Misogyny
- philhoraia
- Aug 21, 2022
- 16 min read
S 16:57 And they assign to Lah the daughters. Praise be to him! And they have what they desire.
Allah is not happy to be assigned daughters.
In verses 58-59 we read: And when one of them has been given the good news of a female his face keeps turning black and he is grieved. He conceals himself from people because of the evil of what he has been given good news of. Does he hang on to it in shame or does he bury it in the dust? Indeed, evil was what they judge.
How many men would have been disappointed at the news of a baby girl? Not many. The author actually uses the word "evil" of her.
S 17:40 Then has your lord chosen for you sons and taken from the angels females? You say a great speech.
'Great' here is used negatively.
S 43:16 Or has he taken daughters from what he creates and chosen sons for you?
According to Asbab al-Nuzul, the founder of Islam worshipped the daughters that had been ascribed to Allah.
(Never sent We a messenger or a prophet before thee…) [22:52]. The commentators of the Qur'an said: “When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, saw that his people were shunning him, he was aggrieved by their rejection of the message he brought them and he secretly wished that Allah, exalted is He, reveals something to him which would bring him and his people closer to each other, keen as he was to see them accept faith. One day, he sat in one of the congregations of Quraysh which attracted a huge number of its members, and he wished that Allah, exalted is He, does not reveal to him on that day anything that might repel them from him. Allah, exalted is He, revealed to him then Surah al-Najm (By the star when it stetteth…) [Surah 53]. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, recited it but when he reached (Have ye thought upon al-Lat and al-'Uzza, and Manat, the third, the other) [53:19-20], the devil put on his tongue what he had secretly wished and hoped for and said: 'These are the mighty cranes (gharaniq) and their intercession is hoped for'. When the Quraysh heard this, they were very pleased. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, carried on reciting until the end of the Surah and then prostrated. All the Muslims followed suit and prostrated, and all the idolaters who were present prostrated too. All those who were present, whether Muslim or disbeliever, prostrated except al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah and Abu Uhyahah Sa'id ibn al-'As who were too advanced in age and could not prostrate, but they both grabbed a handful of dust and put their foreheads on it. The Quraysh then dispersed, happy with what they heard. They said: 'Muhammad has mentioned our idols with complimentary terms. We know that Allah gives life and takes it away, He creates and provides sustenance, but these idols of ours will intercede for us with Him. Now that Muhammad has associated them, we are all with him'. That evening, Gabriel, peace be upon him, went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'What have you done? You recited to people that which I did not bring from Allah, glorified is He, and you said what I did not say to you'. Altafsir.com - The Tafsirs - التفاسير
Men supposedly hated baby girls and would bury them alive. But see my post: https://philhoraia.wixsite.com/website/post/does-s-81-address-a-custom-of-burying-baby-girls-alive
In S 21:17 we read: Had we wanted to take a ‘fun’ we would have taken it from us if we were doers.
Why is he using the word 'fun' of women? Are they for him just sexual playthings?
Then there's wife beating. On which, see my post: https://philhoraia.wixsite.com/website/post/beating-women
In the Final or Farewell Sermon we read: "Now then, O people, you have a right over your wives and they have a right over you. You have [the right] that they should not cause anyone of whom you dislike to tread on your beds; and that they should not commit any open indecency. If they do, then Allah permits you to shut them in separate rooms and to beat them, but not severely. If they abstain from [evil], they have the right to their food and clothing in accordance with the custom. Treat women well, for they are [like] domestic animals with you and do not possess anything for themselves. You have taken them only as a trust from Allah, and you have made the enjoyment of their persons lawful by the word of Allah, so understand and listen to my words, O people."
The History of al-Tabari, Volume 9 The Last Years of the Prophet (Translated by Ismail K. Poonawala), pp. 112-113 The Farewell Sermon - WikiIslam
Women get a lesser inheritance share.
S 4:11 Allah advises you concerning your children: for the male the like of the share of two females. But if there are women above two, then for them is two thirds of what he has left. And if there is one, then for her is half. And for his parents, for each of them a sixth of what he has left, if he has a child. But if he had no child, and his parents have inherited from him, then for his mother a third. And if he has brothers, then for his mother a sixth after a bequest he makes or debt. Your parents and your sons--you do not know which of them is closer to you in benefit. An obligation from Allah. Allah was learned, wise.
From an Answering Islam article:
The Quran in Sura 4:11 says:
The share of the male shall be twice that of a female . . . . (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 311) (See Sura 4:176.)
Classical legal scholars agree with this underlying principle of awarding the male twice the inheritance of the female.
