ISLAMIC POLEMICS SERIES • ARTICLE 22

No Woman Suffers Like the Believing Woman

Islam’s Teachings on Women in the Qur’an, Hadith, and Law

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Extended Read

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① THE ARGUMENT: WHAT IT IS AND WHY IT MATTERS

Islam claims to have elevated the status of women from the ignorance of pre-Islamic Arabia (jahiliyyah). Apologists point to the prohibition of female infanticide, the granting of inheritance rights, and the recognition of women as spiritual equals capable of entering paradise. These claims are historically accurate—Islam did provide certain protections that pre-Islamic Arabian custom did not. But the claim that Islam honours women must be measured not against seventh-century paganism but against the full content of the Islamic tradition itself: what does the Qur’an actually say about women? What did Muhammad actually say and do? What did his own wives observe about the condition of believing women?

The answer, documented exhaustively in Islam’s own sources, is a systematic theology of female inferiority: women are deficient in intelligence and religion; their testimony is worth half a man’s; they inherit half what men inherit; they can be disciplined physically by their husbands; they constitute the majority of Hell’s inhabitants; their presence—along with donkeys and dogs—nullifies a man’s prayer; they must cover themselves to avoid being “molested”; and they are compared to fields to be “tilled” at will. This is not a polemicist’s caricature. It is the plain reading of the Qur’an and the sahih hadith.

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② THE ISLAMIC DEFENSE

• Islam elevated women from pre-Islamic degradation. Before Islam, women in Arabia could be inherited as property, had no inheritance rights, and female infanticide was practised. The Qur’an prohibited infanticide (81:8–9), granted women inheritance (4:7), recognised women as capable of spiritual reward (33:35), and gave women the right to own property, conduct business, and initiate divorce (khul’). Compared to jahiliyyah, Islam was a dramatic improvement.

• Spiritual equality is affirmed clearly. Surah 33:35: “Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women…for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” Surah 4:124: “Whoever does righteousness, whether male or female, while being a believer—those will enter Paradise.” Women and men are equal before God in terms of religious obligation and eternal reward.

• The “deficiency” hadith is descriptive, not prescriptive. When Muhammad said women are “deficient in intelligence and religion,” he explained the deficiency: testimony rules (legal context, not intellectual capacity) and menstrual exemptions from prayer (a mercy, not a punishment). He was describing how Islamic law functions, not making a metaphysical claim about female nature.

• The “strike” verse (4:34) is heavily qualified. The Arabic word daraba can mean “to strike,” “to separate,” or “to set an example.” Scholars who accept the “strike” meaning qualify it extensively: it must be a last resort after admonition and bed-separation; it must not be on the face; it must not leave a mark; it must be with something like a miswak (toothstick). Muhammad himself said “the best of you do not strike” and never struck any of his wives. The verse permits a symbolic, non-injurious tap as a final recourse—not the domestic violence critics imply.

• The hijab is about dignity, not oppression. Surah 33:59 explains the purpose: “That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused.” The covering distinguishes free Muslim women from slave women and protects them from harassment. It is a mark of honour, not subjugation. Many Muslim women today choose to wear hijab as an expression of identity, modesty, and devotion—not because they are forced.

• Inheritance rules reflect responsibility, not worth. Men inherit more because they bear financial responsibility for their families (mahr, maintenance); women’s inheritance is theirs alone with no obligation to spend it on others. The system is complementary, not unequal. When responsibility is factored in, the arrangement may actually favour women financially.

• Context matters for “the majority of Hell is women.” Muhammad explained that ingratitude toward husbands and excessive cursing were the reasons—moral behaviours that can be changed, not female nature. He also said most of Paradise’s inhabitants would be women (other hadith). The hadith is a moral exhortation, not a statement about inherent female damnation.

• Aisha’s statement is about a specific case, not a general condition. The hadith records one woman with green bruises coming to Aisha. Aisha’s comment was an expression of sympathy for that individual, perhaps with some rhetorical hyperbole, not a doctrinal pronouncement that Islam harms women.

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③ THE SOURCES: QUR’AN, HADITH, AND LAW

What follows is a systematic documentation of the Islamic tradition’s teachings on women, organised by category. Every source is from the Qur’an or sahih/hasan hadith unless otherwise noted.

