Originally published at the author’s Medium page. Republished with permission.

Allah Most High perfected and completed Islam when He sent the ayat-

“Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favour upon you, and chosen Islam as your way.” (5:3)

This ayat revealed to the Prophet (saw) during the Last Pilgrimage put a seal of perfection on Islam. But the Prophet (saw) warned us that while our religion would be complete and perfect, some among the Muslims would innovate and bring in external ideologies and principles into the religion. They wouldn’t be able to harm Islam. In fact they would just be harming themselves and the people who they lead astray.

The Prophet (saw) said,

“You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you (Jews and Christians) inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also.” (Sahih Muslim 2669)

The history of the Western civilization has been riddled by extreme dialectics and partisan movements like the Church vs state, capitalism vs communism, right wing vs left wing, republican vs democrat, feminism vs the men’s rights movement.

But Islam on the other hand had been secured from falling into the same trap because Islam is far removed from these polarities and extremities. Islam is the balanced path in the middle.

In Islam, there is no tension between religious authority and political authority as both are combined in one. In Islam we don’t have any tension between private enterprise and state resources as labour, capital and state find the adequate balance in our Muamalaat literature. We don’t have this clash between women’s rights vs men’s rights. Islam is perfectly seated in the balanced middle where we as men and women together within families and communities have rights over each other and fulfil duties towards each other.

Similarly, in Islam there is no tension between Women’s rights and Men’s Rights because Allah (swt) calls us ‘awliya’ or patrons and allies of one another. We fulfil our duties towards each other and demand our rights from each other, mutually being bound in this relation of ‘wilaya’.

The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those — Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. (9:71)

Or the Prophet (saw) said, “Verily, women are the counterparts of men.” (Tirmidhī 113)

That’s the beauty of Islam. Feminism is one extreme where women demand their rights unconditionally without consideration to their responsibilities towards Allah, His Messenger and their families. And similarly the Men’s rights movement represents another extreme where men demand their rights unconditionally without consideration to their responsibilities.

Feminism- A western construct

We need to understand in what context did Feminism emerge? Women in medieval European society up until the 18th and 19th century ie the modern era were treated literally like dirt. To give you an example, a European women in the 19th century couldn’t even enter universities in England, France, Austria, America, let alone being allowed to study or teach in the universities. This is in sharp contrast with Muslim women who were centuries ahead teaching and studying in the most prestigious places in the Islamic world.

Feminism was a western construct as a reaction to how European and American women were severely discriminated against, all throughout their history. It was a western construct, not applicable to Islam. The two most important events in European history- the Scientific Revolution and the subsequent Industrial Revolution, have literally zero participation of women. That was Europe. But Islam was different. Muslim women were central to the great Intellectual period between the 7th and the 18th century. So if there is anything that Muslim women need, it is just Islam.

Now because Feminism has resulted in a serious moral breakdown of western society. After spending billions of dollars on social welfare schemes, the damage is irreparable. Enticing the woman to compete with men in each and every field sure did increase the GDP, but broke the family. The breakdown of the family unit is the slow but sure breakdown of the civilization.

Comparing this with Islamic history, female contribution to the GDP or the economic growth of a society is not alien to Islam. In fact the famous Silk Route that was the medieval economic corridor flourished because of trade in silk fabrics, woollen rugs, handicrafts, essential commodities, many of which were manufactured by women in cottage industries housed in small communities all across Central Asia.

Its not female education or work that breaks the family unit. It is the lack of a spiritual outlook that fuels competition between the genders. When this competition is solely for the ‘dunya’ it blinds the genders with regards their roles and responsibilities and that breaks the family unit.

But this only a Muslim can understand.

Men’s Rights movement- A reaction to a reaction

In the west a parallel movement rose in reaction to the Feminist Revolution. This was called the Men’s Rights Movement. Again this is a western, secular and far right movement. It has its ideological roots in Neoconservatism, the same ideology that lobbied for the Iraq war and the Afghanistan invasion in the US congress. It is Neoconservatism that is behind the unconditional US support to the state of Israel and its perpetual genocide of innocent Muslims.

