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| Salam, sister. Thank you for all your questions, which raise very important issues. As I always say in speeches and write in articles, the status of women in Islamic Law is a major challenge facing reformers and modern scholars in general. In my understanding, the main theme of your questions is that there are narrations that contradict certain principles, such as the oneness of God, justice, and equality. The factjor that makes these questions more challenging is that these narrations are labeled authentic in a number of traditional sources of Hadith and Islamic Law, as you noted in your question. Understanding the Science of Hadith But the correct and scientific method of dealing with a hadith is not limited to branding it (as you put it) as authentic or inauthentic. The science of Hadith does not boil down to such a simple binary classification. There is a whole Islamic branch of knowledge that is dedicated to the authentication of narrators, or more accurately, criticism of narrations. There is a difference between criticism of a hadith based on its chain of narrators and based on its content. In my view, we have to keep in mind both of these levels of criticism, especially when it comes to hadiths related to women. The chain-of-narrators level of critical authentication of a hadith is to check the narrators in terms of their personalities and their numbers. Trusting a narration entails a group of conditions for bearing or learning the hadith, and another group for conveying or narrating the hadith, which all schools agreed upon in principle. To be accepted as a bearer of a hadith, a narrator has to be mature (most estimates assume that a mature narrator should be at least seven years old, and known to have a reliable memory. To be accepted as a narrator of a hadith, a narrator also has to have a connected chain of narrators or teachers from him or herself to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The exact specifications of each of these conditions are subject to some difference of opinion among scholars of Hadith. In terms of numbers, valid hadiths (that is, those that are narrated through trusted narrators) are classified into consecutive (mutawatir) and single-chained (ahad). Hadiths With Consecutive Narrations Consecutive narrations are as absolute as the Qur'an, according to all schools, since they are narrated after a large number of Companions (there are various definitions of the number large), who could not possibly or logically agree to lie. Hadiths included in this category are related to Islam's most famous acts of worship (basic actions of prayers, pilgrimage, and fasting). However, the category does not include any hadiths in the form of sayings. The absoluteness of these narrations, according to all schools, implies an obligation on every Muslim to believe in and practice them. Hadiths With Single-Chained Narrations The hadiths categorized as single-chained are related by a number of narrators not numerous enough for it to be logically impossible for them to agree on lying. This category includes a small number of the hadiths available in traditional sources (less than 100 hadiths according to all accounts), which makes its impact on the law limited from a practical point of view. The category of Hadith that includes the vast majority of narrations (including all those related to women and Islamic Law) is the single-chained (ahad) category. All schools of Islamic Law, except for some Mu`tazilites relied on these narrations in their derivation of rulings. These are hadiths conveyed via one or a few chains of narration, usually with slightly different wordings. If the narrators are trustworthy, then the hadith is authentic. This is common knowledge. Validating the Content of Hadith However, what is not common knowledge is that a hadith narrated via an authentic chain is not necessarily valid according to all schools of law. This is because a narration has to be valid in terms of both its chain of narrators and its content. Traditionally speaking, for the content of a hadith to be acceptable, the main criteria are that it be linguistically correct and that it not be in opposition with another hadith or with reason in a way that cannot be reconciled. In this case, an authentically narrated hadith would be rejected based on the incoherence of its content, which is then attributed to a narrator's mistake. The hadiths that you mentioned in your question are single-chained narrations, many of which are related according to trustworthy narrators. However, many scholars who took a second look at the content of these hadiths reinterpreted them or reconciled between them and other hadiths because the content contradicted not just one other hadith but a large number of verses and hadiths that set certain Islamic principles. Dealing With Contradictions Generally speaking, there are two ways or methods of dealing with this contradiction. The first method is to try to reinterpret the hadith in order to make sense out of it and logically reconcile it with these principles. The second method is simply to reject the hadith and label it inauthentic. It is the first method (reinterpretation) that many scholars followed when they said that prostrating oneself before one's husband means "respecting him," or that "women's deficiency" or their being "bad omens" was mentioned in the way of joking, and so on. The second method, which is also valid, and which should be used to answer many of your questions and similar questions, is to question whether there is some error on the part of one of the narrators due to his own male-biased background. Therefore, a narration that could have been "a good husband deserves ultimate respect and humility" is mistakenly conveyed to contain the word prostration. Due to limited space, let me take only one of these narrations and analyze its authenticity, as an example. Case Study: Women Are Bad Omens? According to Al-Bukhari, Abu Hurairah, narrated: "Your bad omen is in your woman, your animal, and your house." However, Al-Bukhari also narrated in the same chapter that `A'ishah said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had said, instead, "People during the days of pre-Islamic ignorance (Jahiliyyah) used to say, 'Bad omens are in women, animals, and houses.'" In terms of the science of Hadith, `A'ishah rejected Abu Hurairah's narration on the basis of its content rather than its chain of narrators. Abu Hurairah is a great Companion, but he simply made a mistake in this narration. Apparently, `A'ishah thought he did not hear the full sentence as he thought he did. Here we have two narrations, honestly and accurately narrated by Al-Bukhari on the authority of trustworthy narrators. However, they are clearly at odds and one of them should be rejected, no doubt about that. It is quite telling that most commentators rejected `A'ishah's narration and accepted Abu Hurairah's, even though she supported the meaning of her narration with a verse from the Qur'an, saying what means *{Naught of disaster befalleth in the earth or in yourselves but it is in a Book before we bring it into being - Lo! that is easy for Allah.}* (Al-Hadid 57:22) Another Companion, Mikhmar, supported `A'ishah's narration with a similar narration that says, "There is no such thing as bad omens." But the Muslim scholar Ibn Al-Jawzi, surprisingly, commented, "How can `A'ishah reject an authentic narration?" (and note that her narration is also an authentic narration). Another scholar, Ibn Al-`Arabi, shockingly, commented, "`A'ishah's rejection of the narration is nonsense" (Abu Bakr Al-Maliki Ibn Al-`Arabi, `Aridat Al-Ahwadhi, Cairo: Dar Al-Wahy Al-Muhammadi, n.d., vol.10, 264). The great scholar Badruddin Az-Zarkashi wrote a book dedicated to `A'ishah's critiques of the other Companions' narrations. For more on this, please refer to Az-Zarkashi, Badruddin, Al-Ijabah li-'Irad ma Istadrakathu `A'ishah `ala As-Sahabah (The Answer That Cites `A'ishah's Amendments to the Companions' Narrations), ed. Sa`eed Al-Afghani, 2nd ed. Beirut: Al-Maktab Al-Islami, 1970. The Principle Is the Rule In conclusion, I would like to stress that men and women are equal in Islam, before God and Islamic Law, and in terms of their humanity and value. This is the Islamic basic principle according to a large number of Islamic sources. Any isolated narration or interpretation that contradicts this principle should be reinterpreted or rejected according to the weakness of its content. I hope this answers your question. Please stay in touch. Salam. |
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