What Is the Status of Women in Islam?

The place of women in Islam raises many questions, and sometimes misunderstandings. The surest way to answer them is to go back to the sources: the Quran, the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the example of the women around him. This article sets out what these texts say about the equality of men and women before God, the rights Islam grants to women, their place in the family and some of the great women of Islamic history, without passing over the questions on which scholars disagree.

The same dignity before God

The Quran first reminds us that men and women share a common origin: “O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women” (Quran 4:1). In the story of the Garden, the fault is not laid on the woman alone: Adam and his wife both eat from the tree, and both ask for forgiveness: “They said, ‘Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves’” (Quran 7:23; see also 20:121).

Before God, the faith and deeds of women have exactly the same worth as those of men. A verse of Surah al-Ahzab names them side by side, virtue after virtue:

“Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so – for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” (Quran 33:35)

Other verses repeat it: “Whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer – those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged” (Quran 4:124); “Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while he is a believer – We will surely cause him to live a good life” (Quran 16:97); “Never will I allow to be lost the work of [any] worker among you, whether male or female; you are of one another” (Quran 3:195). Men and women also share the same moral responsibility: “The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer” (Quran 9:71). Women also pledged allegiance to the Prophet ﷺ in person (Quran 60:12).

The rights granted to women

The right to be welcomed and respected from birth

In pre-Islamic Arabia, some families met the birth of a daughter with dismay, and baby girls were sometimes buried alive. The Quran condemns this attitude (16:58–59) and declares that on the Day of Judgement “the girl [who was] buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed” (Quran 81:8–9). The Prophet ﷺ promised that whoever raises daughters and treats them kindly will be shielded by them from the Fire (Sahih al-Bukhari 5995; Sahih Muslim 2629).

Education

Religious learning was open to women from the time of the Prophet ﷺ. The women of Madinah asked him to set aside a day to teach them, “as the men were taking all his time”, and he agreed (Sahih al-Bukhari 101). Aishah praised the women of the Ansar, whose modesty did not stop them from learning about their religion (Sahih Muslim 332). A Companion, al-Shifa’ bint Abdullah, had taught Hafsah, the Prophet’s wife, to write, and the Prophet ﷺ asked her to teach Hafsah a healing supplication too, “as you taught her writing” (Sunan Abi Dawud 3887). The hadith “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim” (Sunan Ibn Majah 224), considered authentic by several scholars on the strength of its various chains, applies in their view to women and men alike. The Prophet ﷺ also said: “Do not prevent the female servants of Allah from [going to] the mosques of Allah” (Sahih al-Bukhari 900).

Property and financial independence

Whether single or married, a woman owns her property in her own right: she can buy, sell, run a business, receive and give gifts, without her husband or father becoming the owner. “For men is a share of what they have earned, and for women is a share of what they have earned” (Quran 4:32). Zaynab, the wife of the Companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, thus supported her husband and some orphans from her own money (Sahih al-Bukhari 1466). According to the majority of scholars, an adult woman disposes of her property freely; the Maliki school, however, limits a married woman’s gifts to a third of her assets without her husband’s agreement.

Conversely, it is the husband who must maintain the household (nafaqa): housing, food and clothing for his wife and children, “according to what is acceptable” and within his means (Quran 2:233; 65:7), even if his wife is wealthier than he is. What a woman earns or owns remains hers.

Consent to marriage

Marriage is a contract that requires the woman’s agreement. The Prophet ﷺ said: “A woman who has been married before should not be given in marriage except after consulting her, and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5136). Khansa’ bint Khidham, whose father had married her off against her will, complained to him, and he annulled the marriage (Sahih al-Bukhari 5138). Most schools (Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali) also require a marriage guardian (wali) to conclude the contract, while the Hanafi school allows an adult woman to contract her own marriage.

The dower (mahr)

The groom gives his bride a dower, the mahr, which belongs entirely to her: neither her father nor her husband may take it. “And give the women [upon marriage] their [bridal] gifts graciously. But if they give up willingly to you anything of it, then take it in satisfaction and ease” (Quran 4:4). Its amount, whether symbolic or substantial, is agreed between the parties.

Family name

In the Muslim tradition, a married woman keeps her own name and lineage: the Prophet’s wives were always called after their fathers, such as Khadijah bint Khuwaylid or Aishah bint Abi Bakr. The Prophet ﷺ warned against claiming descent from anyone other than one’s father (Sahih al-Bukhari 3508). Taking one’s husband’s surname, as some customs or administrations require, is therefore not an Islamic practice; many contemporary scholars advise against it where it suggests a change of lineage, while others tolerate it as a mere civil-registry convention.

