A Critical Analysis of the Qur’anic Concept of Qaw’am: In the Light of āl Riǧālū qawāmwn ʿla ālnisāʾ

Abstract

Allah Almighty has human being Adam and Eve, which is the basic Unit of the  Society. Elucidatory, the basic unit of human society is based on the relation  man and woman as an husband and wife. If their relationship is built on  mutual understanding and take care of each other, then the whole society will  be the cradle of peace, harmony and Prosperity. On contrary, if there remain  flaws of misunderstanding, insecurity, then stability and prosperity of the  society might be unachievable dream. So, the Holy Qur’an has declared men  in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and  what they spend [for maintenance] from their wealth. Here, the Holy Quran  has described two reasons of men superiority and managing authority due to  the will of Allah and the second one is because men spends their wealth for  women. Interestingly, Majority of Islamic Theologians and Commentators of  the Holy Qur’an are of the view that the main reason of men superiority is the  will of Allah Almighty while Javed Ahmad Ghamdi is of the view that men  superiority is due to spending wealth for women. If a man is unable to spend  his wealth and a woman manage the expenses of family, then she will be  Qawwam (superior). In the Article, the opinions of the Qur’anic experts will  be critically analyzed.