Are the women called devils in hadith?

some rumor - hadiths ?**

The Use of Word ‘Devil’:

Naturally many people will question as to why the word devil is used to describe the thing. I say the question is natural but it does not really cause any consternation if one is aware of its usage in the Arabic language. Consider the following points;

1- Al-Isfahani says: “Shaytan (devil) is used for everyone who shows perverseness from amongst the jinn, mankind or animals.” (Al-Mufradaat 1/261)

2- In the Hadith in question it is used for a woman who comes out of her home in an unchaste manner seeing whom can cause stir of emotions in men.

3- The fact that it is used only for a woman who comes out in an unchaste fashion is clear from the narration that follows the one in question in Muslim’s collection. The wording therein is;

إِذَا أَحَدُكُمْ أَعْجَبَتْهُ الْمَرْأَةُ

“When a woman fascinates any one of you …” (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2492)

This fascination thing is possible only when a woman comes out in a manner not befitting of a chaste woman by showing complete disregard to Islamic injunctions about dressing.

4- Al-Nawawi in his monumental exegesis of Sahih Muslim comments;

“It is a reference to the temptation and attraction towards her for the natural inclination that men have towards women or for the fascination of their sight and what relates to them. And there is a likeness of devil in it for it invites evil thoughts and adoration [of a strange woman].” (Sharah Al-Nawawi 5/75)The gist is that by virtue of her coming out in an unchaste manner a woman facilitates evil so such a woman is metaphorically called a devil.

5- Infact in the same sense the word Shaytan (i.e. devil) is used in some other Ahadith as well. This will help understanding the metaphorical nature of the usage. One Hadith goes as;

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الراكب شيطان والراكبان شيطانان والثلاثة ركب

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “A single rider is a devil, and a pair of riders is a pair of devils, but three are a company of riders.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 2607. Classified as Hasan by Albani)

This Hadith provides a key in understanding the use of word Shaytan (devil). One and two riders are termed as devils because they are inciting evil by travelling like that. Consider this in the backdrop of the scenario 1400 years back in the wilderness of Arabia. One or two riders were certainly more exposed to any evil (i.e. loss of life and/or property). Infact a Hadith clarifies this;

الشيطان يهم بالواحد والاثنين فإذا كانوا ثلاثة لم يهم بهم

“Devil harms one or two but when they are three they are not harmed.” (Kanzul Ummal, Hadith 17156)

Anything can happen to any number of people but if one or two people travel in a place like what Arabia was 1400 years ago then they are obviously inviting and facilitating evil and for this reason only they are metaphorically called devils.

The Hadith in question calls women, who come out in a way that can fascinate men, a devil in that sense only!

SOURCE :

Are women called devils in Hadith? - let me turn the tables!

 

 The misinterpretation of the hadiths of our beloved Prophet – peace be upon him – is very common in today’s society, especially when many of the people criticizing these hadiths are not well-informed about the Arabic language. In fact, some of them do not even speak it or understand more than a few words of it! When the situation is as stated, many turn to the English translation to understand some small piece of Islam, but they look at it through the wrong eyes and come to conclusions that no one who was familiar with the Arabic language would do. One such hadith that allegedly calls women ‘devils’ will be examined in this article. We will look at the actual wording of the hadith, what the scholars have said about this use of the word, what the word means in other hadiths and finally we will come to a conclusion about the topic at-hand.

 

 

Are the women called devils in hadith? | ICRAA