@Dindiola
1: Well, that’s a loaded question but I think the Quran provides great answers that undermine this pervasive perception. I’ll have to trickle in my thoughts but I’ll start with what I understand in regards to the issue of witnesses. Again, I am not a scholar.
1: Well, that’s a loaded question but I think the Quran provides great answers that undermine this pervasive perception. I’ll have to trickle in my thoughts but I’ll start with what I understand in regards to the issue of witnesses. Again, I am not a scholar.
2: I think that there is a PERCEIVED idea of male “superiority” but it isnt quite there in the Quran although it is very much present in Fiqh. In the Quran, the 2 to 1 male witness is quite specific for business transactions for which the Quran recommended a scribe (Q2:282)
3: When sociohistorical context is considered, this makes sense since women at that time were rarely literate compared to men, and weren’t directly involved/experienced in business (for example, Khadijah delegated men to do business on her behalf)..
4: In the same Quran, a female’s testimony is equal to a man’s testimony (infact her testimony overrules his) in a case where a husband accuses his wife of infidelity (Q24:6-9). In several cases mentioned in the Quran, eg zina (Q24:4; 4 witnesses), divorce (Q65:2, 2 witnesses)..
5:..death bequests/wills (Q5:106): 2 witnesses) etc, the Quran’s requirement for witnesses is not gender specific. I don’t think the Quran “forgot” to mention that witnesses should always be male or be in a 2:1 female-male ratio..
6: Infact, it is only in business transactions cases, that the Quran specified a gender ratio for witnesses. Clearly, in the Quran, the circumstance in question is the main driver of who and how many are required to be witnesses.
7: As for Hadiths, >2100 hadiths in major collections are testimonies of one woman: Aisha, RA. Infact some hadiths are solely from Aisha. She narrated hadiths on a wide range of matters that are not specific to women.
No one asked Aisha for witnesses for hadiths she narrated..
No one asked Aisha for witnesses for hadiths she narrated..
8: Fiqh is where the real “drama” plays out, with different schools of thought proffering different opinions.
For that, I’ll have to recommend seeking knowledge from scholars, as I am not one.
May Allah grant us true knowledge.
For that, I’ll have to recommend seeking knowledge from scholars, as I am not one.
May Allah grant us true knowledge.