Separation

The Quran forbids keeping a wife in order to harm her (2:231) and “inheriting women by compulsion” (4:19). If married life becomes impossible, a woman may ask for separation by returning her dower: this is khul’ (Quran 2:229). The wife of the Companion Thabit ibn Qays, who had nothing against her husband but could not go on living with him, obtained it in this way from the Prophet ﷺ (Sahih al-Bukhari 5273). She may also go to a judge if she suffers harm.

Inheritance

Before Islam, women were often excluded from inheritance. The Quran gives them an obligatory share: “For men is a share of what the parents and close relatives leave, and for women is a share […] – an obligatory share” (Quran 4:7). Verse 4:11 specifies: “for the male, what is equal to the share of two females”.

This rule must be understood within its framework. It concerns certain specific heirs – children, and full or paternal brothers and sisters – and it belongs to a system in which men carry burdens women do not: a man pays the dower, maintains his wife and children, and may have to support his parents, whereas what a woman inherits remains hers. In other cases the shares are equal: the deceased’s father and mother each receive a sixth if there are children (4:11), and maternal half-brothers and half-sisters share equally (4:12). There are even situations in which a woman receives more than a man in the same position would. Some contemporary voices have proposed revising these shares in the name of equality; the great majority of scholars, however, hold that they rest on explicit and definitive texts. For a real case, the division of an estate should be entrusted to a specialist.

Work and social life

Nothing forbids a woman from working, and the Prophet’s first wife, Khadijah, was a renowned merchant. Zaynab bint Jahsh worked with her hands and gave her earnings in charity (Sahih Muslim 2452); Asma’ bint Abi Bakr tended her husband’s horse and carried date stones from his land on her head (Sahih al-Bukhari 5224); and the Prophet ﷺ allowed a divorced woman to go out and harvest her dates (Sahih Muslim 1483). At Uhud, Aishah and Umm Sulaym carried water to the fighters (Sahih al-Bukhari 2880). Scholars frame such activity within Islamic ethics (modesty, balance with family life, agreement between spouses), and since the husband remains responsible for maintaining the household, work is a right for a woman, not an obligation.

Women in the family

The wife

The Quran presents marriage as a bond of love and kindness: “And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy” (Quran 30:21). Spouses are “a clothing” for each other (2:187), and husbands are commanded: “Live with them in kindness” (4:19). The Quran adds: “And due to them is similar to what is expected of them, according to what is reasonable. But the men have a degree over them” (2:228); commentators understand this “degree” as the responsibility of leading and maintaining the household, and al-Tabari reports from Ibn Abbas that it calls on the man to be more forbearing, by not insisting on all his rights.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The best of you are those who are best to their wives” (Jami’ al-Tirmidhi 1162), and also: “A believing man should not hate a believing woman; if he dislikes one of her traits, he will be pleased with another” (Sahih Muslim 1468). Asked about a wife’s rights, he answered: “That you feed her when you eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, do not strike her on the face and do not revile her” (Sunan Abi Dawud 2142). During his last pilgrimage he urged once more: “Fear Allah concerning women” (Sahih Muslim 1218). He himself helped with the housework (Sahih al-Bukhari 676) and never struck a woman (Sahih Muslim 2328).

The mother

The mother holds a place of honour. “And We have enjoined upon man [care] for his parents. His mother carried him, [increasing her] in weakness upon weakness” (Quran 31:14). To a man who asked who most deserved his good companionship, the Prophet ﷺ replied “your mother” three times, then “your father” (Sahih al-Bukhari 5971; Sahih Muslim 2548). To another, who wanted to go out and fight, he said: “Stay with her, for Paradise is beneath her feet” (Sunan al-Nasa’i 3104). More sayings on family life are gathered in our selection of sayings of the Prophet.

Women who shaped the history of Islam

Maryam and Asiya, models for all believers

Mary (Maryam), the mother of Jesus, is the only woman named in the Quran, and a whole surah, Surah Maryam, bears her name. The Quran tells how her mother, the wife of Imran, dedicated her to God before her birth: “My Lord, indeed I have pledged to You what is in my womb, consecrated [for Your service], so accept this from me” (3:35). When she gave birth to a daughter, she said: “I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her in You and [for] her descendants from Satan, the expelled” (3:36), and God “accepted her with good acceptance and caused her to grow in a good manner” (3:37). The angels told her: “O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds” (3:42).

Asiya, the wife of Pharaoh, is given as an example “of those who believed”, men and women alike, for holding on to her faith in the face of a tyrant: “My Lord, build for me near You a house in Paradise and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds and save me from the wrongdoing people” (Quran 66:11). The Prophet ﷺ named Maryam, Asiya, Khadijah and Fatimah as accomplished models among the women of mankind (Jami’ al-Tirmidhi 3878).

