This is a common claim, that Islam oppresses women. But when looking at the Qur’an and what Allah has revealed, this is not correct.
This page rests on Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vols. 2, 5, and 8; on Sharh Riyaad as-Saaliheen, Vols. 3 and 4; and on Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan’s Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women.
Allah, the Most High, said:
“We have indeed honoured the sons of Adam, given them means of transportation on land and sea, provided them with good things, and have favoured them above many of those whom We have created.”
(Surah al-Isra 17:70)
Allah honored the children of Adam with many forms of honor. As-Sa’di explains: “He has honoured the children of Adam in all ways, as He has honoured them with knowledge and reason, sending the Messengers, sending down the Books, making some of them His close friends and chosen ones, and bestowing upon them blessings both visible and invisible.” He provided for them from good things, carried them on land and sea, and favored them over many of His creation.
Allah also said:
“For Muslim men and Muslim women, believing men and believing women, obedient men and obedient women, truthful men and truthful women, patient men and patient women, humble men and humble women, charitable men and charitable women, men who fast and women who fast, men who restrain their carnal desires and women who do likewise, men who remember Allah much and women who do likewise, for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and an immense reward.”
(Surah al-Ahzab 33:35)
Allah made the ruling shared between men and women. This includes outward actions and inward belief. He mentioned them together in obedience, truthfulness, patience, humility, charity, fasting, guarding chastity, and remembrance of Allah. Whoever fulfills these has fulfilled the religion outwardly and inwardly. And Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward. This honor is general for mankind, and it includes women.
Allah also said:
“Whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, and is a believer, We will surely grant him a good life, and We will surely grant them their reward according to the best of their deeds.”
(Surah an-Nahl 16:97)
Faith is a condition for the acceptance of actions. So whoever combines faith and righteous deeds, whether male or female, Allah will give them a good life in this world, with tranquility and contentment, and reward them in the Hereafter with a great reward.
Allah also said:
“Do not covet the bounties which Allah has bestowed more abundantly on some of you than on others. Men will have the reward for what they earn, and women will have the reward for what they earn. Ask Allah of His bounty. Verily Allah has knowledge of all things.”
(Surah an-Nisa 4:32)
As-Sa’di explains: “Hence Allah says: “Men will have the reward for what they earn” that is, of their deeds that will lead to the desired results. “and women will have the reward for what they earn” – so each of them will not attain anything but that which he or she has earned and worked hard for.”
Allah also said:
“but live with them in kindness.”
(Surah an-Nisa 4:19)
The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Take my advice with regard to women: Act kindly towards women, for they were created from a rib, and the most crooked part of a rib is its uppermost. If you attempt to straighten it; you will break it, and if you leave it alone it will remain crooked; so act kindly toward women.’
(Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim; Riyaad as-Saaliheen, Hadeeth 273, explained by Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen in Sharh Riyaad as-Saaliheen, Vol. 3)
Before Islam, in the time of ignorance, women were treated unjustly. They were not given their rights, and in many cases they were treated as if they were property. A relative could take control of a woman after her husband died, whether she wanted or not. He could prevent her from marrying, force her into marriage, or take from her wealth unjustly. A man could also harm his wife and restrict her in order to take back what he had given her.
Shaykh al-Fawzan states this prohibition in his survey of the woman’s status in Islam in Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women: “Allah decreed it haraam (illegal) that a woman be treated as part of her deceased husband’s inheritance.”
So Allah forbade all of this and commanded that women be treated with kindness. This includes good companionship, avoiding harm, giving her rights, and good treatment. It includes spending on her, clothing her, and dealing with her in a good manner. Even if a man dislikes something in her, he is commanded to be patient, because there may be much good in it.
This shows that Islam did not come to restrict women unjustly, but rather to remove oppression, restore their rights, and regulate their affairs with justice and wisdom.
In the same survey of her status in Islam, Shaykh al-Fawzan sets out what Allah granted her. Of the bridal money, he writes: “And He decreed the bridal money as a right of the woman, and ordered that it be paid to her in full, except what she may decide to grant out of a generous heart and her own good pleasure.”
He also writes of her place and authority in her husband’s house:
Allah made the woman a guardian, one who orders, one who prohibits, within the house of her husband, and an authority over her children.
The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said: ‘The woman is guardian (or custodian) in the house of her husband and she is responsible for her flock.’
And he writes of her learning her religion: “Also, there is no harm for the woman to learn what she is required to know of her religion; it is in fact obligatory upon her to do so.”
Allah also said:
“Men are in charge of women, because Allah has made one of them excel the other, and because they spend of their wealth [on them].”