PART A: ONTOLOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL STATUS

Teaching	Source	Text/Summary
Women are deficient in intelligence	Bukhari 304; Muslim 79	“I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you [women].” When asked about the deficiency in intelligence, Muhammad said: “Is not the testimony of two women equal to the testimony of one man?”
Women are deficient in religion	Bukhari 304; Muslim 79	Same hadith. When asked about deficiency in religion: “Is it not true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?”
Women are the majority of Hell’s inhabitants	Bukhari 304, 3241; Muslim 2737	“I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful.” “They are ungrateful to their companions [husbands] and ungrateful for good treatment.”
Women, donkeys, and dogs nullify prayer	Muslim 510; Abu Dawud 703	“Prayer is annulled by a woman, a donkey, and a black dog” passing in front of a praying man. Aisha objected: “You have made us equal to dogs and donkeys!” (Bukhari 514).
Women are like a rib—crooked	Bukhari 3331; Muslim 1468	“Treat women kindly, for woman was created from a rib, and the most curved part of the rib is its top. If you try to straighten it, you will break it, and if you leave it, it will remain crooked.”
Bad omens are in women, houses, and horses	Bukhari 2858; Muslim 2225	“If there is any evil omen, it is in the woman, the house, and the horse.” Some narrations add that Aisha strongly objected to this hadith.

PART B: LEGAL STATUS — TESTIMONY, INHERITANCE, AND MARRIAGE

Teaching	Source	Text/Summary
Women’s testimony is worth half a man’s	Surah 2:282	“And bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men, then a man and two women from those whom you accept as witnesses—so that if one of the women errs, the other can remind her.”
Women inherit half what men inherit	Surah 4:11	“Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females.”
A woman cannot marry without a male guardian	Abu Dawud 2083; Tirmidhi 1102; Ibn Majah 1881	“There is no marriage except with a guardian (wali).” “Any woman who marries without the permission of her guardian, her marriage is void.”
A woman cannot travel without a mahram	Bukhari 1862; Muslim 1339	“No woman should travel except with a mahram [male guardian], and no man should enter upon her except if she has a mahram.”
A man can marry up to four wives; a woman cannot have multiple husbands	Surah 4:3	“Marry those that please you of women, two or three or four.” No parallel permission for women.
A husband can divorce by pronouncement; a woman must seek judicial khul’	Surah 2:229; Bukhari 5273	A man can say “I divorce you” and it takes effect. A woman must petition for khul’, typically returning her mahr.
A woman’s disobedience (nushuz) has legal consequences; a man’s does not (in the same way)	Surah 4:34	The verse prescribes admonition, bed-separation, and striking for a woman’s nushuz. No parallel verse prescribes discipline for a husband’s nushuz.

PART C: DOMESTIC RELATIONS — OBEDIENCE, DISCIPLINE, AND SEXUAL AVAILABILITY

Teaching	Source	Text/Summary
Wives must obey husbands	Surah 4:34	“Men are in charge of women by [right of] what Allah has given one over the other and what they spend from their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient.”
Husbands can discipline disobedient wives physically	Surah 4:34	“But those from whom you fear arrogance—advise them; forsake them in bed; and strike them (wa-dribuhunna). But if they obey you, seek no means against them.”
Angels curse a woman who refuses sex	Bukhari 3237; Muslim 1436	“If a man calls his wife to his bed and she refuses, and he spends the night angry with her, the angels will curse her until morning.”
A wife should not fast voluntarily without husband’s permission	Bukhari 5195; Muslim 1026	“A woman should not fast [voluntarily] while her husband is present except with his permission.”
A wife should not let anyone into the house without husband’s permission	Bukhari 5195	“She should not allow anyone to enter his house except with his permission.”
Women are like tilth (fields) for men	Surah 2:223	“Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth when or how you will.”
If a man calls his wife to bed, she should come even if at the oven	Tirmidhi 1160; Ibn Hibban (hasan)	“If a man calls his wife to his bed, let her respond even if she is on the back of a camel [i.e., travelling].” Another narration: “even if she is at the oven.”
A woman should not refuse her husband even on a camel’s saddle	Ahmad 19403; Ibn Hibban 4165	“The wife should not refuse her husband even if it is on the back of a camel [i.e., uncomfortable conditions].”

