*The Status of Divorced and Widowed Women in Islam and the Shortcomings of Our Society*
✍🏻*Written by Muhammad Aadil Arariavi*
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Respected Readers, Islam is a just, balanced, and merciful religion that fully protects the dignity, honor, and rights of human beings. Conversely, when ignorance, customs, and baseless concepts in society overcome the original teachings of the religion, injustice, unfairness, and hurtfulness are born. The negative thinking prevalent in our society about divorced and widowed women is also a prominent example of this intellectual distortion, where a woman's honor is associated with a mere label instead of circumstances. However, the Sharia has neither declared divorce and widowhood as a defect nor as inauspicious, but in some cases, it has considered it a high manifestation of patience, piety, and courage. In this article, we aim for a sincere effort to correct this wrong social thinking, express the truth in the light of Islamic teachings, and protect the dignity of divorced and widowed women, so that society moves towards justice, compassion, and correct religious understanding. In our society, many people consider a divorced woman to be immoral, unethical, flawed, and unlucky after a divorce between spouses. For this reason, no one is easily willing to marry a divorced woman, and marrying a divorced woman is considered tantamount to turning the guns of society towards oneself, to the extent that even marrying the sister of a divorced woman is considered objectionable, although this is a wrong, even ignorant, way of thinking in our society.
And it is possible that a woman may be fulfilling the Sharia rights of her husband after marriage, but due to shortcomings on the part of the man and violation of her rights by him, the woman may not be in agreement with him, or the man may be immoral, foul-mouthed, unethical, and prone to anger, etc., and he may have divorced his wife in unethical behavior and anger, etc., without any reasonable cause, etc. In short, it is possible that many such reasons exist in which the woman or her family is not at fault or involved, but the divorce was given by the man in an unjustified manner. Therefore, in the event of a woman getting divorced, it is not correct to consider her as flawed and unlucky in any case, or to defame her or her family, or to consider marrying the sister of a divorced woman as flawed and unlucky. We should repent from this.
Sometimes, there is more reward in marrying a divorced woman who has been divorced in a cruel manner, because people generally consider marrying such a woman as objectionable. Obviously, marrying such a woman is actually helping the oppressed and breaking the wrong custom of society, in which there will be additional reward than in a normal marriage. Also, such a woman usually serves and values her second husband more after the second marriage. Similarly, in our society, many people also consider a widowed woman to be flawed and unlucky, and as a result, they also consider marrying her to be flawed and unlucky, to the extent that some people even consider the family of the widowed woman to be bad, and they do not consider marrying the sister of the widowed woman to be good. This is also an ignorant and wrong way of thinking. The time of death is fixed by Allah for everyone. What is the fault of the widowed woman or her family in this?
And the widowed woman is more deserving of being married because of the removal of the grief of her deceased husband, and the elimination of the unnecessary and bad custom of society, in which there is hope of a lot of reward.
Also, like a divorced woman, a widowed woman also usually values and serves her second husband more. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also married some widowed women, and in this way, some divorced and widowed women became the mothers of all Muslims, that is, the Mothers of the Believers, which is a great honor for those divorced and widowed women, both in this world and in the hereafter. Then what is the point of considering divorced and widowed women or their families as flawed and unlucky because of being divorced and widowed?
We need to correct the many misunderstandings and serious misunderstandings that have arisen and become prevalent in our society in this way. In today's era, due to social pressure and misconceptions, many divorced and widowed women are not willing to remarry. Sometimes this pressure is so severe that a woman remains deprived of remarriage despite her natural and Sharia needs, only for fear of people's taunts and social reaction.
Even more unfortunate is the situation that is seen or heard in some areas that after the death of a woman's husband, her brother-in-law or other relatives evict her from the house, seize her legitimate rights and property, and that helpless woman is forced to wander from door to door. Neither does society support her, nor does it provide her with opportunities to live with dignity and honor. Sometimes she is forced to beg under severe compulsions, which is a big question mark on our collective conscience.
It is the responsibility of all of us to think that that woman can also be someone's daughter, someone's sister, and someone's mother. If the same situation happens to our own sister or daughter, will we accept it? Surely not. Then why do we adopt the same attitude towards others that we do not like for ourselves? The need of the hour is that we create the fear of Allah Almighty in our hearts, refrain from the oppression and injustice being done to women, and instead of considering divorced and widowed women as inferior, pay their legitimate rights. It should be remembered that oppression, no matter who it is against, will be severely accounted for with Allah Almighty. A civilized and Islamic society is one that supports the weak, not one that takes undue advantage of their weakness.
May Allah Almighty guide us all and correct this kind of ignorant thinking that has arisen in the society and grant us the ability to avoid the sin of considering divorced and widowed women and their families as flawed and unlucky. Amen, O Lord of the Worlds.
