Discuss how adequately this sums up the relationship between males and females in Islam.

Many people believe that because of the similarities between men and women, they should be, and are, completely equal and should be treated so. Other people however believe that because of the natural physical and mental differences, they can never be fully equal and that should be respected. Other people however, maintain that equality is an abstract relative concept and so full equality can never be achieved because we’ll never agree on what constitutes true equality.

There are many ‘misconceptions’, all over the world, about the Islamic understanding of women. Misconceptions is emphasised because the nature of the Qur’an and Sunnah is such that it is so complex and intricate that it is open to many interpretations. However, on certain things, the Qur’an or the Sunnah make it completely explicit, for instance that men and women are equal in the eyes of God because souls are without gender

Also, many people in ‘the west’ take the treatment of women in ‘Muslim’ countries to define how Islam commands women be treated, however some of this is more cultural than religious. In fact, Muslim women have had rights for over 1400 years that were only granted to Western women in the 19th and 20th centuries.