# Did the Prophet say a wife should prostrate to her husband?

*Would the Prophet have ordered wives to prostrate to husbands? Not authentic*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/s/9/
- Date: 2021-04-06 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #209 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (49:54–54:49)
- Status: latest answer on its topic; general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ85AUzeK5w&t=2994s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/

**Topics:** Reports demeaning women; Women in Islam; Marriage

**Question as asked:** Is it true that if it were permissible, the Prophet would have ordered wives to prostrate to their husbands? Is this hadith authentic?

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The report is not authentic: it was probably put into circulation to support the family hierarchy of a patriarchal society. The report urging violent jealousy over female relatives is likewise fabricated.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the report that the Prophet would have ordered wives to prostrate to their husbands is not authentic and was probably circulated to support the family hierarchy of a patriarchal society, and that the report urging violent jealousy over female relatives is likewise fabricated.

**Evidence, his words at 50:44:** “no this hadith isn't authentic but um I feel that people may have” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ85AUzeK5w&t=3044s)

## Longer summary

After a last note on perfume, Mufti Abu Layth reads a question asking whether it is true that, if it were permissible, the Prophet would have ordered wives to prostrate to their husbands, and whether the hadith is authentic. He answers that it is not authentic and suggests people relayed it as a hadith to teach obedience within the hierarchical family of a patriarchal age, which does not mean the Prophet endorsed that order, pointing to his MindTrap discussion with Professor Adis Duderija [?]. He compares the subcontinent custom of telling a bride that she leaves her husband's home only in a coffin, found among Hindus and Muslims alike, as an example of how cultural teachings become religionised and then attributed to the Prophet. He says the same is true of the report used to promote aggressive, violent jealousy over female relatives, which he calls entirely fabricated to validate tribal norms.

## Sources and names cited

- report: if i were to order anyone to prostrate to another i would order the wife to prostrate to her husband (called not authentic)
- report: the dayyuth who has no protective jealousy over his women (called fabricated [?])
- Adis Duderija [?]
- sujud

## Transcript (machine tier, 49:54–54:49)

[49:39] But the gold like this one, um, wow, that that that's very sensual, very warm, sensual, and leans on I feel it's more for men, but they describe them as unisex. Um, but yeah, I do like that. But the silver is good, but it doesn't really make that it doesn't make the the top league. Cool. People people and Leighton.

[50:07] And just a a final note just in case anybody heard my review on Leighton. That's that's the Leighton. It's not the Leighton exclusive. Leighton exclusive is slightly different. They used the compound but added other features that make it a bit more strong. I personally am not a huge fan of the Laton exclusive and this any day every day but not to me I'm not rating lat exclusive I am rating this just lat so just in case you go and smell that and you think Miy just chats a lot of [laughter]

[50:44] you think you know what Miy right so right let's move on people let's move Ali Azad is it true that if permissible the prophet would have ordered wives to prostrate to their husbands is this hadith authentic no this hadith isn't authentic but um I feel that people may have relayed it as a hadith in trying to extract an understanding of obedience within the famil famili within

[51:23] the familial hierarchical structure of their time. So obviously in that time in the pro prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam's time the societies were patriarchal and and do watch my discussion with Dr. Adis on that professor Adis because we speak a lot about this whole uh hierarchical structure and this kind of how the the the dominant structures worked and it doesn't mean that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam was endorsing that but it just means that's how the world was operating at that time.

[51:59] So people later on that are inculcating these this societal um I don't know norms or the the spirit of their society if you want to call it that to their young children. It's it's most likely there that these kind of hadith are born that a person says well you know the prophet taught that you should women should bow you know it's like how today in the Indian subcontinent and by that I mean Pakistan, India and presumably Bangladesh as well.

[52:35] I'm not sure if they say it, but I assume they they have this understanding as well that it's taught to girls that when they are kind when they bid them farewell at their weddings, they they may not say it then, but they say it in the runup, they they kind of teach them that, you see, you only leave your husband's home, not for dayto-day basis, but meaning you only finish like you cut off from that home once you're being carried away in in a coffin meaning that you're you know they they call it the the what they carry the

[53:14] bride on the the kind of dully that we're taking that there it goes there and then it only comes out in a coffin now this is a teaching that is found widespread amongst Hindus amongst Muslims amongst whoever with that resides within that part of the world So you can see how these teachings can then be um religionized.

[53:41] Okay. So people they they give it this veneer of religion and before you know it people say things like well the prophet taught this and that's what how the origin of those hadith come about and even this this thing like we do speak about in our discussion uh Dr. uh Avis about this the youth hadith that you know people say this culture of you must have this aggressive somewhat violent jealousy over your you know your women whether they are your sisters, daughters, wives, mothers, you

[54:19] must have this kind of um deterring aggressive violent jealousy over them. and that it's from the dean to have these. These things are entirely fabricated entirely. But people did them to justify and validate the tribal norms. So some people wanting to pass this on to the the spirit onto their younger offspring then religionized it and passed it on as religion.

[54:48] So that's how that would have come about. All right. [clears throat] Muis Sab, do you agree on the uh anti-natalists? What are the what what do you mean by the antiatalists? Miy, you missed a super chat. Can you explain the miracle of Jesus making the birds of M? Sure, I will speak about I'm sure I've got a detailed video on that.

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment zZ85AUzeK5w/s/9. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/zz85auzek5w/s/9/

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