PART D: COVERING AND SECLUSION — THE HIJAB VERSES AND THEIR CONTEXT

Teaching	Source	Text/Summary
Women should draw veils over their chests and not display adornment	Surah 24:31	“And tell the believing women to reduce their gaze and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which appears thereof and to wrap their headcovers (khumur) over their chests.”
Women should draw outer garments over themselves to be “known and not abused”	Surah 33:59	“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves part of their outer garments (jalabib). That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused.”
The hijab verse for the Prophet’s wives	Surah 33:53	“And when you ask [the Prophet’s wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition (hijab). That is purer for your hearts and their hearts.”
Women are ‘awrah (private parts to be covered)	Tirmidhi 1173	“The woman is ‘awrah. When she goes out, Satan looks at her.”
A woman’s voice can be ‘awrah	Classical fiqh extension	Some scholars extended the ‘awrah concept to include a woman’s voice in certain contexts, though this is disputed.

PART E: AISHA’S TESTIMONY — “NO WOMAN SUFFERS LIKE THE BELIEVING WOMEN”

Hadith	Source	Full Text
Believing women suffer more than others	Bukhari 5825	Rifa’a divorced his wife, and Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Zubayr married her. Aisha said that the woman came wearing a green veil, complaining to her about her husband and showing her green marks on her skin caused by beating. When women began to complain about their husbands [to the Prophet], Aisha said: “I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women. Look! Her skin is greener than her clothes!”

The context: A woman came to Aisha showing bruises from her husband’s beating. Other women were also complaining about their husbands. Aisha’s response was not “Islam forbids this” or “this man violated Islamic teaching.” Her response was a general observation: no women suffer like believing women. She was not speaking about one aberrant case. She was making a comparative statement about the condition of Muslim women as a class.

Why this matters: Aisha was the Prophet’s favourite wife. She was one of the most prolific hadith transmitters in Islamic history. She lived at the centre of the first Muslim community. If anyone knew the condition of believing women, it was Aisha. And her assessment—preserved in Sahih al-Bukhari, the most authoritative hadith collection—was that Muslim women suffer more than other women. This is not a critic’s interpretation. It is a primary source’s eyewitness testimony.

PART F: MUHAMMAD’S OWN HOUSEHOLD — MULTIPLE WIVES, CONCUBINES, AND SPECIAL PRIVILEGES

Teaching	Source	Summary
Muhammad had at least 11 wives	Bukhari 268; various	Named: Khadijah, Sawda, Aisha, Hafsa, Zaynab bint Khuzayma, Umm Salama, Zaynab bint Jahsh, Juwayriya, Umm Habiba, Safiyya, Maymuna. Some sources list more.
Muhammad received special permission to exceed four wives	Surah 33:50	“O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their due compensation and those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you [of captives]…This is only for you, excluding the [other] believers.”
Muhammad could marry without mahr	Surah 33:50	Same verse: “and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her; [this is] only for you, excluding the [other] believers.”
Muhammad had concubines	Bukhari 4350; Muslim 1365a	Mariya al-Qibtiyya (the Copt) was a concubine, not a wife, who bore Muhammad’s son Ibrahim. She was a gift from the ruler of Egypt.
Revelations addressed Muhammad’s domestic disputes	Surah 66:1–5	Surah al-Tahrim begins with Allah rebuking Muhammad for prohibiting himself something lawful to please his wives, then warns his wives that Allah and Gabriel and the righteous believers and the angels are his supporters if they “back each other against him.”
Wives were told to stay in their homes	Surah 33:33	“And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance.”
Wives were told no remarriage after Muhammad	Surah 33:53	“And it is not [right] for you to harm the Messenger of Allah or to marry his wives after him, ever.”

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④ ISLAMIC DOCUMENTATION AND ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE CRITICAL CLAIMS

• The “deficiency” hadith describes legal function, not intrinsic worth. Muhammad was explaining why Islamic law assigns two female witnesses in place of one male witness (Surah 2:282) and why women are excused from prayer during menstruation. The word “deficient” (naqisat) refers to the legal framework, not to women’s souls, intellects, or value before God. Men are not “superior” in worth; they simply have different legal roles.

• The striking in 4:34 is symbolic and heavily restricted. The Prophet clarified: “Do not strike on the face, do not make her ugly, and do not strike severely” (Abu Dawud 2142). Ibn Abbas said it should be with a siwak (toothstick). The majority of scholars say it must not leave a mark. Many modern scholars translate daraba as “separate” rather than “strike.” Muhammad himself never struck any of his wives (Muslim 2328). The verse permits a last-resort, non-injurious symbolic gesture—not domestic violence.

