More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
حدثنا سعيد بن أبي مريم قال أخبرنا محمد بن جعفر قال أخبرني زيد هو ابن أسلم عن عياض بن
عبد الله عن أبي سعيد الخدري قال خرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في أضحى أو فطر إلى
المصلى فمر على النساء فقال يا معشر النساء تصدقن فإني أريتكن أكثر أهل النار فقلن وبم
يا رسول الله قال تكثرن اللعن وتكفرن العشير ما رأيت من ناقصات عقل ودين أذهب للب الرجل
الحازم من إحداكن قلن وما نقصان ديننا وعقلنا يا رسول الله قال أليس شهادة المرأة مثل
نصف شهادة الرجل قلن بلى قال فذلك من نقصان عقلها أليس إذا حاضت لم تصل ولم تصم قلن بلى
قال فذلك من نقصان دينها۔ بخاری، کتاب الحیض، باب ترک الحائض الصوم
It is related that Abu Sa'id al-Khudri عنه الله رضي said, "The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, set out to
the place of prayer on the Day of Adha or Fitr and passed by the women. He said, 'O
congregation of women! Give alms for I have seen that you will make up the majority of the
inhabitants of the Fire!' They said, 'Why, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'You call down too many
curses and show ingratitude to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in
intellect or deen. Yet the mind of even a resolute man might be swept away by one of you.'
They said, 'In what way is our deen and intellect deficient, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Is not
the testimony of a woman worth only half that of a man?' They said, 'Yes.' He said, 'That is how
your intellect is deficient. Is it not so that when a woman is menstruating, she neither prays nor
fasts?' They said, 'Yes.' He said, 'That is how her deen is deficient.'" – (Bukhari; Book of
Menstruation, Chapter of Menstruating Women Abstaining from Fast)
Majority of the Dwellers of Hell
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
A number of questions have been raised regarding the above-mentioned Hadith which is
reported in a number of collections. The first objection raised is regarding more women being
dwellers of Hell-fire. This statement has been reported in both Bukhari and Muslim.
The narration in Muslim is as follows:
حدثنا هداب بن خالد حدثنا حماد بن سلمة ح وحدثني زهير بن حرب حدثنا معاذ بن معاذ
العنبري ح وحدثني محمد بن عبد الأعلى حدثنا المعتمر ح وحدثنا إسحق بن إبراهيم أخبرنا
جرير كلهم عن سليمان التيمي ح وحدثنا أبو كامل فضيل بن حسين واللفظ له حدثنا يزيد بن
زريع حدثنا التيمي عن أبي عثمان عن أسامة بن زيد قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
قمت على باب الجنة فإذا عامة من دخلها المساكين وإذا أصحاب الجد محبوسون إلا أصحاب
النار فقد أمر بهم إلى النار وقمت على باب النار فإذا عامة من دخلها النساء۔ مسلم، کتاب
الرقاق، باب أكثر أهل الجنة الفقراء وأكثر أهل النار النساء وبيان الفتنة بالنساء
Usama bin Zaid عنه الله رضي reported that Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "I stood at the door of
Paradise and I found that the overwhelming majority of those who entered therein was that of
poor persons and the wealthy persons were detained to get into that. The denizens of Hell were
commanded to get into Hell, and I stood upon the door of Fire and the majority amongst them
who entered there was that of women." – (Muslim; Kitabul Riqaq, Chapter of Majority of People
of Jannah are the Poor and Majority of the People of Hell are Women and Fitnah by Women)
These Ahadith suggest that the population of women will be more than men in Hell. In another
Hadith reported in Sahih Bukhari it is stated:
It is related from Abu Hurairah عنه الله رضي that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "The first group
to enter the Garden will be like the moon on the night of the full moon. They will not need to spit
nor blow their noses nor defecate. Their vessels will be golden and their combs will be gold and
silver. Their braziers will burn fragrant aloes-wood and their perspiration will be like musk. Each
of them will have two wives, so beautiful that the marrow of their thighs will be able to be seen
through the flesh, and there will be no disagreement between them nor any ill will. Their hearts
will be one, glorifying Allah morning and evening." – (Bukhari; Book of Beginning of Creation,
Chapter of What has come about the description of the Garden and that it is created)
In this Hadith it is observed that people entering Jannah will all have two wives. When some
people were discussing the issue of whether there will be more men or women in Jannah, Abu
Hurairah عنه الله رضي assessed that there will be more women in Jannah and this narration is
reported in Sahih Muslim as follows:
حدثني عمرو الناقد ويعقوب بن إبراهيم الدورقي جميعا عن ابن علية واللفظ ليعقوب قالا
حدثنا إسمعيل ابن علية أخبرنا أيوب عن محمد قال إما تفاخروا وإما تذاكروا الرجال في
الجنة أكثر أم النساء فقال أبو هريرة أو لم يقل أبو القاسم صلى الله عليه وسلم إن أول
زمرة تدخل الجنة على صورة القمر ليلة البدر والتي تليها على أضوإ كوكب دري في السماء
لكل امرئ منهم زوجتان اثنتان يرى مخ سوقهما من وراء اللحم وما في الجنة أعزب۔ مسلم،
كتاب الجنة وصفة نعيمها وأهلها، باب أول زمرة تدخل الجنة على صورة القمر ليلة البدر
وصفاتهم وأزواجهم
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
"Muhammad reported that some (people) stated with a sense of pride and some discussed
whether there would be more men in Paradise or more women. It was upon this that Abu
Hurairah عنه الله رضي reported that Abu'l Qasim صلى الله عليه وسلم said: The first group to get into Paradise
would have their faces as bright as full moon during the night, and the next to this group would
have their faces as bright as the shining stars in the sky, and every person would have two
wives and the marrow of their shanks would glimmer beneath the flesh and there would be none
without a wife in Paradise." (Muslim; Book Pertaining to Paradise, Its Description, Its Bounties
and Its Intimates, Chapter of First Group to Enter Paradise will have Faces Bright as Moon,
Their Description and Their Wives)
This shows that the number of women will be higher than the men in Jannah. However, a
question arises that how can women be majority in both Hell and Heaven. Imam Nawawi رحمة
has (172 pg 17.v ,Azhar bil Misriyyah-al ah'Matba-al ;Edition First) Muslim Sharh in اللہ علیه
written:
قال القاضي : ظاهر هذا الحديث أن النساء أكثر أهل الجنة . وفي الحديث الآخر أنهن أكثر
أهل النار ، قال : فيخرج من مجموع هذا أن النساء أكثر ولد آدم
"Al-Qadhi said: 'It is apparent from this Hadith that most of the people of Jannah are women,
and from the other Hadith most of the people of Hell are women. What one can understand from
both these Ahadith is that majority of the children of Adam are women.'"
Mufti Taqi Usmani is quoted in In'amul Bari (v.1 pg 454) to have stated:
"Some people have stated that this is not an issue as there can be a majority of women in both
places. This answer will be acceptable when it is stated that the majority of the population of the
world is of women.
But to state this is difficult as by the population of the world it is meant, the collective population
that was since the beginning and will be till the end of time. However in a Hadith it is stated that
towards the end of times the ratio of women will be more than men and in some countries we
see this condition today."
