The problem with this trend of thought is that there is no...

The problem with this trend of thought is that there is no evidence to support it. It is baseless to accuse the Prophet (s.a.w.), the Imams of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), and even the jurists —who are only considered an authority if they are just and upright in character— of having a male bias in interpretation of the divine laws. Are we going to have now a gender-based interpretation of the Qur’an where the men and the women will study the holy Book differently?

The Qur’an clearly says, “And do not covet that by which Allah has made some of you excel others; men shall have the benefit of what they earn and women shall have the benefit of what they earn; and ask Allah of His grace; surely Allah knows all things.” (4:32) * * * * * Such Muslim “feminists” are also of the opinion that a woman has a right to interpret Qur’an according to her own understanding, and that she has the right to choose how she interprets her dress code.

In their discussion, the famous verse 2:256 is brought as evidence: “There is no compulsion in the religion…” First of all, the verse 2:256 is not giving the choice for a Muslim to do whatever he or she likes. “Muslim” means someone who submits to God’s commandments. To say that a person can be a “Muslim” and still have “choice in everything” is a true oxymoron. Secondly, such brothers and sisters conveniently ignore the context of that verse.

The verse is talking about the choice of religion before coming into Islam—submission to the will of God. It means that no one can be forced to become a Muslim.

“There is no compulsion in the religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the Shaytan and believes in Allah, he indeed has got hold onto the firmest rope which shall not break off; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.” The verse is clearly talking about rejecting the Shaytan and believing in Allah. It does not mean that a Muslim has a choice in whatever he or she wants to do.

Once a person has submitted to God, there is no choice left for him or her in the matters already decided by Allah and His Messenger.