Ethics and Gender in ‘the best women virtues’ Hadith

Ethics and Gender in ‘the best women virtues’ Hadith

Seyyed Hassan Eslami Ardakani, URD, Qom

Are men and women different in main moral virtues? There is a famous Hadith, attributed to Imam Ali (P.B.U.H) that states, “The best women virtues are the worst men virtues: pride, meanness, and cowardice”. Based on this accepted saying, some Muslim scholars have defended the ethical difference between men and women. This article tries to asses this Hadith and its trueness in seven sections. In the first section, the differences between narrations of this saying in various old Hadith books are reported. The second section reports and analyzes what the interpreters have told about this Hadith. In the third section I deal with the scientific foundations of this allegedly biological and social separation between two sexes. The fourth section deals with the so-called feminist ethics and tries to show that we can not base ethics on sexual differences. In the fifth section I have argued that this Hadith can not be defended by other ethical Hadiths and Quranic teachings. The six section traces the content of this Hadith in ancient Greek, Persian, and Arab cultures to show that it is not really Imam Ali’s saying. In the seven and final section I recommended three basic principles to deal with the Hadiths concerning women. The conclusion of this essay is that this Hadith is forged and attributed wrongly to Imam Ali.        

Keywords: Islamic ethical virtues, feminine virtues, feminist ethics, ethical Hadiths, masculine virtues.

This paper is published in: ULUM-I-HADITH; FALL 2008 - WINTER 2009; pp.47-87. (Downloadable in Farsi)