Explanation of Women being the greatest Fitnah

umm hussain

Junior Member
as-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah:


I was asked to reply to this, and the facilitation to do what is right is from Allah:


[["The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “I have not left behind any fitnah more harmful to men than women.” (Saheeh – agreed upon)


Is it more like men are weaker in their nature and get tempted easily or that its all women and their fault which causes men to fall into fitnah without their will...something that they wouldn't do themselves?]]

Allah, the Majestic and Magnificent, said:
(Indeed among your wives and your children are enemies) (At-Taghaabun 64:14)
Ibn Kathir said: “Allah states that some wives and children are enemies to their husbands and fathers, in that they might be busied with them, rather than with performing the good deeds.”
And foremost among these is learning about one’s religion, about Allah, about faith, about tawhid, and about the Sunnah.
It was narrated from Simak bin Harb, from `Ikrimah, that Ibn `Abbas was asked about this ayah
(Indeed among your wives and your children are enemies) (At-Taghaabun 64:14)

– And he said: “There were men who embraced Islam in Makkah and wanted to emigrate to Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam). However, their wives and children reused to allow them. Later when they joined Allah’s Messenger (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam), they found that those who were with him have gained knowledge in the religion, so they were about to punish their wives and children. So Allah revealed….” And he mentioned the ayah. (It was recorded by at-Tirmithi in his Sunan, under the Tafsir of the surah, at-Tabari, Ibn Abi Hatim, and al-Hakim who said it is sahih, and adh-Dhahabi was silent about it, and al-Albani graded it hasan in Sahih Sunan at-Tirmidhi. There is a deficiency in the chain of narration, yet most of them considered it authentic, and the worst that could be said about it is that the narration is from `Ikrimah and not Ibn `Abbas, while most of them would consider it hasan or the like.)

Regarding the hadith in question, in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Ibn Hajar said:
“In the hadith, is that the fitnah of women is more severe than the fitnah of other than them. And this is testified to by the saying of Allah, the Most High: (Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children….) (Aal `Imran 2:14) so He made them among the most coveted of the desires, and began mentioning them before the other types, indicating that they are the basis of that. And it occurs in what is witnessed; for a man loves the child of his wife who is with him (at the time) more than he loves his child from other than her…”

Regarding the ayah which Ibn Hajar mentioned above:
(Beautified for men is the love of things they covet; women, children, al-qanaatiril-muqantarah (large measures) of gold and silver, branded beautiful horses (musawwamah), cattle and fertile land. That is the delight (mataa`) of the life of the world; but Allah has the excellent return with Him.) (Aal `Imran 3:14)

Ibn Kathir said: “Allah mentions the delights that He put in this life for people, such as women and children, and he started with women, because the test with them is more tempting. For instance, in the Sahih, it is recorded that the Messenger (sall Allah `alaihi wa sallam) said:
‘I did not leave behind a test more tempting to men than women.’

When one marries women for the purpose of having children and preserving his chastity, then he is encouraged to do so.”
And he mentioned the hadith: “This life is a delight (mataa`), and the best of delights (mataa`) is a righteous wife.” (Muslim and others)

(Mataa`), the word used in the ayah and the hadith mentioned above refers to goods, merchandise, that which one takes pleasure in, etc.

Similarly, the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) said:
“The world is cursed, and all that is in it is cursed, except for learning, and teaching, the remembrance of Allah, and what is conducive to that.” It was recorded by at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and others and it was graded hasan by al-Albani in Sahih al-Jami` as-Sagheer.

If you compare these narrations to the hadith:
“Whoever comes to this Masjid of mine, and he does not come except to learn or teach good, then he is like the status of the mujahideen in the way of Allah. And whoever comes for other than that, then he is like the status of a man looking at the goods (mataa`) of someone else.” It was recorded by Ibn Majah and others, al-Albani graded it sahih in Sahih at-Targhib wat-Tarhib no. 82.

So in the ayah, after first mentioning women, then the other desires of men:
(That is the delight (mataa`) of the life of the world; but Allah has the excellent return with Him.) (Aal `Imran 3:14)
In the hadith:
“This life is a delight (mataa`)”

And in the hadith about the world:
“learning, and teaching, the remembrance of Allah, and what is conducive to that”
These are exempt from being cursed, so he (sall Allahu `alaihi was sallam) said:
“the best of delights (mataa`) is a righteous wife”

Therefore you can see, that in the narration about going to the masjid to gain knowledge, one is promised the reward like that of a mujahid. But if one comes for reasons other than that, out of riya’, to gain status, to look important, or to receive some charity distributed there, etc.:
“then he is like the status of a man looking at the merchandise (mataa`) of someone else”
So this is why Allah said:
(That is the delight (mataa`) of the life of the world; but Allah has the excellent return with Him.) (Aal `Imran 3:14)
And then one can better understand when the Prophet (sall Allahu `alaihi wa sallam) said:
“Indeed the world is moist and green, and Allah has made you succeeding generations in it to watch how you will act, so beware of the world. And beware of women, for indeed the first fitnah for the Children of Israel was with women.” (Muslim, and others)

So men are distracted by women, and it is not that it is all the fault of the women, but that they are such that men are distracted by them. So a man may leave obligations or recommended acts because of his being distracted by a woman, either in general or in specific terms. It could be that he spends more “quality” time (as they say) in devotion to his wife, when he could be performing more acts of worship, spending more “quality” time in the devotion to his Lord. Or it could be that he is influenced by her to make certain decisions that are not best for his religion, as explained in the narration about the circumstances surrounding the revelation of the ayah mentioned earlier.

These are just some examples of specific types of distractions which a man may suffer from as a result of preoccupation with women. And Allah knows best.


As far as the stature of women is concerned, one should not confuse this matter with that matter, all of the Muslim is sacred, their wealth, their blood and their honor. The woman Muslim is sacred, the man Muslim is sacred. And the religion teaches respect for women, such that is not taught by any other ideology, the rightful understanding about status of individuals in a society which can only come from the wisdom of the Lord of the worlds.

So the mere mention of women as a “distraction” for men may incite some to allegations about the religion that are false. So they should be reminded that the best are those who have the most taqwa, and it is not impossible that a man have less of that than his wife, and that in the end, he be only a distraction for her, in the same manners as has been explained about men’s distraction with women. And Allah knows best.


was-salamu `alaykum

Abu Khaliyl
 

umm hussain

Junior Member
Walaikum salam warahmatullah

I agree brother, I hope this is a lot better. I was in a bit of a hurry when I originally posted it
 

Sakinah_Shbzz

New Member
As-salamu-alaikum

Thats true, women can be a disraction to men. But I believe its also the other way around. Men are the maintainer and suporters of women. The men are the leaders of his ummuh(community) so if he isn't practicing Islam the way he should, the woman is probably following his lead.
 
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