Malik (d. 795) is a founder of a major school of law. He composed a law book that is also considered a collection of reliable hadith: Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik ibn Anas: The First Formation of Islamic Law (rev. trans. Aisha Bewley, Inverness, Scotland: Madina Press, 1989, 2001).
Malik writes:
The generally agreed upon way of doing things among us . . . about fixed shares of inheritance (fara’id) of children from the mother or father when one or the other dies is that if they leave male and female children, the male takes the portion of two females.
Ibn Rushd, known in the West as Averroës (d. 1198), is the most thorough compiler and editor of legal opinions. His two-volume work, The Distinguished Jurist’s Primer, (trans. Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization, Reading, UK: Garnet, 1994-1996), took over twenty years to write. It provides a foundation in Islamic law for judges and legal scholars throughout the Islamic world, where it is still used today.
Ibn Rushd agrees with Malik:
Muslims [jurists] agreed that the inheritance of the child from his father or mother, if they are both males and females, is that the share of the male is equal to the shares of two females . . . (vol. 2, p. 413).
Maududi explains the rationale behind the verse:
The guiding principle about the division of inheritance is that the share of the male shall be double that of the female, and this is very sound and just. As the Muslim law lays the major burden of the economic responsibility of the family on the male and keeps the female almost free from it, justice demands that her share of inheritance should be less than that of the male. (vol. 1, p. 312, note 15). Women are inferior to men in the Quran
Then there's women's testimony.
S 2:282 Those who have believed, when you have mutually contracted for a debt to a fixed term, write it. And let a scribe write between you with equity. And let a scribe not refuse to write as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one upon whom is the right dictate and let him fear Allah his lord and let him not diminish anything from it. Then if the one one upon whom is the right was a fool or weak or not able to dictate, he, then let his protector dictate with equity. And call two witnesses of your men. And if there are not two men then a man and two women of whom you are pleased of the witnesses, that one of them two strays then one of them two will remind the other. And let the witnesses not refuse when what they have been called. And do not tire to write it, small or big, to its term. That is more equitable with Allah and more upright for the testimony and nearer that you do not doubt except that there be a present trade that you run among you then there is not a misdemeanour upon you not to write it. And call to witness when you have concluded a deal. And let a scribe not be harmed nor a witness. And if you do then it is dissoluteness in you, and fear Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is learned in everything.
From the same article:
This hadith removes any ambiguity about women in Sura 2:282:
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
The Prophet said, "Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind." (Bukhari, emphasis added)
The reason for diminishing women’s role in court is clear enough. Women have deficient minds, says Muhammad bluntly and tersely. Sura 2:282 says that a female witness may "forget," so the other female witness may need to remind the first. The Quran and the hadith match up well in this matter. In the one area that sets humans apart—the mind—Muhammad says that womankind falls short by nature or Allah-endowed (in)abilities.
As for later legal opinions in Islam, Ibn Rushd again guides us. Sura 2:282 appears in a contractual business context, but legal scholars differ on whether woman may serve as witnesses in other contexts, like criminal cases.
From another article:
Q. 4:34
“Men have authority over women because God has made the one SUPERIOR to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them…” S. 4:34 N. J. Dawood
“Men are SUPERIOR to women on account of the qualities with which God hath gifted the one ABOVE THE OTHER, and on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them…” Rodwell
“Men stand SUPERIOR to women in that God hath preferred some of them over others, and in that they expend of their wealth…” Palmer
Q. 2:282
“O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you. Let not the scribe refuse to write as Allah has taught him, so let him write. Let him (the debtor) who incurs the liability dictate, and he must fear Allah, his Lord, and diminish not anything of what he owes. But if the debtor is of poor understanding, or weak, or is unable himself to dictate, then let his guardian dictate in justice. And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a man and TWO WOMEN, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her…” Hilali-Khan
Q. 4:11
“Allah commands you as regards your children's (inheritance); to the male, a portion equal to that OF TWO FEMALES…” Hilali-Khan
Q. 4:176
“… if there are brothers and sisters, the male will have TWICE THE SHARE OF THE FEMALE…” Hilali-Khan [...]
