"After me, I have not left any mischief more harmful than women." "A nation that leaves its affairs to a woman will never attain salvation." How should we understand these hadiths?

Dear Brother / Sister,

According to what is reported from Usama Ibn Zayd, the Prophet (pbuh) said,

“After me, I have not left any trial more severe to men than women.” (Bukhari Nikah 17; Muslim Dhikr 97 98. See also Tirmidhi Adab 31; Ibn Majah Fitan 31)

At first view, it may be thought that the hadith regards all women as ominous beings that cause all kinds of mischief and destruction. No. The Prophet does not say this. Some problematic women are mentioned here and it is stated that they will put men into trouble due to their moodiness.

The following verse sheds light on the issue:

“O ye who believe! Truly, among your wives and your children are (some that are) enemies to yourselves: so beware of them! But if ye forgive and overlook and cover up (their faults), verily Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (at-Taghabun, 64/14).

Some believing men who devote their wealth and lives to the way of Allah can be dissuaded from it by their wives and children when they address men’s feelings. They can say, "What shall we do if you die? Do not go to war." Thus, they can prevent men from doing good deeds. They can want more than what they husbands and fathers have and cause them to earn money from illegitimate ways. 

According to a narration, the wives and children of some Companions delayed their migration with the excuse, “What shall we do without you if you leave?” When the Companions found out that they underwent such big spiritual losses due to this delay, they tried to punish their wives and children. Thereupon, the verse above, which wanted them to act tolerantly and to forgive their wives and children, was sent down. This is one of the aspects that women can be dangerous for men.

There is another important aspect of the issue: As it is stated in the Quran (Aal-i Imran, 3/14), man was created as a being that is fond of worldly pleasures and boons. One of them, maybe the first one, is the tendency to the opposite gender. If this tendency is not used carefully, it will be dangerous for both sides. The attention of men is attracted to this danger in the hadith and they are asked to be careful and alert about women. The following hadith states this issue clearly:

“Indeed the world is sweet, dazzling and attractive. Allah will give it to you and see how you behave. So, beware of the world, and beware of the women. For, the first mischief among Sons of Israel occurred due to women.” (Muslim, Dhikr 99; Tirmidhi, Fitan 26; Ibn Majah, Fitan 19)

When man is dragged by the world, it is not possible to guess where he will go.  The loss of these bounties are related to not using them properly. For, the Prophet said, “Allah will see how you behave”, stating that they are a means of testing.

Secondly, the Prophet reminds us that it is necessary to act carefully toward women and that “women” have an important place in the danger toward taqwa. He emphasizes the sensitivity of the issue by stating that the first mischief among Sons of Israel occurred due to women. (For the mischief mentioned in the hadith, see Ali al-Qari, Mirqat IV/267-269)

It is understood that “taqwa” is more necessary in two main issues, the world and women and that these two elements affect “taqwa” more than anything else does.

The forces of the soul and Satan unfortunately use the men and women that are enslaved by their souls and Satan in order to deviate man. The gender that is at the forefront here is the woman.

The word fitnah (mischief) used in hadiths means testing and trying.  

In his tafsir, Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır writes the following while explaining verse 117 of the chapter of an-Nisa:

"Those who allocate their highest love to women, not to Allah, cannot be saved from being deceived by Satan and being a slave of him. As a matter of fact, the following is stated in a hadith: ‘Women are nets of Satan.’ (Nahjul Fasaha, 1/635; it is discussed by hadith scholars whether this hadith is sound or not.) When Satans cannot deceive a man with other means, they deceive him by women."

It is necessary to pay attention to the following regarding the issue: The Muslim women who are real slaves of Allah with their taqwa and outer covering are definitely not traps of Satan; on the contrary, they are the ones that eliminate his traps.

The expression “women are nets of Satan” asks women to be careful and informs us by whose net are lustful men trapped, and warns them. With this hadith, a man who is enslaved by his lust is described as ‘a drifting fish’ caught by the net of Satan.  

The Messenger of Allah also states the following in order to warn believers so that they will not fall into this trap of Satan’s:

“Beware! When a man is alone with a non-mahram woman, the third one is definitely Satan.” (Tirmidhi, Rada 16)

What is meant by this statement is not to condemn and criticize women but to remind her that she needs to be careful and protect herself from being a trap of Satan. Otherwise, it becomes inevitable for her to lead herself and the community to mischief. Unfortunately, it is clear that it is generally like that today.

We often see in media that politicians, scientists, rich people are often displayed as a victim of sexuality through images recorded by hidden cameras. Yes, people living today face a hard test of sexuality. Is it not a big test for men to see flamboyant women with make-up around them? Is it not a big test for a woman to be approached by a very handsome and rich man in order to seduce her?

Lust surrounds people and drag them to a hard test by wearing different clothes.

To sum up, this potential of love has been placed in both men and women so that they will be perfected through divine love. Both of them were given the freedom to follow the right or wrong direction. A woman can be Hz. Maryam or Abu Lahab’s wife. A man can be Abu Bakr or Abu Jahl.

Abu Bakra narrates:

"During the Battle of Jamal, Allah benefited me with a word that I heard from the Prophet. I had nearly decided to join the people of Jamal and fight in their army. I remembered the word of the Prophet when he heard the news ‘The daughter of Chosroes became the queen of the people of Persia.’ He said, ‘Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler.’ Thereupon, I gave up the idea of joining them."[Bukhari, Fitan 17, Maghazi 82; Tirmidhi, Fitan 75, (2263); Nasai, Qudat 8 (8, 227)]

As it is understood from the narration, Abu Bakra held the same view as Hz. Aisha. That is, he believed that those who martyred Hz. Uthman needed to be punished. However, he did not take part in the Incident of Jamal that broke out after this disagreement. In fact, as Ibn Hajar mentions, neither Hz. Ali nor Hz. Aisha wanted a war to break out between Muslims. However, as it is explained in Tabari, some people with ill intentions agitated both armies by deceiving them with some tricks; then, everybody found themselves in the middle of a war; they could not leave it; nor could they stop it.  

Regarding this issue, Abu Bakra remained impartial in this battle along with some Companions like Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqas, Muhammad Ibn Maslam and Abdullah Ibn Umar (May Allah be pleased with all of them).

Accepting this hadith reported by Abu Bakra, some scholars say, "It is not permissible for a woman to be appointed as a judge for judicial issues." However, Ibn Jarir at-Tabari opposed this and said that women could act as a judge for the people about whom her witnessing was permissible. Some Maliki scholars say, "Women can act as judges regarding all cases" without any limitations.

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