A Hadith in Sahih Bukhari confirms:
حدثنا مسدد قال حدثنا يحيى عن شعبة عن قتادة عن أنس بن مالك قال لأحدثنكم حديثا لا
يحدثكم أحد بعدي سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول من أشراط الساعة أن يقل العلم
ويظهر الجهل ويظهر الزنا وتكثر النساء ويقل الرجال حتى يكون لخمسين امرأة القيم
الواحد۔ بخاری، كتاب العلم، باب رفع العلم وظهور الجهل
"Anas عنه الله رضي said, 'I am relating a hadith to you which no one after me will relate to you.
I heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say, 'Among the signs of the Hour are that knowledge
becomes negligible, ignorance appears, fornication appears, and there are many women and
few men so that one man has to look after fifty women.'" (Bukhari; Book of Knowledge, Chapter
of Disappearance of Knowledge and Appearance of Ignorance)
Some have also stated that these wives are from the Hoorul 'Ayn and they gather support for
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
this from another Hadith which is as follows:
وحدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد حدثنا عبد الواحد يعني ابن زياد عن عمارة بن القعقاع حدثنا أبو
زرعة قال سمعت أبا هريرة يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أول من يدخل الجنة ح
وحدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد وزهير بن حرب واللفظ لقتيبة قالا حدثنا جرير عن عمارة عن أبي زرعة
عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن أول زمرة يدخلون الجنة على صورة
القمر ليلة البدر والذين يلونهم على أشد كوكب دري في السماء إضاءة لا يبولون ولا
يتغوطون ولا يمتخطون ولا يتفلون أمشاطهم الذهب ورشحهم المسك ومجامرهم الألوة
وأزواجهم الحور العين أخلاقهم على خلق رجل واحد على صورة أبيهم آدم ستون ذراعا في
السماء۔ صحيح مسلم, كتاب الجنة وصفة نعيمها وأهلها, باب أول زمرة تدخل الجنة على صورة
القمر ليلة البدر وصفاتهم وأزواجهم
Abu Hurairah عنه الله رضي reported that Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said: The (members of the) first
group which would get into Paradise will have their faces as bright as stars in the sky. They
would neither pass water, nor void excrement, nor will they suffer from catarrh, nor will they spit,
and their combs would be made of gold, and their sweat will be musk, the fuel of their brazier
will be aloes, and their wives will be large-eyed maidens and their form would be alike as one
single person after the form of their father (Adam) sixty cubits tall. – (Muslim; Book Pertaining to
Paradise, Its Description, Its Bounties and Its Intimates, Chapter of First Group to Enter
Paradise will have Faces Bright as Moon, Their Description and Their Wives)
However there is another Hadith that mentions these wives as " الدنيا نساء من " (from women
of the world), as mentioned in Mirqaat Mafateeh (Daarul Kutub al-'Ilmiyya Beirut, Lebanon;
2001, vol. 3 pg 532) while quoting Tabrani علیه اللہ رحمة . Also, in Durrul Manthur (Markaz
Hajar li al-Buhuth wa al-Dirasaat al-'Arabiyyah wa al-Islamiyyah; 2003, vol.1 pg 214) a Hadith is
quoted which is as such:
وأخرج ابن السكن في المعرفة وابن عساكر في تاريخه عن حاطب بن أبي بلتعة سمعت رسول الله
صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول " يزو جّ المؤمن في الجنة اثنتين وسبعين زوجة سبعين من نساء
الآخرة، واثنتين من نساء الدنيا۔
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "The Believer will get married in Jannah to 72 wives. 70 (of them) will be from
women of the Aakhirah and 2 from women of the world."
Some have given their explanation that this addition of "from women of the world" was added by
the narrator as part of his understanding regarding who these wives will be. Some others have
also stated that all the Ahadith give the conclusion that at first the majority of the people in Hell
will be women. Afterwards when their punishment is over, they will enter Jannah and this is how
the woman population of Jannah will now be more compared to men and it will be possible for a
person to have more than one wife from the women of the world.
Others have given more explanations to this and thus Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri اللہ رحمة
:(320 pg 4 .vol ;Lebanon ,Beirut ,Ilmiyyah'-al Kutub Darul) Bari Faydhul in writes علیه
قلت: و هذه مشاهدة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في هذا الوقت, فعلهن كن إذ ذاك أكثرها, و ليس فيه بيان حكم جميع
النساء, و لا مشاهدة جميع الأزمان
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
"I say, 'This is what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw at that time, so perhaps till then, they were majority of the
people in Hell and neither does it include any general ruling on all the women, nor does it
indicate the seeing of women of all times.'"
Another explanation is that it will be a possibility for majority to be women but then Allah will
forgive them and they will thus enter Jannah. This is seen in Mirqaat Mafateeh (Daarul Kutub
al-'Ilmiyya Beirut, Lebanon; 2001, vol. 3 pg 532) as follows:
أو المراد انهن [الأكثر] اهلها بالقوة ثم يعفو الله عنهن هذا
"Or it means that these people (the majority) of Hell are such 'bil-Quwwa' and then Allah
forgives them."
Some would then say that these explanations contradict yet another Hadith in Sahih Muslim
which is as follows:
حدثنا عبيد الله بن معاذ حدثنا أبي حدثنا شعبة عن أبي التياح قال كان لمطرف بن عبد الله
امرأتان فجاء من عند إحداهما فقالت الأخرى جئت من عند فلانة فقال جئت من عند عمران بن
حصين فحدثنا أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال إن أقل ساكني الجنة النساء
"Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Amongst the inmates of Paradise the women would form a minority." -
(Muslim; Kitabul Riqaq, Chapter of Majority of People of Jannah are the Poor and Majority of the
People of Hell are Women and Fitnah by Women)
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani علیه اللہ رحمة answers this objection and writes in Fathul Bari (Darul
Ma'rifah, Beirut; vol.6 pg 325):
و يحتمل أن يكون الراوي رواه بالمعنى الذي فهمه من أن كونهن اكثر ساكني النار يلزم منه
أن يكن اقل ساكني الجنة
"And it is possible that the narrator of this Hadith narrated it because he had understood (from
another Hadith which stated that) as most of the people of Hell were women, thus they
necessarily had to be least in Jannah"
Thus the objection is explained away by Hafidh علیه اللہ رحمة that the narrator narrated this
Hadith 'bil-Ma'na' as per his understanding from another Hadith.
It should be understood that this issue is not as plain as reading one Hadith and thinking that
one has reached an understanding of that topic. It is often seen in Muslims, especially in this
day and age of the internet where they have access to a whole lot of information without proper
knowledge, that they read something from here and something from there and think they have
learnt the topic. We have seen how there are a number of Ahadith on this topic and some seem
contradictory. In order to reconcile these Ahadith, the great scholars of Islam have offered a
number of explanations for these Ahadith so that one can understand the true picture.
For a moment we will say that Ahadith teach that the majority of the dwellers of Hell will be
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
women. Even if this is true, there should be no contention in this matter. One of the two had to
be more in Hell, either the men or the women. It is just as such that women are the majority. If
men had been the majority then people would have questioned 'why are men the majority?' It is
thus not any 'flaw' of Islam that women will form the majority but rather the flaw of the way man
thinks about what is stated.
