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one passage says, And get two witnesses, out of your own men, and if there are not two men, then a
man and two women, such as ye choose, for witnesses (2:282), indicating that the testimony of a
woman is worth half of the testimony of a man.
Additionally, a tradition in the Sunnah describes women as having less intelligence than men: Narrated
Abu Said Al-Khudri: Once Allahs Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) to Id-al-Adha or
Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the
majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women). They asked, Why is it so, O Allahs Apostle? He
replied, You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more
deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of
you. The women asked, O Allahs Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion? He said, Is
not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man? They replied in the affirmative. He
said, This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isnt it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during
her menses? The women replied in the affirmative. He said, This is the deficiency in her religion.3
Again, while the Quran seems to set men and women on equal spiritual footing before Allah, some of
the teaching in the Sunnah contradicts it. Muhammad said he had the opportunity to view the people in
hell and recorded that the majority of its inhabitants were women! Narrated `Imran bin Husain: The
Prophet said, I looked at Paradise and found poor people forming the majority of its inhabitants; and I
looked at Hell and saw that the majority of its inhabitants were women.4
punishment often falls much harder on women than men, since the value of a womans
testimony is discounted.
Men may divorce their wives (60:12; 65:12; 226:242), though reconciliation is to be sought
(4:35). The Quran makes no allowance for a woman to divorce her husband, although some
Muslim countries have permitted it.