And, likewise, a woman does not need her parents’ consent to get married













































































Furthermore, a woman can personally negotiate her marriage contract and include therein all kinds of provisions. Her personal assets are, in any event, inviolable – they can never be seized by her husband.











The equality between man and woman within the context of the marriage is likewise evidenced by what Islam states about sexuality, a matter that in Islam is confined within the marriage and prescribed therein. In Islamic societies, there has never rested a taboo on sexuality. Sexuality is considered as one of the basic physical needs (besides eating and drinking). Hence, it is the fulfilment of these three needs that Muslims deny themselves from sunrise to sunset during the time of Ramadan.
A satisfying sexual relationship is being seen as important to a successful marriage. This applies to both partners. Islam allows the right to sexual satisfaction to both man and woman. And because sexuality is seen as one of the basic physical needs, the absence of it, for the man as well as for the woman, is considered a valid reason for divorce.


In addition, Islam makes it possible for men and women to engage in family planning. From ahadith it appears that Prophet Mohammed knew that some in his company practised ‘coïtus interruptus’. He did not forbid this practice. On that ground, Islam allows the use of birth control in family planning.





































































It also needs to be stated that Islam permits divorce – also for women, although the model encourages prior attempts at reconciliation, for instance, by introducing an interim cooling-off period. In case of marriage conflicts, husband and wife can likewise each appoint a representative (usually a relative), who then consult with each other and try to smooth the path towards a resolution of the conflict. When reconciliation appears impossible, divorce is permitted. This topic is treated in numerous Quran verses and pronouncements by the Prophet. For instance, a woman can ask for a divorce because her husband beats her (physical force against a woman is prohibited – more about this later); because he doesn’t spend enough money on her; because he doesn’t satisfy her sexually; because he treats her in a way she can no longer tolerate with reasonable forbearance; because she believes it is best for her to divorce him; because in some way he hinders her in her faith (which is a rather wide point); because he himself acts in a manner that is contrary to his faith; because she has ceased to love him, etcetera.  

Within the marriage, husbands are being cautioned that they must fear God for the ways they treat their wives:

The Prophet thus proclaimed here that women are protected by God against abuses that men might inflict upon them, in whatever way. That is the utmost protection that a woman can enjoy in Islam: the protection of Allah Himself. If men are in this earthly life not punished for their misconduct against their wives, they will be so punished on the Last Judgment Day in the hereafter.




In fact, the Prophet insisted on several occasions that husbands must treat their wives with due care and be attentive to their needs:

The Quran further enjoins men to tolerate any possible shortcomings of their wives:






" ... then if you hate them, it may be that you dislike a thing while Allah has placed abundant good in it. " (Quran 4:19)







But tolerance alone is not enough: men are enjoined to treat their wives in a friendly manner:
"...address them in a friendly way..."(Quran 4:5)

Linda ought to know that this is completely false. The reality is that in Islamic Law the woman is NEVER permitted to independently contract marriage, not even when she is 80 years old. A marriage is ALWAYS concluded between TWO MEN. Thus it is stated in Islamic Law. This does not mean that there are no countries where this law is contravened. In such cases, it is said of them that they adhere to a “moderate version of Islamic Law”. The truth is that a moderate version of Islamic Law does not exist. It would be closer to the truth to say that these countries deviate from Islamic Law.

Oriana Fallaci, an Italian author and journalist, once attended a wedding ceremony in Pakistan. She was the only woman there. Following the conclusion of the marriage, the 2 men embraced one another. She got the impression she was attending a same-sex marriage. Have they become this progressive in Pakistan? she asked herself? Of course the two men were the bridegroom and the father of the bride.

The following Hadith of Malik (the founding father of one of the four great Sunnite Schools) illustrates that marriage is always concluded by a guardian (male family member):

In practice, it boils down to the fact that a woman invariably needs the consent of her father, her uncle (on the father’s side), her brother, or even her son. Islamic Law even states that a woman preferably be given in marriage by her son rather than by her father. The condition is – obviously – that the son has reached maturity, meaning the age of puberty.

If a woman wants to marry and consent is withheld, she can have recourse to the Courts (they represent the Sultan, e.g., the Head of State) and she needs to convince the Judge that there are no objections militating against the marriage, for instance, the intended groom’s financial situation, his descent, his education, or his social status ...

If a girl who is a student falls in love with one of her co-students, but her family contends that the young man is not in a financially sound position to maintain her, the Court will reject her request to marry.

All of the above points to a rather different (and more complex) kettle of fish than the simple dictum that a woman is left free to choose her husband.

The following Hadith offers us a summary of the situation: a widow or divorcee has to give her consent before she can be given in marriage; a virgin (of the age of maturity) gives tacit consent. Hence, her silence is her consent. And it is left up to her to prove later that she was not in agreement, after eventually, case pertaining, having been raped by the husband she did not want. And no, we are not exaggerating. This happened to the 8-year old Nojoud Mohammad Ali in Yemen at the start of 2008, thus not exactly during the Middle Ages.

The mentioned Hadith reads as follows : Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 67:

Giving permission by remaining silent is naturally a rather shaky judicial ground. The family can always claim that she said nothing.

As mentioned, the Islamic marriage is always concluded by 2 men who are to sign the contract. How would it be possible for a 14-year old girl to negotiate her marriage contract when she is not even present during its conclusion and may not even understand the meaning of the word ‘contract’? As already explained to us earlier by Linda, women in general have little experience with contracts since they have never been entrusted with the ‘obligation to provide care’.

