What are the rights and status of women in Islam?

Question:
They say: Islam has wronged women in granting them their rights, and Islam prefers men over women, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Nisa: 34]. Does this verse mean that men are preferred over women?
And I hope you will clarify the issue of women, their rights, and their status in Islam.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow his guidance. As for what follows:
Those who say that Islam has wronged women have erred greatly and made a major mistake. Islam is the one that was just to her and raised her status. She was wronged in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance among the Arabs, and in Judaism and Christianity, and in other false religions. Islam is the one that raised her, honored her, was just to her, and gave her her rights. It made her a noble mother, a noble wife, and a pitied daughter who is cared for, with spending upon her and kindness to her, until she becomes independent or gets married. It commanded spending upon her, obligated her father to spend upon her, and her husband to spend upon her and treat her with kindness. It commanded the Islamic state to be just to her, give her her rights, and prevent aggression against her. It gave her a value such that if she is killed, the man is killed for her, and if any part of her is harmed, she is given her right in that, whether the harm is to a limb or otherwise.
As for His saying, the Exalted: [Al-Nisa: 34], the matter in it is clear. Allah, the Exalted, has preferred men over women because the male gender is generally stronger in performing rights, in fighting the enemies, in removing injustice, and in being kind to children and women and protecting them from harm and injustice, and in other matters that are known by the Shari'ah, by nature, and by sense, that men are generally stronger and more capable of what benefits society than women.
Then men spend their wealth in marriage by giving mahr, and in spending on their wives, and in protecting them from what harms them, and in being kind to them. So men have a great right from two aspects: from the aspect of Allah’s preference for them over women, which is known from the fact that men are generally more complete and more capable of everything, more complete in intellect, and more thorough in considering consequences and benefits; and because they spent their wealth in acquiring wives through mahr and otherwise. For this reason, He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Nisa: 34].
This does not imply that every man is better than every woman; rather, this is a general preference. As for in detail: a woman may be better than a man. This is a real and known matter. But in general, the male gender is preferred over the female gender. This is known by the Shari'ah, by reason, by nature, and by knowledge of reality and experience. But how many women are there who are better than a man because of their knowledge, religion, uprightness, and insight? And whoever looks at the characteristics of the female Companions and the female Tabi'un, and the scholars of this ummah (the Muslim community) who are women, knows that there are good women who are preferred over many men. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And there are reports regarding the virtue of Fatimah, the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the virtue of Khadijah (may Allah be pleased with her), and Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), which indicate that they are also distinguished by virtue. These five are the best of women: Khadijah and Aishah from the Mothers of the Believers, Fatimah the daughter of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Maryam the daughter of Imran, the mother of the Messiah Isa (peace be upon him), and Asiyah the daughter of Muzahim, the wife of Pharaoh. These five women are the best of women. And there are many women who have virtue, who have knowledge, and who are preferred over many men.
But the wisdom of Allah necessitated the preference of the man over the woman in certain matters as well: such as inheritance, for the daughter is given half of what the son is given from the children, and the sister from both parents or from the father is given half of what the full brother or the brother from the father is given, and the wife is given half of what the husband takes. So if the husband takes half, she has a quarter, and if the husband takes a quarter, she has an eighth. And this is for a profound wisdom and meanings, and whoever reflects upon it with insight knows its appropriateness and the wisdom of Allah in it, and that He, the Exalted, is the Wise, the All-Knowing. So every place where the man is preferred over the woman has its appropriateness, its causes, and its wisdom for whoever reflects and understands. And Allah is the One to be sought for help. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you.