it. Surah al-Mujadila opens by stating that God has heard the words of the woman who disputes with the Prophet concerning her husband and directs her complaint to God, and that God hears their dialogue Qur’an 58:1. A woman argued, and revelation came in answer. Qur’an 60:12 describes the Prophet receiving the pledge of allegiance from believing women directly. Qur’an 2:228 states that women have rights similar to those expected of them, in what is reasonable.

Common questions

Does the Qur’an say men and women are equal?

It states they were created from a single soul Qur’an 4:1, addresses believing men and women in identical terms with the same promised reward Qur’an 33:35, and says no righteous work is lost whether done by male or female Qur’an 3:195. It also assigns some differing rights and responsibilities, such as in inheritance Qur’an 4:11.

What does 4:34 actually say?

It describes men as qawwamūn — protectors or maintainers — in connection with what they spend, then sets out three steps in a case of serious discord, the third being the word ḍaraba. Whether that means to strike or to separate is genuinely disputed among Muslim scholars, and those who take the first sense have generally held it symbolic and a last resort.

Did the Qur’an give women inheritance rights?

Yes. Qur’an 4:7 states that women have a share of what parents and relatives leave, described as an obligatory share, with the proportions set out in Qur’an 4:11.

Does the Qur’an condemn the killing of baby girls?

Directly. Qur’an 81:8-9 describes the infant girl buried alive being asked for what sin she was killed, and Qur’an 16:58-59 condemns the attitude behind it.

The Surahs this page draws on

Every verse quoted above comes from one of these chapters. Each is set out in full — why it was revealed, and what it teaches.

• 2. Al-Baqarah — The Cow
• 3. Al Imran — The Family of Imran
• 4. An-Nisa — The Women
• 16. An-Nahl — The Bee
• 24. An-Nur — The Light
• 33. Al-Ahzab — The Combined Forces
• 58. Al-Mujadilah — The Pleading Woman
• 60. Al-Mumtahanah — She That Is to Be Examined
• 81. At-Takwir — The Overthrowing