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Fatwa CenterWomen Are Honored in Islam and Not Despised
Question
Where is the evidence that a woman should be from noble lineage? No one bears the sins of another and that includes fornication and adultery any children born of this sin are blameless for the sins of the parents. Indeed the parents of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) were kaffirs. The Hadith, which states that a woman may be married for 4 things, clearly states one should consider only the piety of the woman for marriage; all other considerations are of the Dunya and can have dire consequences. I came to Islam 3 years ago Al-Hamdu Lillah, and it makes me sick to see how Muslims have not lost the ignorance, and cultural ways of Jahilyah (ignorance period) that existed in pre-Islam. Can men not treat women with the respect and decency that our Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) showed all women? To be honest I see a lot of opinions an no sound evidence to many such issues, which makes us Muslims as bad as the Christians and the Jews for the hypocrisy shown today towards women in Islam. Makes me wonder why I came to Islam to be treated outside of the Sunnah and the Qur'an and treated as a subordinate slave to Muslim men...if we are over 25 were discounted as wives, if were born outside of Islamic family were no good, if were not of the same race as our husbands family its off, and if our lineage is not of sound Muslim stock then were not marriage material too, this is my experience. Where is the evidence from Qur'an and Sunnah please!
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Islam does not forbid marriage to a woman of an unknown lineage or born out of wedlock so long as she is of a decent faithful character. But the Prophetic tradition mentioned in Fatwa 86437 stated that a woman may be married for four reasons, but the Muslim should consider only the piety. It is beyond doubt that the woman whose father and family are well-known for their honesty, decency and religiousness is better than the one who is unidentified as being straightforward and chaste. Because a woman whose family is not known is often brought up in an environment neglecting the teachings of Islam and good conduct. Certainly, the sinful person might affect his/her children. Of course, the texts bear witness to what we have said. The Prophet exhorted Muslims to marry the virtuous woman irrespective of her age, lineage or social and financial status. Be sure my dignified sister that Islam is the faith of mercy and justice. It ranks the woman high and accorded her great honor. It raises her to a high status. It dignifies her, assures her rights uniquely and respects her honor whether or not she is born in a Muslim family, related to the husband or not, or being considerably older than her husband. The Quran emphasizes that all people have descended from one pair of parents and in the eyes of Allah they are all equal. Allah Says (what means): {O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.} [Quran 49:13]
Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad emphatically announced the concept of equality of man in his farewell message in these words: “O people! Indeed, your Lord is One, and your father is one. All of you belong to the one ancestry of Adam, and Adam was created out of clay. There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab over an Arab; nor for a white over a black, or for the black over a white, except in piety. Surely the noblest among you in the sight of Allah is he who is the most pious.”
Islam cannot be judged according to some Muslims whose behavior is blatantly in contradiction with the Islamic teachings.
But it is identified with its crystal-clear texts from the Quran and the Prophetic tradition, which strictly forbid aggression on the rights of others. Islam plainly prohibits sarcasm, mockery and contempt. So, dear sister, you have to peruse Islam in its two main sources: the Quran and the Prophetic tradition. You need not feel unhappy at the misbehavior of ignorant and miscreant people who claim to be Muslims. The last commandment of the Prophet is to be kind to women.
May Allah help you understand Islam well and be rightly guided to the Straight Path.
Allah knows best.
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