✍🏻*Written by Muhammad Aadil Arariavi*
___________________________________
Respected Readers, Islam is a just, balanced, and merciful religion that fully protects the dignity, honor, and rights of human beings. Conversely, when ignorance, customs, and baseless concepts in society overcome the original teachings of the religion, injustice, unfairness, and hurtfulness are born. The negative thinking prevalent in our society about divorced and widowed women is also a prominent example of this intellectual distortion, where a woman's honor is associated with a mere label instead of circumstances. However, the Sharia has neither declared divorce and widowhood as a defect nor as inauspicious, but in some cases, it has considered it a high manifestation of patience, piety, and courage. In this article, we aim for a sincere effort to correct this wrong social thinking, express the truth in the light of Islamic teachings, and protect the dignity of divorced and widowed women, so that society moves towards justice, compassion, and correct religious understanding. In our society, many people consider a divorced woman to be immoral, unethical, flawed, and unlucky after a divorce between spouses. For this reason, no one is easily willing to marry a divorced woman, and marrying a divorced woman is considered tantamount to turning the guns of society towards oneself, to the extent that even marrying the sister of a divorced woman is considered objectionable, although this is a wrong, even ignorant, way of thinking in our society.
And it is possible that a woman may be fulfilling the Sharia rights of her husband after marriage, but due to shortcomings on the part of the man and violation of her rights by him, the woman may not be in agreement with him, or the man may be immoral, foul-mouthed, unethical, and prone to anger, etc., and he may have divorced his wife in unethical behavior and anger, etc., without any reasonable cause, etc. In short, it is possible that many such reasons exist in which the woman or her family is not at fault or involved, but the divorce was given by the man in an unjustified manner. Therefore, in the event of a woman getting divorced, it is not correct to consider her as flawed and unlucky in any case, or to defame her or her family, or to consider marrying the sister of a divorced woman as flawed and unlucky. We should repent from this.
Sometimes, there is more reward in marrying a divorced woman who has been divorced in a cruel manner, because people generally consider marrying such a woman as objectionable. Obviously, marrying such a woman is actually helping the oppressed and breaking the wrong custom of society, in which there will be additional reward than in a normal marriage. Also, such a woman usually serves and values her second husband more after the second marriage. Similarly, in our society, many people also consider a widowed woman to be flawed and unlucky, and as a result, they also consider marrying her to be flawed and unlucky, to the extent that some people even consider the family of the widowed woman to be bad, and they do not consider marrying the sister of the widowed woman to be good. This is also an ignorant and wrong way of thinking. The time of death is fixed by Allah for everyone. What is the fault of the widowed woman or her family in this?
And the widowed woman is more deserving of being married because of the removal of the grief of her deceased husband, and the elimination of the unnecessary and bad custom of society, in which there is hope of a lot of reward.
Also, like a divorced woman, a widowed woman also usually values and serves her second husband more. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also married some widowed women, and in this way, some divorced and widowed women became the mothers of all Muslims, that is, the Mothers of the Believers, which is a great honor for those divorced and widowed women, both in this world and in the hereafter. Then what is the point of considering divorced and widowed women or their families as flawed and unlucky because of being divorced and widowed?
We need to correct the many misunderstandings and serious misunderstandings that have arisen and become prevalent in our society in this way. In today's era, due to social pressure and misconceptions, many divorced and widowed women are not willing to remarry. Sometimes this pressure is so severe that a woman remains deprived of remarriage despite her natural and Sharia needs, only for fear of people's taunts and social reaction.
Even more unfortunate is the situation that is seen or heard in some areas that after the death of a woman's husband, her brother-in-law or other relatives evict her from the house, seize her legitimate rights and property, and that helpless woman is forced to wander from door to door. Neither does society support her, nor does it provide her with opportunities to live with dignity and honor. Sometimes she is forced to beg under severe compulsions, which is a big question mark on our collective conscience.
It is the responsibility of all of us to think that that woman can also be someone's daughter, someone's sister, and someone's mother. If the same situation happens to our own sister or daughter, will we accept it? Surely not. Then why do we adopt the same attitude towards others that we do not like for ourselves? The need of the hour is that we create the fear of Allah Almighty in our hearts, refrain from the oppression and injustice being done to women, and instead of considering divorced and widowed women as inferior, pay their legitimate rights. It should be remembered that oppression, no matter who it is against, will be severely accounted for with Allah Almighty. A civilized and Islamic society is one that supports the weak, not one that takes undue advantage of their weakness.
May Allah Almighty guide us all and correct this kind of ignorant thinking that has arisen in the society and grant us the ability to avoid the sin of considering divorced and widowed women and their families as flawed and unlucky. Amen, O Lord of the Worlds.