Khadijah, the first believer

A wealthy merchant of Makkah, Khadijah bint Khuwaylid was the first to believe in the Prophet’s message and supported him with her wealth and her presence in the hardest years. One day the angel Gabriel came to convey to the Prophet ﷺ God’s greeting for her, with the glad tidings of a home in Paradise (Sahih al-Bukhari 3820). Years after her death he still spoke of her often and honoured her friends (Sahih al-Bukhari 3818).

Aishah, the scholar

The daughter of Abu Bakr, Aishah is among those who transmitted the most hadiths – more than two thousand according to the traditional count. A jurist and teacher, she was consulted by the Companions on difficult questions for more than forty years after the Prophet’s death, and did not hesitate to correct their mistakes. The Prophet ﷺ stressed her exceptional merit among women (Sahih al-Bukhari 3411).

Fatimah, the beloved daughter

Daughter of the Prophet ﷺ and Khadijah, wife of Ali and mother of al-Hasan and al-Husayn, Fatimah was so close to her father that he said: “Fatimah is a part of me” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3714). He told her that she would be the leader of the women of Paradise (Sahih al-Bukhari 3624).

Umm Salamah, Hafsah and other figures of the first community

Umm Salamah, who had emigrated to Abyssinia, was known for her wisdom: it was her advice that resolved the crisis at al-Hudaybiyyah when the Companions were slow to obey (Sahih al-Bukhari 2731). Hafsah, the daughter of Umar, kept the sheets of the Quran compiled under the caliphate of Abu Bakr, from which the caliph Uthman had the official copies made (Sahih al-Bukhari 4987). Sumayyah was the first martyr of Islam; Asma’ bint Abi Bakr brought food to the Prophet ﷺ and her father as they hid in the cave of Thawr during the Hijra; Nusaybah bint Ka’b took the pledge at al-Aqabah and, according to the sira, defended the Prophet ﷺ at Uhud. And when Khawlah bint Tha’labah came to complain about her husband, God revealed: “Certainly has Allah heard the speech of the one who argues with you concerning her husband and directs her complaint to Allah” (Quran 58:1), at the opening of Surah al-Mujadilah.

After the age of the Companions

Women continued to play an important role in passing on knowledge. Karimah al-Marwaziyyah (d. 1069) was one of the great authorities in Makkah for teaching al-Bukhari’s Sahih. The tradition reported by the historian Ibn Abi Zar’ (fourteenth century) credits Fatimah al-Fihri with founding, around 859, the al-Qarawiyyin mosque in Fez, which became a famous centre of learning, though some historians find this account hard to verify. In our own time, the scholar Mohammad Akram Nadwi has devoted a 43-volume biographical dictionary to some ten thousand women narrators of hadith.

Questions debated among scholars

On several subjects scholars are not unanimous, and it is only honest to say so. Here are the main ones, briefly:

• Dress. The Quran asks both men and women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty (24:30–31), and asks believing women to draw their head coverings over their chests (24:31) and to wrap their outer garments around them (33:59). The four schools regard covering the body and hair as obligatory; the majority exempt the face and hands, while some scholars, particularly within the Hanbali and Shafi’i schools, hold that the face must be covered too. A few contemporary voices dispute the obligation of the headscarf, but they remain a minority.
• Polygyny. The Quran permits up to four wives on condition of fairness, and adds: “But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one” (4:3); it also acknowledges that perfect equality of feeling is beyond reach (4:129). Many Muslim-majority countries regulate it by law, and the Hanbali school allows a wife to stipulate in her marriage contract that her husband will not take another wife.
• Testimony. Verse 2:282 asks, when recording a debt, for two male witnesses or “a man and two women”. Scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim stressed that this rule concerns the documentation of contracts, not the worth of women’s word in general; in matters within women’s own experience, the testimony of women alone is accepted.
• Verse 4:34. It gives men responsibility for the household (qiwamah) and mentions steps to take in a serious marital conflict, including striking. Classical jurists strictly limited this to a symbolic, painless gesture – “with a siwak”, according to Ibn Abbas as quoted by al-Tabari – and forbade striking the face (Sunan Abi Dawud 2142). The Prophet ﷺ never struck a woman (Sahih Muslim 2328), and many contemporary scholars insist that any domestic violence that injures or humiliates is forbidden.
• Public office. Most jurists reserve the supreme leadership of the state for men, citing a hadith (Sahih al-Bukhari 4425), and many also the office of judge; Abu Hanifah, however, accepted women judges in civil matters, and al-Tabari more generally. These questions are still discussed today.

For a personal situation, it is always best to consult a qualified scholar who understands the context in which you live.

In summary

Islam affirms the equal dignity of women and men before God, grants women specific rights – to education, property, consent, the dower and inheritance – and makes kindness towards them a sign of faith. Roles and responsibilities within the family are complementary rather than identical, and their practical application has always called for careful interpretation. To explore the wider setting of these teachings, read our biography of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ or browse our section on Islam.