Women in the Western Societies
1. Why do western women convert to Islam?
Women convert day by day to Islam. Because they discovered that what they are looking for is in Islam. It is their only refuge. They revealed that the Glorious Quran is an eternal truth but the Bible is not. After a long study and deep contrast between the Holy Quran and the Bible, many women in the West and all over the world converted to Islam.
From this brief contrast between the two books, we can conclude why women chose Islam as their religion.
ü The Bible Convicts Women as the original Sinners (i.e. Eve picking from the forbidden tree) {Genesis 2:4-3:24}. But The Koran Clarifies that it was Adam not Eve{Koran 7:19-25}
ü The Bible says "The birth of a Daughter is a loss"{Ecclesiasticus 22:3}. But the Koran says both are an Equal Blessing {Koran 42:49}.
ü The Bible forbids women from speaking in church {I Corinthians 14:34-35}. But the Koran says women could argue with the Prophet {58:1}.
ü In the Bible, widows and sisters do not inherit any property or wealth, only men do {Numbers 27:1-11}, but The Koran abolished this male greed {Koran 4:22}.
ü The Bible Allows Multiple Wives {I Kings 11:3}. But In the Koran, Allah (SWT) under certain conditions (with the wife's permission) limits the number to four. It is the only testament which states ‘marry only one wife’ {Koran 4:3} if a man cannot guarantee equity between his wives. Moreover, the Koran gives the woman the right to choose who to marry.
ü The Bible also asks women to wear veils as in Islam {I Corinthians 11:3-10}
ü Women were given rights to vote before 100 years ago in the (USA), while the Koran gave women voting rights before 1400 years ago.
Islam has granted the western woman what she had looked for before. It has honored her as a feminine, guaranteed her safety, and bestowed modesty on her. Many of them did not feel the luxury of life only after they converted to Islam.
‘’Muhammad Rashid AL-Uwayeed‘’ and through his book ‘’Women finally on the shores of Islam‘’ conveys the voices of some new converted women, who defend Islam and consider it as the religion of world.
* The German ‘Salma’ said:
“I bask in enormous content and reassurance, praise and thanks to Allah for guiding me to Islam” (p.1)
* ‘Philipbine Iman’ said:
“My life truly began after accepting Islam; my whole previous life was absolutely valueless” (p.1)
* ‘Paullete Gyu’ (‘Houda’ after embracing Islam) said:
“I feel some tenderness in my heart that I never experienced before embracing Islam” (p.13)
* ‘Ameenah As-salmy’- an American woman converted to Islam in 1977 - stated:
‘’After embracing Islam, I was allowed to be proud of being a woman and a mother. I can also now admit that men are different from women’’ (p.76)
By Youssef Khannou
References:
1- ‘’The Holy Quran‘’, Translation of the meaning by Dr.Taqi-ud-in Al Hillali and Dr. Muhammd Muhsin Khan, King Fahd complex for the printing of the Holy Quran. Al Madinah. K.S.A.
2- ‘’The hijab why… ?‘’, Dr.Muhammad Ismail, 1993.
3- ‘’The sealed nectar‘’, Saifur Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, Dar-us-Salam 1994
4- ‘’Women finally on the shores of Islam‘’, Muhammad Rasheed Al-Uwayyed, Dar Al Manarah, 1999
5- ‘’Wisdom behind laws regarding woman‘’, Abdur-Rahman bin Abdul-Khaliq, kuweit, 1995