Thoughts on a few ‘anti-female’ hadiths.

by

Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood.

In this article I wish to put forward a few thoughts concerning some of the more well-known hadiths that are thought by some to show anti-female bias. Once the background to them is known, it can easily be seen that there is no anti-female feeling in them whatsoever. In fact, the Prophet (pbuh) was a great champion of women, and had many staunch female friends and supporters.

1. It is better for women to pray at home.

It was the normal practice of the female Companions to pray in the mosque, with no sutrah (ie. barrier) dividing them from their men. They prayed behind them, but with no dividing walls or curtains – which one could argue might have invalidated their congregational prayer by separating them from the leader and the congregation. Yet nowadays, in some places we find devout Muslim men depriving women of their rightful place in the mosque by quoting the hadith that it is better for women to pray at home. It does not say this in the Qur’an – so where did this originate?

In fact, it came from an occasion when an elderly and arthritic Muslim lady - Umm Humayd - expressed her regret to the Prophet (pbuh) that although she longed to pray behind him in the mosque, as so many others did, it was impossible for her to be there. The Prophet (pbuh) assured her she need not be concerned about this, it was better for her to pray in her own home (Abu Dawud 570). Many male Muslims have misguidedly used this hadith to try to prevent their women from going to mosques, and have turned them into ‘male clubs’ where any women who do go feel obtrusive, shy and ‘pushy’.

Yet it is obvious from many, many other hadiths that it was the normal practice in Madinah for them to go. For example, Caliph Umar’s grandson tried to prevent his wife, but was over-ruled by his father since the Prophet (pbuh) had encouraged them saying: ‘Do not prevent the handmaids of Allah from attending the mosque.’ Muslim 888, Abu Dawud 568.

2. More women than men in Hell?

After the Farewell Pilgrimage at the Eid prayer the Prophet (pbuh) used his humour to charm his female companions into donating more for charity than they might have intended. Abdullah b. Abbas, who was there as a child, recorded that after he had offered up the prayer and delivered his khutbah the Prophet (pbuh) waved at the people to make them sit down, came down from the pulpit and walked towards the women who were sitting in rows behind the men, leaning on Bilal’s arm, while Bilal held out his cloak for them to throw in their gifts of charity. This was not the required zakat-ul-Fitr (contributions made by every Muslim who can afford it so that the poor can be given money in advance in order to be able to pay for their feast obligations) but extra personal gifts according to their own choice. One woman might donate a ring off her finger, and others would see and do the same.

He urged the women to be generous with their gifts, for when he had glimpsed into the flames of Hell, he had noted the vast majority of people being tormented there were women. The women were outraged, and one of them instantly stood up and demanded to know why that was so. ‘Because,’ he replied, ‘you women grumble so much, and show ingratitude to your husbands! Even if the poor fellows spent all their lives doing good things for you, you have only to be upset at the least thing and you will say, 'I have never received any good from you!’ At that the women began vigorously to pull off their rings and ear-rings, and throw them into Bilal’s cloak. (Bukhari 1.28, Abu Dawud 439 etc).

Jabir b. Abdullah’s version recorded that he recited to them the verse: ‘O Prophet! When believing women come to you to take the oath of loyalty to you . . . (to the end of the verse)’ (60.12) and then asked the women if they were fulfilling their covenant? None except one woman said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Then give in charity,’ the Prophet (pbuh) declared. ‘Keep on giving alms, ladies, let my father and mother sacrifice their lives for you,’ Bilal urged them. So the ladies pulled off their fatkhs (large rings, which were popular in pre-Islamic times) and other kinds of jewellery and put them in Bilal’s garment. (Bukhari 2.95).

I feel strongly that this example shows us the Prophet’s (pbuh) down-to-earth humour, and not a terrible indictment upon the fate of female believers!

(For fuller information, please refer to my article on ‘More Women than Men in Hell’).

3. Women lack common-sense, therefore there evidence is only worth half that of a man.

After the ‘more women in Hell’ hadith, some versions go on to add that the prophet (pbuh) commented: ‘I have seen none lacking in common sense and failing in religion but (at the same time) robbing the wisdom of the wise, besides you.’ Upon this a woman remarked: ‘What is wrong with our common sense and with religion?’ He observed: ‘Your lack of common sense (in) that the evidence of two women is equal to that of one man; that is the proof of your lack of common sense. And you spend some nights (and days) in which you do not offer prayer and in the month of Ramadan (during the menstrual days) you do not observe fast; that is your failing in religion.’ (Muslim 31. This hadith was also narrated on the authority of Abu Tahir with this chain of transmitters. See also Muslim 448).

