Islam and women

While Judaism and Christianity attribute to Eve (the wife of Adam, peace be upon him) that she was the cause of Adam’s disobedience by tempting him to eat from the forbidden tree by his Lord, as in Genesis 3:12, and that God punished her for that with the pain of pregnancy and childbirth—as well as her descendants—as in Genesis 3:16, the Holy Quran clarified that Adam’s disobedience was due to the temptation of Satan (i.e., not because of his wife Eve), as in Surah Al-A‘raf: 19–22 and Surah Taha: 120–122.

In doing so, the Quran removed the disdain for women that was held in some previous religious interpretations due to that belief. Islam came with the call to honor women in all stages of their lives.

Honoring Women in Islam

An example of this is the saying of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him):

“Treat women kindly.” — Sahih Bukhari

He also said (peace and blessings be upon him):

“Whoever has a daughter and does not bury her alive, does not insult her, and does not favor his son over her, Allah will admit him to Paradise because of her.” — Narrated by Ahmad