Now what’s the basic idea behind the Red Pill movement? Men have suffered as a result of the Feminist movement. Women have taken jobs, power and positions. The suffering of men is often ignored or denied. Men tend to have more suicide rates, drug addiction etc. Men happen to die more in wars, happen to be sexually and physically abused more than women (yeah! they provide US stats).

The basic premise behind the Men’s rights movement is that women by their nature are ‘manipulative, intelligent and physically abusive’. So again the men’s rights movement is the male version of the feminist revolution that views men as being ‘inherently evil and abusive’. Both these movements are driven by grievances towards the other gender. Both these movements are a result of western ideologies and extreme partisan activism. Both these movements are secular in their core and have nothing to do with the spiritual bond that Muslim men and women share which connects us all as brothers and sisters in faith and allies to one another in the dunya.

Therefore, both these movements have nothing whatsoever to do with Islam and Muslims must reject them wholesale.

Daniel Haqiqatjou- A Muslim Men’s Rights activist

I was shocked to find that Daniel Haqiqatjou, who I debated on a related subject earlier is a Men’s Rights activist. Someone who has built himself a career as an ‘unapologetic’ ‘defender of Islam’ against Liberalism subscribes to and promotes a secular, western, far right and neoconservative movement. The most disturbing part for me was that Daniel uses the exact same arguments and the decontextualized wordplay that Muslim Feminists like Amina Wudud, Fatima Mernisi and Zainah Anwar use to justify Feminism in Islam. Moreover, he recommends an obscene (fahisha) movie called the Red Pill to his followers to call them to this western red pill movement.

He justifies his activism for this non-Muslim, western and far right movement by saying “we can take the good elements of this Red pill movement and leave the bad”. But there are no good elements in this far right neoconservative movement, because this represents an extreme, while Islam is the balanced middle.

He says that Red Pill is just common sense Patriarchy (check his video Red Pill and Islam) Daniel you are wrong ! Red Pill is not Patriarchy. And well who said Islam has patriarchy? We have Qawwamah and Wilaya, not Patriarchy ! They are not the same.

This movement was started by men who complain why women aren’t drafted for war, why women and children are the first to be rescued in an emergency. Are these even men? The basic premise of this movement is that women are more powerful, controlling and physically abusive than men. So if we take that seriously , it means then women should lead? Right? After all if they can control men and physically attack them (his words, not mine). That means they are stronger than men. But all throughout he advocates for “Patriarchy”. This is one of his infinite inconsistencies.

Islam has Qawwamah, not Patriarchy.

Talking about patriarchy. We are Muslims. We have Qawwamah, not patriarchy. The Jews have patriarchy and traditionally inJewish theology women couldn’t even step inside the Temple of Soloman (as). The Hindus have patriarchy that allowed women to be burnt alive along with their dead husbands and still discriminates against them with respect to marriage rights. Christians had patriarchy and an integral part of Christian theology is the idea of Eve being the source of all evil in the world.

We have Qawwamah and Qawwamah is not patriarchy.

In the Quran and hadith there are roughly four terms that define principles underlying gender relations.

1. Wilaya (Alliance)

Allah says, “Believing men and believing women are ‘awliya’ (allies) of one another.” (9:71)

This highlights the equality and the bond of Islam that joins us all together.

2. Shaqaa-iq (Partnership)

The Prophet (saw) said, “Verily, women are the counterparts of men.” (Tirmidhi 113)

This again highlights the equality and equity that Allah has placed between men and women.