Would the Prophet seriously teach something not in keeping with the teaching of the Qur’an? It is perfectly possible that this, and the previous wry comment of the Prophet, were examples of his humour? It is vital that it should be made very clear that women not offering prayer during their menses or fasting on those days in the month of Ramadan is NOT a failing in their religion at all – it was a concession allowed by Allah in His revelation. As regarded the fasts, women were simply required to make up the missed days at some other time before the coming of the next Ramadan month. Their period of uncleanness and discomfort during menstruation coming under the category of illness.

‘Therefore, anyone of you who witnesses that month should fast therein, and whoever is ill or upon a journey shall fast a similar number of days later on. Allah intends your well-being and does not want to put you to hardship. He wants you to complete the prescribed period so that you should glorify His Greatness and render thanks to Him for giving you guidance.’ 2:185:

Imam Malik, who did not regard travelling as being a good enough reason, accepted menstruation as valid reason. ‘No one who, by the Book of Allah, has to fast may break his fast except for a reason - illness or menstruation. He must not travel and break his fast." Malik said, "This is the best that I have heard about the matter." Al-Muwatta 18:40.

Fiqh as-Sunnah 1.71a (in the Alim Encyclopedia CD) gives us: If women fast (while menstruating during Ramadan), those days will be considered null and void. They will still have to make those days of fasting up later on. Mu'adhah said: ‘I asked Aishah: Why must we make up the fasts missed due to our menstruation, but not the prayers (missed through menstruation)?' She said, ‘That was what the Messenger of Allah told us to do. We were ordered to make up the fasts, and we were ordered not to make up the prayers.’

4. The witness of a woman is only worth half that of a man.

It has been suggested that the Prophet (pbuh) regarded women as inferior to men for two reasons - the inheritance laws in which a daughter received half the share of a son; and the fact that two female witnesses were regarded as the equal of one male witness.

In fact, the Qur’an actually taught that the witness of a woman was just as valid as that of a man, and made no distinction regarding the sex of a witness in every single reference except one – the concession of granting two female witnesses in legal cases where women had little knowledge or expertise. The intention of this concession was to prevent women being tricked or cheated by unscrupulous men who could take advantage of their inexperience in business matters.

‘O believers! When you deal with each other in lending for a fixed period of time, put it in writing. Let a scribe write everything down with justice between the parties. The scribe, who has been given the gift of literacy by Allah, should not refuse to write; he is under obligation to write. Let the debtor dictate, fearing the Almighty, his Lord, and not diminishing anything from the settlement. If the borrower is mentally unsound or weak or is unable to dictate himself, let the guardian of his interests dictate for him with justice. Let two witnesses from among you bear witness to all such documents, if two men cannot be found, then one man and two women of your choice should bear witness, so that if one of the women forgets anything the other may remind her. Witnesses must not refuse (to bear witness) when they are called upon to do so.’ (2.282).

In every other kind of case, there was no reason why the witness of a woman should not be just as reliable as evidence as that of a man, and no distinction of either sex was made or necessary. For example: ‘Those who accuse a chaste woman of fornication and do not produce four witnesses to support their allegation, shall be flogged with eighty lashes and their testimony shall not be accepted ever after, for they are the ones who are wicked transgressors.’ (24.4). The text implies any four witnesses, who could be of either sex.

In societies where it is insisted that the witnesses should all be male, this is really a cultural gloss on the rule, since any text in the Arabic masculine plural grammatically includes both men and women, unless specifically stated otherwise. Assumptions that women’s evidence would be unreliable because of the inferiority of women in intellectual capacity, memory, or character stem from a patriarchal perspective in a male-dominated community which tried to limit the appearance of their women in public. The Qur’an does not bear this attitude and established the equality of men and women before Allah. The restrictions against public appearance are a nonsense in this century, when the medical evidence of the rape could be presented by a woman doctor to a female litigator in front of a female jurist! It is certainly a travesty of justice to deny a victim of rape the right to testify to this violent attack merely because she is a woman.

5. A daughter only inherits half the amount of a son

As regarded the inheritance laws, the granting of a larger share to male inheritors was nothing to do with female inferiority but assumed a society in which Muslim women were entitled to keep whatever money and property they owned and not be obliged to use it for the benefit of their men or families, whereas a Muslim man had the obligation to support any dependent womenfolk and other relatives from his own income. The spirit of the law was therefore not intended to deprive a woman heiress, but to provide adequately for female dependents by enabling male heirs to cope with the expense of all the responsibilities they would take on when a senior man passed away.(4.11 etc).

