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UNCLEAN
IMPURE WOMAN ?
by Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem
Jewish laws and regulations concerning menstruating women are extremely restrictive. The Old Testament considers any menstruating woman as unclean and impure. Moreover, her impurity "infects" others as well. Anyone or anything she touches becomes unclean for a day:
Treating women during the Menses Period
When a woman has a discharge of blood which in her regular discharge from her body, she shall be apart seven days. And WHOSOEVER TOUCHES HER SHALL BE UNCLEAN until the evening. And every thing that she lies upon in her SEPARATION shall be unclean. Every thing also that SHE SITS UPON SHALL BE UNCLEAN. And whosoever touches her bed shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening. And whosoever touches anything THAT SHE SAT UPON SHALL WASH HIS CLOTHES, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the evening.
And if it be on her bed, or any thing whereon she sits when he touches it: he SHALL BE UNCLEAN UNTIL THE EVENING. And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him: he shall be unclean seven days, and all the bed WHEREON SHE LIES SHALL BE UNCLEAN.
And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her SEPARATION: All the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her SEPARATION, she shall be unclean. Every bed whereon she lies all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her SEPARATION, and whatsoever she sits upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her SEPARATION.
And WHOSOEVER TOUCHES THOSE THINGS SHALL BE UNCLEAN and shall wash his clothes and bathes himself in water, and he BE UNCLEAN UNTIL THE EVENING. But if she be cleansed of her issue, then she shall number to herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take unto her two turtles or two young pigeons, and bring them unto the priest to the door of the meeting tent. (Leviticus 15:19:24)
Cross Question :
What a barbaric law is it ? will you accept this law ? If you are rational , then the answer will be NO. because, on this time (Menses period ) she is unclean , we accept it. Does it means that you should keep her in a separate house , and you should not touch her and you will be unclean even if you sit on a bed which she lied . what a barbaric law is it ? So the Christianity orders its blind followers to keep their mothers , sisters, relatives, wife and daughters her in a separate house during their period . We would like to see a Christian follower to follow this law? are there any one ?
During thing period she will be weak and mentally stressed . The Male should be more cooperative with weaker sex and he should make her happy. This is what the rational human will say. She is your mother or wife or daughter or sister ; and she is with you when you are ill , during your difficulties and she lost her sleep. So the Isolation is the Gift which your religion ask to give to your wife , mother and daughters. WHAT A WONDERFUL RELIGION IS IT.
Are you still believe that this is the religion of God, and the bible is God's word. If it is yes, we feel very sorry for you.
Due to her "contaminating" nature, a menstruating woman was sometimes "banished" in order to avoid any possibility of any contact with her. She was sent to a special house called "the house of uncleanness" for the whole period of her impurity. 1 The Talmud considers a menstruating woman "fatal" even without any physical contact:
"Our Rabbis taught:....if a menstruant woman passes between two (men), if it is at the beginning of her menses she will slay one of them, and if it is at the end of her menses she will cause strife between them" (bPes. 111a.)
Furthermore, the husband of a menstruous woman was forbidden to enter the synagogue if he had been made unclean by her even by the dust under her feet. A priest whose wife, daughter, or mother was menstruating could not recite priestly blessing in the synagogue. 2 No wonder many Jewish women still refer to menstruation as "the curse." 3
Islam does not consider a menstruating woman to possess any kind of "contagious uncleanness". She is neither "untouchable" nor "cursed." She practises her normal life with only one restriction: A married couple are not allowed to have sexual intercourse during the period of menstruation. Any other physical contact between them is permissible. A menstruating woman is exempted from some rituals such as daily prayers and fasting during her period.
Lets see what Qur'an says about Menses
(O Muhammad) And they ask you about menstruation. Say: It is a discomfort; therefore keep aloof from the women during the menstrual discharge and do not go near them (to have sex) until they have become clean; then when they have cleansed themselves, go in to them (to have sex) as Allah has commanded you; surely Allah loves those who turn much (to Him), and He loves those who purify themselves. (Holy Qur'an 2: 222. )
Note:
1. Swidler, op. cit., p. 137.
2. Ibid., p. 138.
3. Sally Priesand, Judaism and the New Woman (New York: Behrman House, Inc., 1975) p. 24.
Source : WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN THE JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION: THE MYTH & THE REALITY
(ICRA)