# Why do the versions of the 'women in hell' hadith contradict each other?

*Turbulence in the report: which Eid, and who heard it*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/tfzo7s3t_8o/s/3/
- Date: 2018-07-29 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Hadith Analysis: Did the Prophet ﷺ Refer to Women as Lacking Intellect and Faith? (12:53–16:41)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFZo7S3T_8o&t=773s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/tfzo7s3t_8o/

**Topics:** Reports demeaning women; Text criticism, reason and the Quran

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth says the versions disagree on which Eid it was and whether the women were addressed privately, so the male narrators heard it second-hand from someone unknown.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the narrations show turbulence, since the narrators could not say on which of the two Eids the address took place.

**Evidence, his words at 14:48:** “the person narrating keeps saying I I can't even remember which one it was so some turbulence let's move on more turbulence” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFZo7S3T_8o&t=888s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says the narrations show turbulence (idtirab), first over when the address took place: some, like Abu Hurayra's, mention just a sermon, while most say it was one of the two Eids without knowing which. He argues this is no small slip, since the Prophet celebrated Eid al-Adha only once, after the farewell Hajj, a spectacular event a companion could not confuse with the yearly Eid al-Fitr. Mufti then points to turbulence over the setting: in some narrations the Prophet addressed men and women together, in others he went to where the women were gathered and addressed them privately, in which case the male companions who narrate it were not there and heard it from someone unknown who may have misunderstood or misrelayed it. He adds that in one narration the Prophet, leaning on Bilal, simply encouraged the women to give charity with none of this content.

## Sources and names cited

- report: women are the majority of the people of hell and lacking in intellect and faith (in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, number not stated)
- idtirab (turbulence in transmission)
- Abu Hurayra
- Abu Sa'id al-Khudri
- Bilal
- the farewell Hajj

## Transcript (machine tier, 12:53–16:41)

[12:15] the fire of hell right so the question is like well why would the Prophet first of all as a question as a tiny question why would the Prophet on such a joyous occasion bring up something like this like it's a joyous occasion it's Eid let's say and the Prophet begins by trying to say to the women do you know most of you are gonna end up in hell and the interesting thing is he's addressing them okay now let's take a look at some of the things that are mentioned in this text that are

[12:53] contradictory if there are what the Mahad the thing called turbulence in what's being transmitted the turbulence first of all begins with when did this take place now you may say well hmm what's so interesting about that Mufti well it is interesting in some narrations like Abu Huraira it meant this was just a football this was just a hood man two people in general in most narrations it mentions the wording it was other ha old fit on either one of the two Eids either Biggie's if we can call it big E's either love her or

[13:32] either fit on and you think well yeah what's the big deal he can mix up and eat you know he'd eat hamdu lillah ah but there's a big problem here a little like something to focus in on you see Edel feet are had began since like maybe the second year of hijra coming up every year muslims were celebrating interfaith or after Ramadan Eid al-adha the Prophet only celebrated once after the hatch his

[14:08] final hood ba of farewell his his sermon where he bid people kind of farewell that was such a phenomenal event that took place outside at the end of Hajj not in medina at the end of Hajj for the companion to be mixing these two up is not like a small event it's not like for us like I think back and I think was it which either was it hmm you know both EADS was it this either that he's no because either other ha with the Prophet occurred once and it was a spectacular

[14:48] it was a huge event it wasn't just something like oh like an Eden Medina that they were having all the time this was a huge spectacular event and the person narrating keeps saying I I can't even remember which one it was so some turbulence let's move on more turbulence where does the Prophet address the women in some of these narrations it says like Abu Huraira says that the Prophet just addressed people there he addressed men and women but only speaking to the women in the other narrations like you will see even my old

[15:26] you will see Abu side in hoodies the Prophet walked off and he went to the women area where women were gathered and there he addressed them now the question here comes if he addressed the women over thee these male companions were there so who's telling them that he said this it has to have been one of the women because they weren't they didn't follow the Prophet around and what's interesting is the regeneration that Bilal actually the Prophet in one

[16:03] narration leaned in on Bilal and he asked the women to give charity and that has none of has no mention of any of this kind of stuff in it it's just the Prophet encouraging them to give charity so okay so now the location like as in the actual in the Prophet going to where the women were seated and addressing them privately but then none of these male companions like Abu Huraira of Abu Zeid and hood we were actually there so so they're hearing this from somebody who we don't know who that somebody is so this is and how do we know whether

[16:40] that somebody misinterpreted okay Oh miss relayed something so that's one point the other point is and this is a very important point now as ignore Josie another scholar said if you find a hadith that has contradictions in it factual errors or linguistic errors know that this is fabricated now take a look at this hadith this hadith actually contains factual errors right so take it take a look at this in this hadith the

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment TFZo7S3T_8o/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/tfzo7s3t_8o/s/3/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.