3. Qawwamah (Protection)

Allah says, ”Men are the protectors and maintainers (Qawwamoon) of women, as men have been provisioned by Allah over women and tasked with supporting them financially.”(4:34)

All the classical as well as modern tafsirs and commentaries translate ‘Qawwamoon’ as maintainers and protectors as the Quran calls all Muslims (men as well as women) with the same word when talking about justice. Allah says, “O you who believe, be QAWWAMEEN (persistently standing firm in defense of) in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives.” (4:135)

Here even women are asked to be Qawwamoon. Daniel erroneously translates this word to mean ‘leaders’. Qawwam is not a leader. Qawwam is someone who stands firm in protection and maintenance. Our men are our protectors and our maintainers and we Muslim women reciprocate this with our loving obedience.

Qawwamah is no slave-master relationship. We can easily see that Qawwamah is not conventional Patriarchy as the latter is unconditional male domination in each and every field. Whereas in the Muslim family if the husband is the head of the family, but Islam balances it by making the mother thrice more deserving of the children’s love and companionship as compared to the father. I owe loving obedience to my father just as my son would owe the same (and even more) loving obedience to me. The daughter becomes a door of paradise for her father, just as the husband becomes the door of paradise for the wife. This is not your conventional patriarchy. While the husband is the head of the family, spending from his money on the family, the wife has full ownership of her own financial assets. This is no conventional patriarchy. Muslim women enjoy equal status as the male citizens living under Islamic rule. The Prophet (saw) used to consult with his female companions like he would consult with the male companions. This practice was continued by his sahaba after him. As we can see this is not a conventional patriarchy.

Islam balances the equations all the time.

The Prophet (saw) on getting married to Khadija (ra) moved in to her residence. This would never happen in a traditional patriarchal society. In a hadith Umar (ra) describes the Medinan society to be women dominated. Umar (ra) says, “We were such people among the Quraish who dominated women, and as we reached Medina we found there people who were dominated by their women.” (Sahih Muslim 3511)

The Prophet (saw) did not change this social structure in the least.

In all patriarchies the lineage perpetuates from the male child. In the most unique case in the history of world leaders, Allah swt made the lineage of the Prophet (saw) continue from his beloved daughter Fatimah (ra).

There are other issues in translating Qawwamah as patriarchy. We would have to qualify and distinguish it from other cultural patriarchies- Hindu, Christian, Jewish, Pagan Arabs. What’s laughable is that Daniel says that all cultures historically have been patriarchal.(check his video Red Pill and Islam)

So one would think he meant all cultures including Pagan Arabia. But he plays a funny game in his article Muslim Feminsim- a modern form of burying our daughters by extricating Pagan Arabia from the list of patriarchal societies because he knows very well that Islam abrogated much of the gender principles from Pagan Arabia. So if he would side with the mainstream Muslim interpretation that Pagan Arabia was a patriarchal and a misogynistic society, he wouldn’t be able to rally for patriarchy in Islam. Funny game Daniel !Its just that you would need to go against 1400 years of Islamic scholarship being the only Muslim in history to absolve pagan Arabia from being a severely misogynistic society.

Take a look at his article here-

4. Qurratul A’yun ( a source of solace)

Then once Muslim men and women fulfil their duties towards each other, Allah tells us about the best state for believers within families to be in with regards to each other. Allah wants us to read this dua, “ Our Lord make our spouses and our children the ‘coolness of our eyes’.” (25:74)

This is the state when Muslim husbands and Muslim wives become the source of solace for each other. This is the perfection of our relationships when the very sight of your family gives you joy in your hearts. This is Islam. This is no patriarchy. Hinduism has patriarchy, Judaism has patriarchy, Christianity has patriarchy. Pagan Arabs had patriarchy.

Islam has Qawwamah.

We need to discard both Feminism and Red Pill. All we as Muslims need is the Quran !

Anyone who rallys for either of them doesn’t have the best interests of the Ummah in mind. The best and shortest way to harm the Ummah is to break the Muslim family. Feminism and Red Pill both will have serious consequences for the Muslim Ummah. We need to remind ourselves the hadith that talks about how creating a gulf between a husband and wife is the most effective strategy of Satan in the world. Thus both Feminism and Red Pill have this satanic element implicit in them and as Muslims we need to be aware.