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Women's Intelligence and the Islamic Tradition: Difference between revisions
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The [[ | The [[Quran]] and authentic [[Hadith|Hadiths]] both directly and indirectly declare [[Islam and Women|women]] to be frivolous, unintelligent, ungrateful, and religiously and legally disabled as a result. The attitudes towards women these ideas give rise to have underpinned Islamic thinking and [[Shari'ah (Islamic Law)|Islamic law]] ever since [[Muhammad]]'s time and the founding of Islam in the deeply patriarchal culture of tribal 7th-century Arabia, where and when these ideas found ample precedent. | ||
Among the beliefs and rulings resulting from the Islamic doctrine of women being, as a rule, less intelligent and religious than men are the halved value of female testimony in a Sharia court compared to that of a man and the doctrine that the majority of Hell's inhabitants are women. | |||
While in modern times many Islamic modernists and a few Islamic traditionalists have countered these traditional doctrines, the unusually explicit and straightforward nature of the scriptures concerned as well as their direct reference to one another has made it difficult for these new perspectives to gain much purchase beyond certain limited circles. The mainstream understanding, meanwhile, continues to remain firmly on the side of the traditional and classical authorities. | |||
== | ==In Islamic scriptures== | ||
=== | ===In the Hadith=== | ||
{{quote | {{Bukhari|1|6|301}}| | {{quote | {{Bukhari|1|6|301}}| | ||
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The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind." }} | The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind." }} | ||
=== | ===In the Quran=== | ||
{{quote | {{Quran|2|282|}} | {{quote | {{Quran|2|282}}|'''Corpus:''' O you who believe[d]! When you contract with one another any debt for a term fixed then write it. And let write between you a scribe in justice. And not (should) refuse a scribe that he writes as (has) taught him Allah. So let him write and let dictate the one on whom (is) the right and let him fear Allah, his Lord, and (let him) not diminish from it anything. Then if is the one on him (is) the right, (of) limited understanding, or weak, or not capable that (can) dictate he, then let dictate his guardian with justice. And call for evidence two witnesses among your men. And if not there are two men then one man and two women of whom you agree of [the] witnesses, (so) that (if) [she] errs, one of the two, then will remind one of the two the other. And not (should) refuse the witnesses when that they are called. And not (be) weary that you write it - small or large for its term. That (is) more just near Allah, and more upright for evidence and nearer that not you (have) doubt, except that be a transaction present, you carry out among you, then not on you any sin that not you write it. And take witness when you make commercial transaction. And not (should) be harmed (the) scribe and not (the) witness, and if you do, then indeed it (is) sinful conduct for you, and fear Allah. And teaches Allah. And Allah of every thing (is) All-Knower.<br> | ||
'''Pickthall:'''O ye who believe! When ye contract a debt for a fixed term, record it in writing. Let a scribe record it in writing between you in (terms of) equity. No scribe should refuse to write as Allah hath taught him, so let him write, and let him who incurreth the debt dictate, and let him observe his duty to Allah his Lord, and diminish naught thereof. But if he who oweth the debt is of low understanding, or weak, or unable himself to dictate, then let the guardian of his interests dictate in (terms of) equity. And call to witness, from among your men, two witnesses. And if two men be not (at hand) then a man and two women, of such as ye approve as witnesses, so that if the one erreth (through forgetfulness) the other will remember. And the witnesses must not refuse when they are summoned. Be not averse to writing down (the contract) whether it be small or great, with (record of) the term thereof. That is more equitable in the sight of Allah and more sure for testimony, and the best way of avoiding doubt between you; save only in the case when it is actual merchandise which ye transfer among yourselves from hand to hand. In that case it is no sin for you if ye write it not. And have witnesses when ye sell one to another, and let no harm be done to scribe or witness. If ye do (harm to them) lo! it is a sin in you. Observe your duty to Allah. Allah is teaching you. And Allah is knower of all things.<br> | |||
