The
following is all the references relating to women mention
in the Koran. The version used is Penguin Classic's 1997
edition translated to English by N. J. Dawood.
Treatment of Women
By one of his signs he created you from dust; and, behold,
you became humans and multiplied throughout the earth. By
another sign He created for you spouses from among
yourselves, that you might live in peace with them. And
planted love and kindness in your hearts. -- The Greeks
30:17
He created you from a single soul, then from that soul He
created its spouse, He has given you four different pairs
of cattle. He moulds you in your mothers' wombs by stages
in threefold darkness. -- The Throngs 39:3
(we enjoined man to show kindness to his parents, for with
much pain his mother bears him and he is not weaned before
he is two years of age. We said: 'Give thanks to Me and to
your parents [...]') -- Luqman 31:12
You people! Have fear of your Lord, who created you form a
single soul. From that soul He created its spouse, and
through them He bestrewed the earth with countless men and
women.
If you fear you cannot treat orphans [female orphans] with
fairness, then you may marry other women who seem good to
you: two, three, or four of them. But if you fear that you
cannot maintain equality among them, marry one only or any
slave-girls you may own. This will make it easier for you
to avoid injustice.
Be they men or women, the hypocrites are all alike. --
Repentance 9:67
God has promised the hypocrites, both men and women. And
the unbelievers, the fire of Hell. -- Repentance 9:68
The true believers, both men and women, are friends to one
another. -- Repentance 9:71
God has promised the men and women who believe in Him
gardens watered by running streams, in which they shall
abide forever. --Repentance 9:72
As for the helpless men, women and children who have
neither the strength nor the means to escape, God may
pardon them: surely God pardons and forgives. -- Women 4:98
Be they men or women, to those that embrace the Faith and
do what is right, We shall grant a happy life; We shall
reward them according to their noblest deeds. -- The Bee
16:98
Those who submit to God and accept the true Faith; who are
devout, sincere, patient, humble, charitable, and chaste;
who fast and are ever mindful of God – on these, both men
and women, Got will bestow forgiveness and a rich
recompense. -- The Confederate Tribes 33:35
It is not for true believers – men or women- to order their
own affairs if God and His apostle decree otherwise. The
Confederate Tribes 33: 36
God shall surely punish the hypocrites and the idolaters,
both men and women; but to believing men and believing
women He shall show mercy. -- The Confederate Tribes 33: 73
Enter Paradise, you and your spouses, in all delight. --
Ornaments of Gold 43:71
Those that persecute believers, men or women, and never
repent shall be rewarded with the scourge of Hell. -- The
Constellations 85:10
They consult you concerning women. Say: 'God has instructed
you about them, and so have the verses proclaimed to you in
the Book, concerning the orphan girls whom you deny their
lawful rights and refuse to marry; also regarding helpless
children. -- Women 4:26
Woman shall with justice have rights similar to those
exercised against them, although men have a status above
women. The Cow 2:226
Men have authority over women because God has made the one
superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth
to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their
unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those
from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send
them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you,
take no further action against them. -- Women 4:34
They ask you about menstruation. Say: 'It is an
indisposition. Keep aloof from women during their menstrual
periods and do not approach them until they are clean
again; when they are clean, have intercourse with them
whence God enjoined you. -- The Cow 2:222
Women are your fields: go, then, into your fields whence
you please. -- The Cow 2:222
If any of your women commit a lewd act, call in four
witnesses from among yourselves against them; if they
testify to their guilt confine them to their houses till
death overtakes them or till God finds another way for
them. -- Women 4:13
You shall not force slave girls into prostitution in order
that you may enrich yourselves if they wish to preserve
their chastity. If anyone compels them, God will be
forgiving and merciful to them. -- Light 24:33
If a woman fears ill-treatment or desertion on the part of
her husband, it shall be no offence for them to seek a
mutual agreement, for agreement is best. -- Women 4:26
Try as you may, you cannot treat all your wives
impartially, do not set yourself altogether against any of
them, leaving her, as it were, in suspense. If you do what
is right and guard yourselves against evil, you will find
God forgiving and merciful. If they separate, God will
compensate both out of His own abundance. -- Women 4:26
Prophet, if believing women come to you and pledge
themselves to serve no other deity besides God, to commit
neither theft, nor adultery, nor child-murder, to utter no
monstrous falsehoods of their own invention, and to disobey
you in nothing reasonable, accept their allegiance and
implore God to forgive them. -- She who is Tested 60:12
Inheritance
Men shall have a share in what their parents and kinsmen
leave; and women shall have a share in what their parents
and kinsmen leave: whether it be little or much, they shall
be legally entitled to a share. -- Women 4:6
God had thus enjoined you concerning your children:
A male shall inherit twice as much as a female. If there be
more than two girls. They shall have two thirds of the
inheritance, but if there be only one she shall inherit
half. Parents shall inherit a sixth each, if the deceased
have a child; but if he leave no child and his parents be
his heirs, his mother shall have a sixth after payment of
any legacy he may have bequeathed or any debt he may have
owed. -- Women 4:10
You shall inherit the half of your wives' estate if they
die childless. If they leave children, a quarter of their
estate shall be yours after payment of any legacy they may
have bequeathed or any debt they may have owed.