Secondly to think that this is something which gives men superiority over the women is rather
ridiculous. A man who may boast his superiority and lack behind in following the deen and be
sinful will end up in Hell along with everyone else. One has to worry about themselves rather
than worrying about others. Will this man then point finger at his mother, sister, wife and
daughter and be happy that they have a "better chance" of being in Hell? Every man and
woman has been given the opportunity to save themselves from being the dwellers of Hell and
they should grasp this opportunity instead of worrying how many percentage of women and how
many of men will end up in Hell. How about worrying about how much we have done to ensure
our entrance into Jannah.
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, along with the reason has also mentioned a cure. The reason he gave are a
matter of nature of women. Now a woman might say, 'but this is not true as I do not have those
qualities.' Her statement that she does not have those qualities might be true but on what basis
can she say that all the women Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم saw in Hell for this quality did not have those two
qualities in them? The best course of action for one to take is to simply avoid cursing as well as
showing ingratitude. Apart from this, one should also give charity as that helps cleanse our
ill-doings. These cures have been mentioned by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم for our benefit and one should
focus on securing their Hereafter by using the antidote given to us.
Just like when a person is affected by some illness or born with some deficiency, he goes to the
doctor for the cure and when a cure is advised then the person ensures to act upon it. So even
if we state that all women till the end of time were created with this nature of cursing and
showing ingratitude, the cure is mentioned and one should use it. Why do we waste time
arguing over this instead of securing our Aakhirah?
However, as stated before, scholars have explained the seeming contradictions in the Ahadith
in a number of ways. Four such explanations were mentioned above and will be repeated in a
summarized manner below.
First is that scholars have maintained that it is possible that initially the majority of people in Hell
would be women and later after they have completed their punishment they will end up in
Jannah.
The second explanation is that women will be a majority by possibility but then Allah will forgive
them and they will enter Jannah.
A third possibility is that it refers to the entire number of women from the start of creation to the
end of it. The number of women would be more than the number of men and thus it is not
surprising that the number of women in Hell and Jannah will be higher than the number of men.
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
Fourth explanation given is that it referred to women till that time at which Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم had
seen them and it does not incorporate all women and does not refer to all times.
All these are all matters of the unseen and the conditions of Hell and Paradise cannot be
explained and understood in their entirety with our limited intellect and knowledge. What we
know is that Allah is Just and will not put in Hell anyone who does not deserve to be in Hell.
Thus it is better to worry about our doings and not give much thought on such issues as to who
will be more in Hell and who will be more in Jannah. May Allah, by His Mercy, save us from the
Hellfire and grant us Jannatul Firdous.
The Deficiency in Intelligence and Religion
Another objection in the Hadith is regarding women being deficient in intelligence and religion.
The concerned part of the Hadith is reproduced below:
"(Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said), 'I have not seen anyone more deficient in intellect or deen. Yet the mind of
even a resolute man might be swept away by one of you.' They said, 'In what way is our deen
and intellect deficient, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Is not the testimony of a woman worth
only half that of a man?' They said, 'Yes.' He said, 'That is how your intellect is deficient. Is it not
so that when a woman is menstruating, she neither prays nor fasts?' They said, 'Yes.' He said,
'That is how her deen is deficient.'" – (Bukhari; Book of Menstruation, Chapter of Menstruating
Women Abstaining from Fast)
The statement in the Hadith regarding the deficiencies are general and do not incorporate
everyone. It is nothing but a fact that a menstruating woman cannot offer Salah. So if a man and
woman live for the same amount of time in the world, the total number of Salah offered by the
man will be more because every month there will be a few days during which the woman will not
be able to pray. But this is a general rule because there are many men who neither offer Salah
nor fast. So obviously compared to them the Salah of a woman who is consistent will be more.
Being deficient is not necessarily something bad and only that deficiency is bad for which one
receives a sin e.g. if one leaves Salah on purpose. Further, even in this 'deficiency' there may
be reward for her.
Allamah Badruddin Abu Muhammad Mahmood bin Ahmad al-'Ayni in 'Umdatul Qari Sharh
Sahih Bukhari (Darul Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon; 2001, vol. pg 403
و قال النووي و نقص الدين قد يكون على وجه يأثم به, كمن ترك الصلاة بلا عذر, و قد يكون
على وجه لا يأتم له, كمن ترك الجمعة بعذر, و قد يكون على وجه هو مكلف به كترك الحائض
الصلاة و الصوم. فإن قيل: فإذا كانت معذورة, فهل تثاب على ترك الصلاة في زمن الحيض؟ و إن
كانت لا تقضيها كما يثاب المريض، و يكتب له في مرضه مثل النوافل الصلوات التي كان
يفعلها في صحته. و الجواب الظاهر هذا الحديث انها لا تثاب, و الفرق أن المريض كان يفعلها
بنية الدوام عليها مع اهليته لها, و الحائض ليست كذلك, بل نيتها ترك الصلاة في زمن الحيض
, و كيف لا و هي حرام عليها؟ قلت ينبغي أن يثاب علي ترك الحرام
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
"Imam Nawawi علیه اللہ رحمة said, Lack of one's deen may be in a way where one commits a
sin, such as the one who leaves Salah without any excuse, or it may be in a way for which one
does not sin, such as the one who leaves Friday Prayer for a valid excuse, or it may also be in a
way one is required to leave such as the menstruating woman leaving Salah and Fast. If one
asks, 'If she has an excuse for leaving Salah during menstruation, does she get rewarded even
if she does not do Qadha just like the sick person who gets the reward for the Nawafil he used
to pray while being healthy?' And the apparent answer is that she does not get rewarded, and
the difference between her and a sick person is that the sick person used to pray with the
intention of praying with consistency and the knowledge that he will be able to do so, while the
woman has the intention of not praying while having the period. And how can she pray when
praying (during menstruation) is Haram on her? I say, 'One should get rewarded for leaving the
Haram.'"
As far as the witness issue and thus deficiency in intelligence is concerned, the ruling of two
women witnesses is also found in the Qur'an in Surah Baqarah. It should be made clear that not
in all matters is the witness of two women required. Such an issue on which there is Ijma' where
two women are required is the issue of financial transactions. This has been explained by Ibn
Qudaamah in al-Mughni (Darul Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon; 1985, vol.10 pg 155-161) where he has
also stated:
قال القاضي: و الذي تقبل فيه شهادتهن منفردات خمسة اشياء: الولادة, و الإستسهال, و
الرضاع, و العيوب تحت الثياب كالرتق و القرن و البكارة و الثيابة و البرص, و إنقضاء
العدة
"Qadhi said: And that in which the witness of only women of accepted is Birth, Crying of the
Child at birth, Rida', 'Uyub under the clothes such as Ratq and Qarn, whether she is a virgin or
not, Baras and the end of Iddah."
Thus it is seen that there are many such cases where man has no knowledge and the witness
of a woman is accepted. As far as the issue of financial dealing is concerned, some have
explained that it has to do with the weakness of the memory of woman in mathematical issues.
Some neuro-psychiatrists have also expressed this but it should be know that one should not be
in favor of trying to justify or express the wisdom of the laws of Shari'ah with the help of science.
This is because science is not absolute but the Wisdom of Allah is Absolute. It should however
be noted that this deficiency that the Hadith talks about is general and not all encompassing.
Mufti 'Aashiq Ilahi علیه اللہ رحمة writes in Anwarul Bayan (Darul Ishaat, Karachi, Pakistan;
2005, vol.1 pg 341):
"This applies to general circumstances since there are many exceptions where women may
possess stronger memories, are more intelligent or better able to express themselves than
men."