'''Yusuf Ali:'''O ye who believe! When ye deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed period of time, reduce them to writing Let a scribe write down faithfully as between the parties: let not the scribe refuse to write: as Allah Has taught him, so let him write. Let him who incurs the liability dictate, but let him fear His Lord Allah, and not diminish aught of what he owes. If they party liable is mentally deficient, or weak, or unable Himself to dictate, Let his guardian dictate faithfully, and get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses, so that if one of them errs, the other can remind her. The witnesses should not refuse when they are called on (For evidence). Disdain not to reduce to writing (your contract) for a future period, whether it be small or big: it is juster in the sight of Allah, More suitable as evidence, and more convenient to prevent doubts among yourselves but if it be a transaction which ye carry out on the spot among yourselves, there is no blame on you if ye reduce it not to writing. But take witness whenever ye make a commercial contract; and let neither scribe nor witness suffer harm. If ye do (such harm), it would be wickedness in you. So fear Allah; For it is Good that teaches you. And Allah is well acquainted with all things. If ye are on a journey, and cannot find a scribe, a pledge with possession (may serve the purpose). And if one of you deposits a thing on trust with another, let the trustee (faithfully) discharge his trust, and let him Fear his Lord conceal not evidence; for whoever conceals it, - his heart is tainted with sin. And Allah knoweth all that ye do.}} | |||
==In the tradition== | |||
===Al-Tabari's ''Tarikh''=== | |||
Abu Jafar Muhammad bin Jarir al-Tabari (d. 923) is recognized as one of the greatest of all Islamic scholars. He not only wrote one of the most authoritative tafsirs (commentaries) on the Qur'an but also wrote a history of the world (''tarikh'') from the Islamic worldview. Published in English as ''The History of al-Tabari'' (SUNY Press, NY) in 39 volumes, this work presents world history from the creation account up until al-Tabari's death. In this work, al-Tabari presents the Islamic view on the historical origins and nature of female menstruation. | |||
According to the Islamic account of creation found in Tabari's work, when Allah created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, they were told to not eat of a certain tree. Eve was tempted by Iblis (Satan) to eat of the tree, and she then gave some to Adam to eat also. Adam and Eve thereafter tried to flee from God because of shame after their private parts were exposed. From this act of disobedience of Eve, it is said, came God's curse on women. | |||
{{Quote|{{Tabari|1|pp. 280-281}}|His Lord called out to him: Adam, is it from Me that you are fleeing? Adam replied: No, my Lord, but I feel shame before You. When God asked what had caused his trouble, he replied: Eve, My Lord. Whereupon God said: Now it is My obligation to make her bleed once every month, as she made this tree bleed. '''I also must make her stupid, although I created her intelligent''' ''(halimah),'' and must make her suffer pregnancy. Ibn Zayd continued: '''Were it not for the affliction that affected Eve, the women of this world wound not menstruate, and they would be intelligent and, when pregnant, give birth easily.'''}} | |||
In a lecture delivered by the well-known Saudi Islamic scholar Abd Al-Aziz Al-Fawzan, a response is made to the criticism made by 'enemies' of Islam against Muhammad's "women are deficient" statement by confirming the account found in Tabari: | |||
===Muhammad | {{Quote|[http://www.memri.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/350/1483.htm Husbands Should Put Up with Their Wives' Slips and Errors, Because the Twisted Nature of Women Stems from Their Very Creation]<BR>MEMRI TV, Clip No. 1483, Broadcast: June 11, 2007|The Prophet '''Muhammad said about women: "I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you'''. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you," and so on. This hadith and others like it were misunderstood by the ignorant. Corrupt people interpreted it in a way that differs from its original intent. Because of their ignorance, their insolence, their stupidity, and because of their enmity towards Islam and Muslims, they turned this hadith into evidence that Islam disgraces women, diminishing her value, and describes her in inadequate terms.<BR>. . .<BR> | ||
These hadiths provide some of the most decisive evidence that Islam protects women and guarantees their rights. Islam has surrounded the woman with a fence of compassion and mercy. '''It has shown that the twisted nature of women stems from their very creation. This is how Allah wanted woman to be.''' Therefore, the husband must adapt himself to her and be patient with her. He should not giver her too many things to do, or things that she is incapable of doing. '''He should not make her do anything that is contrary to her nature, and to the way she was created by Allah'''. In addition, '''he should turn a blind eye to her mistakes, he should tolerate her slips and errors, and put up with all the silly ignorant things she might say, because this constitutes part of the nature of her creation'''. In addition, women have surging emotions, which in some cases, might overpower their minds. The weakness with which women were created is the secret behind their attractiveness and appeal to their husbands. It is the source of women's seduction of men, and one of the elements strengthening the bond between husband and wife. This is one of the wondrous miracles of Allah: The strength of a woman lies in her weakness. Her power of seduction and appeal lie in her emotions, which might overpower her mind at times.<BR>. . .<BR> | |||
