Famous Islamic scholar Zakir Naik is in Pakistan right now where he has given multiple controversial statements, which have cause upset among those Pakistani ‘liberal’ Muslim who believe in cherry picking. Fact of the matter is, Naik is not making anything up from his own side, and whatever he says has roots in Islamic jurisprudence.  His anecdotes and quotations are always backed up with Quranic or Hadis based reference and most of the time they are taken from text about Seerat un Nabi (practices virtues of Prophet Muhammad).

As it is the norm, the code of conduct of women is discussed the most and has also become the largest sore point for all Pakistani feminists, most of who still follow Islam.  Pakistani liberal women live in some kind of a parallel universe where they want to criticise what is being said about them by Zakir Naik and his ilk, but they do not want to accept that this is merely a regurgitation of what scripture says. In a nutshell, this is where Islam sees women:

1. She gets half of any inheritance compared to her brother (Sahih Muslim Book 11 Book of Inheritance)

2. She gets to give half a testimony (2:282 Quran)

3. Namaz of men gets annuled if she passes in front of them while they are praying (Sahih Bukhari 511:8:158)

4. She must get my permission of her Wali (husband, brother, father) before stepping out of the house.  In many cases she is not even allowed to go anywhere without a Wali (Sahih Muslim 1339b)

5. She must be prepared for the occasion where she gets to become a co wife with three others (Quran 4:3)

6. She is not allowed to say no to sex from her husband no matter if they are sitting on a camel’s back (Hadith – Sunan Ibn Majah 1853)

7. If she outlives her husband, she is entitled to 1/8 of his estate if there are no co wives.  Otherwise 1/8th of husband’s estate is divided 2/3/4 ways between all wives (Sahih Muslim Book 11 Book of Inheritance)

8. If her husband outlives her, he is entitled to half of her estate in case there are no children, and 1/4 if she had children with him (Sahih Muslim Book 11 Book of Inheritance)

9. She must cover her body and face so that not to invite lustful gazes from men including those who might be living in her house (Quran 33:59)

10. She cannot be seen in any public places where men are present because she is said to be cause of Fitna (temptation) (Quran 3:14)

11. She cannot divorce her husband unless he agrees. If he doesn’t agree, she has to fight long and painful battles in court and give up her right to Haq Mehr (dowry). Moreover, Sharia court has the power to overturn her Khula even after she gets it from court (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 63, Number 197)

12. Unlike Muslim men, she cannot marry a Jew or a Christian.  If she does, it is considered adultery and punishment for this act is stoning to death just like adultery (Quran 2:221)

13. If she is raped, she will be judged by her conduct in general, and may be punished for adultery in case she is pursuing a non Islamic lifestyle

14. She is forever objectified by her fellow faith lovers and this is authenticated in scripture

When Zakir Naik was criticising and belittling other faiths like Christianity and Judaism, and calling Kuffar the worst of any existence on this planet, all radical Muslims were worshipping him and all ‘progressive’ Muslims were quietly celebrating their joy.  They were cheering on as Zakir would brainwash idiots into converting to Islam.  Today however the shoe is on the other foot.  It is the liberals and cherry picking feminists who are a the receiving end of his lectures. Today they are criticising him and his ‘version’ of Islam.

The problem doesn’t lie with what Zakir Naik is saying, it lies in the scripture and all the holy text of Islam.  It lies in the character of its revered personalities which are supposed to be followed and adhered to without question.

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