Interesting look on Hadith and women

[Mad May]

stolen from an interesting blog

Fatima Mernissi, one of the most famous female Islamic scholars, once wrote about an infamous hadith (Prophetic tradition) and how it has come to define the way we think of women and authority:

Those who entrust their affairs to a woman will never know prosperity.

I’m sure many of you have heard this hadith as it is one of the better-known ones. Mernissi tried to find out whether it was really authentic or not, even though it is in Sahih Bukhari’s collection.

It was narrated by someone named Abu Bakra, and to cut a very long story short, she comes up with the following historical facts:

She gives a detailed historical overview that shows that Abu Bakra had a lot of reason to say something like this, since he had just refused to fight for Aisha.
Abu Bakra came up with other opportunistic hadith at very convenient moments.
He was convicted of and flogged for false testimony by the Caliph ‘Umar (which should have disqualified him from hadith narration since hadith scholars and collectors had VERY strict codes on who could narrate, and if one’s reputation had suffered, then he was automatically disqualified).
Even after Bukhari included this hadith in his collection, it was highly debated by many scholars. Tabari, for example, did not see it as sound enough to disqualify women from education or politics.
Moving on to Abu Hurayra, one of the famous hadith narrators. It’s hilarious reading Mernissi’saccount of him, since she obviously doesn’t like him much One of his hadith:

“The Prophet said that the dog, the ass, and woman interrupt prayer if they pass in front of the believer, interposing themselves between him and the qibla (direction of Makkah).”

Aisha’s response:

“You compare us now to asses and dogs. In the name of God, I have seen the Prophet saying his prayers while I was there, lying on the bed between him and the qibla. And in order not to disturb him, I didn’t move.”

Interestingly, Bukhari did NOT include Aisha’s version in his collection – even though he usually includes all the conflicting hadith.

Another encounter between them:

Aisha:

“Abu Hurayra, you relate hadith that you never heard.”

Abu Hurayra:

“O Mother, all I did was collect hadith, while you were too busy with make-up and your mirror.”

Interesting!

Another hadith Abu Hurayra narrated, “he whom the dawn finds sullied (referring to sullying by the sex act) may not fast”, was refuted by both Aisha AND Umm Salama, who both said the Prophet would spend the night sullied without making any ritual purification, and would then fast in the morning. Abu Hurayra was confronted with this, and then he confessed, under pressure, that he had not heard it from the Prophet, but from someone else. He later retracted his words completely.

Again…interesting! Why, then, was he still considered a narrator of hadith?

Mernissi writes,

“Aisha insisted on these corrections because she was conscious of the implications of what was being said. Pre-Islamic Arabia regarded sexuality, and the menstruating woman in particular, as a source of pollution, as a pole of negative forced.”

Aisha on Aby Hurayra:

“He is not a good listener, and when he is asked a question, he gives wrong answers.”

There are also accounts that say ‘Umar threatened to exile Abu Hurayra if he did not stop recounting hadith!

Interestingly, Abu Hurayra spent 3 years with the Prophet, and remembered 5,300 hadith…even Bukhari included a hadith in his collection nothing that Abu Hurayra recounts TOO MANY hadith!

So has this changed the way you see the hadith addressed here? Why/why not? If it has, has it changed the way you see hadith in general?

http://cairolusakaamsterdam.wordpress.com/

[muslim-man]

Isn't Fatima Mernisi a North African? She once wrote a biography about her experiences growing up in her father's household didn't she? A sort of coming of age book that was made a must-read on college campuses?

[Mad May]

First I've heard of her, sounds like a good read though.

[surrender]

is she not the one that consider herself as Islamic feminist and had doubts in some of the Hadith simply because of what they were saying about women? (is not what the hadith was saying about the women that was the problem rather her limited knowledge of the Quran and the Diin).

[muslim-man]

Yes, its her. I just googled her. I'd to read one of her books for my literature class back when I was in undergrad. She's Moroccan.

Here's the book:



She's one of the earliest Arab feminists that the West embraced. Her expertise is in social inequality & feminist issues. But I don't think she has any Islamic training or knowledge.

[bareento]

A Muslim is not supposed to permanently have one eye on the Koran and the other on the Hadith or play back indefinitely events of 14 century ago
U r a product of your time ...u dont need to check the Koran or the Hadith to decide whether a girl can go to school or not,
u dont need to check the Koran or the Hadith to know whether a woman can be a leader or not (the leader who humiliated Arabs/Muslims the most was a woman Golda Meier)

B.

[manarab]

stolen from an interesting blog
http://cairolusakaamsterdam.wordpress.com/

Anyone can write anything on a blog. So, what's the point?

[AhlulbaytSoldier]

Is there not a hadith saying that when a woman reaches certain age she becomes rebellious?
Abu Hurayrah radiyallah anhu is a trustworthy companion.

[Addoow]

Is there not a hadith saying that when a woman reaches certain age she becomes rebellious?
Abu Hurayrah radiyallah anhu is a trustworthy companion.

Dont waste your time with this woman walal,that hadith is sahiih and it is in sahihul-bukhari.This girl is really disturbed.
salam

[manarab]

Dont waste your time with this woman walal,that hadith is sahiih and it is in sahihul-bukhari.This girl is really disturbed.
salam

Correction; it's Fatima Mernissi who is really disturbed. Mad May is a provocateur whose hobby is stirring up emotions.

[Mad May]

If he was accused of making up Hadith by Aisha ra and Bukhari, why was he included
I think this is funny

Interestingly, Abu Hurayra spent 3 years with the Prophet, and remembered 5,300 hadith…even Bukhari included a hadith in his collection nothing that Abu Hurayra recounts TOO MANY hadith!

[abdalla11]

If he was accused of making up Hadith by Aisha ra and Bukhari , why was he included
I think this is funny

Interestingly, Abu Hurayra spent 3 years with the Prophet, and remembered 5,300 hadith…even Bukhari included a hadith in his collection nothing that Abu Hurayra recounts TOO MANY hadith!

Ignorance, she doesn't even understand it.

Newflash: Bukhari never met Abu Huraira, the latter was an saxaabi, are you accussing a saxabi of lying upon the Prophet?

[Mad May]

I said IF, I'm just reading about this today, from this blog. Read the post, what do you think?
But actually, according to this Fatima woman, Aisha ra accused him of lying/not telling the truth:

Aisha:

“Abu Hurayra, you relate hadith that you never heard.”

[abdalla11]

I said IF, I'm just reading about this today, from this blog. Read the post, what do you think?

Madmay, there is no way a saxabi could lie upon the prophet. The fact that Abu Huraira reported so many axadeeth is because the prophet made a Duca for him in the sense that Abu Hurairah would memorize everything the prophet said. And we all know that the duca's of the prophets will be fulfilled by Allaah.

Besides it says that Umar RA didn't 'trust' Abu Huraira that's BS, because Umar made him the governour of Madina!

And weither a xadeeth is saxiix or not, won't be determined by the Saxabi who narrates it but rather the men who are in the chain/isnaad, everybody trust the saxabi's lakiin the question is are the ones who say that they heard from the saxaba trustworthy.

Saying the saxabi lied upon the prophet is disgraceful because Allah said that he was pleased with them and Allah doesn't like liars! So beware of that and don't reed all the so-called academic/intellectual papers on islam, walle waa qashin

[Megatron]

Very interesting indeed. Good post mm.


bareento