Both husband and wife should satisfy their spouse's natural urges, and should try to gratify their desires, as long as nothing prevents this. This is why the Prophet said: "When a man calls his wife to fulfill his needs, she must go to him, even if she is busy with the oven." Imagine this: There is fire in the oven, and she wants to bake bread. But even if she's busy with this work that cannot be neglected, when he calls her, she must leave the oven and go to her husband. Another hadith says: "She must go to him, even if she is on the back of a camel." She must go to him, even if she is riding.}} | |||
===Quran 43:16-19=== | |||
In {{Quran-range|43|16|19}}, God is recorded responding to what is perceived as the very insulting idea found with Muhammad's contemporaries that God should have daughters rather than sons and that the female should have any share in the divine. In identifying why God's having a daughter should be more insulting than the equally pagan notion that he should have a son, the Quran states that because the Arabs themselves detest having daughters rather than sons, it is unbecoming that they should attribute daughters rather than sons to God. In {{Quran|43|18}}, God goes on to specify why people may feel undesirous of daughters, and suggests that it is because they are "brought up in ornaments", "trinkets", or "outward show" and are inept in their argumentation. Rather than dissenting from this description of women, the following verse goes on to suggest that this description constitutes yet another reason why God especially should not have daughters.{{quote |{{Quran-range|43|16|19}}|'''Corpus:''' Or has He taken of what, He has created, daughters and He has chosen (for) you sons. And when is given good news, (to) one of them, of what he sets up for the Most Gracious (as) a likeness, becomes his face dark and he (is) filled with grief. '''Then (is one) who is brought up in ornaments and he in the dispute (is) not clear.''' And they made, the Angels, those who themselves (are) slaves (of) the Most Gracious, females. Did they witness their creation? Will be recorded their testimony, and they will be questioned.<br> | |||
'''Yusuf Ali:''' What! has He taken daughters out of what He himself creates, and granted to you sons for choice? When news is brought to one of them of (the birth of) what he sets up as a likeness to (Allah) Most Gracious, his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief! '''Is then one brought up among trinkets, and unable to give a clear account in a dispute (to be associated with Allah)?''' And they make into females angels who themselves serve Allah. Did they witness their creation? Their evidence will be recorded, and they will be called to account!<br> | |||
'''Pickthal:''' Or chooseth He daughters of all that He hath created, and honoureth He you with sons? And if one of them hath tidings of that which he likeneth to the Beneficent One, his countenance becometh black and he is full of inward rage. '''(Liken they then to Allah) that which is bred up in outward show, and in dispute cannot make itself plain?''' And they make the angels, who are the slaves of the Beneficent, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded and they will be questioned.<br> | |||
'''Daryabadi:''' Hath He taken for Himself from whatsoever He hath created daughters, and hath honoured you with sons. And when there is announced Unto any of them the birth of that which he likeneth Unto the Compassionate, his countenance remaineth darkened the whole day and he is wroth inwardly. '''Hath He taken to Himself that which is reared in ornaments, and is in contention not plain?''' And they make the angels who are the bondmen of the Compassionate females. Have they witnessed their creation? Their testimony will be written down, and they will be questioned.}} | |||
==Modern revisionary perspectives== | |||
===Muhammad was referring to that specific group of women alone (Dr. Rasha al-Disuqi)=== | |||
Dr. Rasha al-Disuqi is a professor of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) at al-Azhar University, a former lecturer at California Polytechnic State University, and holds a PhD in Islamic studies from the University of Wales.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.cilecenter.org/about-us/our-team/dr-rasha-al-disuqi|publisher=Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics|title=Dr. Rasha Al Disuqi|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/save/https://www.cilecenter.org/about-us/our-team/dr-rasha-al-disuqi}}</ref> Al-Disuqi has been a key proponent in recent times of the idea that Muhammad, in the relevant portions of scripture, was merely referring to the group of women in front of him during the time of his address and not all women in general. Al-Disuqi's argument, colliding with classical interpretations, has been subjected to criticism both from traditional authorities and critics. | |||
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====Not a blanket statement for all women==== | |||
==== | |||
{{quote || That hadith was said at a specific time, during a specific situation, addressing a specific group and it was not meant to be as a blanket statement.}} | {{quote || That hadith was said at a specific time, during a specific situation, addressing a specific group and it was not meant to be as a blanket statement.}} | ||
Al-Disuqi's conclusion rests in part on the argument that because while making the relevant statements Muhammad was present in a specific time, place, and situation, his statements cannot be taken to be generally applicable. This argument of al-Disuqi's upsets both traditional Islamic hermeneutical practice and what might be considered a plain reading of the scriptures concerned. | |||
