can someone plz explain this hadith?

Quratulaine

Junior Member
It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said:

“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to the Musalla on the day of Eid al-Adha or Eid al-Fitr. He passed by the women and said, ‘O women! Give charity, for I have seen that you form the majority of the people of Hell.’ They asked, ‘Why is that, O Messenger of Allaah?’ He replied, ‘You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religious commitment than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you.’ The women asked, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, what is deficient in our intelligence and religious commitment?’ He said, ‘Is not the testimony of two women equal to the testimony of one man?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Is it not true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is the deficiency in her religious commitment.’”



:salam2:
can someone explain this hadith? i don't understand how something that is natural to a woman be seen as a deficiency. i've read about how islam raises the status of women, but this hadith seems to not fit in with what i've read. can someone clarify? :wasalam:
 

Happy 2BA Muslim

Islamophilic
:salam2: Sister,

Thanks for this interesting question, which reflects part of misconceptions that some people have about Islam and the way it treats women. We really commend your efforts in pursuit of truth. This is what is required of all people, to seek truth and not to give in to anything that may cloud their minds with fake ideas about Islam.

Sister, it’s noteworthy that the status of woman in Islam constitutes no problem. Many verses of the Qur'an and practices of the early Muslims bear witness to the fact that woman is, at least, as vital to life as man is, and that she is not inferior to man in any way. Islam never belittles woman or underestimates her role in the society. Allah has made this clear in the Glorious Qur’an, by stating shining examples of some women for the believers– male and female- to emulate. In this context, the Glorious Qur’an says,

(And Allah citeth an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh when she said: My Lord! Build for me a home with thee in the Garden, and deliver me from Pharaoh and his work, and deliver me from evil doing folk; and Mary, daughter of Imran, whose body was chaste, therefor We breathed therein something of Our Spirit. And she put faith in the words of her Lord and His Scriptures, and was of the obedient.) (At-Tahrim 66: 11-12)

Thus, as the regards the point you raised in your question, we’d like to make it clear that the Hadith does not depict a woman as inferior; not at all. As it’s a fact that man has been given a form and nature by Allah which is distinct from that of woman, it’s also a fact that the form and nature of man and woman is complementary. This indicates that the distinction in form and nature must not be equated with an intellectual pre-eminence on the part of man.

Based on this, we'd like to stress that the issue of having a woman’s testimony corroborated by another woman does not imply a sign of gender superiority. One will get this point clear by bearing in mind that shyness is a specific feature of woman as compared to man. In this case, she needs another woman to stand by her side and corroborate the evidence. There is nothing wrong with having a witness’s testimony corroborated by another witness if the statement of the former falls short of being admissible as a conclusive evidence. So the main issue here is how to make justice run its course.

Focusing more on the question in point, we’d like to cite the following Fatwa issued by the late Muslim scholar, Sheikh `Abdul-`Aziz Ibn Baz, the former Mufti of Saudi Arabia (may Allah SWT have mercy on him):



The Prophet, peace be and blessings upon him, explained that women’s mental deficiency is reflected in their weak memory, the fact that makes Shari`ah stipulate that a woman’s testimony must be corroborated by another woman. Thus, this injunction does not imply woman’s inferiority to man; rather it has more to do with justice than to gender.

As for the shortcoming in religion, this stems from the fact that when menstruating or having post- partum bleeding, women neither pray nor fast, and they do not have to make up for their prayers.

As we know, women have no hand in the obstacles that disrupt their religious performances. This is something divine, which reflects Almighty Allah’s overflowing mercy on them, for it will be extremely hard for a woman to be tasked with religious obligation while she is having menstruation or post-partum bleeding. That’s why she is exempted from fasting or praying, as a sign of mercy on her. Also, they do not make up their prayers. This is because if they were ordered to make up their prayers, it would be extremely hard for them, given that prayers are performed five times a day. Menses may last for a number of days, up to seven or eight or more. Post-partum bleeding lasts for forty days. It’d be definitely hard for women to be obliged to make up the prayers missed while responding to the demands of nature.

So, in the light of the above-mentioned facts, the Hadith does not have any indication of looking down upon women or considering them as inferior, especially when we know that some women excel men in many matters.

Yes, no one can deny the fact that a woman may perform many good deeds and exceed many men in virtue, morality, etc. Islamic history abounds with examples of great women who have made great contribution to the progress of mankind. This is very clear to anyone who is well informed about the status of women during the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the early generations.

In addition, the Hadith in question does not disqualify women from being narrators of Hadiths, and there is nothing that prevents a woman from being one of Allah’s pious servants, if she is steadfast in her religion even with her being excused from fasting or praying during menstruation or post-partum bleeding.

:salam2:
 

Quratulaine

Junior Member
:salam2: brother,

thanks for your response! I was just confused by the wording in the hadith. "deficiency" has a very negative meaning. i'm wondering what the original arabic word used is, and if it has a negative sound to it as well?

:wasalam:
 
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