According to Yunus - Ibn Wahb - Ibn Zayd (commenting on God's word: "And he whispered"): Satan whispered to Eve about the tree and succeeded in taking her to it; then he made it seem good to Adam. He continued. When Adam felt a need for her and called her, she said: No! unless you go there. When he went, she said again: No! unless you eat from this tree. He continued. They both ate from it, and their secret parts became apparent to them. He continued. Adam then went about in Paradise in flight. His Lord called out to him: Adam, is it from Me that you are fleeing? Adam replied: No, my Lord, but I feel shame before You. When God asked what had caused his trouble, he replied: Eve, my Lord. Whereupon God said: Now it is My obligation to make her bleed once every month, as she made this tree bleed. I ALSO MAKE HER STUPID, although I had created her intelligent (halimah), and must make her suffer pregnancy and birth with difficulty, although I made it easy for her to be pregnant and give birth. Ibn Zayd said: Were it not for the affliction that affected Eve, the women of this world would not menstruate, AND THEY WOULD BE INTELLIGENT and, when pregnant, give birth easily. (The History of Al-Tabari: General Introduction and From the Creation to the Flood, translated by Franz Rosenthal [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany 1989], Volume 1, pp. 280-281; bold and capital emphasis ours)
“… And summon to bear witness, the debt, two witnesses, men, mature Muslim free men; or if the two, witnesses, be not men, then one man and two women, to bear witness, such witnesses as you approve of, on account of their piety and probity; the number of women is because of the fact, so that if one of the two women errs, forgets the testimony, GIVEN THEIR LESSER ASTUTENESS AND ACCURACY; the other, the one remembering, will remind her (read fa-tudhakkira or fa-tudhkira), the one that has forgotten — the ‘reminding’ clause is the reason [for the choice of two women], that is to say, so that she may be reminded if she errs or strays into error, because this [forgetfulness] is the cause of it (a variant reading [for an, ‘that’] has the conditional in, ‘if’, with [the verb inflected as] tudhakkiru, ‘she will remind’, making it a new sentence, the response to which [follows])…” (Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Q. 2:282; bold and capital emphasis ours) Men are in charge of, they have authority over, women, disciplining them and keeping them in check, because of that with which God has preferred the one over the other, that is, because God has given them the advantage over women, IN KNOWLEDGE, REASON, authority and otherwise, and because of what they expend, on them [the women], of their property…” (Ibid., Q. 4:34; bold and capital emphasis ours) “… And they (women) have rights) and inviolability with their husbands (similar to those) of their husbands (over them in kindness) in kind companionship and intercourse, (and men are a degree above them) in relation to the REASONING FACULTY, INHERITANCE, BLOOD MONEY, as WITNESSES in court and also that which they owe them in terms of expenditure and service.” (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs, Q. 2:228; bold and capital emphasis ours)
“(Men are in charge of women) they are in charge of overseeing the proper conduct of women, (because Allah hath made the one of them) the men THROUGH REASON and the division of booty and estates (to excel the other) the women…” (Ibid., Q. 4:34; bold and capital emphasis ours) Did Muhammad Teach that Women are Stupid and Inferior to Men?
S 2:223 Your women are tilth for you so come to your tilth as you will and dispatch for yourselves and fear Allah and know that you are meeting him. And give good news to the believers.
This is really about buggering a woman against her will. Regarding this verse, see the article above and: "Plowing fields" and marrying little girls in the Quran
If a woman refuses to give herself to her husband, the angels will curse her. From the same article:
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "If a husband calls his wife to his bed (i.e. to have sexual relation) and she refuses and causes him to sleep in anger, the angels will curse her till morning." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 460)
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying: By Him in Whose Hand is my life, when a man calls his wife to his bed, and she does not respond, the One Who is in the heaven is displeased with her until he (her husband) is pleased with her. (Sahih Muslim, Book 008, Number 3367)
In fact, women are so low according to Muhammad that he even placed them on the same level as dogs and asses.
Narrated ‘Aisha: The things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me. They said, "Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey AND A WOMAN (if they pass in front of the praying people)." I said, "You have made us (i.e. women) dogs. I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in my bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I would slip away, for I disliked to face him." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 9, Number 490)
Abu Dharr reported: THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH SAID: When any one of you stands for prayer and there is a thing before him equal to the back of the saddle that covers him and in case there is not before him (a thing) equal to the back of the saddle, HIS PRAYER WOULD BE CUT OFF BY (passing of an) ASS, WOMAN, AND BLACK DOG. I said: O Abu Dharr, what feature is there in a black dog which distinguish it from the red dog and the yellow dog? He said: O, son of my brother, I asked the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) as you are asking me, and he said: The black dog is a devil. (Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1032)
Abu Huraira reported: THE MESSENGER OF ALLAH SAID: A WOMAN, AN ASS AND A DOG DISRUPT THE PRAYER, but something like the back of a saddle guards against that. (Sahih Muslim, Book 004, Number 1034)
A girl's urine contaminates more than a boy's. From an Answering Islam article:
"Ali narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: 'The urine of a baby boy should have water sprinkled upon it. The urine of a baby girl is to be washed off.' Says Qatadah, 'This refers to a male baby that has not yet begun to eat. If he already eats, then the garment is to be washed.'
