Why did prophet Muhammad say that women have LESS minds than men?

Question

There is a very famous prophetic statement (Hadith) that prophet Muhammed told a woman that women have LESS minds than men. When the woman asked him why he was saying that he told her that the reason women have less minds than men is because their testimony in courts is only given HALF credit (this is true in Islam).

The exact statement (hadith) can be found at the following links (in its original Arabic language):
http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/Display.asp?hnum=114&doc=1
http://hadith.al-islam.com/Display/Display.asp?hnum=293&doc=0

I think that prophet Muhammad's explanation is like the egg-and-chick case. Does Islam give a woman's testimony ONLY half credit because she has less mind than a man, or is it vice versa?

Answer 1

Islam says at first to make women converts that they are equal but truly that is not the case.

Answer 2

A woman's testimony is half ONLY IN SOME CASES because women might get afraid and tell lie to protect themselves so if there are two women , both will be a help for each other while giving witness regarding the matter.If one woman forgets something then the other can remind her

And by the way , in a research it was revealed that women have weak brains than men . May be that is the reason many discoverers/inventors/scientists were/are men.

Remember: There is not a single wrong thing in Islam

Answer 3

They are not just less in mind:

They are the cause of evil omens.

They lack intelligence and faith.

In regard to inheritance, they are entitled only to one-half of the man’s rightful inheritance.

Her testimony in courts and business contracts is equal to one-half of the man’s testimony and value. It's an insult to call women to emotional to make a wise decision in front of a court.

Muhammad also said that women possess sinister characters.

If a woman walks in front of a man while he is praying, she will invalidate his prayer and he has to repeat it. Muhammad said that a prayer would be nullified if a donkey, a dog or a woman pass in front of the praying man.

The greatest among the companions, such as Ibn Abbas, Abu Zarr, Abu Hurayra, as well as the Caliphs (like Ali Ibn Abi Talib) have confirmed these statements. All Muslims know who these famous personalities are and what position they occupy in transmitting the Hadiths. Such abuses made A’isha scream in their faces, "You have put us on the same level with a donkey and a dog!"

All to be found in the Quran and Hadiths the very words of the Prophet!

Answer 4

Aside from the fact that this question is dangerously worded, the Answer to such a question must be pursued and given from proper motivation, and in a proper context.

It has much to do with the Origin of the Male, and the Origin of the Female, in terms of physical form.

But the way this question is worded would only distort the reader's perception of the answer.

It is a natural phenomena that Women tend to gravitate toward Men they can "look up to", and Men tend to be more satisfied with Women who "look up to them". This is not a religious phenomena, it is in the Nature of us as Human Beings.

Whereever there is a family unit where this Order is upset or reversed, there is generally significant discontent.

As the Bible teaches, As Christ is the Head of Man, so Man is the Head of Woman. It is a rather dogmatic way of expressing a Natural Law.

RM

Answer 5

Hmm, I see you haven't gone through the website that I gave you. I actually like your questions though. You are causing me to learn even more about Islam. Thanks!




Here is information about a woman's testimony.


4)The woman's testimony. is equal only to half of the man's testimony: This is a gross mis-representation. The woman testimony is equal to the man's testimony except in one case only, the financial transactions. This is according to 2:282;

[ 2:282] O you who believe, when you transact a loan for any period, you shall write it down. An impartial scribe shall do the writing. ........ Two men shall serve as witnesses; if not two men, then a man and two women whose testimony is acceptable to all. Thus, if one woman becomes biased, the other will remind her. It is the obligation of the witnesses to testify when called upon to do so. ......

Financial transactions are the ONLY situations where two women may substitute for one man as witness. This is to guard against the real possibility that one witness may marry the other witness, and thus cause her to be biased. It is a recognized fact that women are more emotionally vulnerable than men. If the woman as a witness was worth half that of a man, the verse would have stated so clearly. But obviously that is not the case. Women's testimony in all other matters are equal to that of a man or even supersedes his testimony as in the case of a wife testifying against her accusation of adultery, 24:6-10. See also, 65:2, 5:106 and 4:6

Answer 6

I agree with Ayesha and Yes ,It is in the beginning of Islam the idea for heritage stand for them but later on Allah himself tell the people How to divide the money so no one feel unjust.
Now women have the same testimony like men.
2. It is true the women listen to their heart more than men and men listen to their mind more than heart . The fact is that it is mercy from Allah , imagine that baby crying you will find the mother leave everything and try to take care of her child but the man only read newspaper .From my own experienced I find that women are only good for nagging and they only care about small details even though they are sweat and lovable without them life is really hell and i love their nagging.

Answer 7

less mind refer to witnessing a crime. women tend to put emotions into their testimony. i work with 8 women for 9 years, and when they telling me about some story, it never accurate, they tend to add too much emotions into their testimony.

women go thru period which affects their mood and behavior. and if women as logical as the man, why then no woman had become president in the USA by now? if prophet Muhammad said this, then he said the truth.

Answer 8

Good point there. So I think you are stupid, *therefore* I treat you as a lower human, you ask me why I think that you are stupid, and I answer "Well, *because*, look, I treat you like a lower human!". It is actually a logical fallacy (the confusion of causes with effects). ...But perhaps this isn't Muhammad's only explanation?

(I disagree with the main idea anyway, but this was just a matter of logic)

Answer 9

I dunno in case you watch those shows with the abode movies of somebody rather much killing themselves doing something stupid 9 circumstances out of 10 it somewhat is a guy. i'm I guy and that i spotted that. in spite of the actuality that i've got primary some women persons jointly with an ex-gf who have been dumber than inanimate products.

Answer 10

At the mosque I visited, they taught that women were held in equal or higher esteem as spiritual leaders. Since the Bible says to honor the mother and father, putting the mother first, they recognize women and mothers as a greater spiritual influence and factor because they house and birth souls into the world.

The Bahai faith also advocates investing more resources into education for women and daughters, since these will be the future mothers of children and next generations.

So I think spiritually women are recognized as equal to men, or higher for those who consider the process of birthing, mothering, and other gifts to be a greater responsibility. I think that only in the worldly sense of 'warning' about the biases ways of the world, would anyone discuss women in an inferior light. In general men's judgment tends to be perceived and exercised as "autonomous" while women tend to respond "in relation" to others. I think this shows greater capacity for analytical and holistic critical thinking skills in women, but others may interpret it as being indecisive and dependent on others to be in charge.

Note: There is a similar criticism of Paul in the Bible regarding instructing the women to be silent in the church. His purpose here was to discipline the women students for talking out of turn and being disruptive, similar to asking students to raise their hands and not to interrupt the teacher who is talking. It was not to make a general statement about women, but to criticize disruptive talking between students in class.

So it is important not to take scriptures out of context, like the military instructions of Mohammed during wartime that do NOT apply to civilians in peacetime, and prevent misinterpretation.