Moreover, the Qur'an says in Surah Nur (24) verse 6-9:
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
و اَل ذَّ يِن ي رَ مْ وُن أ زَ وْ اَج هَ مُ و لَ مَ ي كَ نُ ل هَّ مُ ش هُ دَ اَء إ لِ اَّ
أ نَف سُ هُ مُ ف شَ هَ اَد ةَ أ حَ دَ هِ مِ أ رَ بْ عَ ش هَ اَد اَت ب اِلل هَّ إ نِ هَّ ل مَ نَِ
الص اَّد قِ يِنَ
و اَل خْ اَم سِ ةَ أ نَ ل عَ نْ تَ الل هَّ ع لَ يَ هْ إ نِ ك اَن م نِ ال كْ اَذ بِ يِنَ
و يَ دَ رْ أَُ
ع نَ هْ اَ ال عْ ذَ اَب أ نَ ت شَ هْ دَ أ رَ بْ عَ ش هَ اَد اَت ب اِلل هَّ إ نِ هَّ ل مَ نَِ
ال كْ اَذ بِ يِنَ
و اَل خْ اَم سِ ةَ أ نَ غ ضَ بَ الل هَّ ع لَ يَ هْ اَ إ نِ ك اَن م نِ الص اَّد قِ يِنَ
Those who accuse their wives (of adultery) while they have no witnesses except their own
selves, then the evidence of one of them would be to swear four oaths by Allah that he is
truthful,
and the fifth (oath) that Allah's curse be on him if he is one of the liars.
And it will remove the punishment from the woman if she swears four oaths by Allah that he (the
accuser husband) is certainly one of the liars,
and the fifth (oath) that Allah's wrath be on her if he is one of the truthful.
In this example it is seen that a woman's witness by Li'aan is enough to be accepted over the
husband's oath. Mufti Shafi' Usmani علیه اللہ رحمة in Ma'ariful Qur'an (Maktaba e Darul
'Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan; 2007, vol.6 pg 363) writes:
"When a husband accuses his wife of adultery or refuses to own his child as being legitimate,
and his wife refutes his allegation to be false, and claims for the punishment of false accusation
of eighty stripes to be awarded to him, then the husband will be asked to produce four
witnesses. If the husband produces four witnesses, then the wife will be awarded the
punishment of adultery, and if he could not produce four witnesses, then they will be subjected
to Li'aan, that is first the husband will be asked to testify four times with the wordings given in
the Qur'an to the effect that he is honest, and the fifth time will say that if he was lying, then
Allah's curse be on him.
If the husband hesitates from saying these words, then he should be arrested and asked either
to swear by saying these words five times or accept himself to be a liar. Until he accedes to one
of the two alternatives, he should not be released. If he accepts himself to be a liar, then he
should be awarded the punishment of false allegation of adultery, but, in case he swears by
repeating the required words five times, then the wife be asked to swear five times by uttering
the words given in the Qur'an for this purpose. If she refuses to swear, then she should be put
under arrest until such time that either she swears five times or accepts her guilt of adultery, in
which case she will be awarded the punishment of adultery. In case she agrees to swear and
utters the required words five times, then the process of Li'aan has been completed. This way
they both have escaped the punishment in this world but in the Hereafter, the one who has lied
will suffer the punishment, as Allah knows best who is the liar."
The suggestion that the woman is half a person, because of the requirement for two women as
witness in some issues, is very incorrect. Firstly if woman was something inferior or degraded in
Islam then there would not have been an issue where only a woman's witness would suffice and
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
as seen in the case above, given preference over the man's witness. And if a woman is said to
be half because of certain cases of witness, then where man's witness is not counted, Islam did
not even give that status of half a person to man. Additionally it can also be argued that
normally two men are required to complete the requirement of witness in an issue but in the
case of adultery the requirement is of four men. Then one should also say that man is half a
person as well. Hence such arguments are baseless and do not have any ground to stand
upon.
By not making 'equal' the witness of one woman to one man in certain cases, there is yet
wisdom of Allah. It is not easy to go through the process of being a witness, becoming an
enemy of the person against whom one is becoming a witness and at times even travel from
one city to another to give the shahadah. These are all stressful and difficult matters and Allah
has relieved the woman from such difficulties otherwise it would have been obligatory for the
woman to go through all such hurdles to give testimony as Allah says in the Qur'an in Surah
Baqarah (2) verse 283:
…و لَا ت كَ تْ مُ وُا الش هَّ اَد ةَ و مَ نَ ي كَ تْ مُ هْ اَ ف إَ نِ هَّ آث مِ ق لَ بْ هُ …ُ
"…Do not conceal testimony. Whoever conceals it, his heart is surely, sinful…"
In another Hadith, in Muwatta Imam Malik as well as in Sahih Muslim, it is stated:
حدثنا يحيى عن مالك عن عبد الله بن أبي بكر بن محمد بن عمرو بن حزم عن أبيه عن عبد الله
بن عمرو بن عثمان عن أبي عمرة الأنصاري عن زيد بن خالد الجهني أن رسول الله صلى الله
عليه وسلم قال ألا أخبركم بخير الشهداء الذي يأتي بشهادته قبل أن يسألها أو يخبر
بشهادته قبل أن يسألها۔ موطأ مالك، ك تِ اَب ال أْ قَ ضْ يِ ةَ ،ِ ب اَب م اَ ج اَء ف يِ
الش هَّ اَد اَتِ
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Shall I not tell you who is the best of witnesses? The one who brings his
testimony before he is asked for it, or tells his testimony before he is asked for it." – (Muwatta
Imam Malik; Book of Judgments, Chapter of Testimonies)
Another Hadith narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari says,
قال رسول اللہ صلى الله عليه وسلم من کتم شھادة اذا دعی الیھا کان کمن شھد بالزور۔ جمع الفوائد بحواله
طبرانی صفه ۲٦ جلد ١
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Whosoever is called to give witness and then he conceals it, it is as if he has
given false witness." – (Jama'ul Fawa'id with reference to Tabrani, vol.1 pg 26)
It is but for their ease and comfort that the responsibility of certain things are not put on their
shoulders unless there is a necessity. Where the burden and responsibility is put on the
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
shoulders of one man, there it has been divided among two women.
Conclusion
We live a short life in this world and have a limited amount of time to do good deeds to secure a
place in Jannah with the Mercy of Allah. However, we spend that time dwelling over questions
which have no productive effect on our deeds and in no way help us in the Hereafter. The
history of Islam is full of women with great achievements in different fields. On the witness of
one woman, 'Ayesha عنھا اللہ رضی , we have a great many number of Ahadith on which many
rulings of fiqh are based. Hasan al-Basri علیه اللہ رحمة narrated from his mother Khayrah
رحمة iz'Wa-al Ilyas bint Zulaykha mentions Thanein-ath Aqd-Al .woman a , رحمة اللہ علیھا
worship of blessings dual earned and Makkah of scholars the from narrated who اللہ علیھا
and narration of Hadith. There are many such examples of great women in Islamic history who
excelled in their fields. Our time should not be wasted on contemplating how the Hereafter will
be. Its state will be seen once we are there but while we are here let us not waste time on
asking the question 'Who will be in Jannah or Jahannam?' but let us all ask ourselves 'Will I be
in Jannah or Jahannam?'