Your wives shall inherit one quarter of your estate if you
die childless. If you leave children, they shall inherit
one eighth, after payment of any legacy you may have
bequeathed or any debt you may have owed.
If a man or a woman leave neither children nor parents and
have a brother or sister, they shall inherit one sixth. If
there be more, they shall equally share the third of the
estate, after payment of any legacy he may have bequeathed
or any debt he may have owed, without prejudice to the
rights of the heirs. Women 4:12
Believers it is unlawful for you to inherit the women of
you deceased kinsmen against their will, or to bar them
from re-marrying, in order that you may force them to give
up a part of what you have given them, unless they be
guilty of a proven lewd act. Treat them with kindness; for
even if you dislike them, it may well be that you dislike a
think which God has meant for your own abundant good. Women
4:19
Believers, when believing women seek refuge with you, test
them, God best knows their faith. If you find them true
believers, do not return them to the infidels; they are not
lawful for the infidels, nor are the infidels lawful for
them. But hand back to the unbelievers the dowries they
gave them. Nor is it an offence for you to marry such
women, provided you give them their dowries. Do not
maintain your marriages with unbelieving women: demand the
dowries you gave them and let the infidels do the same. --
She who is Tested 60:10
Marriage
Lawful for you are the believing women and the free women
from among those who were given the Book before you,
provided that you give them their dowries and live in
honour with them, neither committing fornication nor taking
them as mistresses. -- The Table 5:5
Take in marriage those among you who are single and those
of your male and female slaves who are honest. -- Light
24:32
You shall not marry the women whom your fathers married:
all previous such marriages excepted. That was an evil
practice, indecent and abominable.
Forbidden to you are your mothers, your daughters, your
sisters, your paternal and maternal aunts, the daughters of
your brothers and sisters, your foster-mothers, your
foster-sisters, the mothers of your wives, your
step-daughters who are in your charge, born of the wives
with whom you have lain (it is no offence for you to marry
your step-daughters if you have not consummated your
marriage with their mothers), and the wives of your own
begotten sons. You are also forbidden to take in marriage
two sisters at one and the same time: all previous such
marriages excepted. Also married women, except those whom
you own as slaves. All women other than these are lawful
for you, provided you court them with your wealth in modest
conduct, not in fornication. Give them their dowry for the
enjoyment you have had of them as a duty; but is shall be
no offence for you to make any other agreement among
yourselves after you have fulfilled your duty. -- Women
4:20-4:24
If any one of you cannot afford to marry a free believing
woman, let him marry a slave-girl who is a believer/ Marry
them with the permission of their masers and give them
their dowry in all justice, provided they are honourable
and chaste and have not entertained other men. If after
marriage they commit adultery, they shall suffer half the
penalty inflicted upon free adulteresses. -- Women 4:25
Give women their dowry as a free gift; but if they choose
to make over to you a part of it, you may regard it as
lawfully yours. -- Women 4:1
Mothers shall give suck to their children for two whole
years if the father wishes the sucking to be completed.