Linda further creates the impression that all Islamic women marry when they are well into their twenties and have pocketed a university degree. This would give them the necessary maturity and experience to negotiate a contract.

Could Linda perhaps explain to us how husband and wife are equal with respect to their sexuality when a man has to service four wives and each one of them has to take turns to get his attention once every 4th day (night)? Unless, of course, the husband is possessed of exceptional sexual potency. These types do truly exist! At least, if we may give credence to the following Hadith of Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 5, Number 268: „ Narrated Qatada:

Once again we find Linda resorting in her argumentation to statements that are partially correct but completely taken out of their proper context in order to portray Islam in a modern and practical light. The background of the ‘coïtus interruptus’ account has nothing whatsoever to do with family planning. It is just one other example of how the woman gets humiliated in Islam and, in effect, it sheds light on one of the dark and hidden aspects of the Islamic structure.

Bukhari has collected 4 Hadith, namely this, this, this and this one, wherein Muhammad discourages (but not forbids) the practice of ‘coïtus interruptus’. Let’s take a look at Bukhari Volume 8, Book 77, Number 600:

In fact, Muhammad was well aware that his soldiers were raping female prisoners and did not prohibit this. “This practice is just one of those that reflect the cultural ‘mores ‘of that time”, so we are told by those that have been given the task to whitewash the excesses in Islam. The truth is that it was a motivating factor for the jihad-fighters and in that sense important to Muhammad during his ongoing wars.

You might expect from a peaceloving Apostle engaged in his “pioneering” work and distinguished by his “exceptional respect for women” that he would put a stop to such debasing conduct. On the contrary, he established it forever as permissible. The women victims were not, of course, Muslimas but the wives of non-believers. It does show the value of non-Muslimas in Islam.

The story in the above-mentioned Hadith merely means that Muhammad’s fighters practised ‘coïtus interruptus’ since they did not want to impregnate the slave women. The point is that a pregnant slave woman could not be sold and therefore lost her market value. Not really what we today understand by Linda’s ‘family planning’. Nevertheless, this kind of reasoning is repeated ad infinitum on Islamic websites.

The rape of slave women also receives a mention in the Quran, in the following verse:

By “the married women your right hands possess” is meant slave women, who are thus freely placed at their owner’s disposal for sexual pleasure. The reverse is not true for women, who are enjoined to keep their distance from their male slaves. In the previous paragraph, Linda argued that the enjoyment of „sexual satisfaction“ must be guaranteed for both men and women. How can this be, though, when a man has 4 wives and, on top of that, an unlimited supply of slave women at his disposal, whereas this sort of arrangement is clearly not allowed to women?

The laws concerning divorce in Islam are clear paradigms of the inequality between man and woman. Without going into details, Islamic Law states that a man can divorce by repeating three times the words “I divorce you”. That then is the end of the marriage. He is, however, expected to honour any eventual provisions in the marriage contract, for instance, the payment of a given amount, a kind of severance pay, as it were. The man need not have, nor give, a reason for his wish to divorce. In contrast, a woman can only get a divorce before the Courts and must submit a well-reasoned dossier in substantiation of her request. The fact that Linda actually lists here the reasons that a woman must have to obtain a divorce indicates that she is undeniably required to have a reason. The man, however, is exempted from that requirement.

The following are not reasons for divorce :

The following are reasons for divorce:

Linda deliberately keeps quiet about the fact that children as of a certain age (different for boys and girls) move in with their father. She presumably speculates on the possibility that the reader will only remember that, in principle, the woman gets custody of the children and rather forget about the “under 7 years” bit.

And should madame have the nerve to remarry, she will automatically lose custody of her young children. But that, of course, Linda neglects to tell us.

And who is this noble unknown authority “Mishtat” Linda refers to?








Nice going, Linda. You apparently are encouraging people to become atheists! The lady in the link appears to have had little opportunity to enjoy Allah’s protection. Her God-fearing husband has rather creatively interpreted and put into practice Allah’s commandment to beat her as it is voiced in the Quran verse 4.34. That he shall be punished for this in the hereafter was really not much of a consolation to her at the time he dumped her in front of the hospital. Truly an example of how far your Islamic theory has strayed from the actual reality!





A fine Hadith! On condition, of course, that the wife obeys her husband, or else  ...



It has often been claimed that the Quran happened to be disseminated within a patriarchal society, resulting in a faulty interpretation of the woman’s position as a consequence. The point is that the Quran is largely addressed to men, and this by Allah himself. It has nothing whatsoever to do with influences of “the patriarchal society”.

Linda’s pronouncement, together with the Quran verse, is a very good illustration of the point. If men and women are equal and the Quran is not a patriarchal-oriented book, why then do we not find in the Quran a verse that tells women to exercise patience in their tolerance of the less amiable characteristics of their husbands? Why is it then that the term ‘shortcomings’ is again and again associated with ‘woman’ and not with ‘man’?

Linda tells us that “the Quran tells men to tolerate the possible shortcomings of their wives”. This is fine until these same men have read the following verse, namely ...

... whereby monsieur is offered the option to trade in one of his wives for another model. And the chances that this „replacement bride“ will be twenty years older than he himself are not very high. Verse 4.20 is in our opinion to be put down as one of the most humiliating verses in the entire Quran about women.

End of Part 7