(Surah an-Nisa 4:34)
This means that men are responsible for women. They are responsible for maintaining their rights, providing for them, clothing them, and housing them. This is not oppression, rather it is a responsibility and a duty that Allah has placed upon them.
Shaykh al-Fawzan states this duty as an obligation in his survey: “And He made it obligatory on the husband to provide for her and cloth her with equity and honour.”
This responsibility is tied to care, provision, and accountability, not domination or injustice. A man will be questioned about how he fulfilled what Allah placed under his care. (The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘The man is a shepherd upon his family and will be questioned about his flock.’ Reported by al-Bukhari, Book of Marriage, no. 5188, and Muslim, Book of Leadership, no. 1829, as quoted in Sharh Riyaad as-Saaliheen, Vol. 4.)
Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan answers this claim in his book Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women by naming what lies behind it. In his General Laws chapter, in the section “The desires of the enemies of Islaam and their lackeys with regard to stripping the Muslim woman of her honour and rights”, he writes:
Today, the enemies of Islaam, in fact the enemies of Mankind, from among the disbelievers, the hypocrites and those who have in their hearts a sickness are infuriated with the nobility, status and protection which the Muslim woman has been granted in Islaam. This is because the enemies of Islaam and the hypocrites seek to make the woman an instrument of destruction; a snare by which they can entrap those who are weak in their imaan (faith) and those who have bodily desires in order that they satisfy their desperate lusts.
Those among the Muslims who have a sickness in their hearts wish to transform the woman into a cheap commodity in the marketplace of the desirous and satanic temptations. They wish to make her a commodity displayed in front of their eyes so that they can enjoy her beauty and exact from her what is far worse.
Key Lessons
From these verses, it becomes clear that Islam does not oppress women.
Rather, women are honored, they are equal in reward, they are to be treated with kindness, and they are provided for and taken care of. Allah gave her a reward for what she earns of her own, and He made the bridal money her right, to be paid to her in full.
Oppression existed before Islam, and Islam came to remove it, restore rights, and establish justice.
So the claim that Islam oppresses women is not based upon what Allah has revealed. Rather, when oppression occurs, it is due to people not following what Allah has commanded.
And Allah knows best.
References
Tafsir as-Sa’di, by Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di. International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH), English Edition 1, 2018. Translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab, edited by Huda Khattab. Volumes used: Vol. 2 (Juz 4-6), on Surah An-Nisa 4:19, 4:32 and 4:34; Vol. 5 (Juz 13-15), on Surah An-Nahl 16:97 and Surah Al-Isra 17:70; Vol. 8 (Juz 22-24), on Surah Al-Ahzab 33:35.
Sharh Riyaad as-Saaliheen, by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen. Dar-us-Salam, 2018. Vol. 3: Hadeeth 273, the advice to act kindly toward women, Chapter on Recommendations with Regard to Women. Vol. 4: the hadith of the man as a shepherd over his family, quoted in the commentary at printed p. 301.
Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women, by Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan. Darussalam, Second Edition, June 2003. ISBN 9960-347-29-5. Translated by Burhan Loqueman. (General Laws chapter, section 2, “The status of women during the age of Islaam”: printed p. 12, the prohibition of inheriting a woman against her will; printed p. 14, the bridal money as her right, the woman as guardian in her husband’s house, and the husband’s obligation to provide for her. Section 3, “The desires of the enemies of Islaam and their lackeys with regard to stripping the Muslim woman of her honour and rights”: printed p. 15, the enemies’ anger at the nobility, status and protection granted to the Muslim woman in Islam, their aim to make her an instrument of destruction, and the wish of those with sickness in their hearts to make her a cheap commodity displayed before their eyes; printed p. 17, her learning what she is required to know of her religion.) Rulings prints the divine name as “Allaah”; on this page it is spelled “Allah”, by the site’s spelling decision.
Further Reading
- Status and Honor of Women: the honor Islam gave women after a time of oppression
- Women in Islam: An Overview: the whole subject of women in Islam in one overview
- Islam Permits Violent Abuse of Women: the abuse claim answered from the verses and their explanations
- What Are the Rights of Women in Marriage?: the doorway to a wife’s rights in marriage
- Women’s Inheritance: how her shares are divided
Verified on 2026-10-26 against: Tafsir as-Sa’di (IIPH), Vols. 2, 5, and 8; Sharh Riyaad as-Saaliheen (Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen), Vols. 3 and 4; and Rulings Pertaining to Muslim Women (Shaykh al-Fawzan).