In Islam, the woman has freedom of will as well as the freedom to express her opinion. Allah has granted her this fundamental right which she had been denied during the time of ignorance. A time in which if her husband died, she had no authority over herself, and she was inherited along with the estate of her husband.
Al-Bukhari recorded on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) concerning
Allah's saying:
"0 you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will; and you should not treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the Mahr you have given them, unless they commit open illegal sexual intercourse; and so live with them honorably. If you dislike them, it may be that you dislike a thing and Allah brings through it a great deal of good.'' An-Nisa 4:19.
"(Before the revelation of this verse) if a man died, his relatives had the right to inherit his wife, with which they could marry her, give her away in marriage, or, if they wished, not do anything. They would be more entitled to have power over her than her own relatives. Due to such oppression, the aforementioned verse was revealed.''
Zayd bin Aslam said, "During the time of ignorance, when a man died, the people of Yathrib would inherit his estate while also taking control of his wife. The inheritor would treat her harshly until he himself married her or gave her out in marriage to whomever he wished. As for Tihamite Arabs, a man among them would treat his wife badly until he would divorce her and stipulate that she married only a man of his choice and that she should give back to him a part of what she got as bridal gift. Due to such immoral behavior Allah forbade the believers from that.
Ibn Juraij said, "This verse was revealed concerning Kabishah bint Ma'n ibn 'Asim bin Al-Aws. Her husband Abu Qays ibn Aslat died and her husband's son wanted to take her over. She came to Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I was not allowed to inherit of my husband's estate nor was I left alone to remarry a man of my choice).'' It was then that this verse was revealed.''
Ibn Katheer said, "The verse applies to all that was practiced during the age of ignorance in that regard.'' Equally, the woman's wish should be respected concerning her marriage. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, in a Hadith reported by Al-Bukhari on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him), "A matron should not be given in marriage except after consulting her; and a virgin should not be given in marriage except after her permission.
According to the consensus of jurists, it is obligatory to consult a matron a previously married woman) who is sane before marrying her off. If she is married off without her permission, the validity of such a marriage would depend upon her approval. As for the sane and mature virgin, consulting her before marrying her off is only recommended (and not mandatory), according to the majority of the scholars. It was reported from 'Ata that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) would seek the permission of his daughters before he married them off. Seeking the permission of a virgin is mandatory before marrying her off according to the opinion of the Hanafis.
According to the Hanafis, a woman's permission is required for marriage. It is also permissible for a free and mature woman to marry herself off. A woman is eligible to marry another woman off (if she is authorized to do so), and similarly, a woman may be married off by another woman or man (if she authorized him/her to do so). This is the view of Abu Hanifah, Zufar, Al-Hasan, and the apparent opinion of Abu Yusuf. The Hanafis cite the Hadith of Khansa' bint Hiiam who was married off by her father without her consent and that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) revoked the marriage. It was also reported that a woman married her daughter off which led to her appearance (at the behest of the male guardian) at the court of Ali bin Abi Talib (May Allah be pleased with him).
A woman can share thoughts with her husband and she can even disagree with him. 'Umar bin AlKhattaub (May Allah be pleased with him) said, "By Allah, during the days of ignorance we had no regard for women until Allah the Exalted revealed about them what He has revealed, and appointed for them what He appointed.'' He said, "It so happened that I was thinking about some matter when my wife said, "I wish you had done that and that'' I said to her, "It does not concern you and you should not feel disturbed in a matter which I intend to do.'' She said to me, "How strange is it that you, O son of Khattaub, do not like anyone to retort upon you, whereas your daughter retorts upon Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) until he spends the day in vexation.'' 'Umar said, "I took hold of my cloak, then came out of my house until I visited Hafsah and said to her "O daughter, I heard) that you retort to Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) until he spends the day in vexation.'' Hafsah replied, "By Allah, we do retort to him.'' I said, "You should bear in mind, my daughter that I warn you against the punishment of Allah and the wrath of His Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). Do not be misled by one who has been fascinated by her own beauty and love of Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him).'' I ('Umar) then visited Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) because of my relationship with her and informed her of my thoughts. Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) said to me, "Umar ibn al-Khattab, how strange is it that you meddle with every matter so much so that you manage to interfere between Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) and his wives?'' This perturbed me so much that I refrained from saying what I had to say, and so I came out of her apartment. Whenever I had been absent (from the company of the Prophet), a friend that I had from the Ansar used to bring me news and whenever he had been absent I used to take news to him. In those days we were apprehensive about the king of Ghassan. It was mentioned to us that he intended to attack, and thus our minds become occupied by him. My friend, the Ansari, arrived one day knocking at the door saying, "Open it, open it.'' I said, "Has the Ghassani come?'' He said, "(The matter is) more serious than that. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) has separated himself from his wives.'' I said, "Let the nose of Hafsah and 'A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) be smeared with dust.'' I then took hold of my cloak and went out until I came and found Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) in his attic which he had climbed by the means of a ladder made of date-palm. The servant of Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) had been sitting at the end of the ladder to whom I said, "This is Umar'' and permission was granted to me. I narrated my encounters with Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) to which he smiled. He was lying on the mat (with nothing in between), and under his head there was a pillow made of leather stuffed with palm fibers. At his feet was a heap of sant tree (acacia niloctica, meant for dyeing) and a piece of hide was hanging near his head there. On seeing the imprint of the mat on the side of Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) I wept. He said, "What makes you weep?'' I said, "Messenger of Allah, the Khusrau and the Ceasars (spend their lives in) the midst of (luxuries), whereas you being Allah's Messenger (are leading your life in this poverty).'' Thereupon Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Don't you like that they should have riches of their world, and you have the Hereafter?''
It is also recommended to seek a woman's advice in matters that either concern them or in which they may have some experience. This is an expression of mutual consultation as manifested in Allah's saying, while describing the characteristics of the believers,
"And their affair is [determined by] consultation among themselves.'' Ash-Shoora 42:38.
This is also supported by the Hadith of Umm Salamah " as recorded by Al-Bukhari and others: "When the writing of the peace treaty was concluded, Allah's Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to his companions, "Get up and slaughter your sacrifices and get your heads shaved.'' By Allah none of them got up, and the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) repeated his order thrice. When none of them got up, he left them and went to Umm Salamah" and informed her of the people's attitudes towards him. Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) said, "O the Prophet of Allah! Do you want your order to be carried out? Go out and don't say a word to anybody till you have slaughtered your sacrifice and call your barber to shave your head. ''So the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) went out and did not talk to any one of them until he had slaughtered the sacrifice and called his barber to shave his head. Seeing that, the companions of the Prophet got up, slaughtered their sacrifices, and started shaving the heads of one another.''
A Muslim woman may grant protection to disbelievers which must be respected by the Muslims. In AlMughni, it is mentioned that it is permissible for a woman to give a promise of protection to disbelievers. 'A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said, "A woman would give promise of protection and it would be deemed permissible.''
Umm Hani (May Allah be pleased with her) said she addressed the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: "Messenger of Allah, I gave protection to my in-laws and I shut them inside but the son of my brother, Ali, wanted to kill them.'' The Messenger of Allah, (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said, "We give protection to whomever you have given protection, Umm Hani. (May Allah be pleased with her)
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