They must be clothed and maintained in a reasonable manner
by the child's father. None should be charged with more
than one can bear. A mother should not be allowed to suffer
on account of her child, nor should a father on account of
his child. The same duties devolve upon the father's heir.
But if after consultation, they choose by mutual consent to
wean the child, the shall incur no guilt. Nor shall it be
any offence for you if you prefer to have a nurse for your
children, provided that you pay her what you promise,
according to usage. The Cow 2:233
If you fear a breach between man and his wife, appoint an
arbiter form his people and another from hers. If they wish
to be reconciled, God will bring them together again. --
Women 4:34
Widows shall wait, keeping themselves apart form men, for
four months and ten days after their husband's death. When
they have reached the end of their waiting period, it shall
be no offence for you to let them do whatever they choose
for themselves, provided that it is decent.
It shall be no offence for you openly to propose marriage
to such women of to cherish them in your hearts. God knows
that you will remember them. Do not arrange to meet them in
secret, and if you do, speak to them honourably. But you
shall not consummate the marriage before the end of their
waiting period. The Cow 2:233
You shall bequeath your widows a year's maintenance without
causing them o leave their homes; bur if they leave of
their own accord, no blame shall be attached to you for any
course they may deem reasonable to pursue. Reasonable
provision shall also be made for divorced women. That is
incumbent of righteous men. -- The Cow 2: 234
Divorce
Divorce may be pronounced twice, and then a woman must be
retained in honour or allowed to go with kindness. It is
unlawful for husbands to take from them anything they have
given them, unless both fear that they may not be able to
keep within the bounds set by God; in which case it shall
be no offence for either of them if the wife redeems
herself.
These are the bounds set by God; do not transgress them.
Those that transgress the bounds of God are wrongdoers. The
Cow 2:229
It shall be no offence for you to divorce your wives before
the marriage is consummated or the dowry settled. Provide
for them with fairness; the rich man according to his means
and the poor man according to his. This is binding on
righteous men. If you divorce them before the marriage is
consummated but after the dowry has been settled, give them
the half of their dowry, unless they or the husband agree
to waive it. Do not forget to show kindness to each other.
-- The Cow 2:234
If you wish to replace one wife with another, do not take
from her the dowry you have given even if it be a talent of
gold. That would be improper and grossly unjust; for how
can you take it back when you have lain with each other and
entered into a firm contract. Women 4:20
Those that renounce their wives must wait four months. If
they change their minds, God is forgiving and merciful; but
if they decide to divorce them, know that God hears all and
knows all.
Divorced women must wait, keeping themselves from men,
three menstrual courses. It is unlawful for them, if they
believe in God and the Last Day, to hide what God has
created in their wombs: in which case their husbands would
do well to take them back, should they desire
reconciliation – The Cow 2:226
When you have renounced your wives and they have reached
the end of their waiting period, either retain them in
honour or let them go with kindness. But you shall not
retain them in order to harm them or to wrong them. Whoever
does this wrongs his own soul.
If a man has renounced his wife and she has reached the end
of her waiting period, do not prevent her from remarrying
her husband if they have come to an honourable agreement.
This is rejoined on every one of you who believes in God
and the Last Day; it is more honourable for you and more
chaste. The Cow 2:230
Believers, if you marry believing women and divorce them
before the marriage is consummated, you are not required to
observe a waiting period. Provide well for then and release
then honourably. -- The Confederate Tribes 33:45
Prophet (and you believers) if you divorce your wives,
divorce them at the end of their waiting period. Compute
their waiting period and have fear of God, your Lord. You
shall not expel them from their homes, nor shall they go
away, unless they have committed a proven lewd act. Such
are the bounds set by God. He that transgresses God's
bounds wrongs his own soul.
When their waiting term is ended, either keep them
honourably or part with them in honour. Call to witness two
honest men among you and give your testimony before God.
