Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia
supreme
and unquestioned power to Muslims of the words of Prophet Mohammed.
Each aspect of their lives is guided by the Koran, believed sacred
by Muslims. Although there are many Westerners raised as Christians
who scoff at the possibility of a higher being, it is a rare Muslim
who does not cling fiercely to an unshakable faith in the God of
Mohammed.
In the Muslim world of Saudi Arabia, there is
no separation of religion and state as we find in the West. The
Islamic religion is absolute law.
During the ten years that I lived in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, I asked a close Saudi friend to translate and explain
certain verses of the Koran. After observing the total segregation
of the sexes in Islam, I was particularly interested in the verses
that restrict the behavior of women.
Since the verses were translated to me in the
context of personal conversations, there may be minor discrepancies
between my interpretations and those of Koran scholars. However, in
view of the fact that the Koran is thought “untranslatable,” and
much controversy exists over many English translations, I feel
confident in revealing the following verses on the subject of women
that were read to me directly from an Arabic version of the Koran.
Also, bear in mind that there are many verses in the Koran which
urge the protection of women and children.
I encourage readers to read the entire Koran
for themselves as these verses to follow are only concerned with
the segregation of men and women and do not provide a full
knowledge of the Koran.
--
SUBJECT
Sexual relations during the month of Ramadan,
when every good Muslim fasts and abstains from pleasures during the
daylight hours.
ACTUAL VERSE FROM THE KORAN:
SURA II, 187
Complete your fast
til the night appears,
But do not associate
with your wives
While you are in seclusion
or in the Mosques.
These are limits God has set
signs to Men; that
They may learn self-restraint.
Permitted to you,
On the night of the fasts,
Is the approach of your wives.
They are your garments.
--
SUBJECT
Marriage of Muslims to nonbelievers. The
Koran states the same set of rules for both male and female; the
law is upheld only against females. Many Saudi men marry
Christians, but Saudi women are strictly forbidden from marrying
non-Muslims.
ACTUAL VERSE FROM THE KORAN:
SURA II, 221
Do not marry
women who do not believe,
Until they believe.
A slave woman who believes
is better than one who does not believe.
Do not marry your daughters
to unbelievers until
they believe.
A man slave who believes
is better than an unbeliever.
--
SUBJECT
Sexual relations during a woman’s
menstruation, which are strictly prohibited.
ACTUAL VERSE FROM THE KORAN:
SURA II, 222
They ask,
concerning women’s courses,
Respond: They are
a hurt and a pollution,
Keep away from women
in their courses, and do not
approach them until they are clean.
But when they have purified themselves,
You may approach them
in any manner, time, or place
Ordained for you, by God.
--
SUBJECT
After a man divorces a woman, he must ensure
that she does not carry his child. If the woman is pregnant, she
must be cared for by the husband.
ACTUAL VERSE FROM THE KORAN:
SURA II, 228
Divorced women shall
wait, concerning themselves
For three monthly periods.
It is not lawful for them
to hide what God has created
in their wombs.
Their husbands have the right
to take them back, in that time
of reconciliation.
And women have the rights
similar to the rights,
Against them, according to
what is equitable;
But men have more rights
and power over them,
For God is most powerful
and wise.
--
SUBJECT
After a man divorces a woman, he may remarry
her if she has married and divorced another man since. If he
divorces her a second time, he is forbidden from marrying her
again.
ACTUAL VERSE FROM THE KORAN:
SURA II, 229
A divorce is permissible
two times only. After that, The parties
should hold together
on agreeable terms,
Or separate with kindness.
SURA II, 230
If a husband divorces
his wife, He cannot,
after that, remarry her
until she has married
another husband, and he
has divorced her.
SURA II, 241
For divorced women
a reasonable maintenance
should be provided.
--
SURA II, 241
For divorced women a reasonable maintenance
should be provided.
--
SUBJECT
The number of women that a man may marry and
instructions to present them with a dowry are explained in the
following verse.
ACTUAL VERSE FROM THE
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