Q: I have considered converting to Islam and in my search for information pertaining to Islam I sometimes come across anti-Islamic sources by mistake. I try to avoid these, because I don’t want to search for sources which will intentionally decrease my faith in Islam, however I did find one particular source that quoted a hadith which states:
“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.'”
This statement bothered me, I didn’t really have a problem with the last part but I disliked the part where it is seemingly stated that the reason for having a ratio of 2:1 female to male witness ratio is because of the lack of intelligence on the part of women. I was hoping you could explain this in greater depth, because as is it seems sexist and rather degrading. I would also appreciate if you could refer me to better sources which teach positive aspects of Islam and perhaps even discuss difficult to understand aspects of the religion such as this.
A: This question has been answered many times by many scholars. I would just focus on one part, should you be seeking greater detail, kindly let me know.
*Deficiency in female intelligence does not refer to her lack of IQ. Rather it refers to her at times over powering a smart man/society with her foxy-crafty ways that could well be coupled with all types of wrongful enticements. In the process, she would be persuading her man/family to do wrong with plausible pleas that are not religiously bound. Thus, in Islam, to be crafty, being flirtatious, arousing strange men, assisting a person towards wrong is linked closely to possessing a lack intelligence. A truly intelligent person is always willing to do the right thing at all times.
By contrast, if a woman does good deeds, she would be in the category of leaders and be in the ranks of those that do not possess the deficiencies as mentioned/implied in the Hadith. The likes of these woman we all should aspire to resemble remain upon our limited list as follows: Fatimah (RA), A’seeya (RA), Aysha (RA), Umme Khulsoom (RA) umme Habeba (RA) Zaynab (RA), Ruqayya (RA), Juwayra (RA), Rabi’ bint MuAwwiz bin Afraa (RA) etc.It remains without doubt, these woman are better than all the men of today.
Thus, it is not a gender issue as much as it is an issue that relates to how a given gender has the greater gift of using what Allah (SWT) has given them in the most noble manner. Doing so would remove any negativity attributed to them and would place them in the ranks of superior woman, the woman of paradise.
Allah Certainly Knows Best.
Excuse the delay in response. Due to our volume, sometimes certain queries slip through the cracks. When we go back to do a cleanup, we find things that were unanswered/un-posted.
*Whenever a person is seeking change, resistance is sure to come by, be it intentional or otherwise. This is what gives you a greater reward when an actual conversion to that which is correct does take place.