واللہ اعلم
11 / 11
By Ebrahim Saifuddin
حدثنا سعيد بن أبي مريم قال أخبرنا محمد بن جعفر قال أخبرني زيد هو ابن أسلم عن عياض بن
عبد الله عن أبي سعيد الخدري قال خرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في أضحى أو فطر إلى
المصلى فمر على النساء فقال يا معشر النساء تصدقن فإني أريتكن أكثر أهل النار فقلن وبم
يا رسول الله قال تكثرن اللعن وتكفرن العشير ما رأيت من ناقصات عقل ودين أذهب للب الرجل
الحازم من إحداكن قلن وما نقصان ديننا وعقلنا يا رسول الله قال أليس شهادة المرأة مثل
نصف شهادة الرجل قلن بلى قال فذلك من نقصان عقلها أليس إذا حاضت لم تصل ولم تصم قلن بلى
قال فذلك من نقصان دينها۔ بخاری، کتاب الحیض، باب ترک الحائض الصوم
It is related that Abu Sa'id al-Khudri عنه الله رضي said, "The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, set out to
the place of prayer on the Day of Adha or Fitr and passed by the women. He said, 'O
congregation of women! Give alms for I have seen that you will make up the majority of the
inhabitants of the Fire!' They said, 'Why, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'You call down too many
curses and show ingratitude to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in
intellect or deen. Yet the mind of even a resolute man might be swept away by one of you.'
They said, 'In what way is our deen and intellect deficient, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Is not
the testimony of a woman worth only half that of a man?' They said, 'Yes.' He said, 'That is how
your intellect is deficient. Is it not so that when a woman is menstruating, she neither prays nor
fasts?' They said, 'Yes.' He said, 'That is how her deen is deficient.'" – (Bukhari; Book of
Menstruation, Chapter of Menstruating Women Abstaining from Fast)
Majority of the Dwellers of Hell
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
A number of questions have been raised regarding the above-mentioned Hadith which is
reported in a number of collections. The first objection raised is regarding more women being
dwellers of Hell-fire. This statement has been reported in both Bukhari and Muslim.
The narration in Muslim is as follows:
حدثنا هداب بن خالد حدثنا حماد بن سلمة ح وحدثني زهير بن حرب حدثنا معاذ بن معاذ
العنبري ح وحدثني محمد بن عبد الأعلى حدثنا المعتمر ح وحدثنا إسحق بن إبراهيم أخبرنا
جرير كلهم عن سليمان التيمي ح وحدثنا أبو كامل فضيل بن حسين واللفظ له حدثنا يزيد بن
زريع حدثنا التيمي عن أبي عثمان عن أسامة بن زيد قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
قمت على باب الجنة فإذا عامة من دخلها المساكين وإذا أصحاب الجد محبوسون إلا أصحاب
النار فقد أمر بهم إلى النار وقمت على باب النار فإذا عامة من دخلها النساء۔ مسلم، کتاب
الرقاق، باب أكثر أهل الجنة الفقراء وأكثر أهل النار النساء وبيان الفتنة بالنساء
Usama bin Zaid عنه الله رضي reported that Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "I stood at the door of
Paradise and I found that the overwhelming majority of those who entered therein was that of
poor persons and the wealthy persons were detained to get into that. The denizens of Hell were
commanded to get into Hell, and I stood upon the door of Fire and the majority amongst them
who entered there was that of women." – (Muslim; Kitabul Riqaq, Chapter of Majority of People
of Jannah are the Poor and Majority of the People of Hell are Women and Fitnah by Women)
These Ahadith suggest that the population of women will be more than men in Hell. In another
Hadith reported in Sahih Bukhari it is stated:
It is related from Abu Hurairah عنه الله رضي that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "The first group
to enter the Garden will be like the moon on the night of the full moon. They will not need to spit
nor blow their noses nor defecate. Their vessels will be golden and their combs will be gold and
silver. Their braziers will burn fragrant aloes-wood and their perspiration will be like musk. Each
of them will have two wives, so beautiful that the marrow of their thighs will be able to be seen
through the flesh, and there will be no disagreement between them nor any ill will. Their hearts
will be one, glorifying Allah morning and evening." – (Bukhari; Book of Beginning of Creation,
Chapter of What has come about the description of the Garden and that it is created)
In this Hadith it is observed that people entering Jannah will all have two wives. When some
people were discussing the issue of whether there will be more men or women in Jannah, Abu
Hurairah عنه الله رضي assessed that there will be more women in Jannah and this narration is
reported in Sahih Muslim as follows:
حدثني عمرو الناقد ويعقوب بن إبراهيم الدورقي جميعا عن ابن علية واللفظ ليعقوب قالا
حدثنا إسمعيل ابن علية أخبرنا أيوب عن محمد قال إما تفاخروا وإما تذاكروا الرجال في
الجنة أكثر أم النساء فقال أبو هريرة أو لم يقل أبو القاسم صلى الله عليه وسلم إن أول
زمرة تدخل الجنة على صورة القمر ليلة البدر والتي تليها على أضوإ كوكب دري في السماء
لكل امرئ منهم زوجتان اثنتان يرى مخ سوقهما من وراء اللحم وما في الجنة أعزب۔ مسلم،
كتاب الجنة وصفة نعيمها وأهلها، باب أول زمرة تدخل الجنة على صورة القمر ليلة البدر
وصفاتهم وأزواجهم
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
"Muhammad reported that some (people) stated with a sense of pride and some discussed
whether there would be more men in Paradise or more women. It was upon this that Abu
Hurairah عنه الله رضي reported that Abu'l Qasim صلى الله عليه وسلم said: The first group to get into Paradise
would have their faces as bright as full moon during the night, and the next to this group would
have their faces as bright as the shining stars in the sky, and every person would have two
wives and the marrow of their shanks would glimmer beneath the flesh and there would be none
without a wife in Paradise." (Muslim; Book Pertaining to Paradise, Its Description, Its Bounties
and Its Intimates, Chapter of First Group to Enter Paradise will have Faces Bright as Moon,
Their Description and Their Wives)
This shows that the number of women will be higher than the men in Jannah. However, a
question arises that how can women be majority in both Hell and Heaven. Imam Nawawi رحمة
has (172 pg 17.v ,Azhar bil Misriyyah-al ah'Matba-al ;Edition First) Muslim Sharh in اللہ علیه
written:
قال القاضي : ظاهر هذا الحديث أن النساء أكثر أهل الجنة . وفي الحديث الآخر أنهن أكثر
أهل النار ، قال : فيخرج من مجموع هذا أن النساء أكثر ولد آدم
"Al-Qadhi said: 'It is apparent from this Hadith that most of the people of Jannah are women,
and from the other Hadith most of the people of Hell are women. What one can understand from
both these Ahadith is that majority of the children of Adam are women.'"
Mufti Taqi Usmani is quoted in In'amul Bari (v.1 pg 454) to have stated:
"Some people have stated that this is not an issue as there can be a majority of women in both
places. This answer will be acceptable when it is stated that the majority of the population of the
world is of women.
But to state this is difficult as by the population of the world it is meant, the collective population
that was since the beginning and will be till the end of time. However in a Hadith it is stated that
towards the end of times the ratio of women will be more than men and in some countries we
see this condition today."