6. Bad luck always comes to those ruled by women.

Sometimes the supposed anti-female hadith seems completely untrue. One such hadith was the one that no nation that allowed itself to be ruled by a woman would prosper. This may have been an example of one of the Prophet’s (pbuh) wry comments, but the hadith itself is suspect. It was quoted for the first time some 150 years after the Prophet’s death, with the claim that it was recorded by Abu Bakra just before the Battle of Siffin, that battle itself being some thirty years after the Prophet’s (pbuh) death. The reason was that the troops opposing Caliph Ali were being led by a woman, in fact the lady was none other than the Prophet’s (pbuh) beloved wife Aishah!

The hadith seems in direct opposition to the words of the Qur’an to the ruling Queen of Sheba in the time of the Prophet Sulayman (Solomon), who ruled over the most wealthy and well-known people in the history of Arabia. She was asked to accept Islam, but not to give up her rule (Surah 27:23-44). As for the presence in battle of Aishah, Ali was reported to have said afterwards: ‘If a woman could have been khalif, Aishah would have been khalif.’ (From ‘Identification of the men’ by Ibn Abdu’s Sham, quoted by Aisha Bewley in ‘Islam, the Empoering of Women,’ Ta-Ha, 1999, p.30).

Indeed, some feel that Abu Bakra’s testimony should be held in doubt anyway, since he had previously been flogged for a fraudulent statement, and the shari’ah ruling was that after such an offence the person’s word should never again be upheld as reliable in a court of law. However, Abu Bakra was a noble Companion who had related several hadiths. His ‘offence’ concerned the case of Mughirah b. Shu'ba, a man known for his weakness for women, who would marry women and divorce them after a short while to make room for more beautiful faces. In this way, he was said to have married no less than 80 wives, taking steps to ensure that his wives were never more than four at a time, the limit prescribed by the shari’ah.

In those days at Basra, there was a beautiful woman named Umm Jamil. She belonged to the same tribe as that of Mughirah. Her husband had died and she became notorious for loose morals. Mughirah was attracted by her and she visited him often. Some Muslims in Basra became critical of the conduct of Mughirah. Abu Bakra’s house across the street faced the house of Mughirah. One day there was a strong wind, and the windows of the houses of both Abu Bakra and Mughirah were blown open. Abu Bakra saw that Mughirah was locked in an uncompromising position with a woman he assumed to be Umm Jamil. Abu Bakra had some friends with him, and they also saw Mughirah with the woman.

So Abu Bakra wrote to Caliph Umar accusing Mughirah of adultery. The report was endorsed by four witnesses who had seen Mughirah with her. Umar took prompt action. He sacked Abu Bakra from his office as Governor of Basra and appointed Abu Musa. Mughirah was summoned to Madinah to face trial. Abu Bakra and the other witnesses who had made the complaint were also summoned to Madinah.

At the trial, Mughirah pleaded not guilty. His defence was that the witnesses had been mistaken – the woman in question was his wife and not Umm Jamil. With great indignation he averred that Abu Bakra and the men with him had no right to interfere in his privacy. Abu Bakra on the other hand maintained that the woman was indeed Umm Jamil, and the three other witnesses corroborated his statement. But the fourth witness, Ziyad, stated that he had seen the event, but he had not seen the face of the woman and could not be sure who she was. When the other witnesses were cross examined, it was found that there were some weak points in their evidence too. On being asked whether the woman had her back or her face toward them, they it was her back, and tried to make out that even from her back she could be identified as Umm Jamil.

Under the Qur’anic law, in order to press the charge of adultery convincing evidence was necessary from four witnesses and as in this case the fourth witness was not sure of the identification of the woman, Mughirah was given the benefit of doubt and acquitted. Abu Bakra and his companions who had levelled the charge were punished with lashes for making a charge which could not be established. Such was the care that was taken with evidence for adultery in those days! However, one feels that Abu Bakra did not deserve his flogging. Nevertheless, this decision and flogging made Abu Bakra ineligible for being regarded as a reliable transmitter of hadiths in the future.

Conclusion

I hope I have given some things to ponder, as regards the verses so frequently put forward to suggest that women are inferior to men in Islam. May Allah bless us all, Amin.

Wasalaam, Ruqaiyyah.