Are the Commands of the Quran Gender Specific or Neutral?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Does the Quran address halal and haram for men and women separately, or are its messages for both? How do scholars determine when specific rulings, like those in hadith regarding silk for men or perfume for women, apply to each gender?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
The belief in the Sacred Law of Islam is that its commands and rulings have commonality and inclusion for both men and women, except what is specified as applying to one of the two, as mentioned by Ibn ‘Ashur (Allah have mercy on him) in his famous Tafsir. [Ibn ‘Ashur, al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir]
Inclusion of Both Genders in Quranic Commands and Prophetic Teachings
A Quranic verse or hadith that refers to a ‘he’ or ‘any man’ should also be understood to mean ‘she’ and ‘any woman’ unless evidence shows otherwise.
Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) was asked about a person who found moisture (on his body or clothes) but did not remember the sexual dream. He replied that he should take a bath. He was asked about a person who remembered that he had a sexual dream but did not find moisture. He replied that a bath was not necessary for him. Umm Salama then asked: Is washing necessary for a woman if she sees that (in her dream)? He replied: Yes. Women are the counterparts of men.
In the above hadith, Umm Sulaym, a woman among the Ansar, asked if this applied to women too. “Yes,” answered the Prophet, “Women are the counterparts (shaqa’iq) of men.”
Khattabi, who wrote the earliest known commentaries on Bukhari and Abu Dawud, sees this as a guiding principle that a ruling revealed for one sex applies equally to the other unless evidence specifies otherwise.
[Khattabi, Ma‘alim al-Sunan, Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. In sha Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
وَأَمَّا ذِكْرُ الرِّجَالِ فَلِلْإِشَارَةِ إِلَى أَنَّ الصِّنْفَيْنِ فِي هَذِهِ الشَّرَائِعِ سَوَاءٌ لِيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ الشَّرِيعَةَ لَا تَخْتَصُّ بِالرِّجَالِ لَا كَمَا كَانَ مُعْظَمُ شَرِيعَةِ التَّوْرَاةِ خَاصًّا بِالرِّجَالِ إِلَّا الْأَحْكَامَ الَّتِي لَا تُتَصَوَّرُ فِي غَيْرِ النِّسَاءِ، فَشَرِيعَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ بِعَكْسِ ذَلِكَ الْأَصْلُ فِي شَرَائِعِهَا أَنْ تَعُمَّ الرِّجَالَ وَالنِّسَاءَ إِلَّا مَا نُصَّ عَلَى تَخْصِيصِهِ بِأَحَدِ الصِّنْفَيْنِ، وَلَعَلَّ بِهَذِهِ الْآيَةِ وَأَمْثَالِهَا تَقَرَّرَ أَصْلُ التَّسْوِيَةِ فَأَغْنَى عَنِ التَّنْبِيهِ عَلَيْهِ فِي مُعْظَمِ أَقْوَالِ الْقُرْآنِ وَالسُّنَّةِ
الكتاب:التحرير والتنوير «تحرير المعنى السديد وتنوير العقل الجديد من تفسير الكتاب المجيد»
المؤلف: محمد الطاهر بن محمد بن محمد الطاهر بن عاشور التونسي (المتوفى: ١٣٩٣هـ)
وقوله النساء شقائق الرجال أي نظائرهم وأمثالهم في الخلق والطباع فكأنهن شققن من الرجال.
وفيه من الفقه إثبات القياس والحاق حكم النظير بالنظير وأن الخطاب إذا ورد بلفظ الذكور كان خطابا بالنساء إلا مواضع الخصوص التي قامت أدلة التخصيص فيها.
الكتاب: معالم السنن، وهو شرح سنن أبي داود
المؤلف: أبو سليمان حمد بن محمد بن إبراهيم بن الخطاب البستي المعروف بالخطابي (ت ٣٨٨هـ)
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
