Indeed, women suffered immensely; they were the victims of every regiment, and the regret of all times, represented by many pages of deprivation, springs of sadness, they were deeply wronged, profoundly exploited in an unprecedented manner.
Chapters of Shame:
It is shameful that humanity was not treating women as human beings. All past civilizations exercised various types of torture, injustice, defeat and oppression unto her.
Greeks described her as the poisoning tree, and that she is filth made of from the Satan's work, and that she is sold as a commodity.
Romans said she has no soul and, as a sort of torture they poured hot oil over her, and she was dragged down to death by horses.
Chinese described her as the painful water which takes away happiness, and that a Chinese has the right to bury his wife alive and, if he dies his family will be entitled to inherit her.
Indians described her as worse than death, hell, poison, snakes, and fire. The woman has no right to live after her husband's death and that she should be burned with him.
Persians permitted the marriage of the unmarriageable with no exception), and it became allowed for a Persian to sentence his wife to death!
Jews described her as a curse because she is the reason of seduction, and that she is dirty when in menstruation, and they permitted her father to sell her.
In Christianity: The French held a conference in 586 AD to determine if the woman can be considered as a human or not, does she have a soul or not? If yes, is it a human or an animal soul? If it is a human soul, is it on the same level or on a lower level to that of the man? They finally decided that she is a human, but she is created only to service the man. The English parliament issued a decree during Henry the 8th rein, the English King, which banned women from reading the new testament (the falsified Bible) because they are sullied (dirty ) .
Before Islam, Arabs used to hate her like death. She used to be buried alive, or thrown into a well in a very brutal manner.
RE:Women status before Islam.
by Secular Indian on Mar 16, 2007 03:12 AM Permalink
How can you then explain MuhamMAD marrying a 6 year old girl when he was 53. Later he married his (ex) daughter-in-law. Here are some more points to ponder:
It is tragic to read news reports of old men marrying children in some Islamic countries, because they seek to follow the example of Muhammad who married a child. Muhammad had such an interest in fondling young girls, he criticized even the lawful marriage union of two grown adults.
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: When I got married, Allah's Apostle said to me, "What type of lady have you married?" I replied, "I have married a matron' He said, "Why, don't you have a liking for the virgins and for fondling them?" Jabir also said: Allah's Apostle said, "Why didn't you marry a young girl so that you might play with her and she with you?' Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 17.
In the classic history of "The Life of Muhammad" (Sirat Rasul Allah) by Ibn Ishaq, there is an account in which Muhammad expressed a marital interest in a crawling baby. This event seems to have occurred around the time of the Battle of of Badr which would have made Muhammad approximately 55 years old. He had married Ayesha two years earlier, when he was 53 years of age.
(Suhayli, ii. 79: In the riwaya of Yunus I. I. recorded that the apostle saw her (Ummu'lFadl) when she was a baby crawling before him and said, 'If she grows up and I am still alive I will marry her.' But he died before she grew up and Sufyan b. al-Aswad b. 'Abdu'l-Asad al-Makhzumi married her and she bore him Rizq and Lubab...1
So, Muhammad's interest in young girls extended beyond Ai'sha ('Ayesha). Why would anyone think that Muhammad's sexual interest in babies be "the timeless expression of the Will of Allah?"
RE:Women status before Islam.
by Dr_Ramanand Rao on Mar 16, 2007 09:02 AM Permalink
Islam did reform the Arabs, but it was not the religion for the rest of the civilised world. Hinduism has always given respect to women and Islam was not required here
RE:RE:Women status before Islam.
by Dr_Ramanand Rao on Mar 16, 2007 09:06 AM Permalink
The Sathi system crept into India only a few decades before the advent of Islam and it has also been abolished now, so don't keep harping on that