In traditional interpretive practice, Islamic scholars rely on the maxim that "the meaning [of scripture] is based on the generality of the wording and not the specificity of the circumstance" (العبرة بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب).<ref>{{Citation|title=حول قاعدة : ( العبرة بعموم اللفظ لا بخصوص السبب )|url=https://islamqa.info/ar/answers/224767/%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B8-%D9%84%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B5-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A8|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309164943/https://islamqa.info/ar/answers/224767/%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%A8%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B8-%D9%84%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%AE%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%B5-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A8|publisher=Islam Q&A}}</ref> The theological idea behind this practice is that since Allah tasked Muhammad with providing laws and beliefs for humankind for all eternity while still, as a human, being bound to a specific time and place, his followers would necessarily have to extrapolate his teachings which emerged in particular circumstances into future-proof, universalized formulations. Accordingly, traditional Islamic scholars agreed that if this were the case, then Muhammad would have to explicitly declare a teaching of his to be time-limited or otherwise non-generalizable in order for it not to be extrapolated into the future - otherwise there would be no way to distinguish his general proclamations from his temporal ones. | |||
Since the scripture diminishing women's intelligence contains no such explicit qualification which limits Muhammad's comments to the women in his presence and because the scriptures also explicitly give women's lesser intelligence as the reason for the eternal Quranic law disabling women as testifiers in court, the classical understanding of these statements has always been that women were, as a rule, less intelligent than men. Classical scholars have also pointed out that the law justified with the teaching of women's lesser intelligence is itself not qualified temporally - {{Quran|2|282}} does not say, for instance, that women's testimony will be worth half of man's for "a limited time". Thus, with an unqualified pronouncement in the hadith coupled with an unqualified legal ruling in the Quran, the classical understanding has always been that women are, as a rule, less intelligent. Other evidence that has been cited to this effect, though not explicitly linked with women's intelligence in the hadith itself, is Muhammad's teaching that women should "never" be the leaders of nations.<ref>{{Bukhari|9|88|219|}}</ref> | |||
The same reasoning for the permanence and universality of women's intelligence is traditionally used to arrive at the permanence and universality of women's religious disability. As a works-based religion where one's fate hereafter is determined deed-for-deed, according to one's acts in this life (except for those cases where God feels like bestowing his ''fadl'', or unequal favor upon someone), Islam teaches that a person is not generally judged by their ability, but their output. In a famous hadith, Muhammad taught that some people, given wealth more than others, would through donation be able to ascend to higher awards in heaven than the impoverished could ever hope to attain, for no other reason than that God had favored them, arbitrarily, with wealth. While admittedly unjust, Muhammad concluded that "This is Allah's Grace which He gives to whom He wishes".<ref>{{Muslim|4|1239|}}</ref> Similarly it is traditionally held that women are permanently disadvantaged in their ability to perform good deeds because they have been 'cursed' with menstruation, due to Eve's transgression, and are thus unable to pray as much in their lives as men (in Islam, menstruating persons are prohibited from prayer, which is the most important and most deed-rewarding Islamic ritual).<ref>[[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Women#Women and Menstruation]]</ref> This latter idea, that women are religiously disabled due to menstruation is explicitly stated in the relevant scriptures and does not refer only to the women present in Muhammad's audience at the time. This reinforces the traditional understanding that Muhammad was referring to all women in all times and places, as that comment could not possibly have been confined to his temporal audience (and is not held to be, as Islamic law has always prohibited menstruating women from praying). | |||
It has also been pointed out by traditional authorities and critics alike that the same scriptural quotations also record Muhammad saying that "The majority of the dwellers of Hellfire are women." This cannot possibly be referring to a limited group of women, unless that group of women were larger than all the women who have ever existed outside of it throughout history. Consequently, virtually all traditional authorities agree that this doctrinal proclamation is a general description of all women rather than of a very limited group of historical women. | |||
====Scans of male and female brains prove it was only for that group==== | ====Scans of male and female brains prove it was only for that group==== | ||
