The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed At-Tayyeb Received the delegation of religious leaders in Kano, Nigeria.
At-Tayyeb averred that Islamic Sharia has treated women fairly, preserved their dignity, and assigned them a pivotal role in building societies.
He added that it has liberated women from restrictive ignorance, assigning them a share in inheritance after they had been deprived of it. He further stated that it has also established for them an independent financial status, prohibited the killing of girls alive, and guaranteed their rights to education and participation in social life.
He then highlighted that Islam has declared women equal to men and the Qur’an stipulated the rights of women, as Allah Almighty says "And treat them fairly" and "Women have rights similar to those of men equitably". Such precepts were challenging to the prevailing norms at the time, knowing that the Quran was revealed to a society known for oppressing women, largely restricting their freedom, and diminishing their rights.
Grand Imam At-Tayyeb, during his meeting with a high-level delegation of religious leaders in Kano, Nigeria, underscored the urgent need for a jurisprudential revolution in various fatwa academies and institutions to revisit the jurisprudence sustaining established customs and traditions oppressive to women and squandering many of their rights in the name of the Sharia, which spread in previous eras. According to Grand Imam At-Tayyeb, the objective of such revisiting is to objectively reexamine fatwas related to women's affairs and rights and not to let any opportunity for ancient, pre-Islamic customs dominate the readings of Sharia texts and their implications.
Grand Imam At-Tayyeb expressed his deep regret that some scholars and Muftis were one of the causes for the spread of fatwas wronging women in the name of the Sharia by neglecting texts promoting women’s dignity and highlighting other texts portraying women as lower in status than men. He added that they found false justifications for these visions, which led to the spread of manifestations of violence and injustice against women to the extent that many husbands still deal with their wives inhumanely, immorally, or irreligiously. He then expressed his astonishment at the unbefitting status of Muslim women despite the presence of many institutions, associations, and centers promoting their rights. According to him, many Muslim women's rights are still being wasted, compared to their status in the early days of Islam and to the respective practices of the Prophet (pbuh). He further stressed the need to maintain trust and responsibility before Allah and to alert societies and governments to these problematic fatwas that squander women’s dignity and compromise their rights and to the misreading that has elevated customs and traditions over the texts of the Sharia, stating, “We should beware of Allah Almighty when passing on His Commands to people. So, discord, fragmentation, and division should not preclude the standardization of fatwas and having a common vision that shapes reality. Otherwise, reality will remain far removed from divine guidance and what Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) has decreed regarding His creation.” He stressed the urgent need to revive women's rights established by the Prophet (pbuh), concluding his speech with the Prophet’s advice, “Fear Allah when treating women.”
For their part, the delegation members expressed their pleasure to meet the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and their appreciation for his efforts in introducing the pristine image of Islam, stressing that Al-Azhar is the beacon that enlightens the minds of the Muslim nation, being the heart of the nation and the destination of knowledge learners. They added that Al-Azhar has invested in educating Muslim students around the world, and it did not stop at teaching Islamic and Arabic sciences but also integrated the study of modern applied sciences. The delegation representatives confirmed, "We pledge to Allah and to you (Grand Imam) to do our utmost to introduce your vision about women's rights in Islam. They also requested increasing the number of Nigerian Imams enrolled at the Al-Azhar International Academy for Training Imams and Preachers to hone their skills in addressing modern societal issues and debunking the ideas of extremist groups.”
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