Is It Sinful to Believe Women Can Be as Intelligent as Men?
Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
Am I sinful for believing women can be as intelligent or more reasonable than men?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
No, it is not sinful to believe that women can be as intelligent as men, or more so. The hadith that is sometimes cited to suggest otherwise does not mean what it is often taken to mean. Aql, in this context, refers not to intelligence or IQ but to a particular mode of perception, and the hadith’s reference to less deen refers to fewer religious obligations, not to lesser faith or spiritual standing.
The Hadith in Its Context
The hadith in question is found in Sahih Muslim. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was speaking to a gathering of women, encouraging them to give charity, to be grateful to their husbands, and to observe other virtuous practices. In the course of his address, he mentioned that women have less aql and less deen than men.
A sharp and intelligent woman (described in the narration itself as “jazla,” meaning sharp and perceptive) immediately asked: how do we have less aql and deen?
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) then explained what he meant by less deen. He noted that for a portion of the month, due to the menstrual cycle, a woman does not pray. He was using hyperbole to convey this point. Crucially, when a woman abstains from prayer during her menstrual cycle, she is rewarded for doing so because she is obeying Allah’s command. The “less deen” is therefore a reference to fewer religious obligations — not to lesser faith, lesser piety, or lesser standing before Allah Most High.
What Aql Means in This Context
In modern Arabic and Urdu usage, aql has come to mean intelligence or IQ. That is not what the hadith means. The term refers to a particular mode of rational perception — specifically, the tendency to approach situations in a purely analytical and logical manner.
Men and women perceive the world differently. Women, in general, possess a higher degree of what might today be called emotional intelligence — a capacity for nuance, detail, and relational attentiveness that is a function of how Allah Most High has created them as caregivers. Men, in general, tend toward a colder, more rational mode of analysis as a dominant trait.
The hadith is describing this difference in cognitive orientation, not asserting that women have lower intelligence. If one were to measure raw intellectual capacity across both sexes, the distribution would be roughly equal.
Women of Outstanding Intellect in Islamic History
The history of Islam itself testifies against any reading of the hadith as a claim of female intellectual inferiority. Sayyida Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) narrated over five thousand two hundred hadith from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), the second highest number of any companion. She was a jurist of the highest caliber, a faqiha, who would correct companions, including Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him), when they misunderstood the context of a narration.
Beyond her, the history of Islam is filled with women of extraordinary spiritual and intellectual achievement: Sayyida Khadija, Sayyida Maryam, Sayyida Fatima, Rabia al-Adawiyya of Basra, and Fatima al-Yashrutiyya of Palestine — to name only a few. In terms of religious practice, spiritual attainment, and moral excellence, women have surpassed men throughout Islamic history and continue to do so.
Understanding the Hadith on Its Own Terms
When understanding a Prophetic statement, it must be interpreted through the terms of the speaker and the original listeners — not through how language has shifted in subsequent centuries. The companion Abdullah ibn Umar (Allah be pleased with him) was present when this hadith was spoken. He narrates that an intelligent woman asked the very question that troubles people today, and the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace) answer made clear that the statement was not about intellectual capacity.
Believing that women can be as intelligent as men, or more so in certain domains, is not sinful. It is accurate.
And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim
Related Answers
- Explaining Misunderstood Hadith About Women — A detailed explanation of the hadith on women’s aql and deen, confirming that the narrator Abdullah ibn Umar described the woman who asked the question as jazlah — intelligent and of sound opinion — which itself indicates the hadith was not claiming female intellectual inferiority.
- In What Context Did the Prophet Say “Women Make up the Majority of the Inhabitants of Hell”? — A contextual reading of the same hadith confirms that the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, used general terms to make specific points, and that aql in the hadith refers to the testimony ruling rather than intelligence or IQ.
- How Can I Stay Muslim When I Feel Women Are Overlooked in Islam? — A compassionate answer addressing commonly misunderstood hadith about women, with a careful explanation of the Prophet’s, Allah bless him and give him peace, clarification that “deficiency in intelligence” referred specifically to the testimony ruling and “deficiency in religion” to menstrual exemptions from prayer.
- Can You Help Me Understand My Role and Value as a Woman? — A broader discussion of women’s standing in Islam, affirming that women are not deficient in intellect or religion and directing readers to a full commentary on the hadith of women’s intelligence.
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr. Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr. Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.
