1. Inheritance – Women Receive Half the Share of Men
Surah An-Nisa (4:11):
"Allah instructs you concerning your children: for the male, what is equal to the share of two females..."
Criticism: Women are granted only half the inheritance compared to men, which is seen as unequal treatment under a modern lens of gender equity.
2. Testimony – Two Women Equal One Man
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:282):
"...and bring to witness two witnesses from among your men. And if there are not two men [available], then a man and two women..."
Criticism: Suggests that a woman’s testimony is worth half that of a man’s, implying intellectual or moral inferiority.
3. Husband’s Right to Discipline Wife
Surah An-Nisa (4:34):
"Men are in charge of women... As to those women on whose part you fear disobedience — admonish them, refuse to share their beds, and [lastly] strike them [lightly]."
Criticism: Allows husbands to physically discipline their wives, raising concerns about sanctioning domestic violence.
4. Polygamy Permitted for Men
Surah An-Nisa (4:3):
"…then marry those that please you of [other] women, two or three or four. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one…"
Criticism: Permits men to have multiple wives while women cannot have multiple husbands, reinforcing patriarchal structures.
5. Women’s Obedience to Husbands
Surah An-Nisa (4:34):
"Righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in [the husband's] absence what Allah would have them guard…"
Criticism: Prescribes obedience from women to men, seen as promoting male authority and female subservience.
6. Male Superiority in Rank
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:228):
"…And men have a degree over them [women]…"
Criticism: Establishes male superiority, interpreted as a foundational basis for gender hierarchy.
7. Male Guardianship
Surah At-Talaq (65:6):
"Lodge them [the divorced women] where you dwell, according to your means…"
Criticism: Assumes financial and housing control lies with men, reinforcing the idea of women’s dependency.
8. Woman’s Menstruation as Impurity
Surah Al-Baqarah (2:222):
"And they ask you about menstruation. Say, it is harm, so keep away from women during menstruation…"
Criticism: Frames menstruation as harmful or impure, which can perpetuate stigma against natural biological processes.
9. Marriage to Prepubescent Girls
Surah At-Talaq (65:4):
"And those who no longer expect menstruation among your women – if you doubt, then their period is three months, and [also] for those who have not menstruated…"
Criticism: Suggests the legality of marriage and divorce procedures involving girls who have not yet begun menstruation, interpreted as supporting child marriage.
1. Sahih Muslim – Hadith on Captives and Ransom
Sahih Muslim 1731a
Book: The Book of Jihad and Expedition (Kitab al-Jihad wa’l-Siyar)
Narrated by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri:
"At the Battle of Awtas, some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were reluctant to have relations with the captive women because of their husbands among the polytheists. So Allah revealed the verse:
'And women already married, except those whom your right hands possess...'
— (Qur'an 4:24)This means they were lawful for them once they were taken as captives."
📝 Explanation:
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This hadith refers to female captives taken during battles, and it clarifies that relations with them were permitted under Islamic law after due process, such as confirming their status as prisoners.
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The phrase “whom your right hands possess” is a Qur’anic term referring to captives or slaves.
📜 2. Sahih al-Bukhari – Hadith on Distribution of Captives
Sahih al-Bukhari 2542
Book: Military Expeditions
Narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari:
"The Prophet ﷺ sent me and Mu‘adh bin Jabal to Yemen. I asked him, 'O Allah’s Messenger! What about the spoils of war?' He replied, 'It is for Allah and His Messenger.' Then it will be distributed..."
📝 This implies that captives were part of the spoils of war and would be distributed according to set rules, including the possibility of ransom, release, or integration into Muslim households.
Qur'an 23:5-
“And they who guard their private parts – Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they are not to be blamed.”
— This verse is commonly cited in both the Qur'an and hadiths to permit relations with legally acquired female slaves (ma malakat aymanukum) without it being considered fornication or adultery.
📜 Sahih Muslim 1456
Narrated Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri:
“We got female captives in the Battle of Hunayn and we desired them, but we refrained from sleeping with them because of their husbands among the polytheists. Then the verse was revealed: ‘Also (forbidden are) women already married, except those whom your right hands possess.’ (Qur'an 4:24)”
— This hadith indicates that after the appropriate legal and religious conditions were met (such as confirmation of captivity and waiting periods), relations were permitted.
📜 Sahih al-Bukhari 4138
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
“The Prophet had a female slave with whom he had relations. Aisha and Hafsa would constantly bother him about her...”
— This refers to Maria al-Qibtiyya, a slave gifted to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ from Egypt, with whom he had a son (Ibrahim). She was later freed, a common practice in Islam called “umm al-walad” (a slave mother of a child).
📜 Sahih Muslim 3371
“A man will not be asked why he beat his wife or his slave.”
— This reflects the legal norms of the time but has been heavily critiqued and recontextualized by later scholars, particularly in light of modern ethics and women’s rights.
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