(Narrated by Muslim, 885) A PIECE OF ADVICE : Our believing sisters who learn of this hadeeth should behave like those Sahaabiyaat who, when they learned of this, did good deeds which would be the means, by Allaah’s leave, of keeping them far away from being included in that majority of the inhabitants of Hell. So our advice to the sisters is to strive to adhere to the rituals and obligatory duties of Islam, especially prayer, and to keep away from that which Allaah has forbidden, especially shirk in its many forms which are widespread among women, such as seeking one’s needs from someone other than Allaah, going to practitioners of witchcraft and fortune-tellers, etc. We ask Allaah to keep us and all our brothers and sisters far away from the Fire and the words and deeds that bring one close to it. Women, Majority in Hell, and Paradise? February 9th, 2012 by Pure Matrimony_2 Men and women engaged in this dispute when the Sahaabah were still alive. Muslim reports from Ibn Sireen: “Men and women disputed as to which of them would form the majority in Paradise. According to another report, either they were competing, or they were discussing, whether there would be more men or women in Paradise. They consulted Abu Hurayrah, who said that women would form the majority, on the basis of the words of the Prophet (saw): “The first group to enter Paradise will be as beautiful as the full moon, and the group that follows them will be like the brightest shining stars in the sky: each man of them will have two wives, the marrow of whose leg-bones will be visible through the flesh because of their extreme beauty. There will be no one who is unmarried in Paradise”"[Sahih Muslim, Kitaab al-Jannah, Baab awwal zumrah tadhkul al-Jannah, 4/2179, hadith no. 2834] This hadith clearly indicates that there will be more women than men in Paradise. Some others thought that there would be more men, because of the hadith, “I saw that they [women] formed the majority of the people of Hell”. The response to this is the fact that women will form the majority of the inhabitants of Hell does not necessarily mean that they will be a minority in Paradise, as Ibn Hajar al-’Asqalaani said [Fath al-Baari 6/325] The two hadiths may be reconciled by stating that women will be in the majority in both Paradise and Hell, just as there are more women than men in this world. We could say that the hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah indicates that the total number of women in paradise, including women of this world and al-Hoor al-’Eeyn will outnumber men. The question then is, who will be greater in number in Paradise: the men of this world or the women? al-Qurtubee reconciled between these two hadiths by suggesting that women will form the majority of the inhabitants of Hell before the Shafaa’ah [intercession], when the sinners from amongst the muwwahideen will be brought out of Hell. Thereafter women will form the majority of the people of Paradise. [at-Tadhkirah, al-Qurtubee, p. 475] The small number of women in Paradise is indicated in a report narrated by Ahmad and Abu Ya’laa from ‘Amr ibn al-’Aas who said, “Whilst we were with the Messenger of Allah (saw) on this mountain path, he said, “Look, can you see anything?” We said, “We see crows, and one of them stands out because its beak and feet are red”. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said, “No women will enter Paradise except those who are as rare among them as this crow is among the others”" [Silsilat al-Hadith as-Saheehah, 4/466, no. 1851] Hafiz ibn Hajar al-Asqalani [ra] says, ‘Sayyiduna Abu Hurayra [Radhiallaahu anhu] used the Hadith ”The first group to enter Paradise will be as beautiful as the full moon, and the group that follows them will be like the brightest shining stars in the sky: each man of them will have two wives, the marrow of whose leg-bones will be visible through the flesh because of their extreme beauty. There will be no one who is unmarried in Paradise”"[Sahih Muslim, Kitaab al-Jannah, Baab awwal zumrah tadhkul al-Jannah, 4/2179, hadith no. 2834] as a proof to maintain that there would be more women in Jannah than men… and this is clearly understood.’ (Fath al-Baari vol.6 pg.400; Hadith3246) The Muhadditheen (experts in Hadith) have resolved this apparent contradiction through the following explanations: 1. These Ahaadith are clear that females in Jannah and Jahannum will outnumber males by a great margin. (Sharh al-Nawawiy vol.9 pg.170) 2. The women could be more in Jahannam and less in Jannah at the beginning. Thereafter, when they are cleansed of their sins or when intercession on their behalf is accepted, they would be entered into Jannah and they would outnumber the men there too. (Fath al-Baari vol.6 pg.401; Hadith3246 – Sifatul Jannah of Hafiz ibn Katheer pg.130) 3. The Ahaadith that indicate the women as the major inhabitants of Jahannam refer to that time when Rasulullah [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] had physically seen Jannah and Jahannam. They do not mention that it will always remain like that. (Faydhul Baari and Malfoozaat-e-Kashmiri vol.4 pg.244) and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 18:08:58 +0000
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