This hadith is related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah. In al-Fath, Ibn Hajar says its chain is sahih.
Sprinkling is sufficient as long as the boy is still nursing. If he eats solid food, his urine must be washed from the clothes and body. There is no disagreement on this latter point. Perhaps the reason for this exemption to the male baby's urine is that people have a tendency to carry their male babies around, and it would have been difficult to clean the clothes after their frequent urinations." (Fiqh us-Sunnah [American Trust Publications, Indianapolis Indiana 1991], Volume 1. Purification and Prayer, pp. 9-10; bold emphasis ours) {...}
If it is said, What is the reason why the urine of a boy who is not eating food is sprinkled and not washed like the urine of a girl? The answer is that the reason is that this is what is enjoined in the Sunnah, and that is sufficient reason. Hence when 'Aa'ishah was asked why a woman has to make up fasts that were missed because of menstruation but she does not have to make up prayers missed for the same reason, she said, "That used to happen to us at the time of the Messenger, and we were commanded to make up the fasts and we were not commanded to make up the prayers."
Nevertheless, some scholars have tried to come up with the reason for that. Some of them said: the reason for that is that it is easier, because usually the male is carried a lot, and people rejoice over him AND LOVE HIM MORE THAN THE FEMALE, and his urine comes out from a narrow opening, so when he urinates it spreads. Because he is carried a lot and washing his urine would be too difficult, so this concession was made. They also said: his nourishment which is milk is soft, so when he starts to eat regular food it becomes necessary to wash his urine.
The apparent meaning of the words of our companions (the Hanbalis) is that differentiating between the urine of boys and girls is something that is prescribed in the Sunnah, so we follow it… Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com) (Islam Q&A, Question #36877: The age at which a baby boy’s urine must be washed off; bold and capital emphasis ours)
Muhammad made a further differentiation between the birth of boys and girls in his prescription of sacrifices on their behalf:
Narrated Salman bin 'Amir Ad-Dabbi: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "'Aqiqa is to be offered for a (newly born) boy, so slaughter (an animal) for him, and relieve him of his suffering." (Note: It has been quoted in Fateh-Al-Bari that the MAJORITY of the Religious Scholars agrees to the Hadith narrated in Sahih At-Tirmizy that the Prophet was asked about Aqiqa and he ordered two sheep for a boy and ONE SHEEP FOR A GIRL AND THAT HIS TRADITION IS "SUNNA”.) (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 66, Number 380)
Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As: The Apostle of Allah was asked about the aqiqah. He replied: Allah does not like the breaking of ties (uquq), as though he disliked the name. And he said: If anyone has a child born to him and wishes to offer a sacrifice on its behalf, he may offer TWO resembling sheep FOR A BOY AND ONE FOR A GIRL. And he was asked about fara'. He replied: Fara' is right. If you leave it (i.e. let it grow till it becomes a healthy camel of one year or two years, then you give it to a widow or give it in the path of Allah for using it as a riding beast, it is better than slaughtering it at the age when its meat is stuck to its hair, and you turn over your milking vessel and annoy your she-camel. (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 15, Number 2836) The Urine of a Boy VS the Urine of a Girl in Islam Pt. 2
Asma' (May Allah be pleased with her) said:
A woman came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! I have a daughter who had an attack of small pox and her hair fell off. Now I want to celebrate her marriage. Can I get her a wig?" Thereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has cursed the maker and wearer of a wig." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Aisha lost some of her hair.
It was narrated that 'Abdulleh said:
"The Messenger of Allah cursed the woman who does tattoos and the one who has them done, and those who pluck their eyebrows and file their teeth for the purpose of beautification, and those who change the creation of Allah." News of that reached a woman of Banu Asad who was called Umm Ya'qub. She came to him and said: "I have heard that you said such and such." He said: 'Why should I not curse those whom the Messenger of Allah cursed ? And it is in the Book of Allah.'' She said: "I read what is between its two covers 'and I have not found that." He said: "If you read it properly you would have found it. Have you not read the words: 'And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it).'?" She said: "Of course." He said: 'The Messenger of Allah forbade that." She said: 'I think that your wife does it.' He said: " Go and look." So she went and looked and she did not see what she wanted. She said: "I have not seen anything!’ 'Abdullah said: "If she was as you say, I would not have kept her with me. "
Narrated Ibn `Umar:
Evil omen was mentioned before the Prophet: The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If there is evil omen in anything, it is in the house, the woman and the horse."
Dar 'house' is of feminine gender. It's likely that he had the mare in mind when mentioning the horse. Faras masculine or feminine.
Comments