A Hadith in Sahih Bukhari confirms:
حدثنا مسدد قال حدثنا يحيى عن شعبة عن قتادة عن أنس بن مالك قال لأحدثنكم حديثا لا
يحدثكم أحد بعدي سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول من أشراط الساعة أن يقل العلم
ويظهر الجهل ويظهر الزنا وتكثر النساء ويقل الرجال حتى يكون لخمسين امرأة القيم
الواحد۔ بخاری، كتاب العلم، باب رفع العلم وظهور الجهل
"Anas عنه الله رضي said, 'I am relating a hadith to you which no one after me will relate to you.
I heard the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say, 'Among the signs of the Hour are that knowledge
becomes negligible, ignorance appears, fornication appears, and there are many women and
few men so that one man has to look after fifty women.'" (Bukhari; Book of Knowledge, Chapter
of Disappearance of Knowledge and Appearance of Ignorance)
Some have also stated that these wives are from the Hoorul 'Ayn and they gather support for
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
this from another Hadith which is as follows:
وحدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد حدثنا عبد الواحد يعني ابن زياد عن عمارة بن القعقاع حدثنا أبو
زرعة قال سمعت أبا هريرة يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أول من يدخل الجنة ح
وحدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد وزهير بن حرب واللفظ لقتيبة قالا حدثنا جرير عن عمارة عن أبي زرعة
عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن أول زمرة يدخلون الجنة على صورة
القمر ليلة البدر والذين يلونهم على أشد كوكب دري في السماء إضاءة لا يبولون ولا
يتغوطون ولا يمتخطون ولا يتفلون أمشاطهم الذهب ورشحهم المسك ومجامرهم الألوة
وأزواجهم الحور العين أخلاقهم على خلق رجل واحد على صورة أبيهم آدم ستون ذراعا في
السماء۔ صحيح مسلم, كتاب الجنة وصفة نعيمها وأهلها, باب أول زمرة تدخل الجنة على صورة
القمر ليلة البدر وصفاتهم وأزواجهم
Abu Hurairah عنه الله رضي reported that Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said: The (members of the) first
group which would get into Paradise will have their faces as bright as stars in the sky. They
would neither pass water, nor void excrement, nor will they suffer from catarrh, nor will they spit,
and their combs would be made of gold, and their sweat will be musk, the fuel of their brazier
will be aloes, and their wives will be large-eyed maidens and their form would be alike as one
single person after the form of their father (Adam) sixty cubits tall. – (Muslim; Book Pertaining to
Paradise, Its Description, Its Bounties and Its Intimates, Chapter of First Group to Enter
Paradise will have Faces Bright as Moon, Their Description and Their Wives)
However there is another Hadith that mentions these wives as " الدنيا نساء من " (from women
of the world), as mentioned in Mirqaat Mafateeh (Daarul Kutub al-'Ilmiyya Beirut, Lebanon;
2001, vol. 3 pg 532) while quoting Tabrani علیه اللہ رحمة . Also, in Durrul Manthur (Markaz
Hajar li al-Buhuth wa al-Dirasaat al-'Arabiyyah wa al-Islamiyyah; 2003, vol.1 pg 214) a Hadith is
quoted which is as such:
وأخرج ابن السكن في المعرفة وابن عساكر في تاريخه عن حاطب بن أبي بلتعة سمعت رسول الله
صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول " يزو جّ المؤمن في الجنة اثنتين وسبعين زوجة سبعين من نساء
الآخرة، واثنتين من نساء الدنيا۔
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "The Believer will get married in Jannah to 72 wives. 70 (of them) will be from
women of the Aakhirah and 2 from women of the world."
Some have given their explanation that this addition of "from women of the world" was added by
the narrator as part of his understanding regarding who these wives will be. Some others have
also stated that all the Ahadith give the conclusion that at first the majority of the people in Hell
will be women. Afterwards when their punishment is over, they will enter Jannah and this is how
the woman population of Jannah will now be more compared to men and it will be possible for a
person to have more than one wife from the women of the world.
Others have given more explanations to this and thus Allamah Anwar Shah Kashmiri اللہ رحمة
:(320 pg 4 .vol ;Lebanon ,Beirut ,Ilmiyyah'-al Kutub Darul) Bari Faydhul in writes علیه
قلت: و هذه مشاهدة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في هذا الوقت, فعلهن كن إذ ذاك أكثرها, و ليس فيه بيان حكم جميع
النساء, و لا مشاهدة جميع الأزمان
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
"I say, 'This is what the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم saw at that time, so perhaps till then, they were majority of the
people in Hell and neither does it include any general ruling on all the women, nor does it
indicate the seeing of women of all times.'"
Another explanation is that it will be a possibility for majority to be women but then Allah will
forgive them and they will thus enter Jannah. This is seen in Mirqaat Mafateeh (Daarul Kutub
al-'Ilmiyya Beirut, Lebanon; 2001, vol. 3 pg 532) as follows:
أو المراد انهن [الأكثر] اهلها بالقوة ثم يعفو الله عنهن هذا
"Or it means that these people (the majority) of Hell are such 'bil-Quwwa' and then Allah
forgives them."
Some would then say that these explanations contradict yet another Hadith in Sahih Muslim
which is as follows:
حدثنا عبيد الله بن معاذ حدثنا أبي حدثنا شعبة عن أبي التياح قال كان لمطرف بن عبد الله
امرأتان فجاء من عند إحداهما فقالت الأخرى جئت من عند فلانة فقال جئت من عند عمران بن
حصين فحدثنا أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال إن أقل ساكني الجنة النساء
"Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Amongst the inmates of Paradise the women would form a minority." -
(Muslim; Kitabul Riqaq, Chapter of Majority of People of Jannah are the Poor and Majority of the
People of Hell are Women and Fitnah by Women)
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani علیه اللہ رحمة answers this objection and writes in Fathul Bari (Darul
Ma'rifah, Beirut; vol.6 pg 325):
و يحتمل أن يكون الراوي رواه بالمعنى الذي فهمه من أن كونهن اكثر ساكني النار يلزم منه
أن يكن اقل ساكني الجنة
"And it is possible that the narrator of this Hadith narrated it because he had understood (from
another Hadith which stated that) as most of the people of Hell were women, thus they
necessarily had to be least in Jannah"
Thus the objection is explained away by Hafidh علیه اللہ رحمة that the narrator narrated this
Hadith 'bil-Ma'na' as per his understanding from another Hadith.
It should be understood that this issue is not as plain as reading one Hadith and thinking that
one has reached an understanding of that topic. It is often seen in Muslims, especially in this
day and age of the internet where they have access to a whole lot of information without proper
knowledge, that they read something from here and something from there and think they have
learnt the topic. We have seen how there are a number of Ahadith on this topic and some seem
contradictory. In order to reconcile these Ahadith, the great scholars of Islam have offered a
number of explanations for these Ahadith so that one can understand the true picture.
For a moment we will say that Ahadith teach that the majority of the dwellers of Hell will be
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
women. Even if this is true, there should be no contention in this matter. One of the two had to
be more in Hell, either the men or the women. It is just as such that women are the majority. If
men had been the majority then people would have questioned 'why are men the majority?' It is
thus not any 'flaw' of Islam that women will form the majority but rather the flaw of the way man
thinks about what is stated.
Secondly to think that this is something which gives men superiority over the women is rather
ridiculous. A man who may boast his superiority and lack behind in following the deen and be
sinful will end up in Hell along with everyone else. One has to worry about themselves rather
than worrying about others. Will this man then point finger at his mother, sister, wife and
daughter and be happy that they have a "better chance" of being in Hell? Every man and
woman has been given the opportunity to save themselves from being the dwellers of Hell and
they should grasp this opportunity instead of worrying how many percentage of women and how
many of men will end up in Hell. How about worrying about how much we have done to ensure
our entrance into Jannah.