Whoever believes in God and the Last Day is exhorted to do
this. --Divorce 65:1
If you are in doubt concerning those of your wives who have
ceased menstruating, know that their waiting period shall
be three months. The same shall apply to those who have not
yet menstruated. As for pregnant women, their term shall
end with their confinement.
Lodge them in your own homes, according to your means. You
shall not harass them so as to make life intolerable for
them. If they are with child, maintain them until the end
of their confinement; and if, after that, they give suck to
the infants they bore you, give them their pay and consult
together in all reasonableness. But if you cannot tolerate
each other, let other women suckle for you. -- Divorce 65:4
God had heard the words of her who pleaded with you against
her husband and made per plaint to God. God has heard what
you two said to each other. [this refers to Khawlah,
daughter of Tha'labah, who had been divorced by the formula
: 'Be to me as my mother's back', which was accepted as a
declaration of divorce among pagan Arabs.]
Those of you who divorce their wives by declaring them to
be their mothers should know that they are not their
mothers. Their mothers are those only who gave birth to
them. The words they utter are unjust and false.
Those who divorce their wives by so saying, and afterwards
retract their words, shall free a slave before they touch
each other again. He that has no slave shall fast for two
successive months before they touch one another. If he
cannot, he shall feed sixty of the destitute. -- She Who
Pleaded
If any of your wives go over to the unbelievers and you
subsequently gain victory over them, pay those whose wives
have fled the equivalent of the dowries they gave them. --
She who is Tested 60:10
If a man divorces his wife, he cannot remarry her until she
has wedded another man and been divorced by him; in which
case it shall be no offence for either of them to return to
the other, if they think that they can keep within the
bounds set by God.
Adultery
The adulterer and the adulteress shall each be given a
hundred lashes. Let no pity for them cause you to disobey
God, if you truly believe in God and the Last Day; and let
their punishment be witnessed by a number of believers.
The adulterer may marry only an adulteress or an
idolatress; and the adulteress may marry only an adulterer
or an idolater. True believers are forbidden such
marriages.
Those that defame honourable women and cannot produce four
witnesses shall be given eighty lashes. Do not accept their
testimony ever after, for they are great transgressors –
except those among them that afterwards repent and mend
their ways.
If a man accuses his wife but has no witnesses except
himself, he shall swear four times by God that his charge
is true, calling down upon himself the curses of God if he
is lying. But if his wife swears four times by God that his
charge is false and calls down His curse upon herself if it
be true, she shall receive no punishment. -- Light
24:1-24:6
Those who defame honourable but careless believing women
shall be cursed in this world and in the world to come.
Light 24:23
Unclean women are for unclean men, and unclean men for
unclean women. But good women are for good men, and good
men for good women. These shall be cleared of calumny;
forgiveness, and a generous provision, await them. -- Light
24:24
Modesty
Enjoin believing women to turn their eyes away form
temptation and to preserve their chastity; not to display
their adornments (except such as are normally revealed); to
draw their veils over their bosoms and not to display their
finery except to their husbands, their fathers, their
husbands' fathers, their sons, their step-sons, their
brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their
women-servants, and their slave-girls; male attendants
lacking in natural vigour, and children who have no carnal
knowledge of women. And let them not stamp their feet when
walking so as to reveal their hidden trinkets. -- Light
24:30
Prophet enjoin your wives, your daughters, and the wives of
true believers to draw their veils close round them. That
is more proper, so that they may be recognized and not be
molested. The Confederate Tribes 33:45 – 33:57
It shall be no offence for old spinsters who have no hope
of marriage to discard their cloaks without revealing their
adornments. Better if they do not discard them. --Light
24:58
Wives of the Prophet
Wives of the Prophet! Those of you who clearly commit a
lewd act shall be doubly punished. But those of you who
obey God and His apostle and do good works shall be doubly
recompensed; for them We have made a rich provision.
Wives of the Prophet, you are not like other women. If you
fear God, do not be too complaisant in your speech, lest
the lecherous-hearted should lust after you. Show
discretion in what you say. Stay in your homes and do not
display your finery as women used to do in the days of
ignorance. Attend your prayers, give alms and obey God and
His apostle.