• Aisha’s statement was rhetorical hyperbole. She was expressing sympathy for a specific woman with bruises. Her statement was an emotional response, not a doctrinal pronouncement. It does not mean Islam teaches that believing women should suffer. It means Aisha was moved by this woman’s plight.

• The “tilth” verse (2:223) is about permitted positions, not objectification. The verse came in response to Jewish criticism that certain sexual positions were sinful. It affirms that marital intimacy within the marriage can occur in whatever manner the couple prefers. It is not comparing women to fields in a derogatory sense; it is using an agricultural metaphor for procreation that was common in many ancient cultures.

• Islam gave women rights that other civilisations did not. At a time when European women could not own property independently, Muslim women could own, inherit, and dispose of property. Khadijah was a successful businesswoman. Muslim women could initiate divorce (khul’). The comparison should be to seventh-century alternatives, not twenty-first-century ideals.

• Many Muslim women embrace hijab freely and find it empowering. The lived experience of millions of Muslim women who wear hijab as a chosen expression of faith, modesty, and identity should not be dismissed. Critics assume hijab is oppressive; many women who wear it disagree. Their voices matter.

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⑤ THE PROBLEM WITH THE ISLAMIC RESPONSE

The “descriptive not prescriptive” defence does not work for “deficient in intelligence.” The hadith does not merely describe Islamic legal rules; it characterises women as a class. “I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you.” This is a statement about women’s nature, not a neutral description of legal procedure. If Muhammad meant only “your testimony counts as half in this legal context,” he would have said that. Instead, he said women are deficient in intelligence—and explained the testimony rule as evidence of that deficiency. The deficiency is the premise, not the conclusion.

The “symbolic tap” defence requires ignoring the verse’s context and the tradition’s application. Surah 4:34 prescribes a three-step escalation: admonition, bed-separation, then striking. The escalation only makes sense if each step is more severe than the last. A “symbolic tap” after bed-separation is not an escalation; it is a de-escalation. The verse’s internal logic requires that “strike them” be a more serious measure than “forsake them in bed.” Furthermore, the woman who came to Aisha had green bruises. She had been beaten, not symbolically tapped. Aisha did not say “this violates Islamic teaching.” She said “no woman suffers like the believing women.” The tradition records beating that leaves marks—and records the Prophet’s wife lamenting the condition of believing women in response.

Aisha’s statement cannot be reduced to rhetorical hyperbole. Aisha was one of the most important hadith transmitters in Islamic history. Her words were preserved because they were considered significant. If her statement was mere hyperbole with no doctrinal weight, why is it in Sahih al-Bukhari? The tradition preserved it because it was deemed authentic and important. You cannot simultaneously grant Aisha’s authority when she transmits hadith favourable to Islam and dismiss her authority when she says something uncomfortable.

The “tilth” metaphor is dehumanising regardless of original context. Comparing women to fields that men “till” whenever and however they wish reduces women to objects of male agricultural activity. The verse does not say “your marriage is like a garden you cultivate together.” It says “your wives are a tilth for you; go to your tilth when or how you will.” The woman is the tilth; the man is the farmer. The agency is entirely his. The metaphor may have been culturally common, but common metaphors can still be dehumanising.

The “Islam gave women more rights than others” defence is whataboutism. The question is not whether seventh-century Islam was better than seventh-century paganism. The question is whether these teachings represent the eternal, perfect guidance of God’s final prophet. If they do, they should not need to be graded on a curve. They should be defensible as universally good. Saying “well, Europe was worse” does not answer whether women are actually deficient in intelligence, whether striking wives is ever acceptable, or whether women should be compared to fields.

The hijab defence inverts the moral logic. Surah 33:59 says covering exists “so that they will be known and not be abused.” The premise is that uncovered women will be abused. The covering is protection from male predation, not an expression of female dignity. If a woman’s safety depends on her clothing, the moral problem is with the men, not the clothing. A system that says “cover up or men will harass you” is not honouring women; it is accommodating male predation and placing the burden of prevention on women.

