Women as Prophets?

[Saad17]

Assalam-O-Alaikum

Is there a reason why there are no female prophets?

Well there is no evidence that all prophets were male, Allah only says that He sends messengers to every nation [e.g 16:36 And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger,.....] regardless of gender.

But the best woman of all nation [3:42 Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations.] , Mary (AS) was not a prophet.

 

[Endymion]

I once read a Hadith,A female Sahabi RA asked Muhammad SAW,"Oh Prophet of Allah SWT,why Allah SWT did not choose women as Prophets AS?Muhammad SAW replied,"Yes,Allah SWT did not choose females as Prophets but He choose them to be the Mothers of Prophets AS".

Subhanallah,what a great answer and what a great status Islam give to women.They are the Mothers of Prophets and even the Jannah of a Prophet lies under the feet of women (their Mothers).

Made me so happy and proud

 

[yas2010]

Thank you for asking the question and answering. As my seven year old daughter asked me this very same question and meant to look it up for her.

 

[Saad17]

I once read a Hadith,A female Sahabi RA asked Muhammad SAW,"Oh Prophet of Allah SWT,why Allah SWT did not choose women as Prophets AS?Muhammad SAW replied,"Yes,Allah SWT did not choose females as Prophets but He choose them to be the Mothers of Prophets AS".

Subhanallah,what a great answer and what a great status Islam give to women.They are the Mothers of Prophets and even the Jannah of a Prophet lies under the feet of women (their Mothers).

Made me so happy and proud

Wow, never thought about it that way. Thank you.

 

[Woodrow]

I once read a Hadith,A female Sahabi RA asked Muhammad SAW,"Oh Prophet of Allah SWT,why Allah SWT did not choose women as Prophets AS?Muhammad SAW replied,"Yes,Allah SWT did not choose females as Prophets but He choose them to be the Mothers of Prophets AS".

Subhanallah,what a great answer and what a great status Islam give to women.They are the Mothers of Prophets and even the Jannah of a Prophet lies under the feet of women (their Mothers).

Made me so happy and proud

While that is a very beautiful and probably true answer. I have not been able to verify that it is from an authenticate Hadith. Perhaps, until validation is found, it would be best to phrase it simply as "Women have a very high role as the Mothers of Prophets(PBUT). There is no need for them to be Prophets(PBUT)." Two very important roles of equal responsibility, but each different. A man can never be the mother of a Prophet. Look at Maryam as an example of the beauty for one to be the Mother of a Prophet(PBUT)

 

[YM Usrah Umar]

i heard that the prophet (pbuh) said along these lines that there is not women prophet because if ther was, generally women have mood swings and being pregnant could derail dawah etc etc

 

[Woodrow]

i heard that the prophet (pbuh) said along these lines that there is not women prophet because if ther was, generally women have mood swings and being pregnant could derail dawah etc etc

You just brought up another point. Suppose there was a woman Prophet and she became pregnant. She could be carrying a child who will not be a prophet. Yet that child would be revered after birth and possibly even worshiped for having lived within the womb of a prophet.

 

[Salahudeen]

Well just think about what the prophets go through, all the hardships and stress, people laughing at them and calling them mad, people finding it hard to believe that God chose a man from amongst themselves to be a prophet, people trying to kill them, kids throwing stones at them and chasing them out of the city.

I think if a woman was given this, it would be even harder for people to accept, and she would find it difficult to do it also, for example they would say "are we to believe that God chose a woman instead of a strong man to be his prophet" unfortunely this is the kind of world we live in.

 

[Haya emaan]

if we study the nature of man it has always been a dominating gender.. and if there was a women prophet how difficult it would be for her to give dawah to men and ask them to accept her as a prophet...
secondly the hijab of a women... there are certain limitations for a women while going out of there homes and meeting nonmehrams.. how could she do all that which itself contradicts her religion.. great problems of hijab would arise in her dawah activities..

 

[Cabdullahi]

Well in this day and age we have strong women with bobbed hair...who've ditched long skirts in favor of wearing trousers and under garments with holes so they can urinate easier whilst standing up....these women get frustrated when they cannot do each and everything a man does, even when he is pulling out Mr Johnson for urination time

 

[Insaanah]

Well there is no evidence that all prophets were male, Allah only says that He sends messengers to every nation... regardless of gender.

Yes there is.

Sahih International
And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah ; then will you not reason? (Qur'an 12:109)

Sahih International
And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed [Our message]. So ask the people of the message if you do not know. (Qur'an 16:43)

Pickthall
And We sent not (as Our messengers) before thee other than men, whom We inspired. Ask the followers of the Reminder if ye know not. (21:7)

 

[YM Usrah Umar]

Yes there is.

Sahih International
And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah ; then will you not reason? (Qur'an 12:109)

Sahih International
And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed [Our message]. So ask the people of the message if you do not know. (Qur'an 16:43)

Pickthall
And We sent not (as Our messengers) before thee other than men, whom We inspired. Ask the followers of the Reminder if ye know not. (21:7)

well said, saad u need to be careful about what u say plz

 

[Ghazalah]

And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah ; then will you not reason? (Qur'an 12:109)

I was waiting for someone to post this Ayah. Clear as daylight in the Quran there are only men as messengers. Various explanations, physically men are stronger so they can deal with the pain they face much more than women. Emotionally men are more able to deal with the the emotional pain. There is wisdom behind everything Allah SWT does.

 

[Saad17]

Well just think about what the prophets go through, all the hardships and stress, people laughing at them and calling them mad, people finding it hard to believe that God chose a man from amongst themselves to be a prophet, people trying to kill them, kids throwing stones at them and chasing them out of the city.

