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Women can rule!
Islam which was born in 6th century Arabia as a religion of peace, justice and equality especially for women who were suppressed heavily in Pre-Islamic Arabia so much so they used to kill baby girls and those who lived were deprived off their basic rights. But this religion which came as a rescue to women has somehow got a string of women oppression attached to its name in 21st century and is most often deemed as a religion which does not hold men and women equally and suppresses women which is not true. God made men and women equally with some physical differences. However, these differences do not forbade women to be rulers or to govern their people as the Holy book Quran mentions a lady named as Bilqees as a Queen; the Queen of Sheba. Thus, it negates the notion of Islam being an undermining religion for women’s rule over people and suggests the notion is perhaps due to culture. It also proves that Allah the Almighty has not restricted women from ruling their people.
Bilqees was daughter of Alhdah Bin Sharhabil, the king of Sheba. Before his death, he commanded his succession to her daughter Bilqees whom he deemed to be visionary. After the death of king, Bilqees came to the throne as a Queen and was known as Queen of Sheba. She was a very courageous and bold ruler as her armies managed to defeat the armies in Babylong, Iraq and Persia when she appointed the governors to these areas. She was indeed a visionary ruler as believed by her father that she took steps to bring water from far off areas to Sanaa an area in Yemen. She also managed to stabilize the kingdom’s wealth by improving trade and agriculture and gave a lot of prosperity to Yemen. Despite her being a visionary ruler and courageous leader, she still took care of her modesty and natural beauty by wearing elegant jewelry and modest dresses.
Among all the stories of women mentioned in the Holy Quran, story of Queen of Sheba is the only one which narrates a female to be a ruler of her people. The story in the Quran tells how Solomon peace be upon him, a Prophet and ruler of Syria was told about Bilqees by one of his birds who said:
“Surely I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given abundance and she has a mighty throne:
1 found her and her people adoring the sun instead of God, and Satan has made their deeds fair-seeming to them and thus turned them from the way, so they do not go aright
That they do not obey God, Who brings forth what is hidden in the heavens and the earth and knows what you hide and what you make manifest:
God, there is no god but He: He is the Lord of mighty power.” (Quran – 27:22)
After knowing this, Solomon ordered his bird to deliver a letter from him to Queen of Sheba which was basically a formal invitation to religion of Islam or to be ready to face his armies in case she denies submitting before Allah the Almighty. The bird as commanded by Solomon delivered the letter to Bilqees, the Queen of Sheba which she found it to be very different and special. One of the things she found most important in the letter was the fact that the letter read in the name of Almighty Allah and not on the name of worldly ruler. The other thing was the fact that it was delivered to her by a bird and not by an envoy. (Quran – 27:37) After reading the letter, she thought what to do? She also consulted her advisors who suggested her to submit as Solomon was a mighty ruler and it was impossible to defeat her. Bilqees was already intrigued somewhat because of the fact that the letter started in the name of Allah and the unusual delivery of the letter to her by a bird and not by an envoy instead. She decided to send some precious gifts to Solomon which she thought he would accept. To her surprise, the gifts were returned to her unaccepted by the Prophet as he said that he did not need the wealth but Bilqees to accept and submit before