How to Teach Your Sons to Honour Women 

Parenting Perspective 

Raising sons in today’s world means navigating very different voices about gender. Some messages may lean towards belittling women, while others may blur or dismiss Islamic roles and values. Your task as a parent is to guide your sons to see women as people of dignity, worth, and responsibility, rooted in both faith and practical living. 

Start with modelling respect at home. The way you speak to and about women in your family will shape how your sons see women outside the home. If they see you listening to their mother with patience, consulting her in decisions, and valuing her contributions, they learn by lived example. Encourage your sons to participate in household responsibilities, so that they understand serving the family is not a gendered task but a shared responsibility. 

Respect Shows in Everyday Actions 

At the same time, it is important to clarify that honouring women does not mean placing them on a pedestal in theory, while ignoring them in daily life. Teach your sons that respect shows in everyday actions: waiting their turn to speak, valuing women’s time, recognising effort, and treating sisters, friends, or classmates with fairness. You can also help them build a healthy understanding of roles by explaining that Islam values both the responsibilities of men and women, but does not allow injustice, mockery, or inequality. This balance prevents them from absorbing extremes from the cultures around them. 

Spiritual Insight 

Allah Almighty states in the noble Quran at Surah Al Nisa (4), verse 1: 

‘O mankind, attain piety from your Sustainer, Who has created you from one person; and out of him created his spouse, and evolved from both of them, a multitude of both men and women….’ 

This Verse reminds us that men and women share the same origin and human dignity. They are not in competition, but partners in responsibility and worship. 

The Prophetic Model: A Measure of Faith 

It is recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah that the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said: 

‘The best of you is the one who is best to his wife, and I am the best of you to my wives.’ 

[Sunan Ibn Majah, 9:133] 

This statement directly links a man’s goodness to how he treats women. It sets a standard that honour and care for women is a measure of faith, not culture. 

By grounding your sons in this understanding, you show them that to honour women is not adopting Western ideals nor defending cultural biases, but following the character of the holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. In doing so, they will learn to carry themselves with dignity, strength, and fairness, seeing women not through distorted cultural lenses, but through the light of Islam.