Reconstruction of the Hadith’s Understanding of Women’s Reason and Religion through Criticism of the Qur’an-Hadith Intertextuality

Abstract

The hadith concerning nuqṣān al-ʿaql wa al-dīn (deficiency in intellect and religion) is often interpreted as a general statement regarding women’s intellectual and religious inferiority; however, the text’s structure, historical context, and the evolution of its sharḥ (commentary) reveal a more complex range of meanings. This study aims to reconstruct the hadith’s historical context and semantic structure, trace the evolution of its interpretation within the commentary tradition, map its relationship with the normative horizon of the Qur’an, and formulate boundaries for interpretation that are textually and historically justifiable. The research employs a qualitative approach based on a literature review, utilizing a textual-historical reconstruction design. The primary corpus draws on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, with the four Sunan collections serving as a control corpus. The analysis incorporates linguistic study, rhetorical structure, Qur’anic intertextuality, and classical commentaries. The findings indicate that nuqṣān al-ʿaql is explained textually through a specific configuration of testimony, making it insufficient to generalize women’s intellectual inferiority. Nuqṣān al-dīn relates to the reduced observance of prayer and fasting during menstruation, thereby pointing to a specific ritual condition rather than a permanent spiritual quality. Elements such as kathrat al-laʿn (frequent cursing), kufrān al-ʿashīr (ingratitude toward one’s spouse), and adhab li-lubb al-rajul al-ḥāzim (swaying the mind of a prudent man) reveal a field of moral, legal, biological, and rhetorical evaluation that cannot be collapsed into a single anthropological category. Qur’anic intertextuality tests and limits generalizations, while historical reconstruction distinguishes the original meaning from receptive expansions within the interpretive tradition. In conclusion, the hadith maintains the evaluative meaning of nuqṣān (defect) within specific domains. In contrast, claims of universal intellectual, moral, or spiritual inferiority require additional premises not provided by the text itself.