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Nila Ahmad, USA
‘Secure that bag’. A few years ago, I saw this phrase pop up on my social media. It was used in reference to women achieving financial independence. In so many cultures, women have been historically dependent on men for financial security, so ‘securing the bag’ is a new perspective that encourages women to take financial matters into their own hands: to make their own money as well as manage that money. At the same time, I began to see female ‘finfluencers’ (financial influencers) pop up on my Instagram feed. I saw advertisements for women-led investment groups and more and more women discussing the concept of financial literacy. As I saw this collective awakening, I wondered what Islam had to say about this topic. What place did Muslim women have in this discussion?
As I delved deeper into Islamic teachings on financial literacy, I discovered that Muslim women not only have a place at the table, but that God Almighty has in fact positioned them to take the helm. The model of Islamic society is structured in a way to position Muslim women as the financial managers of their household as well as give them multiple opportunities to grow and manage their own wealth in order to contribute to the larger society.
If we look at the foundational blocks of an ideal Islamic society, it establishes men and women in equally important but different roles. The man is tasked to contribute financially to the household as his primary responsibility, while the woman manages the household and raises their children as her primary responsibility. Thus, financial management is just one of many tasks included in women’s realm of work.
Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), the Second Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, stated in a sermon, ‘If a woman is entrusted to take care of her children, her husband’s home and finances, she will be answerable for these duties.’ [1]
It is clear from this statement that women are not only responsible for managing the family’s finances, but that they will be made answerable to God Almighty on their competence in this regard. This is a clear instruction that Islam expects women to be financially literate in order to succeed in their role as managers of the home.
In contrast, western society is quickly catching up to the realisation that women are indeed major players when it comes to making financial decisions. The magazine Inc. reports that, ‘Women, on the daily, spend more time than men making economic decisions for their families – from consumer goods to services. Women hold crucial purchasing power. In fact, women drive 70-80 percent of all consumer purchasing, through a combination of their buying power and influence.’ [2] It is for this very reason that marketing agencies target women far more than men when selling products. However, when it comes to making other personal finance decisions, such as investments and retirement planning, women are less involved.
In a study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research, they found that ‘Women tend to be considerably less knowledgeable about personal finance than men, and that can put their economic security at higher risk. This gender gap in financial literacy exists not only in the United States but in many other developed countries as well, and it is found among people of all ages, education levels, and other socioeconomic characteristics.’ [3]
Thus, in western countries, women still have a gap in their financial knowledge.
Fortunately, the dynamic is changing. Many more women are realising that with so much decision-making power, they should invest for their future. A Nasdaq article finds, ‘While Fidelity notes that the rise of female investors was a trend that was already emerging in 2018, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated female adoption of investing platforms. As lockdowns and social distancing measures loomed, more women acted quickly to prepare for the uncertainty – from building their emergency savings to updating their financial plans and evolving from their role as a saver to an investor.’ [4]
In Islam, investing for one’s future is practically mandated. As required in Islam, the husband must give his wife a haq mehr (dowry) upon marriage. This money is designated as an investment for the woman, so that she has her own wealth to draw from. As Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra) stated, ‘Therefore, there are many circumstances when a woman requires money of her own. It was for this reason that Shariah [Islamic law] established the concept of mehr. Thus, mehr is the wealth which is meant to assist a woman for the rest of her life.’ [5]
Thus, not only has God Almighty made women responsible for the home’s finances, He has also ensured that a woman begins her married life with some amount of money which she can invest or save as she chooses. This dictate is just one more indication that God Almighty expects Muslim women to have financial acumen.
In addition to the dowry, Allah has also set up multiple opportunities in which she may gain more assets and thus continue to grow her own wealth. Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), the current Head of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, stated:
‘Thus Islam is the first religion to give women rights of inheritance. In the Holy Qur’an daughters are given rights of inheritance from their parents, wives have a right over husbands’ inheritance; mothers have rights on their children’s inheritance, if they happen to die before her. Similarly, in some situations, daughters and sisters are heirs of their brothers. No other religion established women’s rights like this before Islam.’ [6]
For example, in the UK, any assets a woman might have had when she married would immediately pass to her husband and become his property, until 1870. And many US states did not give married women the right to their own property until the 1700s and 1800s.[7] On the other hand, Muslim women were granted this right at the inception of Islam, over a thousand years earlier. Indeed, in the United States, it was only in 1900 when all of the individual states passed ‘their own version of the Married Women’s Property Act that “a woman was no longer liable for her husband’s debts, could now enter contracts on her own, was able to collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right and could file a lawsuit on her own behalf.”’[8]
Thus, women in the west have just recently achieved these rights, and only after demanding them from the government. In contrast, Islamic dictates on inheritance as well as haq mehr show that Islam has always recognised a woman’s right to financial autonomy.
In addition, Islam also ensures that any income a woman earns is also her own. Although the woman manages the household finances, she is not required to contribute to those finances, regardless of her income. If she chooses to make her own money, she can spend it, save it, or invest it however she chooses.
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba) stated, ‘Men are responsible for fulfilling the needs of their wives as well as their children, regardless of whether the wife works or not. The husband cannot ask his wife to bear half of the household expenditures since she is working and earning. If the wife contributes towards the household expenditures of her own volition, then this is a favour upon her husband. The man of the house, or the husband, is responsible for providing clothes, sustenance, shelter and fulfilling all other needs of his wife and children.’ [9]
This is just one more way in which Islam safeguards a woman’s wealth. When a man is commanded to fulfil all household expenses, he will not depend on a woman to prop up the home or to spend her hard-earned money. When a woman is assured by Allah Almighty that her money is completely her own, she achieves financial freedom. She is securing the bag.
