In verse number 97 of Surat al-Nahl (16)...

In verse number 97 of Surat al-Nahl (16), Allah (awj) says: “Whoever amongst you whether they be man or woman and they have faith without a doubt we will give them pure life in this world and in the hereafter we will give them a reward in recompense to their good deeds.” In Surat al-Ahzab (33), the same matter has also been alluded to. b. The intellectual dimension: According to the intellectual dimension there is no difference between men and women.

Islam does not believe that there is a difference between men and women as regards the gaining of knowledge. “Gaining knowledge is an obligation on both men and women.” The Qur`anic verses that have been revealed as regards knowledge and learning have not discriminated between men and women and these verses are almost 40 in number. c. The economic dimension: In Islam men and women differ from each other in the economic responsibilities that been placed on each of their shoulders.

These responsibilities have been divided according to the bodily and psychological strengths and weaknesses of both. Principally women are weaker than men in economic matters. Even in this age and in societies that have apparently not discriminated between men and women, the economic output of women is less than that of men. The truth of the matter is that women must become pregnant and after giving birth they must breastfeed their children. They subsequently must take care of their children.

The pregnancy and breastfeeding takes quite a bit of time and energy from the women. Even though this is a valuable matter in itself, it is not an economic matter. There is no economic output produced by such work. From another point of view the body of men and women differ drastically from one another. Women have delicate bodies and they can be injured with the slightest accident while the bodies of men are strong and generally powerful and therefore more suited for difficult tasks.

For this very reason, many of the difficult jobs of society that require much power have been placed in the hands of men. It is very obvious that without men the family is more at an economic loss. It is therefore necessary that men’s blood money be more than that of women. The vacuum felt by a family with the loss of a man is far greater than the loss felt at the absence of a woman. According to jurisprudential and historical studies, blood money is an economical matter.

It has been legislated in order to compensate for the loss incurred by the injured.