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Women's Intelligence and the Islamic Tradition: Difference between revisions
Women's Intelligence and the Islamic Tradition (view source)
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===In the Hadith=== | ===In the Hadith=== | ||
{{quote | {{Bukhari| | {{quote | {{Bukhari|||304|darussalam}}| | ||
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: | Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: | ||
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Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o 'Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. '''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." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, '''"Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?"''' They replied in the affirmative. '''He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence.''' Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion." }} | Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) o 'Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)." They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle ?" He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. '''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." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?" He said, '''"Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?"''' They replied in the affirmative. '''He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence.''' Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?" The women replied in the affirmative. He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion." }} | ||
{{quote | {{Bukhari| | {{quote | {{Bukhari|||1462|darussalam}}| | ||
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri | Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri | ||
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On 'Id ul Fitr or 'Id ul Adha Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) went out to the Musalla. After finishing the prayer, he delivered the sermon and ordered the people to give alms. He said, "O people! Give alms." Then he went towards the women and said. "O women! Give alms, for I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-Fire were you (women)." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason for it?" He replied, "O women! You curse frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. '''I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women,''' some of you can lead a cautious wise man astray." Then he left. And when he reached his house, Zainab, the wife of Ibn Masud, came and asked permission to enter It was said, "O Allah's Apostle! It is Zainab." He asked, 'Which Zainab?" The reply was that she was the wife of Ibn Mas'ub. He said, "Yes, allow her to enter." And she was admitted. Then she said, "O Prophet of Allah! Today you ordered people to give alms and I had an ornament and intended to give it as alms, but Ibn Masud said that he and his children deserved it more than anybody else." The Prophet replied, "Ibn Masud had spoken the truth. Your husband and your children had more right to it than anybody else." }} | On 'Id ul Fitr or 'Id ul Adha Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) went out to the Musalla. After finishing the prayer, he delivered the sermon and ordered the people to give alms. He said, "O people! Give alms." Then he went towards the women and said. "O women! Give alms, for I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-Fire were you (women)." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason for it?" He replied, "O women! You curse frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. '''I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women,''' some of you can lead a cautious wise man astray." Then he left. And when he reached his house, Zainab, the wife of Ibn Masud, came and asked permission to enter It was said, "O Allah's Apostle! It is Zainab." He asked, 'Which Zainab?" The reply was that she was the wife of Ibn Mas'ub. He said, "Yes, allow her to enter." And she was admitted. Then she said, "O Prophet of Allah! Today you ordered people to give alms and I had an ornament and intended to give it as alms, but Ibn Masud said that he and his children deserved it more than anybody else." The Prophet replied, "Ibn Masud had spoken the truth. Your husband and your children had more right to it than anybody else." }} | ||
{{quote | {{Bukhari| | {{quote | {{Bukhari|||2658|darussalam}}| | ||
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri | Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri | ||
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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. | 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| | 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|||7099|darussalam}}</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| | 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||595a|reference}}</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. | 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. | ||
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===Muhammad was using hyperbole to frighten women into donating their jewelry=== | ===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| | 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||884a|reference}}, {{Muslim||884b|reference}}, and {{Muslim||885b|reference}}.{{quote | {{Muslim||884a|reference}}| | ||
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.}} | ||
{{quote | {{Muslim| | {{quote | {{Muslim||884b|reference}}| | ||
Ibn 'Abbas reported: I bear testimony to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) offering prayer before Kutba. He (after saying prayer) delivered the Kutba, and he found that the women could not hear it, so he came to them and exhorted them and preached them and commanded them to give alms, and Bilal had stretched his cloth and the women were throwing rings, earrings and other things. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Ayyub with the same chain of transmitters.}} | Ibn 'Abbas reported: I bear testimony to the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) offering prayer before Kutba. He (after saying prayer) delivered the Kutba, and he found that the women could not hear it, so he came to them and exhorted them and preached them and commanded them to give alms, and Bilal had stretched his cloth and the women were throwing rings, earrings and other things. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Ayyub with the same chain of transmitters.}} | ||
{{quote | {{Muslim| | {{quote | {{Muslim||885b|reference}}| | ||
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.}} | ||