Women deficient in intelligence?

[Bird]

Asalamu Alaykum

This is a legitimate question. I am NOT starting this thread in order to debate or fight, so please don't misunderstand me. I also don't want any hyper-feminists or misogynists posting and ruining the thread, either.

The hadith "I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you (women)" really confuses me. I am not bragging, audhubillah, but I have always been the most intelligent person in my classes. Since I was young, I always got the highest scores, the 99% percentile in the school. In my country, women, on average, score higher than the men and also more women graduate from college.

Are there different types of intellect? Because if there is only one type, I'm really not seeing how females are dumber than males.
And what of the female scholars of Quran and Hadith? Should they be ignored after their years of research? I am really confused on this subject.

Something else. "Salat becomes null and void if a dog, a donkey, or a woman comes in front". I thought salah becomes invalid if anything passes in front of a praying muslim?

[AlGhuraba]

I asked an aalimah and she said it means on average men are smarter but there are women who are smarter than men, but this is not always the case, more rarer. I think we can all attest to this fact.
the hadith is meant to be general, women are generally less intelligent than men, and i dont see how anyone can say that's not true, i am a woman and i've been saying this since ages.

[mmb786]

woman are definitely less intelligent than men but they know how to USE and appreciate the little they have, whereas men may ALLAH save us from even the topic!

[sudoku]

^ Now, now let's not generalize

[Bird]

My second question was not addressed. I asked about the Female scholars.

[Caliph]

Salah is invalid from dog donkey and woman, not from males etc.

But litsen ukhti, females have smaller brains than males, that is a scientefic fact. They just use it for other purposes. But in religion, then yes women are generally dumber than men, they are also gonna form a majority in hellfire.

Anyways, if you work hard you wont be less intelligent than males, especially these times where men are imitating women.
W/salam.

[Bird]

woman are definitely less intelligent than men but they know how to USE and appreciate the little they have, whereas men may ALLAH save us from even the topic!

Men, on average, score only four points higher on IQ tests than women. That is not very much difference, and was attributed to overall brain size (men are usually larger than women). But this was a limited study, obviously, as one cannot test the entire world population.

But most of the political problems and wars on earth were caused by "educated" men, so I find it very hard to believe men are more intelligent! Women are driven by their emotions and men are driven by their desires, doesn't that make us equally stupid? lol

[mercyofAllah]

Recently I read that just bcos the brain size is larger, it doesn't mean the person should be more intelligent. It was observed that a foolish person had a bigger brain size. This was answered in a tamil magazine when this question was posed. I think intelligence is more to do with the convulutions. ALlahu alam
Khair whatever the Prophet SAW said should be true as whatever he SAW says, there is the guidance of Allah SWT behind his SAW words, the Most truthful and the All aware. Anyway most of the time, we fail to understand the context of hadeeth and it can be taken in wrong sense.

http://www.answering-christianity.co...d_religion.htm

I do not how correct is the explanation given in the above link regarding the same. As I am not too sure I will just leave it to the scholars.

[abd7861]

The meaning of this Hadith is explained in another hadith where Rasulullah explains what he means. I read it Tafseer Ibn Kathir. Deficiency in intelligence is the fact that Allah Ta'ala has equated two female witnesses to one man and deficiency in religion is that fact that women miss the obligatory ibaadah due to haidh, nifaas etc..

Another point to remember that the Sahaabiyaat were also aware of this same hadith and they accepted it fully as it came from Rasulullah . This acceptance of theirs enabled them to reach the height of respect, foresight and piety. Rasulullah was in no way demeaning women he was stating a fact. This is easily thrown into perspective as their are some aspects of Islam that a lady will achieve more reward than any man could ever attain (i.e. the pains of motherhood, childbearing etc..).

I am not a scholar and the above is just my understanding of what I have read. If I have erred May Allah forgive me.

[ummitaalib]

woman are definitely less intelligent than men but they know how to USE and appreciate the little they have, whereas men may ALLAH save us from even the topic!

