"O Mankind, Be dutiful to your Lord who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate (of the same kind) and from them, twain has spread a multitude of men and women".
An-Nisa, 4:1
Stressing this noble and natural conception, the Qur'an further states:
He (God) it is who did create you from a single soul and therefrom did create his mate, that he might dwell with her (in love)...
Al-A’raf, 7:189
"And Allah has made for you azwaj (mates or wives) of your own kind, and has made for you from your mates, children and grandchildren, and has made provision of good things for you. Do they then disbelieve in false deities and deny the favor of Allah?"
An-Nahl, 16::72
Since men and women have been created from one origin and one entity, neither of them can claim superiority over each other. They have been created from the same source and so their essence is the same. This is reinforced in the Qur’an many times so as to ensure mankind is aware that both are equal in the eyes of God.
When the Qur’anic injunctions regarding women were revealed, the status of women at that time must be also appreciated. In pre-Islamic Arabia, and indeed throughout the world, the very legitimacy of women as human beings was still being questioned and debated, so even the idea of bestowing her with formal rights and favors was not open for discussion . Women were seen as mere objects and pieces of chattel for men to buy and sell at their whim, existing for the fulfillment of male desire or reserved for the procreation of the human race. Other than this, women were neither respected nor considered equal to their male counterparts.
Moreover in pre-Islamic Arabia it has already been well documented how baby girls were buried alive by the Arabs who felt shame and humiliation if a girl was born, not wishing to endure any expense on her behalf, preferring her death to a life long burden of maintenance. Thus in such a society did Allah Almighty elevate women to the position of equals with man. With the advent of Islam, the status of women was revolutionized. Firstly she was considered to be the equal of man, upgraded to be on par with him which necessarily entailed giving women rights and duties for her to fulfill. She was now considered an essential part of the society, indispensable to man, honored, revered and to be respected by all. Having been neglected for so long women were dramatically catapulted into the limelight of life and offered full participation in society.