Thus, God has created a system where women are positioned to take financial matters into their own hands. Firstly, they are tasked to take charge of all household finances which teaches them to budget, to manage daily expenses, to save, and to understand the financial running of the home. Secondly, Allah has mandated that women be given a dowry all their own. Thirdly, she can inherit and earn money.
But having amassed wealth, how can women put it to good use?
Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra) writes, ‘The Islamic economic system, however, recommends that money and wealth should be constantly in circulation and employed in the service of the community, and that all accumulations, capital and profits, should be made to contribute towards the relief of poverty and the raising of the standard of living. If the injunctions, laid down by Islam in this respect, are obeyed and carried into effect, the most miserly person would be compelled to invest his savings and thus make a contribution towards general prosperity, and in addition pay 2.5% on them towards the relief of poverty.’ [10]
This 2.5% is the rate of zakat which is contributed from any money or assets that have been untouched for over a year. If Muslim women act in accordance with the ideal Allah has created, then they will also be able to contribute to society in the form of zakat.
And in this we have the example of the Holy Prophet’s (sa) wives to follow. For example, ‘None of his wives possessed ornaments of any considerable value and other Muslim women also very seldom possessed any ornaments. In accordance with the teachings of the Qur’an, he deprecated the hoarding of money or buillion, as he held that this was harmful to the interests of the poorer sections of the community and resulted in upsetting the economy of a community.’ [11]
Hazrat Khadijah (ra), the Holy Prophet’s (sa) first wife, was both a prominent businesswoman and the very first person to accept Islam. She had amassed a large amount of wealth before her marriage. After getting married, she gifted it to the Holy Prophet (sa) with the understanding that he would distribute it to those in need. Hazrat Ai’shah (ra) was purported to have received 100,000 dirhams on one occasion and within the span of a day, she had donated it all to charity. Hazrat Sayyeda Nusrat Jehan Begum (ra), the wife of the Promised Messiah (as), sold portions of her land or jewellery many times over to contribute to the propagation of Islam. In addition, she would help students or orphans by gifting them money or clothing. These examples show both that they had full control and discretion over their own money, and that they chose to use it to benefit others.
While ‘securing the bag’ might be an Instagram trend today, Islam has been advocating women’s financial independence for 1400 years. Islam has always mandated that women inherit their family members, be given a dowry by their husbands that they can use as they please, and that they have complete control and agency over their own wealth. In addition, the wives of the Holy Prophet (sa) have given us excellent examples of how to use that wealth for the betterment of society. If Islam is observed as it should be, then Muslim women will be financially independent and conduits to a better society.
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About the Author: Nila Ahmad lives in the northeastern United States with her family. Having graduated with an art degree, she has participated in the illustration of children’s books, as well as serving on the team for US magazine Al-Hilal. Her particular interest is in dispelling misconceptions about women’s status in Islam. Nila is the Editor of the Women’s Section of The Review of Religions.
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ENDNOTES
1. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), Orhni Waaliyon ke liye Phool (Nashr-o-Ishat Qadian, 2008).
2. Amy Nelson, “Women Drive Majority of Consumer Purchasing and It’s Time to Meet Their Needs,” Inc., July 17, 2019. Accessed: October 9, 2023. https://www.inc.com/amy-nelson/women-drive-majority-of-consumer-purchasing-its-time-to-meet-their-needs.html
3. Peter Fisk, “Gender Gap in Financial Literacy Transcends National Borders,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2015. Accessed: October 8, 2023. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2015/beyond-bls/gender-gap-in-financial-literacy-transcends-national-borders.htm
4. Dmytro Spilka, “The Rise of Women in Investing: A Seismic Step Forward,” Nasdaq, November 26, 2021. Accessed: October 8, 2023. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/the-rise-of-women-in-investing%3A-a-seismic-step-forward
5. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), Orhni Waaliyon ke liye Phool (Nashr-o-Ishat Qadian, 2008).
6. Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), “Islam and Women’s Rights,” Khalifatulmasih.org. Accessed: October 9, 2023. https://www.khalifatulmasih.org/articles/islam-and-womens-rights/
7. Suzanne McGee, Heidi Moore, “Women’s Rights and their Money: A Timeline from Cleopatra to Lilly Ledbetter,” The Guardian, August 11, 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/aug/11/women-rights-money-timeline-history
8.Ron Sanders, “The History of Women and Money in the United States in Honor of Women’s History Month,” One Advisory Partners, March 7. Accessed: October 9, 2023. https://www.oneadvisorypartners.com/blog/the-history-of-women-and-money-in-the-united-states-in-honor-of-womens-history-month
9.Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), “Islam’s Protection of Women’s Rights,” The Review of Religions, March 8, 2023. Accessed: October 8, 2023. https://www.reviewofreligions.org/41790/islams-protection-of-womens-rights/
10.Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), The New World Order of Islam (Nazarat Nashr-o-Ishat, Qadian, 2017).
11. Hazrat Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmud Ahmad (ra), Life of Muhammad (Tilford, Surrey: Islam International Publications Ltd., 1990).
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