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم, along with the reason has also mentioned a cure. The reason he gave are a
matter of nature of women. Now a woman might say, 'but this is not true as I do not have those
qualities.' Her statement that she does not have those qualities might be true but on what basis
can she say that all the women Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم saw in Hell for this quality did not have those two
qualities in them? The best course of action for one to take is to simply avoid cursing as well as
showing ingratitude. Apart from this, one should also give charity as that helps cleanse our
ill-doings. These cures have been mentioned by Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم for our benefit and one should
focus on securing their Hereafter by using the antidote given to us.
Just like when a person is affected by some illness or born with some deficiency, he goes to the
doctor for the cure and when a cure is advised then the person ensures to act upon it. So even
if we state that all women till the end of time were created with this nature of cursing and
showing ingratitude, the cure is mentioned and one should use it. Why do we waste time
arguing over this instead of securing our Aakhirah?
However, as stated before, scholars have explained the seeming contradictions in the Ahadith
in a number of ways. Four such explanations were mentioned above and will be repeated in a
summarized manner below.
First is that scholars have maintained that it is possible that initially the majority of people in Hell
would be women and later after they have completed their punishment they will end up in
Jannah.
The second explanation is that women will be a majority by possibility but then Allah will forgive
them and they will enter Jannah.
A third possibility is that it refers to the entire number of women from the start of creation to the
end of it. The number of women would be more than the number of men and thus it is not
surprising that the number of women in Hell and Jannah will be higher than the number of men.
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
Fourth explanation given is that it referred to women till that time at which Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم had
seen them and it does not incorporate all women and does not refer to all times.
All these are all matters of the unseen and the conditions of Hell and Paradise cannot be
explained and understood in their entirety with our limited intellect and knowledge. What we
know is that Allah is Just and will not put in Hell anyone who does not deserve to be in Hell.
Thus it is better to worry about our doings and not give much thought on such issues as to who
will be more in Hell and who will be more in Jannah. May Allah, by His Mercy, save us from the
Hellfire and grant us Jannatul Firdous.
The Deficiency in Intelligence and Religion
Another objection in the Hadith is regarding women being deficient in intelligence and religion.
The concerned part of the Hadith is reproduced below:
"(Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said), 'I have not seen anyone more deficient in intellect or deen. Yet the mind of
even a resolute man might be swept away by one of you.' They said, 'In what way is our deen
and intellect deficient, Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Is not the testimony of a woman worth
only half that of a man?' They said, 'Yes.' He said, 'That is how your intellect is deficient. Is it not
so that when a woman is menstruating, she neither prays nor fasts?' They said, 'Yes.' He said,
'That is how her deen is deficient.'" – (Bukhari; Book of Menstruation, Chapter of Menstruating
Women Abstaining from Fast)
The statement in the Hadith regarding the deficiencies are general and do not incorporate
everyone. It is nothing but a fact that a menstruating woman cannot offer Salah. So if a man and
woman live for the same amount of time in the world, the total number of Salah offered by the
man will be more because every month there will be a few days during which the woman will not
be able to pray. But this is a general rule because there are many men who neither offer Salah
nor fast. So obviously compared to them the Salah of a woman who is consistent will be more.
Being deficient is not necessarily something bad and only that deficiency is bad for which one
receives a sin e.g. if one leaves Salah on purpose. Further, even in this 'deficiency' there may
be reward for her.
Allamah Badruddin Abu Muhammad Mahmood bin Ahmad al-'Ayni in 'Umdatul Qari Sharh
Sahih Bukhari (Darul Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon; 2001, vol. pg 403
و قال النووي و نقص الدين قد يكون على وجه يأثم به, كمن ترك الصلاة بلا عذر, و قد يكون
على وجه لا يأتم له, كمن ترك الجمعة بعذر, و قد يكون على وجه هو مكلف به كترك الحائض
الصلاة و الصوم. فإن قيل: فإذا كانت معذورة, فهل تثاب على ترك الصلاة في زمن الحيض؟ و إن
كانت لا تقضيها كما يثاب المريض، و يكتب له في مرضه مثل النوافل الصلوات التي كان
يفعلها في صحته. و الجواب الظاهر هذا الحديث انها لا تثاب, و الفرق أن المريض كان يفعلها
بنية الدوام عليها مع اهليته لها, و الحائض ليست كذلك, بل نيتها ترك الصلاة في زمن الحيض
, و كيف لا و هي حرام عليها؟ قلت ينبغي أن يثاب علي ترك الحرام
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
"Imam Nawawi علیه اللہ رحمة said, Lack of one's deen may be in a way where one commits a
sin, such as the one who leaves Salah without any excuse, or it may be in a way for which one
does not sin, such as the one who leaves Friday Prayer for a valid excuse, or it may also be in a
way one is required to leave such as the menstruating woman leaving Salah and Fast. If one
asks, 'If she has an excuse for leaving Salah during menstruation, does she get rewarded even
if she does not do Qadha just like the sick person who gets the reward for the Nawafil he used
to pray while being healthy?' And the apparent answer is that she does not get rewarded, and
the difference between her and a sick person is that the sick person used to pray with the
intention of praying with consistency and the knowledge that he will be able to do so, while the
woman has the intention of not praying while having the period. And how can she pray when
praying (during menstruation) is Haram on her? I say, 'One should get rewarded for leaving the
Haram.'"
As far as the witness issue and thus deficiency in intelligence is concerned, the ruling of two
women witnesses is also found in the Qur'an in Surah Baqarah. It should be made clear that not
in all matters is the witness of two women required. Such an issue on which there is Ijma' where
two women are required is the issue of financial transactions. This has been explained by Ibn
Qudaamah in al-Mughni (Darul Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon; 1985, vol.10 pg 155-161) where he has
also stated:
قال القاضي: و الذي تقبل فيه شهادتهن منفردات خمسة اشياء: الولادة, و الإستسهال, و
الرضاع, و العيوب تحت الثياب كالرتق و القرن و البكارة و الثيابة و البرص, و إنقضاء
العدة
"Qadhi said: And that in which the witness of only women of accepted is Birth, Crying of the
Child at birth, Rida', 'Uyub under the clothes such as Ratq and Qarn, whether she is a virgin or
not, Baras and the end of Iddah."
Thus it is seen that there are many such cases where man has no knowledge and the witness
of a woman is accepted. As far as the issue of financial dealing is concerned, some have
explained that it has to do with the weakness of the memory of woman in mathematical issues.
Some neuro-psychiatrists have also expressed this but it should be know that one should not be
in favor of trying to justify or express the wisdom of the laws of Shari'ah with the help of science.
This is because science is not absolute but the Wisdom of Allah is Absolute. It should however
be noted that this deficiency that the Hadith talks about is general and not all encompassing.
Mufti 'Aashiq Ilahi علیه اللہ رحمة writes in Anwarul Bayan (Darul Ishaat, Karachi, Pakistan;
2005, vol.1 pg 341):
"This applies to general circumstances since there are many exceptions where women may
possess stronger memories, are more intelligent or better able to express themselves than
men."