Lol! i do love you sis mmb!!
ok the following is a write up so if it is correct it is from the fadhl of Allah subhaanahu wata'ala and if not it is from my own definciency (as sis mercyofAllah says the wordds of our Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wasallam can be be anything but the truth......

“A WOMAN’S DEFICIENCY IN REASON & RELIGION”

Shaykh Riyadhul Haqq on Lesson 52 (Darse Hadith), “Laws of Chronic Bleeding”, explains the following hadith which refers to women’s “deficiency in reason and religion”:

Hadrat Abu Sa’eed Khudri R.A. reported;

‘(Once) the Messenger of Allah S.A.W. was going to the eidghah on the eve of Eid or Sacrificial Eid. (On the way) he passed by some women. Addressing them he said:
“O women! Give away in Sadaqah for I see women in majority in hell.”

The women enquired: “Why so, O Allah’s Messenger?”
He replied: “This is because you invoke too many curses and are ungrateful to your husbands. (Further he observed) I have not seen anyone excel women in knocking out the reason of a very shrewd man even though they themselves are deficient in reason and religion.”

The women submitted:
“O Messenger of Allah! What is the deficiency in our reason and religion?”

He said: “Don’t you know that the evidence of a woman is equal to half of a man’s evidence?”
They submitted: “Yes, this is so.”
He said: “This is because she is deficient in reason.”
Further he observed: “Is it not a fact that while she is in menses,
a woman (according to the order of Shari’at) neither offers salat nor observes fast?”
The women submitted: “Yes, that is right.”
“This is deficiency in her religion.” Hadith copied from “A Gift for Muslim Women”by Maulana Ashiq Elahi Madani page 786

Shaykh Riyadhul Haqq explains (on side A-halfway & continues to side B)

This missing of the salaat and the fast during menstruation is in fact the deficiency in the woman’s religion, and the testimony of a woman being similar to half of that of man, is the deficiency in her reasoning. This does not mean that men are inherently far more intelligent than women, i.e. all men are intelligent and all women are not, this is not so.

With regards to her testimony being half of that of a man – and this in the Qur’an- in case one woman forgets, the other reminds her. This is because women suffer from emotional and psychological stresses and pressures in pregnancy and afterwards and during menstruation and bringing up children etc.

The memory loss, erratic behaviour is part of their physiological makeup. They have no control over it. It does not mean the condition is permanent, but women do suffer from this, and since Allah put upon women these stresses and pressures of menstruation, pregnancy etc, the symptoms that go along with it are also imposed upon them by Allah. In His Wisdom Allah has made the testimony of women half of a man’s, and to object to the Qur’an is kufr.

In fact the Ulama say that the women asking the Prophet S.A.W. what the deficiency was, proved the Prophet’s point, as instead of those women pondering over the cursing and being ungrateful to their husbands they asked this question.

Further explained by Maulana Ashiq Elahi Madani in “A gift for Muslim Women”;

The deficiency in a woman’s religion is that in her monthly courses she is deprived of prayer and fasting. Now a woman might raise a question in her heart as to what is the fault of women in this case? The menses are a decree of nature and Shari’at itself has forbidden them to observe prayer and fast during the menstrual period.

The answer to this question is that no doubt the process is natural and the Shari’at too has restrained them from prayer and fasting in this period, yet the fact remains that they are deprived of the blessings of prayer and fasting during their menses. It is in deference to their natural course that they are exempted from the duty of offering prayer in the days of menstrual discharge. Now a woman may ask why has Allah put this restraint upon us? To raise such a question is tantamount to interfering with the wise scheme of Allah and objecting to His Providence and Will.

This is similar to arguing that those who perform hajj will get the reward for it and those who cant, wont get the reward. Now if a man who cannot afford hajj raises the question: Why hasn’t Allah given me the means for hajj, it will be counted as a foolish question and an evidence of his deficient reasoning. The Qur’an says:

“Do not wish for a thing in regard to which Allah has raised some above the others”