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{{quote ||Look at an X-RAY or MRI for that matter, you'll find that both [male and female] brains are the same; why should they be deficient in any way? | {{quote ||Look at an X-RAY or MRI for that matter, you'll find that both [male and female] brains are the same; why should they be deficient in any way? | ||
Women who are smarter, more intellectual in many fields. ''' | Women who are smarter, more intellectual in many fields. '''That argument''' [that Muhammad was referring to all women] '''is a failure.'''}} | ||
Al-Disuqi also presents a second argument to buttress her conclusion that Muhammad could not possible have been referring to all women. This argument, while plausible to many Islamic authorities, has had absolutely no purchase outside of Islam. Al-Disuqi argues that because science has proven that many women are even more intelligent than men, Muhammad could not possibly have meant otherwise by his statement. This argument assumes that Muhammad must have been correct in his scientific statements and that therefore they must be interpreted so as to coincide with incontestable modern scientific fact. The form of this argument is similar to those of many modern Islamic scholars who advance the idea that the Quran's scientific statements are sound (see [[Scientific Miracles in the Quran]]). The alternative possibility, that modern science is at odds with Islamic scripture and thus proves it to be incorrect, is not considered here. | |||
Non-Muslim participants in this discussion hold a view better represented by Al-Disuqi's subsequent statement that if Muhammad meant by his statement that all women were unintelligent, he must have been mistaken ("That argument," al-Disuqi proclaims, "is a failure."). Al-Disuqi concludes that Muhammad could not have failed in this manner and thus that he must have meant something else. Non-Muslim participants in this discussion simply conclude, rather, that Muhammad being a man living in the deeply patriarchal society of 7th-century Arabian tribesmen, could easily have been mistaken on the matter of female intelligence, and almost certainly was. | |||
{{quote | {{Muslim|4|1923}}| | ===Muhammad was using hyperbole to frighten women into donating their jewelry=== | ||
Other Islamic voices attempting to reorient the traditional understanding of the relevant portions of scripture have argued that Muhammad was being exaggerative in order to convey the magnitude of his practical advice, which was simply that women, like men, should simply be pious. Here, a story narrated by Ibn Abbas is often presented as evidence of Muhammad "being playful in his use of strong terms to impress this teaching on the listeners."<ref>See, for instance, the work of Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, an Islamic writer in the UK.</ref> The scripture presented in this vein are {{Muslim|4|1923|}}, {{Muslim|4|1924|}}, and {{Muslim|4|1926|}}.{{quote | {{Muslim|4|1923}}| | |||
Ibn 'Abbas reported: I participated in the Fitr prayer with the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, and all of them observed this prayer before the Khutba, and then he (the Holy Prophet) delivered the sermon. Then the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) descended (from the pulpit) and I (perceive) as if I am seeing him as he is commanding people with his hand to sit down. He then made his way through their (assembly) till he came to the women. Bilal was with him. He then recited (this verse): O Prophet, when believing women come to thee giving thee a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah" (lx. 12) till he finished (his address to) them and then said: Do you conform to it (what has been described in the verse)? Only one woman among them replied: Yes, Apostle of Allah, but none else replied. He (the narrator) said: It could not be ascertained who actually she was. He (the Holy Prophet) exhorted them to give alms. Bilal stretched his cloth and then said: Come forward with alms. Let my father and mother be taken as ransom for you. And they began to throw rings and ringlets in the cloth of Bilal.}} | Ibn 'Abbas reported: I participated in the Fitr prayer with the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, and all of them observed this prayer before the Khutba, and then he (the Holy Prophet) delivered the sermon. Then the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) descended (from the pulpit) and I (perceive) as if I am seeing him as he is commanding people with his hand to sit down. He then made his way through their (assembly) till he came to the women. Bilal was with him. He then recited (this verse): O Prophet, when believing women come to thee giving thee a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah" (lx. 12) till he finished (his address to) them and then said: Do you conform to it (what has been described in the verse)? Only one woman among them replied: Yes, Apostle of Allah, but none else replied. He (the narrator) said: It could not be ascertained who actually she was. He (the Holy Prophet) exhorted them to give alms. Bilal stretched his cloth and then said: Come forward with alms. Let my father and mother be taken as ransom for you. And they began to throw rings and ringlets in the cloth of Bilal.}} | ||