I think if a woman was given this, it would be even harder for people to accept, and she would find it difficult to do it also, for example they would say "are we to believe that God chose a woman instead of a strong man to be his prophet" unfortunely this is the kind of world we live in.

I understand what you are referring here but when men were sent that didn't stop the people from making arguments against them e.g Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was rejected for reasons like not being wealthy, having daughters instead of sons and especially being a mortal man instead of having miraculous power etc, even if Allah had sent an angel that wouldn't have stop them from making excuses even against the angel simply because those people were rebellious , they knew that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sent by Allah but they produced vain argument to defeat the truth. Lastly I don't believe that men can be more patient than women, in this case I would say that they are equal (in spirituality), different in nature? absolutely but like I said Allah could have strengthened and helped the women where they were weak just like He helped Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when he was weak. I would agree with the Hadith though and the statement "Allah does what He likes" but would love to know His wisdom behind the matter.

well said, saad u need to be careful about what u say plz

Forgive me, I thought the verses used the Arabic word "insan" that refers to both female and male but I must admit that these are talking about the male gender........or are they referring to the fact that Allah only sends mortal people and not people who can live without eating etc , not sure but yes I should be more careful.

 

[Insaanah]

I would agree with the Hadith though and the statement "Allah does what He likes" but would love to know His wisdom behind the matter.

There are many things behind which there is Allah's wisdom, yet in many cases He has not stated or explained that wisdom anywhere, and that wisdom is in His all Encompassing knowledge with Himself. We can only guess and give reasons based on our own logic and limited understanding, which may be correct or may not be.

Let us not busy ourselves in worrying about female prophets and let us busy ourselves in obeying the Prophet sent to us. One of the things he said in the hadeeth of Abu Bakrah upon hearing that the Persians had appointed the daughter of Chosroes as their queen, was “No people who appoint a woman as their leader will ever prosper.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 13/53).

When Prophets were sent, they were, amongst other roles, leaders for the believers. If there is no khayr or prosperity with a woman as a leader of the people, then know that the same would apply in the case of a female prophet.

or are they referring to the fact that Allah only sends mortal people and not people who can live without eating etc

Rijaal refers specifically to men.

And Allah knows best in all matters.

 

[CosmicPathos]

I wondering why you, as a male, so worried that there has never been a female Prophet. Do you want to have a female Prophet? If yes then why so? You prefer feminine voices over hearing a man speak?

 

[Saad17]

I wondering why you, as a male, so worried that there has never been a female Prophet. Do you want to have a female Prophet? If yes then why so? You prefer feminine voices over hearing a man speak?

I'm only curious , after all that is all I can do for what I want is not important, its about what Allah wants.

 

[Futuwwa]

Yes there is.

Sahih International
And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah ; then will you not reason? (Qur'an 12:109)

Sahih International
And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed [Our message]. So ask the people of the message if you do not know. (Qur'an 16:43)

Pickthall
And We sent not (as Our messengers) before thee other than men, whom We inspired. Ask the followers of the Reminder if ye know not. (21:7)

That's taking things out of context a bit. The purpose of those verses is not to make a statement regarding the gender of prophets. I'd like to know if the original classical Arabic uses a male-exclusive term (rather than, say, a masculine/generic term, just as "men" in English may either mean males or just generally humans).

 

[Ramadhan]

I think we have to be careful to differentiate between "prophet" (nabi) and "messenger" (rasul), because they are different. A rasul is always prophet, but prophet may not be a rasul. Messenger is given new law, books to uphold, while a prophet only continue the old law.

Theres a hadith (not sure about the authenticity, might be weak):
Imam Ahmad Hanbal (RA) in his Musnad has mentioned a Hadith (No. 21257) that Allah (SWT) sent 124, 000 Prophets and from among them, 315 were the Messengers. Abu Dharr (RA) asked the Messenger of Allah (SAW) about the number of Prophets. He said: “124,000 and from them is a group of 315 Messengers.”

So messengers have definitely been men/male only. And no female prophet is mentioned in the Qur'an or ahadeeth.
Maryam (ra), as lofty her prosition in the sight of Allah and the most noble and highest among all women, is also never referrred to as a prophet.

I guess this (why no prophet was woman) is one of those questions whose answer is with Allah SWT only, and we will only know it in qiyamah.

 

[Insaanah]

I'd like to know if the original classical Arabic uses a male-exclusive term (rather than, say, a masculine/generic term, just as "men" in English may either mean males or just generally humans).

The word used in the Arabic text, as I stated in my previous post, means specifically men. It does not mean humans in general.

Rajul, in Arabic, is one man. That word cannot be used for woman. Rijaal is it's plural, and means specifically men. The word rijaal has been used in each of the ayaat I quoted.

The word for human is bashar or insaan. This can be used for either gender.

That's taking things out of context a bit.

Please tell me, that if Allah is telling us that he sent not except men, and I quote what He has said, how is that taking things out of context? I have not made up my own translation, but used well established ones, the translators are stated in italics above each verse that I quoted. I have not twisted any meanings, nor given any meaning to any word that's not there, nor have I applied a verse to a situation it is not meant to be applied to. I have merely quoted what it says.

The purpose of those verses is not to make a statement regarding the gender of prophets.

I didn't specify the purpose of the verses anywhere. I just stated what they said, and they all begin by saying that Allah sent not except men. And who is truer in statement than Allah? And if Allah has said that, His word is true, and it means that he sent not except men. And it follows that the verses constitute Qur'anic evidence to show that Allah sent not except men. Alhamdulillah.