Life of Muhammad — Page 230
sa 230 crying: "May I be your sacrifice, O Messenger of Allah sa. " The Prophet's sa foot was still in the stirrup. He released it hastily and said to his Companion: "Don't bother about me, go and help the women. " Just before his death one of the injunctions he addressed to Muslims and laid stress upon was that they should always treat women with kindness and consideration. It was an oft- repeated saying of his that if a man had daughters and he arranged to have them educated and took pains with their upbringing, God would save him from the torment of Hell ( Tirmidh i ). It was a common practice with the Arabs to inflict physical chastisement upon women for every little fault. The Holy Prophet sa taught that women were equally with men the creatures of God and were not the slaves of men and should not be beaten. When women got to know of this they went to the other extreme and began to oppose men in everything, with the result that in many homes domestic peace was continually disturbed. ‘ Umar ra complained of this to the Holy Prophet sa and said that unless women could on occasion be chastised they would become unruly and there would be no holding them in check. As detailed Islamic teachings with regard to the treatment of women had not yet been revealed, the Prophet sa said that if a woman was guilty of serious transgression she might be chastised. This in its turn led the men in many cases to revert to the old Arab practice. It was now the turn of the women to complain and they laid their grievances before the Prophet's sa wives. Thereupon, the Prophet sa admonished men and told them that those who treated women with unkindness could never win the favour of God. Thereafter the rights of women were established, and for the first time women began to be treated as free individuals in their own right ( Ab u D a w u d, Kit ab un Nik a h ). Mu ‘ a wiya al-Qushair i ra relates: "I inquired of the Holy Prophet sa what claim my wife had upon me," and he replied: "Feed her with that which God bestows upon