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Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: I observed prayer with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on the 'Id day. He commenced with prayer before the sermon without Adhan and Iqama. He then stood up leaning on Bilal, and he commanded (them) to be on guard (against evil for the sake of) Allah, and he exhorted (them) on obedience to Him, and he preached to the people and admonished them. He then walked on till he came to the women and preached to them and admonished them, and asked them to give alms, for most of them are the fuel for Hell. A woman having a dark spot on the cheek stood up and said: Why is it so, Messenger of Allah? He said: For you grumble often and show ingratitude to your spouse. And then they began to give alms out of their ornaments such as their earrings and rings which they threw on to the cloth of Bilal.}} | Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: I observed prayer with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) on the 'Id day. He commenced with prayer before the sermon without Adhan and Iqama. He then stood up leaning on Bilal, and he commanded (them) to be on guard (against evil for the sake of) Allah, and he exhorted (them) on obedience to Him, and he preached to the people and admonished them. He then walked on till he came to the women and preached to them and admonished them, and asked them to give alms, for most of them are the fuel for Hell. A woman having a dark spot on the cheek stood up and said: Why is it so, Messenger of Allah? He said: For you grumble often and show ingratitude to your spouse. And then they began to give alms out of their ornaments such as their earrings and rings which they threw on to the cloth of Bilal.}} | ||
The above scriptural quotations are sometimes presented as being descriptive of the same incident where Muhammad described women as being less intelligent and deficient in religion. Put together, it is argued that these hadiths show that Muhammad was simply calling women deficient in intelligence and religion in order to frighten them into donating their jewelry and that he did not intend those statements as other than exaggerative motivational rhetoric. Critics and traditional authorities have pointed out, however, that there is no particular reason to assume that the two sets of hadith describe the same incident, as Muhammad could well have exhorted women to generosity after prayers on two separate occasions, and that even if the two sets of hadith are accepted as describing the same incident, this does not change much. | |||
It has also been pointed out that if the statement of women making up the majority of Hellfire was merely exaggerative rhetoric intended to frighten the women into giving up their jewelry, this does not explain the comments made by Muhammad about women's intelligence. While one might argue that the women would respond to the idea of their religious disability by performing more religious acts, in this case charity, on the spot, it is not at all clear how their intelligence could be relevant in this context. | |||
Muhammad | Finally, the very idea of Muhammad making exaggerative rhetorical comments on matters of theology is considered deeply problematic by traditional Islamic theologians for a number of reasons. Foremost amongst these is that in all matters theological, Muhammad's word is taken to be final, as no one else is qualified to comment on these topics. Consequently, if one theological proclamation made by Muhammad is taken as rhetorical, then all his proclamations of this kind are suspect, and this cannot be acceptable to a Sunni orthodoxy which relies on literal readings of all scripture. The problem here emerges that if the comment on Hell's inhabitants was fundamentally fictitious, then, from a theological standpoint, Hell itself could be too. | ||
===Deficiency is | ===Deficiency is limited to financial testimony=== | ||
Some others have argued that while Muhammad did say that women were less intelligent than men, he only meant this in the very limited sense of their being less intelligent with respect to financial transactions. Islamic modernists and feminists have added to this reduction of scope the statement's time-bound nature, arguing that not only was the claim limited to women's intelligence with respect to financial dealings, but that that limitation in their intelligence was itself limited to the premodern times where one could expect that women, being home-bound for the most part, had less experience dealing with sums of money. It is important to note that this latter argument presented by modernist and feminist voices in Islam has been wholeheartedly rejected by mainstream Islamic authorities. This is because in declaring the legal disability of women to be time-bound, the entirety of the Sharia is made susceptible to revision under changing circumstances. Sunni orthodoxy is vehemently opposed to such thorough-going modern revisionism, since it deems the Sharia to be eternal, perfect, and unchanging, and thus does not consider this modernist and feminist perspective to have any theological legitimacy. | |||
