A careful reading of the Qur'an shows that this is no historical accident.
A careful reading of the Qur'an shows that this is no historical accident. God directly addresses women through the revelation of the Qur'an by assuring them that their deeds will not go unrewarded, and by offering as exemplars women who have courageously taken positions in unfavourable social conditions, not however, to secure their own rights or interests, but in obedience to God. Thus Mary, peace be with her, is rebuked by her people for having the child Jesus ('a) out of wedlock.
She agreed to have the child when visited by the angel out of obedience to God. In response to the taunts directed against her, Mary offers no excuses but points to the child prophet, who miraculously speaks to them.21 The wife of Pharaoh refuses to obey her husband and king in his idolatry because of her acceptance of the message of the Prophet Moses ( a).22 The primary roles accorded to women in Islam are those of wife and mother, and it is precisely these roles with which feminists are most uncomfortable.
Feminists are concerned with liberating* women from expectations that they should marry and have children. They see progress for women in terms of employment opportunities, income, opportunities to experiment with non- traditional sexual relations and political power. Although Islam does not bar women from wealth and power, it places greater emphasis on marriage and the family. It seems that this accords with the interests of the vast majority of the women of the world.
Al- though they are not averse to wealth and power, their primary concerns tend to centre around marriage and the family. Islam dignifies these primary concerns while feminism tends to undermine them Of course, the most important role for woman in Islam is no different that that assigned to men-servant of God. It is as servants of God that Muslim women and men take on the roles of mothers and fathers and wives and husbands, buyers and sellers, teachers and pupils, workers and employers, etc.