Moreover, the Qur'an says in Surah Nur (24) verse 6-9:
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
و اَل ذَّ يِن ي رَ مْ وُن أ زَ وْ اَج هَ مُ و لَ مَ ي كَ نُ ل هَّ مُ ش هُ دَ اَء إ لِ اَّ
أ نَف سُ هُ مُ ف شَ هَ اَد ةَ أ حَ دَ هِ مِ أ رَ بْ عَ ش هَ اَد اَت ب اِلل هَّ إ نِ هَّ ل مَ نَِ
الص اَّد قِ يِنَ
و اَل خْ اَم سِ ةَ أ نَ ل عَ نْ تَ الل هَّ ع لَ يَ هْ إ نِ ك اَن م نِ ال كْ اَذ بِ يِنَ
و يَ دَ رْ أَُ
ع نَ هْ اَ ال عْ ذَ اَب أ نَ ت شَ هْ دَ أ رَ بْ عَ ش هَ اَد اَت ب اِلل هَّ إ نِ هَّ ل مَ نَِ
ال كْ اَذ بِ يِنَ
و اَل خْ اَم سِ ةَ أ نَ غ ضَ بَ الل هَّ ع لَ يَ هْ اَ إ نِ ك اَن م نِ الص اَّد قِ يِنَ
Those who accuse their wives (of adultery) while they have no witnesses except their own
selves, then the evidence of one of them would be to swear four oaths by Allah that he is
truthful,
and the fifth (oath) that Allah's curse be on him if he is one of the liars.
And it will remove the punishment from the woman if she swears four oaths by Allah that he (the
accuser husband) is certainly one of the liars,
and the fifth (oath) that Allah's wrath be on her if he is one of the truthful.
In this example it is seen that a woman's witness by Li'aan is enough to be accepted over the
husband's oath. Mufti Shafi' Usmani علیه اللہ رحمة in Ma'ariful Qur'an (Maktaba e Darul
'Uloom, Karachi, Pakistan; 2007, vol.6 pg 363) writes:
"When a husband accuses his wife of adultery or refuses to own his child as being legitimate,
and his wife refutes his allegation to be false, and claims for the punishment of false accusation
of eighty stripes to be awarded to him, then the husband will be asked to produce four
witnesses. If the husband produces four witnesses, then the wife will be awarded the
punishment of adultery, and if he could not produce four witnesses, then they will be subjected
to Li'aan, that is first the husband will be asked to testify four times with the wordings given in
the Qur'an to the effect that he is honest, and the fifth time will say that if he was lying, then
Allah's curse be on him.
If the husband hesitates from saying these words, then he should be arrested and asked either
to swear by saying these words five times or accept himself to be a liar. Until he accedes to one
of the two alternatives, he should not be released. If he accepts himself to be a liar, then he
should be awarded the punishment of false allegation of adultery, but, in case he swears by
repeating the required words five times, then the wife be asked to swear five times by uttering
the words given in the Qur'an for this purpose. If she refuses to swear, then she should be put
under arrest until such time that either she swears five times or accepts her guilt of adultery, in
which case she will be awarded the punishment of adultery. In case she agrees to swear and
utters the required words five times, then the process of Li'aan has been completed. This way
they both have escaped the punishment in this world but in the Hereafter, the one who has lied
will suffer the punishment, as Allah knows best who is the liar."
The suggestion that the woman is half a person, because of the requirement for two women as
witness in some issues, is very incorrect. Firstly if woman was something inferior or degraded in
Islam then there would not have been an issue where only a woman's witness would suffice and
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
as seen in the case above, given preference over the man's witness. And if a woman is said to
be half because of certain cases of witness, then where man's witness is not counted, Islam did
not even give that status of half a person to man. Additionally it can also be argued that
normally two men are required to complete the requirement of witness in an issue but in the
case of adultery the requirement is of four men. Then one should also say that man is half a
person as well. Hence such arguments are baseless and do not have any ground to stand
upon.
By not making 'equal' the witness of one woman to one man in certain cases, there is yet
wisdom of Allah. It is not easy to go through the process of being a witness, becoming an
enemy of the person against whom one is becoming a witness and at times even travel from
one city to another to give the shahadah. These are all stressful and difficult matters and Allah
has relieved the woman from such difficulties otherwise it would have been obligatory for the
woman to go through all such hurdles to give testimony as Allah says in the Qur'an in Surah
Baqarah (2) verse 283:
…و لَا ت كَ تْ مُ وُا الش هَّ اَد ةَ و مَ نَ ي كَ تْ مُ هْ اَ ف إَ نِ هَّ آث مِ ق لَ بْ هُ …ُ
"…Do not conceal testimony. Whoever conceals it, his heart is surely, sinful…"
In another Hadith, in Muwatta Imam Malik as well as in Sahih Muslim, it is stated:
حدثنا يحيى عن مالك عن عبد الله بن أبي بكر بن محمد بن عمرو بن حزم عن أبيه عن عبد الله
بن عمرو بن عثمان عن أبي عمرة الأنصاري عن زيد بن خالد الجهني أن رسول الله صلى الله
عليه وسلم قال ألا أخبركم بخير الشهداء الذي يأتي بشهادته قبل أن يسألها أو يخبر
بشهادته قبل أن يسألها۔ موطأ مالك، ك تِ اَب ال أْ قَ ضْ يِ ةَ ،ِ ب اَب م اَ ج اَء ف يِ
الش هَّ اَد اَتِ
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Shall I not tell you who is the best of witnesses? The one who brings his
testimony before he is asked for it, or tells his testimony before he is asked for it." – (Muwatta
Imam Malik; Book of Judgments, Chapter of Testimonies)
Another Hadith narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari says,
قال رسول اللہ صلى الله عليه وسلم من کتم شھادة اذا دعی الیھا کان کمن شھد بالزور۔ جمع الفوائد بحواله
طبرانی صفه ۲٦ جلد ١
Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said, "Whosoever is called to give witness and then he conceals it, it is as if he has
given false witness." – (Jama'ul Fawa'id with reference to Tabrani, vol.1 pg 26)
It is but for their ease and comfort that the responsibility of certain things are not put on their
shoulders unless there is a necessity. Where the burden and responsibility is put on the
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More Women in Hell than Men and Their Deficiency in Religion and Intelligence
shoulders of one man, there it has been divided among two women.
Conclusion
We live a short life in this world and have a limited amount of time to do good deeds to secure a
place in Jannah with the Mercy of Allah. However, we spend that time dwelling over questions
which have no productive effect on our deeds and in no way help us in the Hereafter. The
history of Islam is full of women with great achievements in different fields. On the witness of
one woman, 'Ayesha عنھا اللہ رضی , we have a great many number of Ahadith on which many
rulings of fiqh are based. Hasan al-Basri علیه اللہ رحمة narrated from his mother Khayrah
رحمة iz'Wa-al Ilyas bint Zulaykha mentions Thanein-ath Aqd-Al .woman a , رحمة اللہ علیھا
worship of blessings dual earned and Makkah of scholars the from narrated who اللہ علیھا
and narration of Hadith. There are many such examples of great women in Islamic history who
excelled in their fields. Our time should not be wasted on contemplating how the Hereafter will
be. Its state will be seen once we are there but while we are here let us not waste time on
asking the question 'Who will be in Jannah or Jahannam?' but let us all ask ourselves 'Will I be
in Jannah or Jahannam?'
واللہ اعلم
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