While non-Muslim participants in this discussion have welcomed these otherwise incredible revisionist perspectives for humanitarian reasons, the interpretation the revisionists rely on have strained credulity. The biggest problem facing these new interpretations is that {{Quran|2|282}} itself gives a reason for why two women testifiers are required in lieu of one. The verse states that the reason for this requirement is so that if one woman forgets something, the other may remind her. Such a stipulation is, by contrast, not made for male testifiers, and the implication is that women are more likely to forget. This, it appears, is what Muhammad is alluding to when he links women's deficiency in intelligence to their legal disability rather than lack of familiarity. What results, leaving little room for interpretive maneuvers, is that the hadith about women's deficiency in intelligence directly cites the verse about their legal disability, and the verse about women's legal disability directly cites the idea that women are somehow mentally deficient. | |||
Also important is the fact that classical authorities did not usually interpret {{Quran|2|282}} as limiting women's legal disability as testifiers to financial transactions only. While the verse gives a particular example of a case where two women are required in lieu of one, the hadith on women's intelligence sees Muhammad generalizing this disability to all legal contexts. While classical authorities typically made exceptions for accepting the testimony of women in cases relating directly to women, such as those involving facts of menstruation, pregnancy, and the like, the common assumption was that, notwithstanding these exceptions, two women would be required to testify in the place of one man. Modern Islamic voices, including most modernist and many traditionalist figures, have only very recently shifted heavily in favor of restricting women's legal disability to financial cases alone. While this development has been welcomed for its humanitarian qualities, it cannot be said to alter historical facts about the Islamic tradition. What remains the case is that, for the longest time, Islamic authorities interpreted Muhammad's restriction on female testimony as being a general one with few exceptions, and that they held, without apology, that the reason for this restriction was, in Muhammad's own words, "the deficiency in her intelligence." | |||
===Muhammad was joking=== | ===Muhammad was joking=== | ||
Still others have, in recent times, suggested that the hadiths about women's mental deficiency, religious deficiency, and majority share in Hell be read sarcastically or satirically. The idea here, it appears, is that Muhammad, being very familiar with the women in his community, would have understood that in saying what he did, he would not be taken seriously. While sarcasm can be infamously challenging to detect in historical texts, particularly where cultural mores and expectations have changed dramatically with time, there is little in the relevant portions of scripture to suggest Muhammad was being anything but serious in his statements. Traditionalists are incensed by the insinuation that Muhammad could have been making light of such a theologically important matter as the inhabitants of hell or that he could have cited the Quran and Sharia to buttress what was only meant as a joke. Traditionalists encountering this interpretation also worry that by dismissing these hadiths and even verses as being satirical or sarcastic in nature, there is a risk that much else in the scriptures could come to be similarly dismissed, severely undermining traditional authority. Non-Muslim participants in this discussion have found this argument similarly incredible, albeit for non-theological reasons alone. | |||
===Reinterpreting Quran 43:18=== | |||
Some modern Muslim scholars have shifted to interpreting {{Quran|43|18}} as a simple description of pagan attitudes towards women rather than an affirmation of those attitudes.<ref>{{Citation|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518193855/http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=10&ID=12885&CATE=88|url=http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=10&ID=12885&CATE=88|title=Tafseer Quran 43:18: does this verse view women negatively?|author=Shaykh Sohail Hanif|publisher=SunniPath}}</ref> However, the following verse ({{Quran|43|19}}) uses the same interrogative and exclamatory device found earlier in the passage -- a statement of what the pagans believed followed by an ''alif'' (translated "What!") -- and then Allah's rebuttal ("did they witness their creation?") which expresses incredulity and outrage. Thus it seems more likely that in {{Quran|43|18}} Allah is making what he thinks is a factual counter-argument (i.e. that women are frivolous and unintelligent) to contradict the pagan belief in the daughters of Allah. | |||
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==See | |||
{{Hub4|Creation|Creation}} | {{Hub4|Creation|Creation}} | ||
==External links== | |||
==External | |||
*[http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1930.htm Muslim Cleric Presents "Scientific" Proof that Women Cannot Talk and Remember Simultaneously (video | *[http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1930.htm Muslim Cleric Presents "Scientific" Proof that Women Cannot Talk and Remember Simultaneously] (MEMRI video featuring Abd Al-Majid Al-Zindani) | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Women]] | ||
[[Category:Islam and | [[Category:Islam and Science]] | ||
[[ | [[Category:Biology]] | ||