Women of the Household, God seeks only to remove
uncleanness from you and to purity you. Commit to memory
the revelations of God and the wise sayings that are
recited in your dwellings.
Those who submit to God and accept the true Faith; who are
devout, sincere, patient, humble, charitable, and chaste;
who fast and are ever mindful of God – on these, both men
and women, God will bestow forgiveness and a rich
recompense.
It is not for true believers – men or women- to order their
own affairs if God and His apostle decree otherwise.
You [Mohamed] said to the man [Zayd, Mohamed's adopted son]
whom God and yourself have favoured: 'Keep your wife and
have fear of God' You sought to hide in your heart what God
was to reveal. [Mohamed's intention to marry Zayd's wife]
You were afraid of man, although it would have been more
proper to fear God. And when Zayd divorced his wife, We
gave her to you in marriage, so that it should become
legitimate for true believers to wed the wives of their
adopted sons if they divorced them. -- The Confederate
Tribes 33:29 – 22:34
Prophet we make lawful for you the wives to whom you have
granted dowries and the slave-girls whom God has given you
as booty; the daughters of your paternal and maternal
uncles and of your paternal and maternal aunts who fled
with you; and any believing woman who gives herself to the
Prophet and whom the Prophet wishes to take in marriage.
This privilege is yours alone being granted to no other
believer.
We well know the duties We have imposed on the faithful
concerning their wives and slave-girls. [we grant you this
privilege] so that none may blame you.
You may put off any of your wives you pleas and take to our
bed any of them you please. Nor is it unlawful for you to
receive any of those whom you have temporarily set aside.
That is more proper, so that they may be contented and not
vexed, and may be pleased with what you give them.
It is unlawful for you [Mohamed] to take more wives or tho
change you present wives for other women, though their
beauty please you, unless they are slave-girls whom you
own. -- The Confederate Tribes 33:45 – 33:51
If you [believers] ask his [Mohamed's] wives for anything,
speak to them from behind a curtain. This is more chaste
for your hearts and their hearts.
It shall be on offence for the Prophet's wives to be seen
unveiled by their fathers, their sons, their brothers,
their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, or
their slave-girls. Women have fear of God. The Confederate
Tribes 33:53
On
the Idea of Female Angels as Daughters of God
They [unbelievers] foist daughters on God (glory be to
Him), but for themselves they choose what they desire. When
the birth of a girl is announced to any of them, his
countenance darkens and he is filled with gloom. On account
of the ban news he hides himself from men: should be put up
with the shame or bury her in the earth? How ill they
judge! -- The Bee 16:55
What! Has your Lord favoured you [the unbelievers] with
sons and He himself adopted daughters from among the
angels? A monstrous blasphemy is that which you utter.
--The Night Journey 17:38
Ask the unbelievers if it be true that God has daughters,
while they themselves choose sons. Did We create the angels
females? And were they present at their creation? Surely
they lie when they declare: ' God had begotten children'
Would he choose daughters rather than sons? What has come
over you that you should judge so ill?
Will you not take heed? Have you a positive proof? Show us
your scriptures, if what you say be true! -- The Ranks
37:149
Yet they [the Meccans] assign to Him offspring from among
His servants. Surely man is monstrously ungrateful. Would
God choose daughters for Himself and sons for you alone?
Yet when the birth of a girl is announced to any of them
his countenanced darkens and he is filled with gloom. Would
they ascribe to God females who adorn themselves with
trinkets and are powerless in disputation?
They regard as females the angels who are God's servants.
Did they witness their creation?
[The pagan Arabs believed that the angels, and their own
goddesses, were daughters of Allah.] -- Ornaments of Gold
43:11
Is He to have daughters and you [the unbelievers] sons? --
The Star 52: 35
Have you thought on Al-Lat and Al-Uzza, and on Manat, the
third other? Are you to have the sons and He the daughters?
This is indeed an unfair distinction! [Names of Arabian
idols, claimed by the pagans of Mecca to be daughters of
God.] -- The Star 53:7