Women’s testimony being worth half a man’s is not “different roles”; it is explicit inequality. The verse (2:282) explains its own reasoning: “so that if one of the women errs, the other can remind her.” The assumption is that women are more prone to error than men in legal testimony. This is not role differentiation; it is an explicit claim about women’s reliability. If a legal system said “a Black person’s testimony requires corroboration because they are more prone to error,” we would recognise this as racist. When it is said about women, it is the same logic applied to sex.

The angel-cursing hadith creates a coercive sexual environment. If a woman who refuses sex is cursed by angels until morning, refusal carries spiritual punishment. This is coercion. A woman who believes this hadith cannot freely consent to sex; she consents to avoid divine curse. The hadith removes the possibility of genuine free refusal by attaching supernatural consequences to “no.” This is not a healthy marital framework; it is spiritual coercion into sexual availability.

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⑥ KEYS TO ADDRESS THIS IN A CONVERSATION

1. Start with spiritual equality, then ask about the specifics. “I know Islam teaches that men and women are equal before God spiritually. But can you help me understand the hadith that says women are deficient in intelligence and religion? How do those fit together?” This is a genuine question, not a gotcha. Let your friend wrestle with the tension.

2. Use Aisha’s testimony—it is the strongest single piece of evidence. “There’s a hadith in Bukhari where Aisha says, ‘I have not seen any woman suffering as much as the believing women.’ This is the Prophet’s wife saying this. What do you think she meant?” Let the hadith speak for itself. Do not add commentary. Let your friend respond.

3. Ask about Surah 4:34 honestly. “The verse says to strike a disobedient wife. I’ve heard that it’s meant to be symbolic. But it comes after admonition and bed-separation—so isn’t it supposed to be more serious than those? And the woman Aisha saw had green bruises. How do you reconcile the symbolic interpretation with what was actually happening in the community?”

4. Address the angel-cursing hadith directly. “If a woman who refuses sex is cursed by angels until morning, can she really say no? Or is she being spiritually coerced into saying yes? Is that a healthy marital dynamic?” This is a sensitive question. Ask it gently and listen to the answer.

5. Contrast with Jesus. “In the Gospels, Jesus treated women with remarkable dignity for his time. He spoke publicly with the Samaritan woman. He defended the woman caught in adultery. He appeared first to women after his resurrection. He never called women deficient, never told husbands to strike wives, never said women would be the majority of Hell. The contrast isn’t between seventh-century Arabia and twenty-first-century feminism—it’s between two prophets in two patriarchal societies, one of whom consistently elevated women and one of whom…didn’t. Why the difference?”

6. Respect lived experience while holding the sources accountable. Many Muslim women find meaning, community, and dignity in their faith. Do not dismiss that. But their experience does not change what the sources say. You can affirm a person while questioning a text. “I can see that your faith is meaningful to you, and I respect that. But can we look at what the sources actually say together? Because the texts seem to say something different from the experience you’re describing.”

7. End with the character of God. “If God made women in His image, would He call them deficient? Would He say they’re like dogs and donkeys? Would He say most of Hell is women because they’re ungrateful to their husbands? What kind of God talks about women this way? Christians believe that God loves women and men equally—not just spiritually, but in dignity, worth, and treatment. Jesus demonstrated that in how he treated women. Is there a different picture of God that might be truer to who He actually is?”

Sources and Further Reading

Qur’anic citations follow Sahih International translation. Hadith: Sahih al-Bukhari (Dar Tawq al-Najah ed.); Sahih Muslim (Dar Ihya’ al-Turath ed.); Sunan Abu Dawud; Jami’ al-Tirmidhi; Sunan Ibn Majah; Musnad Ahmad; Muwatta Imam Malik. Classical tafsir: al-Tabari, Jami’ al-Bayan; Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim; al-Qurtubi, al-Jami’ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an. For the striking verse: Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari on Bukhari 5825; al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim on relevant hadith; contemporary discussion in Khaled Abou El Fadl, Speaking in God’s Name (Oneworld, 2001). For Islamic feminism and reinterpretation: Amina Wadud, Qur’an and Woman (Oxford, 1999); Asma Barlas, Believing Women in Islam (Texas, 2002). For Christian engagement: Nabeel Qureshi, No God but One (Zondervan, 2016), ch. 10; David Wood, “Three Quran Verses Every Woman Should Know” (Acts17Apologetics); James White, What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Qur’an (Bethany House, 2013).

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